January Monthly Snapshot

Week 17 - December 21

Our oasis

 Have you ever spent time in a desert and then stepped into a lush oasis? It can be surreal, leaving you wondering if it's just a dream. I had that sort of dreamworld experience this week. In the States, we take three or four days at the end of every semester to evaluate, realign, refresh vision, and plan for the upcoming semester. It’s affectionately called DOPE week – Days of Planning and Evaluation - and even though it always turns my brain to mush, it has a special place in my Type-J heart. The Botswana team does DOPE a little differently… but really well!

Early one morning, we all piled into the STINTmobiles and drove out of the city, the destination unknown to me. As we left the familiar main road called the A1, the landscape started to change. By the time we reached our destination, my eyes were wide with awe. We spent the day at Notwane Farm, a beautiful, space next to a river that actually held water. It was green as far as the eye could see. We set up our giant flip chart and computers under the cover of big, leafy trees. I ditched my shoes and reveled in the thick, soft grass under my toes... something that hadn’t brought me joy since I left Pennsylvania months ago. The gentle sounds of wind in the tress, distant cowbells, and chirping birds brought peace. From eight to five, we dug in and ran hard. Just like DOPE in the US, we evaluated, realigned, renewed vision, and planned for the upcoming semester. We also had spells of laughter and photoshoot breaks.

Mpho leading a portion of
planning day

No planning day is complete
without the big post-it board

This team is awesome!

Reality came rushing back when, at the end of a long day of meetings, we had to jump start the van and then spent three hours driving our teammates home. It was a long and exhausting day, but I felt the Lord’s special grace as I finally got quality time in nature. Living here long term seems much easier with a place like Notwane Farm nearby. I will definitely go back.

We had many more small staff meetings throughout the week, and we closed the semester with a team braai. Tensions ran high as three teammates arrived THREE HOURS late. We had plans for the rest of the day, but we ended up waiting impatiently as they made their way to the office. By the time we got to the Game Reserve, started the fire, and cooked the meat, the sun was hanging low in the sky. I found myself constantly having to breathe spiritually, exhaling my frustration and sinful anger and inhaling His power and ability to love others well. I wasn’t the only one struggling, and a few conversations helped to resolve the tension.

We were all on high alert.

We literally had to fight off the monkeys during our braai. They are brazen monsters. We worked as a team to keep them at bay, taking turns eating and standing guard with sticks and rocks. It was really stressful, but it was a sort of team-building activity. Though the monkeys are always a problem – traveling even to campus and to our housing complex next door – they seemed to be worse as we were the only people in the picnic area. We took the full brunt of their attacks. These monkeys are like the devil incarnate. They’re all cute and fuzzy but then they throw poo and steal food. You've been warned, friends. 

(VIDEO)

We ended the braai with a game drive, exploring the park and taking pictures of the resident animals – zebras, kudu, springbok, and ostriches mostly. The Americans stayed in the car and laughed as the majority of our team jumped out into the cold rain to ooh and ahh over a small turtle. It looked just like every box turtle I had ever found in the streams of Pennsylvania, but it was a rare gem for our local friends. The turtle-induced joy and the gentle rains that fell redeemed the day and ended the semester on a high note.

We watched the sun rise as we waited
for the border gate to open

And we waited in line to get
our passports stamped on the
South African side

The drive was BEAUTIFUL!

We had to stop a few times to tape our bumpers back on.
It was a team effort.

The highlight of this week (maybe of the semester) was our STINT retreat. Steph, Sarah, and I left our house at 5am Friday morning. None of us are morning people, and I can’t remember the last time I woke so early without traveling. We watched the sunrise over the city as we made our way to the border, quietly but excitedly anticipating a great adventure. The border gate experience was hilarious and shocking. We sat in line until the gate opened, parked at the immigration building, and casually got out of our car. Everyone else was in a full sprint - literally moving faster than any Batswana we have ever seen. It turns out, the queue gets very long very quickly for citizens. As residents, our line was short and moved quickly. We had to repeat the process on the South Africa side, and then it was open (two lane) highway for eight hours. As on any good road trip, we chatted, sang loudly, and took in the sights. 

