Following my recap of Swaziland format thought I would also provide a recap of my time in Botswana, here are some questions I thought you would be interested to find out answers to 🙂
1. What was the country like, culture, accommodations, etc…?
Botswana is unlike any other country I've ever been to! My team and I stayed in a remote town called Bokspits. Bokspits is located in the Kalahari Desert which is right outside the South African border. Never thought I would say I lived in a desert! It was so remote that cars were seldom seen on the roads and I also did not have internet or communication with the outside world. Internet required a 3 hour trip to Uppington, South Africa. Grocery shopping entailed taking a 3 hour trip to the nearest grocery store which was in Tsabong, Botswana. So yea we would literally stock up and buy the entire store on our trip.
Bokspits was absolutely beautiful though extremely cold!! Prior to arriving we had to go shopping for cold weather clothes in South Africa and buy boots because of deadly scorpions! (Didn't encounter any deadly scorpions but Luke from another team did). My neighbors were donkeys, mongooses, jackrabbits, ostrich, cows, goats, and chickens. During the day it was a bit warm. One day I had on shorts during the day then as soon as the sun set I had to put on 3 layers of clothing. Experienced the extremes of temperature on a daily basis! We were able to set up our tents in the church we stayed at. But sometimes (if I could bear the extreme cold) I would sleep outside so I could watch the stars. I've never seen the stars as beautiful as they were here! Got to see the Milky Way at most nights, Orion, and several planets. I'm not really into astrology but learned a lot from some of my teammates who were! …Oh and we didn't always have running water, that meant I showered one or two times a week. Life was tough in the desert!
Afrikaans was the primary language in Bokspits but almost everyone spoke English as well so communication was not a problem. The people we met were the most welcoming and hospitable people I've ever met! The little they had they shared with us. The ways they loved my team and I will forever leave an imprint on my heart!
2. What was ministry like?
Ministry was also very different from any other months. We worked with the Dutch Reformed Church. Our contact T.C. was an amazing man of God that always inspired me every time I talk to him! It was the first time the church had ever had a world race group. So we were given the freedom to do what we really wanted ministry wise. Initially it was overwhelming because they told us all the issues pervading the community (i.e. poverty, single-mother households, etc.) and we were under the impression it was our responsibility to fix it – issues that we were not qualified for at all! As we prayed about what to do we felt the Holy Spirit simply telling us to build relationships with the people and invest in the community.
We were primarily focused on empowering people we felt God was calling into leadership because once we left, we wanted to ensure the continuity of the things we planted. Lynn and I led a workshop on the gospel and discipleship. I led the discipleship portion. Had no clue what I was doing but God certainly did and equipped me with exactly what to say. And it went very well! God led me to disciple a young lady within the community and she is now leading the young adult small group and looking to take on more leadership within the church and community. I am really humbled and praise God that I was able to be part of her walk and help to lay a foundation which I know the Lord will continue to build. I also believe I've found a calling and that is discipleship. I'm excited to see how God is going to use this passion that's continually growing! (Read my Discipleship blog for more details).
We did a lot of home visits which was my favorite. James and I had the opportunity to walk about 2 miles to visit an elderly woman name Maria. She was bed-ridden and has not been able to attend church. Right before we headed out, I asked God what He wanted me to share with her and I specifically heard the name Jarius. I looked it up in the bible and re-read the story of how Jarius had great faith that Jesus would heal his sick daughter. On the way to healing her, a woman who had suffered from constant bleeding for twelve years secretly touched Jesus believing she would also be healed. And guess what her bleeding immediately stopped! Jairius daughter died in the process but because of Jairus's faith, Jesus restored the girl back to life! [Mark 5: 21-43] When I met Maria she shared with me her daughter has been really sick in the hospital and she's been praying for her. The word I shared helped to encourage her in faith and reassured her spirit that Jesus is able to do the impossible. I love when the Lord gives me a word to share with a person and it's exactly what they needed to hear! He's just so cool like that!
