Botswana has been a wild ride. Elephants everywhere, a bunch of new brothers and sisters in Jesus (!!!), eating intestines and caterpillars, coaxing hand-sized spiders outside, wearing head scarves and speaking in churches full of incense and candles…
And getting robbed.
I’ve learned so much here in Botswana, and especially lessons about God’s protection and provision.
Last Friday, our team prepared food (traditional Botswanan food we had zero experience cooking) for a preschool graduation in a nearby community. We got to celebrate our kiddos’ accomplishments alongside their parents, eat a bunch of food (which the Lord seriously multiplied as we were serving it because there was NOT enough for everyone), and have little dance parties all morning.
After going home and resting, we went back out in the evening for a fundraiser the local police were putting on. We were at the fundraiser until pretty late at night, especially considering my team goes to bed at like 9 PM.
When we arrived back home, we noticed the doors were ajar and after our ministry host tried to catch them, we saw the two men running away. (We call them Rob and Bobbie when we pray for them, so you can call them that, too).
They got away with a good bit of our stuff, but we’re so thankful none of us were home while they were here. The event left us all shaken, and we sleep with a hammer next to us now, but its grown us all so much as a team and as individuals. Here are some things the Lord’s shown me since last Friday night:
1) Life and possessions are SO fleeting.
Our teammate Laiken asked to pray together as a team before we went inside to assess what was taken. In her prayer, she said, “Thank you that only our possessions were taken. We’re choosing not to be upset or angry, and I pray that the men will be blessed because they needed what we had more than we do.” WOW what a cool teammate I get to serve with.
2) Praying for your enemies is important.
Asking the Lord to give me a perspective that puts Kingdom above possessions has really influenced how I pray about this situation. It’s tempting to be frustrated, but I know eternity is so much more important than my Spotify access, no matter how hard that lesson is to learn.
3) God loves unity.
His heart for using hardship to bring people together rather than tearing them apart has been so evident through my team and my family and friends back home has been so sweet to see.
4) He is a provider.
Though our team lost some things we won’t be able to get back, already the Lord has provided three free phones, a free laptop charger, a super discounted laptop, and the means to get new U.S. passports before we head to Zambia – all in five days.
5) He is a protector.
One of our teammates was going to stay home because she didn’t feel well, and we are NEVER gone at night. But God allowed all of us to be away from our home here so that we were not injured or worse, and I’m so thankful for that.
6) Community comes through.
My squadmates, friends and family, and team have been so accommodating. We share phones now, my brother and his friends have provided replacement phones for two of us, and my team and I all cram and sleep in one room now to provide some comfort. There’s a reason God created us for community, wow.
7) I do not need a phone.
I miss communicating with people back home and I miss listening to music during quiet time, but I’ve lived with a phone accessible almost every day since I was 13 and it’s crazy how dependent I got on it and it’s been freeing to learn to live without it.
8) Life is scary. That’s okay.
Because we’re fighting from a place of victory, my friends.
9) The Office cheers you up universally, especially if you’re trying to drown out small, scary noises outside.
10) Sometimes you just need to grab your gal pals and an entire chocolate cake and tell each other you’re going to be okay.