When my driving shift was over, I passed out in the backseat and woke up as we approached the Lesotho border. Even though it was a bit out of our way, we couldn’t pass on the opportunity to see another country. The experience at the border was similar but far less hectic. The workers we encountered at the border saw opportunities to (1) ask Steph, a pretty white girl with blond hair and blue eyes, to marry him and (2) to ask the seemingly rich Americans to pay her child’s school fees and father’s medical bills. Those experiences aside, Lesotho is a beautiful country. Mountains jut up into the sky all around, with houses clinging to the hillsides. Shepherds and cattlemen led their flocks and herds lazily through beautiful green pastures. The town, Butha-Buthe, was crowded and hectic, and we decided against leaving our vehicle for safety’s sake. Then we were back on the open road, winding our way through a majestic national park in South Africa. It was the first time we saw zebras and kudu running free, and there was a lot of excited shouting.

Lesotho border gate

A homestead on the way to Butha-Buthe

Downtown Butha-Buthe was really crowded

Lesotho is so pretty!

The South African veld is really pretty, too.

 

Sunset in rural South Africa.

Our view for the day

We made it our bed and breakfast (found for half-price online) late at night, exhausted and ready to relax. When we awoke, we found that we were in the Malibu of South Africa. Umhlanga is filled with hillside mansions and breath-taking views of the Indian Ocean. There were high-end restaurants and the biggest mall I’ve ever seen, full of luxury stores. We were very out of place in our casual, comfy clothes and duct-taped van. It was comical, really. We spent a lot of time with the Lord, processing the

Crashing the birthday party

semester and life, singing worship songs, and meditating on the Word. On day one, we spent a lot of time at the beach. We had been warned that summer/Christmas holiday would be the worst time to be at the Durban beaches. We were imagining east coast beaches on Fourth of July weekend. But we were literally the only people on our part of the beach, and we only saw maybe twenty people over the course of the full day. The waves were rough and limited our swimming time to a few minutes, but what a great day! We ventured into downtown Durban to look for a place to eat dinner and drove for maybe two hours, winding through the downtown area, industrial areas, and neighborhoods, until we stumbled upon a beach-themed restaurant. We were surprised to find that we were crashing a birthday party but the hostess seated us anyway. We ate inexpensive seafood and sipped virgin mixed drinks with our toes in the sand. And laughed at the awkwardness of joining a girl’s 21^st birthday party, surrounded by her friends and family.

The next day, we checked out a big church we stumbled upon. Even though it was a megachurch, we really enjoyed the worship and the teaching. We got lost in the diverse crowd but found our way to the visitor’s center where we learned more about the church and their mission. It was an interesting experience. We ventured to the mall to buy sim cards so we can use our phones in South Africa and ended up at a lagoon. The rickety boardwalks over the mysterious marshes were terrifying, and my team both verbally reassured me and literally held my hand. It’s a good thing they love me. We walked the beach some more and made our way to the famous lighthouse. It was a relaxing adventure day, and we ended the night in Umhlanga’s trendy downtown area, surrounded by young and upwardly mobile locals. It was quite a culture shock. We left early the next day to head home, taking a more direct route.

Rolling farmland a few kilometers from Umhlanga

Scary marshes

The team at the lighthouse

Our Batswana friends had warned us of the dangers of South Africa, often openly questioning our desire to even go to such a dangerous place. It was strongly reminiscent of my small town friends trying to be helpful in warning me of the dangers of visiting big cities like New York City (or even small citiies like Pittsburgh). The heart in offering such warnings is clearly for my good, but as one who travels often, the warnings are often unnecessary and sweetly comical. Our friends warned us that carjackers are everywhere, painting a picture of gangs with guns crouching in every bush and around every corner. Having never ventured into South Africa, we started the trip on high alert.  But we never once felt like we were in danger. We still took precautions, keeping our doors locked and our bags either hidden or in our hands. It turns out, South Africa is shockingly similar to the US. There is probably crime, but police presence significantly more noticeable than in Botswana. The streets were well-lit, and the gas stations were monitored. We LOVED South Africa and would highly recommend it. We are returning to Botswana refreshed and renewed and closer as a team.

Week 15 - December 6

We've been without water nearly all week. It returned for a few hours every couple of days, allowing us to frantically refill our containers. We have it much better than many of our friends in the nearby Tlokweng area, who have lived without water almost every day since August. Their lives are much harder than ours. The dams are all dry, and the rains have been few and far between this season. We should expect to do without in such a severe drought, but the reason for the water cuts is poorly maintained infrastructure. It's really frustrating. The pipelines meant to carry water from the rainier areas of the country and from neighboring countries were poorly designed and continue to burst regularly. When a burst comes, we go without water for several days as they scramble to patch the pipes. Things that are taken for granted in the US - like water coming from the tap - have become small luxuries here. It changes one's perspective on privilege and comfort and necessity.

