Hi friends!!
Heres a simple blog to give you some context to how I’m going about daily life!
First, heres a few pictures from the good ole days in Haiti:
We hiked up a mountain totally not knowing what to expect. When we left for the hike, we didn’t even know why we were going. Were we going to do evangelism or just as an adventure? We thought we would be hiking for 45 minutes max, but that turned into at minimum 7 hours. I’m pretty sure we were hiking at a 90 degree angle at one point. Not to mention Alex, who was guiding us, has like 6 foot long legs, so we had to speed walk, if not run, to keep up. It was the hardest hike I have ever done, but yet it was so fun. There was so much laughter and good conversation the whole way. The views were incredibly rewarding.
This ended up being our final destination. A freshwater spring at the top of a mountain. My little Minnesota heart was so happy to finally find some COLD, CLEAN, FRESH SWIMMING WATER – something other than warm salt water. I jumped in in all of my clothes of course.
This is my friend Kaylee, she’s the best.
Also, on the way up we found a friend in the form of a baby goat!!!!
(p.s. ignore my sweat and sunburn)
This is me and my little friend I met at the beach. He had just gone swimming so he was all wet and the wind made him real cold. He was shivering (even though it was like 80 degrees), so I just walked up and down the beach with him clinging onto me, keeping him warm, until he dried off a bit.
Now in Botswana, life isn’t too shabby. That house behind me is where we are staying. Its very cozy and peaceful. Its the perfect mix of trees and open space – quite beautiful. The dogs name is Gandhi and I’m yet to figure out the cats name. Gandhi is quite fat and the kitty snuck in the house and slept with me one night. When I woke up I couldn’t remember if the cat sleeping with me was a dream or not, but the cat hair on my bed solved the predicament. They make life here interesting.
For most of the days we have been here, we have been cleaning out containers like these. These containers have had stuff in them for 20 years… and we got the privilege of purging/ cleaning/ throwing away everything in them. From refrigerators and bathtubs to bins full of financial statements from 2004, these containers had the most random stuff in them. The amount of spiders, beetles, mice poop, dust and mold could have set a new record. Also, working in a metal shipping container in the middle of the day in Botswana is what I imagine the inside of an oven would feel like. In all honesty, it has been a learning curve for my squad to have a kingdom mindset in the midst of physical labor. But the Lord has taught us to be humble and patient. We might not always see the fruit of our labor and sometimes it may seem pointless, but the Lord is and can use anybody, anywhere. Even in cleaning out these containers for weeks. My squad leader Aubrey said something like “we are no better than the people who would be cleaning out these containers in our absence” – and its very true. Just because we can label ourselves as “missionaries” and can say that we “left home for 9 months to serve” doesn’t make us any better than anyone else. We are always called to serve in any way possible, even if it means doing the dirty work. In this case, it looked like cleaning out storage containers.
On the bright side, WE FOUND A BABY SQUIRREL!!!!
We also had a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner. I have been blessed with squamates who are good cooks. We invited staff from the church and it was a blast. The night ended in everyone dancing so much that the drawers came open and the refrigerator was bounced open and across the floor.
This is my friend Emily. She rocks my socks. I honestly don’t know what I would do without her gentle, humble, serving, understanding and goofy heart. If you’ve ever wanted to know what it looks like to have a servants heart, you should meet Emily. YAY EMILY
Me and Kelsey got to lead worship at youth church on the first Friday night we were here. I had never lead worship like this without my dad being there, so we really had to lean on the Lord. I had never played an electric acoustic guitar or even played lead guitar and sang at the same time, but the Lord was good and faithful to help us pull it off.
Among all the other things I am learning on the race, I am learning how to cook!!!!!! My mom jokingly made fun of me for being proud of making hamburgers on my own, but hey, at least I learned something new. We get to buy our own groceries this month, so it has been fun to cook our own meals. I make grilled or steamed vegetables almost every day for lunch, its my new favorite. I also have a new found affection for the glorious french press (are you proud of me aunt Amy and uncle Kevin!?!)
I promise you I am not hitchhiking. This is how you catch a taxi. If a taxi sees someone walking on the side of the road, they stop and pick you up – simple as that. (They are government certified and very safe). But if were really feeling lazy, we will call the “special taxi” to pick us up right at our house for an extra 3 dollars.
Last but not least, Botswana has more cattle than people. Cows are free range here. There are no fences, they all just roam free but somehow know when and where to go home. There are just so many cows.
THANK YOU FOR READING THIS, ALL OF YOU ROCK!!!!
