Africa has been a logistical nightmare. Transportation is expensive and it’s hard to get around, resulting in us having to wait around for days trying to figure out how we’re getting to our next destination. We’re on a World Race budget (meaning we’re living off $10 a day) and this month they asked us to live off $7 a day so we could save money for Eastern Europe. You can’t just hop on a $17 Air Asia flight, or have wireless internet to contact ministry contacts like in Asia. But despite the craziness, I have seen the Lord work in more ways and answer more prayers this month than any other time on the Race. It’s made me realize that He is in charge of our logistics. At the beginning of June we were “stuck” in Nelspruit South Africa at the Betor House *when I got baptized!), and that time prepared us for Mozambique, that was the time that the H-Squad took the next step to becoming a true family.
At the beginning of July there was more waiting for transportation and ministries to be figured out. Spectacle and Bling ended up staying with a family in Johannesburg in transit to Botswana. As we were sitting in Joburg, we had less than two days to figure out how to get to Lobatse, Botswana. Buses were expensive and only went to the capital, and this was the first time any of us had been to Joburg or Botswana so we didn’t know anything about getting around. One of the things we’re all learning this year is to hear the Lord’s voice. Ashley and I gathered “Spling” together for some prayer to ask for the Lord to provide for us. Should we call churches and ask for a free ride? Take the bus? Rent cars and drive? Read Dave’s blog entitled
“stupid trust.”
After lots of prayer and looking up options, we decided to rent cars and drive from Johannesburg South Africa into Botswana. At one point we got lost and ended up picking up a lady named Grace on the side of the road. It’s common that people just wait on the side of the road for a ride here. She was praying that someone would pick her up because she needed to get to her fathers funeral. When we took her home we met her whole family and ate bread with them. It was cool to be an answer to her prayers and she blessed us as much as we blessed her. We wouldn’t have been able to do that if we didn’t drive.
For a few reasons, our squad is not having a debrief this month for the first time. It’s up to the Team Leaders to figure out a few days of rest for their teams. When Spectacle and Bling came back from the bush last Friday, we had to leave Botswana by Sunday to return the rentals cars, and we couldn’t be in Swaziland until at least the following Friday. Ashley and I spent hours calling different hostels and guesthouses in Joburg (which is not the safest city) trying to find a cheap, but safe place for our teams to stay. On Saturday night we got our teams together to pray. If God provided for us last time He would do it again. Sunday night came we had the rental cars (that needed to be returned by noon on Monday) and we were ready to go…except we still didn’t have a place to stay! One of our contacts has a friend who’s a missionary in Joburg that was looking for a place for us and by 9 pm we still hadn’t heard from her. After expressing this to another one of our contacts, he called a place and 10 minutes later she said “I’ll see ya tomorrow afternoon.” We had a place to stay! When we called back the other lady to tell her we didn’t need her help she said, “I was calling the same place you just booked to see if you guys could stay there at the same time as you.” If that’s not confirmation that we’re supposed to be debriefing here I don’t know what is. And this place is BEAUTIFUL! It’s in the middle of the mountains and we’re truly blessed to be here.
As I write to you right now, we’re tentatively leaving on Friday for Swaziland, and we still don’t have a ministry set or know how we’re going to get there. But we’ve been blessed in Africa this far, not because what we’ve done or what AIM has done, but what God has done, and I look forward to writing a follow-up to this blog at the end of August telling you more about His provision for the rest of Africa.