I spent the first half of this week planning a staff retreat that was then canceled. Administrative work brings me an odd amount of joy, even when the plans fail. In fact, they are highly likely to fail here. We have a saying that goes, "Write all your plans in pencil." It was fun, even though it all came to naught.

We had a planning meeting with the ladies of Redeemed Girl ministries this week, too. Marian Jordan Ellis is a speaker and writer, and some of our girls have been using her podcasts and Bible study materials in their small group. When Marian, who has a special relationship with Cru, heard of this, she immediately asked when she could come. We're still working on finding funding to cover all of the expenses, but I'm sure the Lord will provide. Taffy, our national director, and I cast vision for Botswana and shared some of the issues we see that she could address. We landed on an all-day event focusing on biblical sexuality. Join us in praying that the Lord would prepare the hearts of students and prompt them to attend. Marian does an awesome job of sharing her story, speaking truth, mixing in humor, and calling students to Jesus. We'll be inviting other ministries and churches to join us, and we're praying at least 300 students would attend.

The rest of the week was spent preparing for the visit of a friend of the ministry. Pastor Fred works with the Campus Crusade movement in Kenya, known as Life Ministries. He joined us in Botswana to provide a training for pastors and youth workers. Nailing down details is always challenging here, especially when it comes to preparing or ordering food, as the local custom is to allow anyone who shows up to attend. The moving pieces drew me to prayer constantly this week, and I saw the Lord answer my prayers. The training, called "Jesus-Focused Youth Ministry," was held at a local church. As the coordinator, I needed to arrive at 8am, and we finished around 5pm. In the moments in between, I ran around setting up the hall, fixing tech problems, serving the tea snacks, mingling during breaks, helping the speaker, delivering and serving lunch, and helping to guide discussion groups. I was busy, but I loved it. Serving in behind-the-scenes capacities brings me life. Seeing laborers equipped and sent out gives me hope.

Pastor Fred also spoke at our church, Gaborone Community Chapel, on Sunday morning. As his liasion, I was responsible for chauffering him. The rest of my Sunday was spent working on more admin. I'm pretty exhausted as I write this, and I miss quality time with our students. I look forward to next semester!

Week 14 - November 29

Our students are entrenched in exams. While I have certainly experienced exam intensity, as I served at highly competitive schools like the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon for many years, this intensity is still foreign to me. As a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, I found finals week to be the most enjoyable week of the semester. Throughout the semester, I did my work and went to class so finals week was generally the easiest week of the semester... just a few tests and papers. Easier than a regular week because there were no classes. There were a few killer courses that brought stress, but I found a balance. I'd stay up late hanging out with friends, playing games and going to parties and gathering all of the free food offered around campus, and study or write papers at odd hours. I loved it! But the two full weeks of exams at UB (which are also held on Saturdays and Sundays) are really intense. Students are highly stressed, as the final exam often counts for 50% or more of the course grade. Few students can be seen on campus, and even our friends fail to respond to calls and texts. Pray for our sweet students! Many of them are struggling to deal with the stress in healthy ways. Pray that they would be diligent but trust God. Pray that they would find their identity in Him, not in their performance.

Because students are unavailable and our national director is preparing to leave the country, we had lots of staff meetings this week. We spent time evaluating the semester and worked on plans for our upcoming mission trip to Swaziland and next semester. We talked through future possibilities for the movement and the nation.

The highlight of the week, though, was awesome time with friends and family, near and far. Each night, I got to video chat with dear friends in the US. Plus, some of our dancer friends came over just to hang out for a while. There were two big social events that I just have to highlight, though.

Thanksgiving is not a holiday here, so we had a normal work day. I worked on adminitrative things at home so I could baste our tiny turkeys throughout the day. We invited our whole staff team to join us to celebrate, and at 6pm, Four of them and the Chifamunas' kids showed up with their parts of the dinner. It was such a joy to share this day with our BotsFamily. We ate really good food (which mostly tasted like our traditional Thanksgiving Day foods!). Turkeys are hard to find and expensive here, but the Lord allowed us to find two tiny turkeys, enough to feed everyone until their buttons popped. We went around the table, sharing what we're thankful for this year. It was far less loud and crazy than my usual celebrations with my gigantic extended family, where everyone is laughing and talking over each other. But it was good, nonetheless. We even added a photo shoot and dance party to the celebration, in true Batswana form.

