 |
| Steph talking to students at 247 |
This week brought its share of disappointment as many of the students with whom I had scheduled appointments canceled on me or simply didn't show up. One conversation redeemed all the other missed opportunities, though. My teammate, Taffy, and I approached a girl hanging out on the steps of a building called 247. It's a place where students sit when they have nothing to do between classes, and it's where I spend most of my time. (See photo for reference). The girl we approached went by the nickname Leti (pronounced like "lady"). She was waiting for friends and kept an eye on her phone throughout our conversation. There were plenty of distractions, including texts from her friends and a never-ending cell phone
 |
Taffy and Thuto, a BotsCru student, sharing
with guys in hats at 247 |
alarm going off nearby. We eventually made it to the point of sharing the 4 Spiritual Laws, and she answered my questions in a way that let me know she understood the concepts of the Gospel. Just as we were getting to the point of decision, her friends finally arrived. I briefly prayed, "Lord, she's right there. Don't let her be distracted!" To my complete shock and delight, she told her friends to wait for her somewhere else, that she needed a few minutes. Praise God! We walked through the prayer, which she prayed, and looked at some basic follow up materials before she thanked us and left to join her friends. Please join me in praying for Leti and for the other students who made decisions for Christ this week!
 |
| BotsCru praying for the men in 479 |
Speaking of decisions for Christ, one of the highlights of the week was an outreach night that took the place of our regular Cru weekly meeting. Twenty-eight BotsCru students met up at one of the men's hostels on campus, building 479, at our usual meeting time. A lot of men came, most of whom I had never met. We prayed and split into pairs, each pair assigned to a floor/wing of the dorm. We went door to door, something we haven't been able to do in U.S. dorms since September 11 put our campuses on lock down. Surprisingly, most of the guys who answered their doors invited us into their rooms. The first guy Felicity and I talked to invited us in even though his roommate was clearly sleeping (with a blanket over his head). We had a great conversation about what it means to have a relationship with God and got his feedback.
Then we went to the next room. When Felicity knocked on one door, the two guys who lived in that room walked past me in their towels. They were returning from the shower, but they invited us in. I looked around and asked another Cru group, "Really?" They encouraged me to go, and we ended up sharing the Gospel with them. In all my years in ministry (14, including my college years), I had never shared with naked men. There's a first for everything. The guys both said they were Christians, and their answers at least indicated enough church involvement to know the lingo, so we invited them to BotsCru. When we all met up outside to share stories, we found that lots of guys had placed their faith in Christ through this (somewhat uncomfortable) outreach. As a staff team, we decided we would all spend an hour doing ministry in building 479 as a way of building relationships and gathering the men our movement desperately needs.
 |
| We found sushi at Ocean Basket! |
Some fun highlights from this week include
discovering sushi during our weekly roommate
date night. We were ecstatic and ate all. the.
sushi. The waiter acted like paparazzi, taking
lots and lots of pictures of us with our giant
plates of sushi.
And Steph's dance company, Mophato,
danced at the Miss Africa pageant at Botswana's five star hotel, the Grand Palm. She was really excited about it, and everyone we know will watch the pageant when it airs just to see her. Getting her there made for a great adventure with some girls on our team!
 |
Dropping Steph off at the pageant. back: Malebogo, Taku;
middle: Sarah; front: Kirstin, Mpho |
 |
The Grand Palm, home of this stage of
the Miss Africa Botswana pageant |
 |
| The ladies of Mophato, being sassy after their performance |
 |
| So much fun with friends! Sarah, Kirstin, Malebogo, Steph |
 |
| This band popped in to do a tradtional song |
A
nd then we went to a Botswarapoetry
event at the Thapong
Visual Arts Centre in The Village, near campus, on Saturday night with our teammate Malebogo. As per usual, it started an hour late. But once it started, I was captivated. Artists presented poetry, spoken word, hip-hop, dance, and comedy. Some acts made my jaw drop in amazement, and some had me swaying in my seat or chanting along. Others were pretty awful and provided some great memories. The twist of the night was the unveiling of a painting featuring Chucks (Converse All Star sneakers). Contestants were shown the piece and given an hour to come up with a title and a poem inspired by the painting. It was weird and wonderful at the same time. Some contestants took it very seriously and revealed true talent. The comedians created personas and ridiculous (hilarious) bits that clearly could not compete with the others but pleased the crowd nontheless. We left after 11, an hour after it was scheduled to end but before the acts were done. We had to walk through a crowd of drunk young men to get to our car. Though definitely never in danger, we didn't enjoy this part of the night. That is, until I had a hilarious conversation with one such drunk young man. He was hitting on me and lingered a little too long on the traditional greeting. I eventually played the missionary card, telling him we are in Botswana to tell people about Jesus. He immediately backed down, and Steph joked that it's more effective than a chastity belt. Eish. I couldn't stop laughing at his reaction, thinking, "Playa, please." It was such a fun night, full of laughter and amazement.
 |
| A hip-hop act |
 |
| A passionate poet |
