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Regular Routine -
The couple we are replacing returned home. They are missed. Everyone knew them and loved them. Now, we need to step up to our responsibilities.
Our purpose is to Invite All to Come to Christ. But sometimes, our actual deeds are less eternal.
It was Zone Conference day for the Gaborone area. This would be one of our first drives without someone who knows where things are and how things work. We got up extra early, gathered the extra items we were counseled to bring in a bag of things (among them: toilet paper, soap and water bottles) and took off for the Gaborone Stake Center 15 minutes earlier than needed. We were doing great.
For the first 5 minutes.
After that, it was a disaster. Lynn got a call from an Elder who indicated they needed a ride. While she was working that call, Mark got a call from the Assistants to the President, who said to never mind that ride and go to the same flat and pick up the other companionship. And of course, where is this flat? And how do we get there! Location pins were exchanged, and plans re-planed.
We made it to the flat, and at the same time Elder and Sister Smith showed up to get the original companionship. So we could at least follow them to the Stake Center. It was stressful, instead of blissfully peaceful.
Arriving at the Zone Conference a little later than we wanted, people immediately started asking for items from our MBT (Magic Bag of Things). We had most of what they wanted.
We took the stress, so the missionaries could enjoy the conference. It’s a fair trade.
The Mission President and his wife asked us to do a very short presentation on concerns we noticed at the mission office. Mark spoke on the Smoke/CO-detector, and Lynn talked about phone etiquette. We were brief and it was appreciated.
We have started using our Sundays to visit the outer church units and see the missionary flats. We notice that most speakers at church start their talks with ‘My dear Brothers and Sisters”. It’s a cultural artifact that’s quite dear. We have been successful at getting to these areas, sometimes an hour away from Gaborone.
While in Mochudi, after church we visited the Stopete Cemetery. The gravesites are rectangle plots, usually cement, and covered with a metal pole structure over which a green tarp is stretched. We think it’s to give shade to the deceased. Occasionally, we would see a plastic water bottle left.
We love Family History, and even while out serving the living, we still like visiting the dead.
In August, we currently have 16 missionaries expected to come. When they arrive, we provide them with a linen bag (as mentioned in the last newsletter). Here they are, completed and ready for our new missionaries.
One last adventure: A missionary returning home story. First obstacle: at the airport he needed his Botswana permit that showed he was here legally. The Office Elders had to rush out to get that paper. Next, still at the airport, since he’s from Polynesia, he needs an exit visa for South Africa. Well, his flight was booked under two confirmation numbers. So his luggage needed to be transferred in South Africa to the other airline. The Botswana airline folks were not going to let him get on the plane! Finally, they agreed, with him having instructions to stay inside the transferring area, and ask the airline folks to move his luggage from the one airline to the other.
We saw him get on the plane Tuesday morning. His phone SIM card is part of this mission and he has to leave it here, which means he’s traveling without any phone functionality. Only what he can message while using the airport WiFi. We followed him as he flew half way around the world with messages asking for help!
When he got to Auckland, his next flight was canceled for mechanical issues. The airline put all the passengers up in a hotel, except for 5 (including him) since he didn’t have an exit visa for New Zealand. He stayed the night at the airport. On to Sydney, and then Fiji, where he was picked up on Friday by the local stake leaders. There is only one flight a week to his island, so he had to stay with the Fiji folks until the following Thursday. More than a week after he left, he made it home. What an adventure.
Our problem is: there is no Mexican Food in Botswana.
That’s a very small problem, comparatively.
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