Part of our BotsFam celebrated Thanksgiving with us

Awkward family photos

Ninjas, as requested by Zayne

Serious dance party.

Candy corn from the US. I don't
like it, but it was nice to have.

Turkeys and stuffing. Yum!
(It was really, really hot, hence
the fan pointing at me,)

The beauty of being seven hours ahead of my family is that I can work a full day of work, celebrate in my home, and then catch them as they celebrate in their own homes. I got to video chat with  my family, and my cousin, Jeni, caught some of our conversation on camera. (Thanks, Jeni!) It made for a loooong day, but I loved it!

Video chatting with my sister Sara, brother Brian, and mom.

Football and laughter. That's me on the phone.

The other really exciting event of the week was a singles dinner at a local church, Open Baptist. Having experienced PLENTY of terrible singles events in my day, I decided to have fun no matter what. We convinced a bunch of our friends to come so that even if the event was a dud, we would be surrounded by fun people. (I have learned some tricks over the years!) So, eight of us rolled into the church a few minutes late (but actually way before the event would start). We laughed a lot and had several photo shoots while we waited. We bumped into some acquaintances and met some new people. Then we strategically spread ourselves out at a table so that we would be together but other people would be forced to join us. It didn't work really well at first, as our table was still just us until dinner. The emcees were not good; we had a lot of issues with their inappropriate comments and worldly viewpoints. We shot looks at each other often. Then they made us play a game that was strongly reminiscent of junior high youth group. But it did force us to mix. We met new people and laughed some more. The worship, speaker, and dinner we spot on... even though they didn't start until after 10pm. (We arrived at 6:30). After dinner, the program went way downhill, but our teams from the game were forced to sit together. We got to know some more great people, and I shivered for maybe the first time since arriving in Botswana. It was awesome! At the end of the night (12:30-1am), we helped tear down. We put on some fun dance music and made even the messy job of clearing tables fun. Even with all of its faults, it was by far the best singles event I have EVER attended. Praise God!

We have awesome friends!

Goofing around with Mpho

Some of our fave girls in Botswana, all dolled up and
ready to mingle.

Week 13 - November 22

Pulaaaaa! It rained this week. Like, really 
rained! Almost every day this week brought 
light showers, but Friday night brought 
monsoon-like downpours. Join us in rejoicing!


In fact, during the monsoon-like downpours, the power went out and we got a call from a stranded friend in need of help. We waded (yes, waded!) through our flooded parking lot, getting soaked to the bone within a minute, and made our way through dark, flooded streets to his house. The yard (consisting solely of dirt, as is the custom here) had been transformed into a skating rink of deep mud. We laughed and shrieked as we slid our way to him. It was a ridiculous adventure, and we loved every minute of it. Who would have guessed, when I lived in gray, rainy western PA that I could eve miss rain so much?!? I guess it just feels like home.




Cru has been asked to participate in an inter-ministry committee to plan a missions conference called Joining Hands. I have so loved getting to know other laborers in the city, coming together from many nations (including Botswana) to reach young people with the Gospel. I really think some of them could become great local friends! Pray with us that many young people would join us for our conference the first week of June, that they would catch the vision of being Christ's ambassadors, and that they would have a great impact on Botswana, our neighbors, and the world!

After a full semester of trying to invite ourselves, our teammate Clive invited us to watch one of his basketball games. One of my favorite things in life is supporting others, cheering for them, and making them feel loved. We showed up at the courts on UB's campus to find a small but close-knit crowd of fans. We waited for the court to dry after the recent sprinkle, and the excitement built. We were finally there! Cheering for our friend whose passion in life is sport. There were a few rain delays, and while everyone else ran for cover in their cars, our group stayed and thoroughly enjoyed the sensation of being cold. We passed the time with stories, laughter, and (of course) photo shoots.

Sarah, me, Steph, and Levi

Making silly faces during a
rain delay with Taffy and Sarah

Clive is #15. I think we embarrassed him with our love,
but I'm sure he secretly loved it.

We also got to cheer for our teammate, Steph, who dances with the professional dance group Mophato as a volunteer. It was another opportunity to love a teammate, and Sarah and I got to deepen our friendships with many of the dancers that we have come to love. Pray that they would see the love of Christ in us, and pray for Steph as she enters into many, many spiritual conversations in and out of rehearsal times. It's such a cool ministry, and it's refreshing to have non-Christian friends!

Steph and Tumie, a friend from
Mophato who recently
trusted Christ!

Mophato's performance this week was designed to be
like a flash mob in a local mall. I love watching these dancers!

