Dumela! Welcome to Botswana home of the Kalahari Desert, diamonds and where cows outnumber people (3 million cows to 2 million people). This year marks the 50th anniversary of Botswana becoming an official country. The local currency is the Botswana Pula (10 pula= 1 USD) and the official languages are English and Setswana. It’s currently winter in Botswana, which means the temperature is in the 70s during the day and 40-50s at night. Winter also means it’s the dry season, there is also a drought in Botswana so water is tight. There are thorny bushes, cows and sand everywhere
This month my team partnered with Jeff and April, two American missionaries, who formed “For His Glory Farms” located in Kumakwane, Botswana (about 15 km outside of Gaborone). Their focus is on discipleship and life transformation. This is done through their various ministries, which include agriculture (specifically aquaponics -soilless farming), movie nights, preaching, Bible studies, a new bookstore café and a new village church. Everything they do is done to create relationships in the community, equip villagers and to share the gospel. Dorms are being constructed so more people can come learn about different agriculture techniques, to host retreats and for conferences.
This month there were a lot of different ministry opportunities. One of our main projects was helping with the build out of their new café. Jeff and April are opening a Christian bookstore/café where villagers and ex-pats can come to learn more about Jesus, fellowship and enjoy a cup of coffee or delicious pastry. The space for the café was acquired shortly before we arrived so there was a lot of work to do before it can open. We cleaned, painted (walls, doors, window bars and cabinets) and built and stained patio furniture made out of pallets. The café is well on it’s way to being completed. It was a fun project to work on because we were able to give input on paint colors, the decorative pallet wall and other design configurations. We were also giving a lot of freedom and independence to get tasks done and it was empowering using drills, saws and nail guns.
Agriculture was another big ministry for our team this month. Every day we went out to the corn and green bean tunnel to help pick the beans and pollinate the corn by hand (there’s minimal wind in a tunnel). We also worked in the aquaponics tunnel and helped clean and prune strawberries. We learned a lot about plants and aquaponics this month. We also enjoyed some delicious fresh produce.
Another ministry we helped with was Saturday night movie night with the neighborhood kids. About 20-30 kids came to enjoy a movie, popcorn and juice. We started the night with Bible lessons, songs or testimonies. Movie nights give the kids something to do besides sit at home or hang out at the local bar with the adults. It also gave us a chance to hang out with and get to know the neighborhood kids.
We also taught Sunday school at the new village church that met under a party tent. We had opportunities to share our testimonies, preach and to lead worship. We lead Bible studies for junior high kids on Saturday afternoons and we visited the secondary school on Wednesday’s to help lead Bible studies at Scripture Union, an afterschool program. It was a busy month full of many different ministry opportunities that stretched and enabled us to grow. We were able to step out and try new things (like preaching).
This month my team lived in our tents inside the unfinished dorm building. We had a gazebo area that contained a kitchen area for us to cook, a table to eat at and an area to hang out that had a few couches. There was an outdoor bathroom that had 2 running toilets and two showers with hot water (yay!). We also had access to a real washing machine and dryer (no hand washing this month!). There was a huge outdoor fire pit that had a seating area that fit 30 people comfortably. We enjoyed worshiping and hanging out by a huge campfire. Goats, chickens and cows like to roam around the property too. Our hosts provided breakfast and a few dinners each week. The food was amazing! Did I mention that they’re former restaurant managers and cooks? I really enjoyed eating meals with them around their large kitchen table. It was nice to eat food we’re familiar with and it felt like we were one big family. When our hosts didn’t cook for us, my teammate Lauren cooked who is also a good cook.
Our adventure days this month consisted of going to the mall (to find wifi), seeing the movie “Now You See Me 2” (a good movie by the way), visiting the 3 Chief’s Monument, hiking Kgale Hill and a weekend trip to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. The 3 Chief’s Monument was located in the capitol, Gaborone. It was a historical landmark that told the history of how Botswana became a country. Kgale Hill is the tallest hill in the area and even though it’s classified as a hill it felt like we were climbing a mountain. At the top there were great views of Gaborone and you could see the mountains of South Africa. We also saw our first baboons there!
Five of us took a 2-day trip to Victoria Falls, one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. We took an overnight 13-hour bus ride to Zimbabwe (I got another passport stamp!) and stayed at a very eclectic hostel. The first day there we bungee jumped or swung off the Victoria Falls Bridge. I did the swing, which meant I jumped off the platform and free fell for 111m or 365ft! Jumping off was terrifying, but the views were awesome! We also ran into another team from our squad who was visiting Victoria Falls on the Zambia side. We went on a relaxing sunset riverboat cruise on the Zambezi River where we saw crocodiles, hippos, elephants, giraffes and an amazing sunset. I was so excited to see giraffes and elephants! The second day we went into the Victoria Falls National Park where we enjoyed great views of the falls. It’s high season, so we got soaked by the falls. We also tried a zebra burger, impala stew and giraffe and warthog filets. We met a lot of new people along the way and had a lot of fun. It was quite the adventure.
Some of my favorite memories were dinners around the kitchen table, constructing furniture for the café, preaching in the church, large campfires, the stars and our adventure to Victoria Falls.
If you would like to learn more about our ministry and living conditions check out my teammate, Abbie’s, YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJWCbSArp3zAWOEjq5kQwKA
