Botswana….
I am very much at a loss of what to share with you guys about Botswana. This month has been the hardest one so far. This has to do with the ministry, the country, and myself (physically and emotionally).
This months started out with my team getting into a car accident from the bus stop to our host home. No one was injured but everyone was shaken up. Then we had our first ministry meeting and were told that as the name suggests (Youth For Christ) they do a lot of work with kids specifically in schools. I immediately got excited then they continued and said that because it is almost summer in Botswana schools were in the middle of finals so we couldn’t go to them. Defeat. So ministry this month has mostly looked like paperwork and cleaning at an office.
Then there is the country of Botswana. First, let me say I love the people here. They are nice and helpful and friendly! But, the environment here (in the dead of summer) is very VERY hot and dry. The mosquitos here, I swear, are trained fighter pilots with skills in invasion and destruction. This lead to me being unable to sleep given the pool of sweat that fills my bed every night and the fighter planes swarming my head. (Don’t worry I have now acquired a fan and a mosquito net which is helping greatly) To top it off I found out that Elephants only live in the north of the country and I am as far south as it gets.
I also spent a week in a different town, at a different ministry site, engaging in a training course called Kairos. This course was full of very interesting information. However, as a teacher there are many adjustments (yes let’s call it that) I would have loved to make in the way the course is presented. This week provided me with lot of great information to chew on, and a lovely stomach bug (thanks team Asha)!
So physically I have not been doing well this month. I got a stomach bug that had me laid out for almost a whole week. I got to visit my first doctor outside the states and was given some nice antibiotics. This however caused me to miss a whole week of ministry.
Emotionally this month has been very hard because of the onset of some real homesickness. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, not because of the food but because of the family. It hit me hard for the first time (sorry mom) that I really miss my family and wish I could be home for the holidays. The homesickness is not getting any better… but I count myself very lucky that I have so much to miss at home.
So yeah! Botswana has been a very interesting month for me. God is teaching me to lean on him even when I see nothing else happening around me I have to trust that God is working. So I sweep and wash dishes with a joyful heart, not because I learned to love these tasks (sorry Jeff), but because I do it for God!
That’s the honest truth of what this month has been for me!