This week allowed me to meet up with a new girl I plan to disciple next semester. Her story is sadly pretty common. As a believer with shallow roots, she was misled by a guy and found herself pregnant. She's one of many, many college girls I have met with babies. She loves Jesus, and I'm excited to see Him stretch and grow her as we dig into the Word together. Pray with me for all the women who find themselves pregnant and single, too ashamed to enter into real, authentic, life-changing community. Pray that we would speak truth and grace as Jesus did. Pray that the culture of single-mother families and absentee men would change as Jesus changes hearts.

And I had my first-ever conversation with someone in the ZCC "church" this week. Called "Zed Cee Cee" here, this "church" was started by a disillusioned man and combines traditional beliefs with misinterpreted pieces of the Bible. It is listed as the biggest "Christian" denomination in southern Africa, and it's heartbreaking. For months, I have been seeing people wearing little green felt badges with a star pin and have been wondering what it meant. Today I found out that the ZCC members believe they can communicate with God and the "church's" dead founder through it. Before you dismiss it, let me just point out that loooots of people around the world believe in similar religious icons and exclusivist theology, including many that would be called Christians. As my new friend, Daniel, answered some of my questions, his passion grew and his irritation surfaced. Though I sincerely disagree with almost every single thing he claimed as truth, I was asking out of a sincere desire to understand. It just doesn't make any sense to me. When I asked him where he found these things in the Bible, he couldn't answer. To be fair, again, that is true for most people who claim to believe the Bible and support their opinions with Scripture (again, often taking it out of context. Don't even get me started on Americans' misuse of Jeremiah 29:11). When I got home from campus, I found several texts from Daniel listing the passages he used to support his beliefs. Again, his passion and irritation were evident. He called women who don't cover their heads and wear anything but below-the-knee skirts "whores." Seriously. That seems pretty harsh to me, and pretty unlike my understanding of God, Grace, and scriptural truth. I spent a lot of time researching the history and beliefs of this "church" and have come to find that it is, in fact, a cult - based on the widely accepted definition of cults. 

"(Author Steven) Hassan developed the BITE acronym, which describes the components employed by destructive cults using mind control. BITE covers the following areas of control:

Behavior Control: An individual’s associations, living arrangements, food, clothing, sleeping habits, finances, etc., are strictly controlled.

Information Control: Cult leaders deliberately withhold or distort information, lie, propagandize, and limit access to other sources of information. 

Thought Control: Cult leaders use loaded words and language, discourage critical thinking, bar any speech critical of cult leaders or policies, and teach an “us vs. them” doctrine.

Emotional Control: Leaders manipulate their followers via fear (including the fear of losing salvation, fear of shunning, etc.), guilt, and indoctrination."

Excerpt from Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan

Found at GotQuestions.org 

What breaks my heart is that soooo many people are caught up in this and similar cults that fly under the radar as "Christian churches." They seem to be especially sneaky here, as they use the Bible to convince people they are legitimate "churches". People without a solid grasp of Scripture, who come from a culture that highly values spirituality, and that embrace leaders as infallible gifts of God who always speak truth are at great risk of stepping into a cult unknowingly. Please join me in praying for discernment as we meet people caught in these psuedo-churches. Pray that we would have the wisdom and grace to enter into their lives and point them to the Truth, to the God of the Bible, to the Grace that saves.

