Week 5, September 27

This was a tough week.

Immigration update: still a no go. We spent all day working on immigration paperwork on

So much paperwork!

Monday, to no avail. Our agent brought applications for work permits that he had already filled out, but he had filled all of them out wrong, mixing up names and details and writing the wrong answers in many boxes. It took a long time to fix them. Then we took the forms, with scratch outs and corrections, to the Chair of the Board to have him sign them. He, of course, asked us to get new ones so our applications would be approved. That meant waiting for the agent to bring us new ones, filling them out again, and returning to the Chair. We finished right at 4pm, grabbed the Chair and headed to the police station to get notarized seals on our applications. But the oaths officer stamped the first section and disappeared. We were confused but the Chair told us the officer had gone home for the day because we had arrived too late. So now we have to go back to the police station again to get more stamps before we can submit. Each bump along the road is frustrating, and I find this process to be a tool for refinement. Today I'm choosing to trust the Lord with the details.


This week was Short Vac (Short Vacation, a week long, mid-semester break). We took some of our students on a mission trip to Mmankgodi, a village just outside Gaborone. The trip started off on a stressful note as we struggled to get the supplies we were borrowing from a partnering church - a combi (big van), trailer, and 35 mattresses. Having told the students we'd leave at 8am, we didn't even arrive at the meeting point until after 9. Then loading up all of our supplies took another 45 minutes, making us hopelessly late before we even started. The lateness continued and served as a constant frustration for the staff team as we tried to hurry students who just wouldn't be hurried. Our schedule was very, very tight and left no time for lateness... but we were late for everything nonetheless. As someone who highly values time, efficiency, and hurried movement, I found myself constantly drawn to prayer. Everything was out of my control, and fighting for control only brought exhaustion. My next prayer letter ("Monthly Snapshot") will share some more details of the trip. Let me just say that the week's theme of refinement carried right on, through the Mmankgodi trip. We slept on a concrete church floor; bathed in buckets; carried firewood for cooking and water for cooking, drinking, bathing, and flushing; woke up to a whistle at 6 each morning... just in time for a sunrise workout; and saw God do some amazing things. Stay tuned for more stories.

Combi #1 with a trailer full of supplies.                                                          Teambuilding: gathering firewood                  

We had to visit the Kgotla several times to get
permission for each event. The Kgotla is in the
center of the village and has been the
decision-making center for centuries.

Gracious and Mma OB, Cru staff
cooking over an open fire

Evangelism Training for students and locals

  

Donkey cart ride... quite similar to the
hayrides I'm missing in PA!

We rose with the sun each morning. 

At least it was pretty!

Leading a morning devotional on the Great Commission     

Taffy, Cru staff, sharing the Gospel
at the assembly for Form 3 students

Mealtime.

Showing the Jesus Film in Setswana.

Our students dominated the ancient projector.

Jesus Film glowing in the night.

My friends from the junior school assembly
came to see the Jesus Film!

Driving some excited kids to our afterschool event

We gave Bibles to children
who have been orphaned by AIDS

All of these tough things abruptly brought our little STINT team out of the honeymoon stage. We came face to face with the challenges of this culture, realizing everything is not sunshine and smiles (though there really is a lot of sunshine and lots of smiles). I'm happy to say that we have handled it well (better than I expected), and now I don't have to be on guard, waiting for the shoe to drop. We survived some tough situations and a lot of cultural rubs, and the Lord has met each of us in them. It's healthy to have a realistic picture of any situation, embracing the good with the bad and allowing both to point you to Jesus. We're ready for the rest of this crazy adventure.

Our emotionally, spiritually, relationally, mentally, and physically draining week ended with a really, really fun day. My STINT teammates, Sarah and Steph, and I decided to sort of kidnap our local teammate, Mpho, for an adventure. We picked her up around noon, gathered snacks and drinks, and hit the road. Our goal was simply to explore Botswana outside of Gaborone. We drove down the A1 highway, which quickly turned into an empty desert highway. Our first stop was a small village of about 9,000 called Otse. We had heard about a game reserve and vulture sanctuary. After driving somewhat aimlessly, we found the wildlife office and a quiet old lady climbed into our van. She directed me to the vulture sanctuary, and we stopped at the closed gate. It turns out, no one is allowed into the reserve/sanctuary, for the protection of the vultures. We stood in the hot sun, next to a high chain link fence topped with barbed wire, and stared up at the vultures circling above us. The rock face and cliffs that held the nesting caves were covered in guano. That's all it is. We made jokes and wondered how long we needed to stay to make this lady's time worthwhile. We eventually made our way back to the office, dropped off our new friend (who did not, by the way, think we were the least bit funny), and set off again. We were overrun by a large herd of cattle and had to wait it out. Then came donkeys. We slowly made our way to the only grocery shop in town and asked for directions to a craft shop we had read about. Not a single local knew what we were talking about. Then we tried to find the cheese factory we had read about. We rejoiced when we found it, but our hopes were quickly dashed as we found it abandoned. Then we tried to check out a dam to see some water, but the gates were closed. 

Vulture sanctuary

So many cows

So we hit the highway again, heading to Lobatse. 

Welcome to Lobatse / 49th Anniversary

We laughed until our sides ached and sang at the top of our lungs, things that are clearly crucial to any good road trip. Lobatse is a small city that's home to the meat company (Botswana's pride and joy) and the high court. It turns out, that's just about all that's in Lobatse. We drove around and suddenly saw a big hillside sign (reminiscent of the Hollywood sign in L.A.) and knew that we just had to get there. It was really just a bunch of rocks painted to say "Welcome to Lobatse. 49th 

The roads in Lobatse narrowed
then ended on the hillside

Anniversary," but it was awesome! After some comical failed attempts, we eventually found our way to the hill, winding through some slums clinging to the steep hill. The single lane road abruptly ended in front of a one room house with an unfinished outhouse with some small children in the front yard. Sarah and I were wearing flip flops, so we stayed with the van while Mpho and Steph hiked up to the sign. We took lots and lots of pictures before deciding it was time to eat. 



We literally drove for an hour before we found a place with food - a small gas station with a tiny hot food bar. We bought Mpho some dinner (as the rest of us preferred to wait for city food) and drove her to her family's home in a nearby village. We hopped out at the house to be polite and ended up spending some quality time with her mother, three sisters, and a herd of nieces and nephews. They made us feel like part of the family!


Our night ended at a pizza shop in the Game City mall, on the edge of town. A drunk guy joined us at our table and we tried to get to know him. We died laughing, as he kept hitting on me. That is an entirely new and strange phenomenon for me, and I find it hilarious. We never did get a coherent answer out of him, but he left us with lots of inside jokes and happy memories. What a great end to a hard week!