You know life's too busy when you can't find time to blog
Our Visa problems persist. Sadly we receive a handful of new missionaries only to find them reassigned out of Botswana when their 90-day entrance Visa expires. We have sent as many missionaries to Namibia as we dare; if we overwhelm the Namibia Immigration Department with too many Visa requests, they may well spook and revoke the ones we already have. We send more missionaries out of the mission than we receive as attrition takes our older ones home after their 2-year commitment. And so our numbers continue to dwindle and our mission is slowing being phased out. It saddens and discourages us. But we know eventually things will turn around and the immigration officials will figure out how vastly we contribute to this country and to their economy and the welfare of their people, and our numbers will grow once more. Hopefully this will happen sooner than later, and we continue to fast and pray and move forward as best we can. Luckily, we were granted another 60-day reprieve while the authorities sit on our appeal, and we figure they will continue to grant us waivers until our time here is completed on 19 July. Our colleagues in the office have not been so fortunate, and they will be heading to Namibia soon. So too will another new senior couple who arrived 2 months ago; they will harbor in Namibia for a season and hope issues resolve quickly.
When Great Britain removed itself as a protectorate of Botswana in 1966, Botswana was one of the poorest countries in Africa. Will precious little rain for farming, a dearth of natural resources of any value, and a tiny population of impoverished subsistence farmers, the British were unable to financially sustain their protectorate position. So they handed Botswana back to the tribes, and one Sir Seretse Khama emerged to unite the country as a poor albeit independent and democratic country. Shortly thereafter, diamonds were discovered, and the tiny forgotten underdog country Botswana quickly rose in wealth and stature to become one of the more wealthy countries on the continent. Diamonds brought them out of obscurity and provided money for infrastructure, schooling, and health care. Indeed, the largest diamond every recovered from a mine was discovered only last year in the largest mine in Botswana, the Jwaneng Mine.
After much effort, multiple emails and phone calls, and some discouragements, I dogged it until I was able to secure a rare tour of the Jwaneng Mine for us, our friends the Smiths, and some local church leaders who have become dear friends. Ten of us in total drove 3 hours to spend 4 hours touring the massive pit which is the Jwaneng Mine and which employs thousands bringing needed wealth to the people. Of course we weren't allowed access to sensitive areas, but still it proved a delightful excursion and a very rare treat indeed.
One of our favorite young missionaries. Elder Machisu from Kenya, has returned to work with us in the office in the capacity of an AP, Assistant to the President. The caliber of young people who surround me and with whom I rub shoulders daily makes my job one of great joy.
You may well remember my plea of a few months ago for contributions to the rebuilding fund of a family whose home was destroyed by fire. There were 11 people from 3 generations living in this home which became inhabitable, and the family found themselves living in a tent in the dirt yard without funds to rebuild. My generous friends contributed way more than I could ever have hoped for. The Church was so impressed when my American friends (who knew nothing of this family) dug deep and contributed generously that they matched the funds which we raised. Together there was enough money to not only rebuild the house but to also add indoor plumbing which had not been in the previous house. Now they would have running water and a kitchen sink. Now they could flush a toilet instead of use the outhouse out in the dirt yard. They were overwhelmed with appreciation.
The rebuild has been slow because everything in this country moves slowly. But it is progressing, and the grateful family moved out of their tent and into the cover of their new home just before the summer rains arrived.
Speaking of the summer rains, precipitation did not come last summer. When we first arrived in Botswana in February 2024, all was dried up and brown. It was a very long tough year and a half without any rain; the reservoirs were almost empty, and domestic flocks and wildlife were starving as available vegetation disappeared. Cattle are of major importance to this country, but herds were decimated. Subsistent farmers struggled considerably. Everybody prayed for the life-giving rains to return after such a long drought. Well, the heavens finally opened in December and continued drenching the country until inevitably it was too much. Dry river beds became raging overflowing torrents, reservoirs experienced 130% of capacity, and dams threatened breaching. Because of poor civil engineering, entire villages downstream from these dams received more dam overflow than they could handle, and several neighborhoods and villages flooded. Many of our missionaries jumped to offer aid to families underwater, helping to move livestock, bedding, and food stuffs to higher ground. Thankfully the torrential rains have ceased and the rivers receded, leaving reservoirs at 100% and the animals content and fattening. Cattle, donkeys and goats no longer roam the streets foraging. The entire landscape came alive as dormant seeds sprang up overnight and the country is as green now as it was brown all year. It's been a glorious summer. The bush is lush and thick. One newscaster, lamenting the deaths of 9 people and hundreds left homeless after the flooding, stated that we mustn't "blame the weather" as we were so desperately in need of rain.
These darn adorable kids have won our hearts, and many of them will be life-long friends as we cheer them on through all the wonderful as well as challenging forays of life ahead.
In an attempt to secure more days in Botswana, our friends and colleagues The Smiths made a run to South Africa for a couple of days then asked for an extension in their passport as they crossed back in. The nice border agent at the small crossing we used gave them a 70-day stamp. The Smiths generously invited us to hop the border with them, and how could we refuse a glorious weekend at the exquisite Mosetlha Bush Camp in Madikwe Game Reserve. Upon reflection, it was a vastly needed respite and completely relaxing in every way. We didn't realize how wound up we'd become with the constant non-stop 60-70 work weeks we put in. My gums, swollen, bleeding, and painful secondary to unrelenting stress returned to normal. The chronic pain in my neck and shoulders from posturing abated, and we spent a beautiful long weekend rejuvenating in the non-electric, non-connected beauty of the bush, splendidly green from the long winter rains.
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