October/November Snapshot

November 20, 2015 View this email in your browser

Monthly Snapshot      Volume 10, Issue 3

The full Botswana staff team. The past six weeks have been challenging and faith-stretching. October brought lots of computer problems and a full week of bed-ridden illness. November brought us to a new level of honesty, complete with intense team conflict. But our God is a God of redemption and restoration! Being confined to one's bed, in constant agony, weaving in and out of consciousness is enough to humble even the proudest people-pleaser. I felt terrible for an entire week, and the list of things I was supposed to be doing and people I was letting down grew every hour. I was miserable, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. I was upset with my body for freaking out over what we now know was simply the tap water; I hate the weakness it reveals. And I was upset at myself for worrying so much about work, as if the Lord couldn't do His work without me. And I was upset with the Lord for not giving me a stomach of steal and for humbling me in such an intense way. The very next week, our awesome US coach, Lois, made a visit. She brought joy and encouragement... and lots of fun surprises from home! It was during her visit, though, that things hit the fan, so to speak. A huge pile of sin and unresolved conflict and hurt surfaced, and it took the full week to sift through it all. My American teammates and I were hurt by the accusations and the lack of healthy communication. I personally felt like I was being mauled by an angry bear as I tried to remove a thorn from its paw. Praise God (I guess) for lots of experience on disfunctional, unhealthy teams. I found myself rejoicing over the painful past experiences that prepared me to deal with these issues with wisdom. A lot of tears were still shed, and I think the hard conversations will need to continue, but I saw the Lord come through for us. Sincere apologies were made. Relationships were restored. Grace and truth were dished out. And the Gospel was brought to life. At our end of semester party, we were able to truly rejoice. We said goodbye to Taffy and Gracious, who have faithfully served with Cru in Botswana for five years, rebuilding the ministry from the ground up. We laughed and danced and ate really good food and celebrated all the Lord has done. Praise and Prayer     * Please join us in praying for humility and true repentance, and for God to receive glory in the midst of messy relationships.  * Praise God for the encouragement we received during Lois' visit. * Pray for us during the upcoming holiday season. We're excited to try new things and make new memories, but it could be really hard to be away from our families. FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM TWITTER

Week 12 - November 15

What. A. Week.

Our coach, Lois, was here for a shepherding trip. Everything started out fine. We picked her up at the airport, and she delivered two suitcases full of fun gifts from home. We chatted excitedly about what's happening on campus and what's going on at home. We squealed with delight as we unwrapped clothes, American snacks, and decorations for our home. We found piles of wrapped Christmas presents. We read sweet notes from loved ones. As a missionary overseas, it's easy to believe you've been forgotten. In this age of social media, we see the lives our friends and family members are living in our absence, and there's sometimes a tinge of longing. It's like our hearts are in two places at once. And getting notes and gifts from home reminds us that we're not the only ones in two places. Our loved ones do miss us. They do remember us. They do love us. And as we face record tempuratures (generally over 100*F/40*C), power cuts, and water shortages, it's nice to know we have a support system. It's nice to know we're not alone! So, Lois brought much more than two suitcases of stuff. She brought encouragement!

But the bottom dropped out on Monday morning, when a semester's worth of pent up frustration, bitterness, and anger erupted. It turns out, a teammate has been stuffing feelings instead of resolving conflict. I didn't even see it coming. I mean, I knew that person wasn't really acting like his/herself, but this season has been tough. I just thought he/she was was tired and stressed. I still think those things are true, but as I sat in a heap, sobbing over the hurtful things that were said, it was clear that there is much more at work.

So, there's that. A somewhat normal but busier than usual week suddenly filled up with a series of conflict resolution conversations, which I find to be completely exhausting. Our team had some honest and vulnerable conversations, a first for some people. It was draining. It was overwhelming. It was painful.

BUT...

In Christian community, as long as everyone is walking with the Lord, filled with the Spirit, and pursuing one another in love as an act of the will (not feelings), there is restoration and redemption. As the tears dry and the pain subsides, relationships are rebuilt. Apologies are offered and received. Changes are made. Healing begins. And it's in these moments when God;s glory shines. It's in these situations where the body of Christ comes together as one. While I may ALWAYS hate confrontation, I have grown to expect conflict and embrace hard conversations. It's not easy, but it is good.

Please pray for our team. Pray for more honest and vulnerable conversations. Pray for authentic, real, gospel-centered relationships. Pray for restoration. Pray for unity and understanding. Pray for each of our walks with the Lord. AND pray against spiritual warfare. The number one reason missionaries leave the field (according to somebody's research) is other missionaries. We will NOT be those missionaries!

To wrap up this really, really challenging and exhausting week, we celebrated at our end of semester party. What we hadn't announced, though, is that this end of semester party was meant to be different. This party would be a surprise send-off party for Taffy and Gracious, who have given five years to rebuilding the Cru movements in Botswana - the campus ministry and the church/community/Jesus Film ministry. They have poured themselves out. They have labored endlessly. They have served faithfully.

So, to celebreate them, we planned a black tie event. We invited Board members and other esteemed guests. We brought gifts and prepared speeches and songs to honor the Chifamunas. And they were completely surprised. It was a really sweet (perhaps bittersweet) night. Becuase they have been preparing to leave for eighteen months, they have had many tearful send-off parties, but this one... this time it's real. They are really moving before next semester begins. And that made the night really difficult. But, in true BotsCru fashion, we laughed and danced the night away.

The Chifamunas: Gracious and Taffy, Zayne, Anyssa, and Heidi

All dolled up for the party: Steph,
me, and Sarah

So much dancing!