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10% of our Mission
Time for a little math; Everyone loves Math! If we are Called to Serve for 18 months, and 18 months is 78 weeks, and we are starting week 8, that means we have already served 10% of our mission. Where has the time gone! We need to start working on our Homecoming Speeches. (That’s a joke.)
We’ve been visiting the various flats (British Protectorate speak for apartments). A couple weeks ago we went to Mochudi, a small town northeast of Gaborone, which has a modular chapel. They had a baptism that Sunday. What a joyful event. Everyone stays to witness the baptisms. Baptisms happen in multiple locations each week in Botswana.
After Sacrament Meeting, most of the congregation went outside to socialize. A core group remained for Sunday School. It was a lively discussion. Many times individuals would start a sentence in English (which is the official language of Botswana), switch to fast Tswana (which is the native language of Botswana), and then finish the sentence again in English.
We had to stay somewhere, so we stayed at the Rest & Digest Guest House, a Bed and Breakfast. They have some great names here in Botswana.
After viewing the flats (most were in good shape), we had time for a Prep-day adventure. We visited the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. We did a morning and an afternoon game drive. And yes, we did see Rhinos! And giraffes, a Lillac-breasted Roller, and a couple Yellow-billed hornbill (aka flying banana).
One fine day in the Mission Office, there were some mosquitoes flying around. We smashed a couple, and then Sister Kasper had Mark get out the Electronic Fly Swatter.
Mark took a swing and ZAP! Got one! Sister Kasper laughed about how the Elders in Thailand would try and shock themselves with it.
Just then, the Office Elders came in. Elder Gibb saw the swatter and immediately said “I wonder if I can shock myself?”
Young missionaries are the same all over the world.
On the other hand, sometimes we have to deal with hard issues. The Mission President had to do an interview with a Sister missionary. She's completely anxious about talking to strangers. The Senior missionaries were wondering: What did she think being on a mission would be, if not talking to complete strangers? Our Sr. Missionary Medical support had to go in because the Sister missionary broke down into tears.
We have 17 new missionaries coming in August. We have to get flats ready as well as a personals bag which includes sheets, blanket, filtering water bottle, towels and a pillow. We stage them in our flat along the wall. As we do flat inspections, we also gather up residual personals bag contents that missionaries leave behind. While completely rejectable by Western standards, the folks in Botswana are super grateful for them. We usually wash then route them to a local Relief Society president, who distributes them.
Last weekend, we took our Prep-day and visited some local ’touristy’ locations. We started at the Gabane Pottery shop and saw how they took clay, harvested from Termite Mounds, and turned it into lovely pottery items. Next was a visit to the Livingstone Tree, where one of the first Christian missionaries in Botswana (David Livingstone) preached, administered medical attention and taught reading and writing. On to the Manyana Rock Paintings at the MmaSechele Heritage Site.
Finally, we ended out adventure at the Croc Pool River Safari. First we had a chocolate brownie with ice cream. Then, we boarded a boat to search the river for Crocodiles!
Found them.
We also saw a bunch of birds:
African spoonbill (a white bird)
White-breasted cormorant
African sacred ibis
Hadada ibis
Pied kingfisher (small blue bird)
Goliath heron
Great White Egret
On the way home, as we approached a set of speed bumps, we noted the sign which described them as: Traffic Calming.
The commandments are the speed bumps that calm our lives.
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