The light of the lone candle danced to and fro casting shadows on the seven people huddled around it as if they could derive any warmth from it's tiny flame. The only sounds were that of the wind howling as it mounded the sand outside into colorful dunes and the screaming owl emitting blood curdling screeches on the roof. As the last ray of light disappeared, the group dispersed to crawl into their respective tents to cacoon themselves in sleeping bags in an attempt to protect against the chill of winter in the Kalahari Desert.
What a month we had in Botswana! My team and I have accepted that we are the “bush team,” so to speak, meaning that of all the other teams, we are usually placed the furthest out with the least amenities. We also are quite often chartering new waters by being the first team placed with new contacts in different countries. This adds a certain element of adventure of the unknown. Botswana was no exception.
Our team worked with a wonderful new contact, Pastor TC with the Dutch Reformed Church of Botswana. We lived in the small village of Struizendam in the Kalahari desert. Struizendam is roughly five hours away from the nearest grocery store and 8 hours from the nearest hospital. We lived in our tents.
There was no electricity so we spent our evenings huddled around a lone candle to eat meals and play card games. It is winter in Botswana which means that temperatures drop down below zero quite often at night. This meant we went to bed early most nights due to the lack of light and spurred by the need to huddle up in our sleeping bags in order to try and stay warm. Running water was non-existent. Several times a week we would trek through the sand to the community well where we would find ourselves surrounded by herds of sheep, goats, donkeys, cows, and horses who had been brought in for a drink….water is scarce in the desert.
The men at the well would fill up our basins and we would fight off the thirsty animals as we hauled it back to where we were staying.
Hot water in the morning to make a breakfast of oatmeal required someone to get up early and make a fire outside and boil water in a big cast iron caldron.
Our diet for the month consisted of rice, ramen noodles, potatoes, and peanut butter and jelly as there was no way to preserve anything else.
Ministry for the month was to just do life with the local people with a focus on discipleship. Some days ministry looked like piling into the back of a pickup truck and driving out into the desert to a flock of sheep and goats and praying for them as the shepherd requested.
Other days it looked like walking from the well and carrying a little Oma’s water. My favorite memory from the month was walking from the well carrying the water of a sweet little Oma (Grandmother) I met. She didn’t speak any English and I didn’t speak any Afrikaans but we talked the whole way as we shuffled through the sand dunes to her small mud hut. I didn’t comprehend much that she said but the language of love speaks louder than any spoken vernacular and through this, we understood one another.
The children of the village quickly made themselves known to us and we spent a great deal of time with them. On Sunday afternoons we held a program where we taught the kids Bible stories, songs, verses, and games. Several times a week we showed up at the village school and presented Bible stories for assemblies or taught different classes.
Individuals on our team felt led to start and lead some groups aligned with their passions during our time in the village. Katy Lynn started a group for mothers of young children while Bobbi Jo started a group for expecting and new mothers. Sarah and I led a Bible study for the women in which we studied the book of Ruth. The guys started a Bible study for the men. We were also involved in several community events.
The people of Struizendam welcomed us into their community warmly. They shared the little that they had with us enthusiastically. Often this looked like someone taking a lamb from their flock and killing it to make a braai (Botswana BBQ) for us. We were encouraged by their perseverance through hard times and excited to walk along side them for a short while and encourage them with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Please keep the people of Struizendam in your prayers. They have asked you to pray for strength in their faith in God and for His hand of provision on their village.
