Well, it’s been quite an exciting, adventurous few weeks! I’ve been blessed in so many ways by all the awesomeness…definitely a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
Launch of the Drop-in Centre in Gaborone!
In Gaborone, we launched the Youth Hang-out Drop-in Centre earlier this month! It’s a safe place at our Gaborone centre where youth can come to hang out and play basketball, table tennis, pool, chess, cards, and other games. It’s modeled after Yarona F.C., the drop-in centre in Mochudi. It was exciting to see the pool table being used, as Jesse (the 15-year-old Canadian volunteer for a month) and I re-furbished/reupholstered it ourselves. I’ve learned that missionary life involves doing things you never thought you’d ever do or be able to do, such as refurbishing a pool table…but we found a fabric shop, bought green fabric, a staple gun, figured out how to disassemble the table and re-cover it. We bought camouflage canvas fabric and found a tailor in Mochudi to make the 6 bags for the pool table balls. Then we put it all back together and now youth in Gaborone are enjoying the pretty sweet-looking pool table! The next Drop-in Centre there for youth is this Saturday.
Other ministry in Gaborone has included leading volunteer training on a couple Saturdays at the centre, and leading worship with guitar at the Scripture Union club at Maoka Jr. Secondary School. This was in preparation for their Scripture Union revival last Saturday. It was a lot of fun to lead worship with them for that event—students visiting from other schools’ Scripture Union clubs really enjoyed it too and were singing along passionately.
Youth Week and Building Connections with Churches
I’ve also been coordinating the advertising and registration for the Botswana contingent of youth who will attend the annual YFC Youth Week camp in Magaliesburg, South Africa. It’s been held since 1963, drawing about 800 youth from across southern Africa. Powerful speakers, amazing live worship band, swimming, sports, small group fellowship, etc.=an unforgettable time from what I’ve heard. Since I wanted to send letters and info to invite youth groups from local churches to Youth Week and I’ve also wanted to establish good relationships with youth pastors and to let them know about YFC, I decided to design and print brochures about YFC, specifically in Gaborone, and take them along to different churches. So I’ve been driving around to different churches to meet with their youth pastors/pastors. The first day, I took a volunteer with me, Tumi, who will be going for the 6th time to Youth Week! She was able to share from experience how amazing and life-changing the camp has been in her life (it’s where she gave her life to Christ).
Invited on to live national radio again!
One of the board members of YFC Botswana, Trevor Jones, runs the Sunday morning program on Yarona FM, a national radio station targeting youth. So last week, I called him to ask if he could make an announcement/advertisement about Youth Week on the show. He asked if I’d be coming in to the studio to do it? He said it’s always better to have another voice share. Then he asked about the theme of the camp and asked if I could come in and help lead a half-hour or so segment of the show related to that theme? Ok!?!! Totally wasn’t expecting that, but I was grateful for the opportunity. I asked if Tumi could also come and share from her experience of Youth Week, and Trevor thought it’d be a great idea. So this past Sunday morning I left the house at 6:30am to pick up Tumi and head in to the studio. It’s the same station/studio where I helped lead the program on the Sundays in March during the Month of Youth Against AIDS. So it was nice to be back, and it felt like it went well—my housemates and other friends listening in said it sounded good. Cool!
World-Class Hip Hop!
Another exciting event in Gaborone, actually organized by the same YFC board member Trevor, was the hip-hop concert by grammy-nominated Lecrae, Trip Lee, Tadashii, KB, & Andy Mineo on their Unashamed Tour from the U.S. It took place at The Learning Centre School where I help with camps, clubs, and spoke during chapel. I was asked to be a counselor for the event to talk with those who might want to learn more about a relationship with Christ. It was an awesome time—I was amazed how many Batswana were singing/rapping along to all the lyrics. Also exciting is that one of the youth from my church, nicknamed Stretch, was one of the opening hip-hop acts. The hometown crowd loved him!
Mochudi Ministry
In Mochudi, we led a three-week holiday program for the Standard 7 (7th grade) students who end a month earlier than everyone else for some reason. We took turns leading the games and the teaching time. I taught on the gospel message and what it means to be a Christian, and the following week I taught on having a vision for one’s life. We had about 20 students who came daily, so it was nice to get to know them and pour into them valuable teachings before they start secondary school. Speaking of secondary school, we performed skits for the morning assembly at the Senior school a couple times since I’ve been back before they finished the term last week.
This week we started holiday programs for all students. Today is World AIDS Day so I’m sharing a message about AIDS and prevention at the drop-in centre (Yarona FC) after we have a volleyball tournament. Last week I spoke to the student body at a junior secondary school during their World AIDS Day Commemoration all day. One of the local (Motswana) YFC staff, Fifi, and I taught about the importance of abstinence to achieve the World AIDS Day theme of “Getting to Zero: Zero New Infections…” The Head Master of the school complimented YFC, saying that we are like soldiers, always ready for the trumpet call (perhaps alluding to how we didn’t learn we’d be sharing until 2 days earlier).
