The reality of life on the Race is the same as the reality of life in the States. There are days full of joy, and there are days that make you want to go back to bed and try again tomorrow. On my first team, we would occasionally do something called “Happies and Crappies.” We would share things we experienced or were walking through with the Lord that brought us happiness and experiences and things we were walking through that were just plain crappy. I don’t always enjoy sharing my heartaches and sadness with the world because I want you to see the wonderful things God is doing, but I feel as though I haven’t been completely honest either. The World Race is an incredible experience; an experience full of good times and bad, so I wanted to share with you my “happies and crappies” from Botswana, but first, I want to give you a bit of perspective about the month in general.
My first month in Africa was exactly what I expected, yet nothing like I expected all at the same time. My team and I were placed with a pastor of a church in Molepolole which is the largest village in Botswana. It is about an hour outside of the capital Gaborone. I’ll give lessons to anyone who desires to know how to say the names of those places correctly. 🙂 We were also fortunate enough to have one of our “raised up” squad leaders with us for the month.
Our main goal was to help reenergize the children’s ministry. We held “Kid’s Club” two mornings per week as well as Sunday School on Sunday mornings. At each Kid’s Club, we played games, sang songs, acted out Bible stories, shared the Gospel, and fed the children snack before sending them home.
Happies
-The people! Botswana is full of friendly people, and ultimately, people have a huge effect on our time in a country. Our host pastor and our hosts at our lodging site were absolutely wonderful.
-We were able to participate in a walk to bring awareness to gender-based violence as well as violence against children.
-We attended a wedding reception. It was interesting to see the similarities and differences.
-We were fortunate enough to be able to go on a “game drive” which is essentially a safari. I saw giraffes… In Africa! I was completely giddy.
-We celebrated Meraia’s birthday with good food and The War Room. If you haven’t seen it, you need to!! It was awesome to see so many familiar places as it was filmed in and around Charlotte.
-We met an incredible family from New Zealand who opened their home to us. They were so kind and generous during the Christmas season to a group of seven women from across the world.
-Christmas was way more happy than I expected. I knew it would be a hard day to be away, but we celebrated well… Candlelight Christmas Eve Service- just the 7 of us, french toast, Secret Santa stockings, a big dinner, and a couple of Christmas movies. I was also able to talk to my family, including both of my grandmothers for the first time since I left the States! FaceTime is the best!
-Two words: Spar bread!! It was always freshly baked. You sliced it in a machine yourself. It only set you back FIFTY CENTS. America, you need to step up your game!!!
Crappies
-I developed what seems to be extensor tendinitis while visiting Singapore during Month 5, but it was almost constant, excruciating pain in Botswana. I bought a bag of frozen veggies to ice it and took ibuprofen regularly. I babied it a lot, but it seems to have worked. I have been pain free for about a week now!
-December is a “slow month” for ministry in Botswana. We actually ended our official ministry almost a week early. There were many times I felt as though we were a nuisance, but, looking back, I know it was still a very fruitful month.
-I really struggled with feeling appreciated and supported in my role as my team’s treasurer, and it was definitely one of my least favorite experiences on the Race thus far. Our team was responsible for finding lodging for “Ask the Lord” (ATL) week. Our budget is $5 per day, per person, and we felt called to go to Pretoria, South Africa which isn’t a cheap city. Meraia (our team leader) and I spent days searching the Internet, sending emails, and calling hotels/ hostels/ guest houses. BUT the Lord provided, as He always does because He is good, and ATL was amazing… I’ll save ATL details for another blog.
Fun Fact: If someone tells you something starts at certain time, always add about two hours… Especially if food is involved! Haha
As always, thank you for your prayers and encouragement. I hate that I don’t always have time to respond to every comment, message, or email, but I do read and treasure each and every one of them!
Joyfully yours,
Mary Catherine
PS: If you missed my blog from earlier this week, you should go read it. It includes exciting news about when I will return to the States!! Get ready America, I’m coming home!