3. What was a typical day?
Honestly everyday looked very different. To start our day, we would meet for an hour or so as a group to pray for the community and certain people as the Lord directed. Sometimes that included prayer walks. During the day I would meet up with my mentee for a few hours. We constantly had little kids from the community come over to the church compound to play. Tuesdays/Thursdays were designated as days we would spend hours in the afternoon at the community field and play soccer with all the kids right after they got out of school. Wednesdays were young adults bible study nights. Fridays were movie nights, where we would invite the whole community to the church and we would play a movie on a screen. Some days included having worship around a fire or helping a single mom take her kid to the hospital after he cut his hand playing with a sharp can. Everyday was unique, simply just went with the flow and loved on whomever we felt led to.
4. Favorite Memories?
June 9th was two of my teammates Megan and James' 25th birthday! There wasn't really a nice restaurant to go to so we surprised them with steak (secretly bought at our 3hr trip to the grocery store a few days before) grilled over a fire for dinner and some birthday shenanigans. It was dubbed the first annual Bran-dorf (last names Brandon & Frandourf) Birthday Competition Celebration! Some of the games included who could slide down the sand dune the fastest using only cardboard paper. We also had them shoot apples off of my head using a dart gun. It's interesting how creative you can get with limited resources. It wasn't even my birthday and it I thought it was memorable. I'm sure they will never forget their 25th birthday celebrated in the Kalahari desert!
Other memories included when Catherine, one of our church friends taught me how to make bread over open coals. Getting out of my tent in the morning to find donkeys pooping in the compound. And finally, during one of our soccer games with the kids we held an America vs. Botswana soccer games. Which pretty much meant all of my team versus the little kids. And yes we got schooled by little Botswana children! I scored once so I still held on to my dignity! Haha
5. What broke my heart?
Bokspits is a very small community and everyone knows each other. Very quickly did all the faces become very familiar to me. As I met more and more people within the community I realized they were mostly young women and their children. I finally asked where are their fathers? No where to be found. The men that were present were much older and had families. There were a lot of single-mothers. The children were told that their Fathers were killed. So most of the kids grow up thinking that their fathers are not alive when in actuality they choose not to be present. Men need to step it up! It's not just an issue in Botswana but also an issue in America. Older men need to take on the responsibility to disciple and mentor younger guys so that they can grow up to become men God has created them to be. A woman can not show a man how to be a man, only a man can do that! I'll get off my soap-box about this because my next blog will go into further details. I'm excited to see how God is going to use B.K. (another missionary working in Bokspits with a passion for men's ministry) to help to disciple the young men within the community.
Another issue that really broke my heart was the lack of understanding of the love of Christ. Although the people of Bokspits know who God is they only see Him as a Father who is only concerned with them obeying every commandment in the Bible. That's a very legalistic and skewed perception of God. Yes, God is just and holy. He does not tolerate sin but He loves us and already knows our sinful nature so He sent his son Jesus to die for all our sins – past, present, and future. He calls us to have an intimate relationship with Him, where we can honestly talk to Him about our faults and ask for forgiveness. A relationship with Jesus is motivated by love! We should want to live a life that pleases Him NOT because we have to but because we want to. The workshop Lynn led on the true meaning of the gospel, I thought was really helpful. I pray that those who heard it really took it to heart and believed every word.
6. What the Lord taught me?
After 9 months on the race you would think I knew all about being content. I wrote a blog about that back in Month 4. But the truth is contentment is something that will always have to be practiced for the rest of our lives. It's not a one time thing. This month was especially hard. I missed the comforts of home and stuff in general. I wished I had a bed to sleep in, water to take a shower, something other than peanut butter and jelly to eat, a heater to stay warm, just to name a few. But God is so good even when I pout and act like a spoiled brat, He still loves me and daily shows me areas of growth. I'm not always going to get what I want because honestly, the world does not revolve around me. It's pretty darn selfish to think I'm entitled to anything. As Paul said in Philippians 4:11 "For I have learned how to be content with whatever I have."
While I missed the comforts of home and of stuff in generally, I would say that was one of my favorite months spiritually! In the mornings, I really enjoyed waking up to the beautiful sunrise and taking a stroll through the desert where I had some really good quiet times with God. I had a lot of time to reflect and think about life and the Lord revealed a lot to me this month in Botswana! That includes what's next after the race…wait for that blog coming soon 🙂
Check out Botswana's photos here.
With Love,