Other Mochudi happenings include 1.) hanging out with Tumelo; 2.) our Daycare graduation for the orphans and vulnerable children; and 3.) the supremely ironic fact that I am now teaching Setswana to the new volunteers/housemates! Monday was the second lesson. It’s ironic because I am FAR from proficient/fluent in my own Setswana…but I am teaching them the basics. Since Corine left in June, I’ve been the veteran in the house…so I’ve taken over Corine’s role of teaching Setswana.
Refreshing Blessings!!!!! Beautiful nature, safaris, and feasts!
So this month I’ve also experienced some really amazing blessings. First, I finally found the Bokaa Dam! And it was a breathtaking sunset over the water when I finally reached that rare body of water in Botswana. Being a Michigan native who lived on Lake Huron, I miss lakes, and a dam is the closest thing they have to that here. So that was a sweet discovery. It’s located between Mochudi and Gabs off the beaten path in Bokaa village.
Next, my cousin Tess from England, a travel agent, let me know that she won a free trip to Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa. It happens that it’s just 50km from my house—just over the border. When some of the South African friends I know here heard she was going to be there, they got really excited and said I should see if there’s any way I could go there, since it’s such a nice, but exclusive place (where Michelle Obama and family went on their trip). Apparently no one is allowed in the park unless they have reservations at one of the extremely expensive lodges. The lodge where my cousin was staying was about $600 per night (that is U.S. dollars). However, my cousin worked it out so they made an exception so I could just come for the day to go on a game drive (safari) and leave the same day. My cousin kindly offered the safari as her treat.
So…I drove to South Africa and the security guard at the game reserve let me in at the gate after calling the lodge to confirm it was ok for me to enter without a reservation. All good ‘cause of Tess. It was so great to see Tess again!
She and I went swimming in this outdoor “rock pool” and then went on the afternoon game drive. Right away, we saw 3 lions! I’ve never seen a lion in Africa that wasn’t in a cage, so it was cool. We saw elephants, a tortoise, wildebeest, zebras, rhinos, kudu, etc. We arrived back 3 hours later and I was planning on staying for dinner, but the lodge staff informed me that, due to a rhino poaching the night before, the game reserve was tightening security and would be closing all gates early at 9pm (only 10 minutes from then).
The original plan was that I’d stay for dinner and then be escorted by game reserve staff through the park for 45 minutes to the gate near the border post to Botswana that is open later (the one I came through was already closed). But with only 10 minutes until 9pm, there wasn’t enough time to escort me to that gate. They could escort me right then to the gate I entered, but I’d have to drive a rough road to the other border post, which would be quite dangerous at night because of all the animals. So they asked if I wouldn’t mind to just spend the night at the lodge? They could make a room up for me. Remembering the expensive cost of staying there, I asked how much it would cost. They closed the door of the reception office to discuss it and came out a few seconds later to tell me not to worry about it; I wouldn’t have to pay anything! They asked if that was ok if I stayed?? Hmmm…well…I guess I could manage to stay in the 5-star lodge ;).
So off to an outdoor dinner feast we went, complete with a fire and live traditional singing/dancing. It was amazing food and so great to have the time with Tess that evening. Tess urged me to get up for the 5:30am game drive with her since I was there (again, she offered to pay…she said the game drives themselves aren’t that pricy). So I rose bright and early for what turned out to be an unforgettable experience.
We came upon 3 lions on the prowl. They came upon a Mama Rhino with her little baby rhino (perhaps 1-2 weeks old). The lions charged and tried to kill the baby rhino, but Mama Rhino fended them off and ran behind the little one as the lions chased them down the road. We were driving down the road behind the lions. Eventually the lions gave up and Mama Rhino and her baby trotted off into the distance. As the guide said, “Mama’s happy: I saved my child…don’t take my young one!” I got it on video…epic!
The guide told us that it is extremely rare to have witnessed something like that. Later, we came upon a pack of endangered African wild dogs. The guide said they sometimes go 3 months in the reserve without spotting the dogs, so it was a real blessing for us to see them.
One of the other travel agents riding with us told us he’s been waiting for 8 years to see one, though he’s been on many safaris all over Africa for 8 years. Then we didn’t see one, but a whole pack of 20+! He said it was the best game drive he’d ever been on! All the more a blessing for me, since I wasn’t even supposed to be there for that morning game drive (and there’s no way you could ever go on the morning game drive if you didn’t spend the night at the lodge, which is normally crazy expensive). So…I was just so grateful for how it worked out so wonderfully.
Other good times include the End-of-Year YFC celebration where all the YFC Botswana staff were treated by donors to an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner at a 5-star hotel in Gaborone.
I am also grateful for an amazing Thanksgiving feast with an American missionary family who also lives in Mochudi and attends the same church and weekly bible study with us. We had turkey (rare in Botswana!), stuffing, mashed potatoes…the whole deal…plus pumpkin pie and whipped cream!!! It was the first time I’ve had pumpkin pie in Botswana, so a real treat! Then Sunday after the radio and church, I had great fellowship with some new friends from Botswana and Germany—we shared testimonies over a bbq lunch. So while it’s hard to see YFC housemates come and go (Katie, the other American here since March 2010 left on Saturday and two others, Jen and Sara, will leave in 2 weeks), it’s a blessing to have more friendships developing with Batswana who will be here indefinitely.
Blessings,
Em
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