Combi
noun
A 15 passenger van but actually carries 20-25 people in the vehicle and functions as a form of public transit in Mochudi, Botswana. It costs roughly $0.40 per ride as long as you stay on the designated route.
Every day Megan, Brianna, and I take a combi to and from ministry. These rides typically last about an hour and they are sort of a choose-your-own-adventure type of situation. These are our stories…
When Sharing the Gospel Goes Wrong
It was a rather chilly morning and our driver, One (pronounced Owe-Nae), picked us up at our door. This was only the second time having One as our driver so we were still getting to know each other. Megan sat in the front and led the conversation. Questions of where we were from and what we were doing in Botswana were asked and answered.
The conversation led to Jesus and after Megan shared the Gospel with One, the following conversation took place-
Megan: “Do you want a family?”
One: “I do want a family. I’d like to adopt.”
Megan: “Oh, I love dogs. What kind do you want to get?”
One: …
Brianna and I heard One say “adopt” but couldn’t stop laughing at Megan long enough to tell her she’d misheard him. Even though the first conversation didn’t go as planned, One became one of our favorite drivers while in Mochudi. He drove us to the grocery store, to school, and to the mall. Who would have guessed that a conversation about Jesus, dogs, and adopting could form such a special friendship.
Hillsong People
For ministry in Botswana, Megan, Brianna, and I taught guidance and counseling classes at a school called Borwa CJSS. We were headed home from teaching classes in our traditional mode of transportation but today’s combi driver was playing American Hip Hop music. Like usual Megan started up a conversation with the driver and we soon learned his name was Comfort who lived in Mochudi and was considering getting his name tattooed on his arm.
As the conversation continued, I told Comfort I liked his music. He returned the compliment with a blank stare. I looked at Brianna and Megan to make sure I didn’t say anything wrong then looked back at Comfort and asked, “Don’t you believe me?”
Comfort doubted I even knew the artists’ names let alone liked their music. I replied saying the last song was by Rihanna and the current song was by Lil’ Wayne. Comfort smirked and said “Yeah, you’re right. I’m just surprised because you looked more like Hillsong people.” (Hillsong is a Christian band from Australia). I replied “what gave it away that we’re Christians? The braids in our hair?” Comfort just laughed and shook his head in agreement. We rode in Comfort’s combi for ministry several times during our time in Botswana and it always included laughter, music, and the occasional dance party.
The Ice Cream Pub
Every day to and from ministry we passed this place called The Ice Cream Pub. It was our last day of ministry teaching at Borwa CJSS and as usual, we were in a combi on the way home. Yet again we passed by The Ice Cream Pub on our way home but this day was different. Brianna, Megan, our friend Ruth and I were the only ones in the combi. Feeling bold, we asked the combi driver as he pulled into a stop if we could jump out and grab some ice cream at The Pub while he waited for us. He surprisingly said, “sure.” Before giving him a chance to change his mind, we started sprinting down the street towards The Pub. We ordered 2 chocolate cones, 2 vanilla chocolate swirl cones, a cup for the six year old boy that we’d picked up, and a vanilla cone for our driver. After paying for the goods, we quickly ran back to the combi before the ice cream could melt. We’d never been able to convince a combi to stop and wait for us before but on that last day of ministry, dreams came true.
Other Combi Chronicles Include:
Brianna was offered 13 cows for her hand in marriage but she turned it down when he rescinded his offer and tried to pay in goats
Brianna and I got kicked out of the combi half way to school with no explanation just a simple “GET OUT”
One of our drivers said he was going to move to America and live with Megan
After a game of 21 questions a fellow combi passenger got up to leave and said goodbye to us by slapping his butt.
