8-1-96
Here I am, waiting for my flight. Oscar and Hazel went to Peggy’s house; they had left a note taped to the airline counter for me. I had thought I would never fly again, I guess I was wrong. I am anxious to get underway. The preparation has been very stressful. I haven’t felt myself for a few weeks now.
I have no idea what to expect in Botswana. Looking out the window here I see I-94, grass and trees, as well as our plane. I remember sitting in this airport (though in the domestic terminal), waiting to go to basic training for the Army. That (basic training) was for 8 weeks, this is for 7 weeks, and I look at this as a sort of basic training. I will soon know what it is the Lord has in store for me. I hope I am able. Soon I will know.
I will be glad to arrive in Gaborone.
8-2-96
We are now in the air, on our way to Johannesburg.
After getting rest upon arriving in London, we went on a tour (bus) of the city. The architecture of the city is incredible. There were people everywhere, literally. People just gathered everywhere. A very clean city. If I ever get the chance, I would like to spend a couple of weeks there. A lot of character to the city.
8-3-96
Sitting on the plane in Johannesburg, waiting for them to fix it.
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We arrived okay in Gaborone; everything went well at the airport with getting the rental car. We got an almost brand-new Mitsubishi extended-cab 4W.D. pickup with a “camper” built on the back (it has no tailgate, and the “camper” door extends all the way down). It has an immobilizer, the “CLUB”, and it has a manual transmission. So, in addition to having to learn to drive on the left side of the road, I have to learn to shift with my left hand as well.
It’s been a long day, we have to get up early tomorrow (6 am), I have a screaming headache, I’m tired, and I’m going to bed.
8-4-96
Drove the 220 km or so to Mahalapye to worship with the brethren there. We had a map to the church from Shadreck, but we couldn’t find it (the church, not the map). We pulled into a parking lot where there were some people, and I rolled down the window and asked a man where the church of Christ was, but he didn’t know. Oscar started to slowly pull away and then a young woman came to the window. I rolled it back down, and she asked, “Are you an American?” I said, “Yes”, and asked her if she knew where the church of Christ was. She said, “Yes, I am a member, and it’s right by my house.” We gave her a ride, and she led us right to it. We never would have found it on our own. The map didn’t even resemble where the church was. Her name was Lorraine, and she was returning from school for the weekend.
We were awed (the Lord helped us. We weren’t awed that He would help us, He says He will, just that the providence of God is so awesome), and by the look on her face (and her comment, something like, “Maybe that’s why I was here”, as she got in the truck (and she was kind of looking off as she said it)), she was too.
We got to the congregation and brother Jackson came outside to meet us. He asked Oscar to give the lesson and myself to do the Lord’s table. While we were waiting outside for Hazel, we heard them singing, “Our God, He is Alive”. We walked in, sang two songs, and there I was, officiating at the Lord’s table! Nothing like jumping right in. After the lesson, we met with the brethren outside, took pictures, made plans to meet them tomorrow, then went with Shadreck’s brother Bopelo to find the hotel and make reservations for tomorrow night.
My first experience on the road driving a left-handed stick on the left side of the road didn’t go well at first. I turned, and attempted to go on the wrong side of a vehicle (the driver gave me a strange look), then my first attempt at a traffic circle was a disaster, then I went in the exit at a gas station. After that, I did okay. It is strange at times driving on the left side of the road.
The worship service made me a lot more comfortable being here. I’m glad we arrived as we did, that Sunday was so soon. Their worship was entirely recognizable, the same as ours; and speaking with an interpreter wasn’t bad.
It was very windy, and it was quite chilly. At one point after worship I was cold as we stood outside. It felt like upper fifties.
8-5-96
I’m already losing track of time, what the date is. Time is going by very quickly. It’s about 9:30 pm (I don’t have a clock in my room) Monday, and I’m thinking of those back home (I often do). It’s 3:30 pm Monday there.
We just had dinner with Jackson and his wife. That means we’re in Mahalapye. We came here to pick up the “God & Man” tracts, and also the correspondence courses (both printed in the Setswana language), but the courses weren’t ready (they should be ready in two weeks), so we just picked up the tracts. We are spending the night here, then going on to Francistown and Nata tomorrow.
We spent about 1½ hours at the bank this morning, changing our currency. Before we went there, I went next door to get my hair cut. I went into the building, and upstairs there were two hair places. I went to the one, BIG mistake. The woman was very nice, but had no clue as to how to cut my kind of hair. She cut some here, some there, saying to tell her if there were any faults, she would fix them, but I figured that I ought to cut my losses and try the other place. I snuck in there (I didn’t want to hurt the first woman’s feelings), and they said to come back at ten. I went there after the bank, and when he started cutting my hair, I could tell he knew what he was doing. Good haircut.
We went to the Bible Society of Botswana to pick up some Bibles in the Setswana language. We bought five cases (80 Bibles). As it turns out, the clerk’s granddaughter went to the Broadhurst (Gaborone) congregation. The clerk was nice enough to help us on her lunch hour.
We left Gaborone for Mahalapye, and just as we left town Hazel said that she left her coat at the KFC we ate lunch at. We turned around, went back, and sure enough, there it was. They had put it in back.
We arrived in Mahalapye at 5 pm, the time when Jackson was supposed to meet us at the hotel. We got here, checked in, took some pictures, and Jackson arrived. With him was Jimmy Phokeng, who is going to go with us. He asked at worship Sunday if he could go with us, and Oscar agreed, provided he take care of his own lodging (Oscar said that he would provide food for him). Oscar thinks it should be no problem finding lodging with the brethren for him.
Jimmy is from the Shoshong congregation, which is about 41 km from Mahalapye. He preaches there part of the time. Several people from Shoshong and from Mojang had come to the Mowana congregation (where we had worshipped at) to see us Sunday. Mojang is about 500 meters behind our hotel (a couple of miles from the Mowana church).
Jackson and Jimmy left about 6 pm, with Jackson going to get the tracts, saying he would return about 6:30. Dinner wouldn’t start until then, so we went to Oscar’s room. It was then that I realized that my suit was still in the room in Gaborone! I have to call the hotel in the morning to tell them I will be back in September to pick it up. I’ll have to buy a suit in Francistown tomorrow.
Jackson returned with his wife, and we had a very pleasant dinner. Jackson and his wife are very nice. The Botswana people on the whole are very nice, humble people.
8-6-96
Jimmy met us at the road to Francistown, and so we went. In Francistown I looked around for a suit, finally found one, then we ate lunch while it was being altered.
We left Francistown much later than we had intended, and arrived at Nata near sunset (the sun sets about 6:30 pm). It was probably 5. We got our chalets at the Nata Lodge, then went the 7 km to the village to find Mosi. We found his compound, but he was at a wake (a memorial, at a compound we had stopped to ask directions at, it’s possible he might have seen us). We told his daughter we would come by in the morning to see him, and we returned to the lodge.
The river by his house was the first I’ve seen with water in it. We have passed several large (150 ft. or so), dry river beds. They only have water when the rains come.
Mosi came to the lodge with Keeboray. The wake had been for a relative of Mosi’s (not the same funeral as the one described next). He told us that Gao was arranging the funerals for his own cousin and niece, who have just been murdered, one stabbed, the other an ax to the neck. Drinking that got out of hand. The man who killed them, upon realizing what he had done, hung himself.
As we had arrived too late to arrange for a place for Jimmy to stay, he stayed with me (there are three beds in each chalet (really an A-frame)).
We went to dinner, and after a while Jimmy started talking with one of the waitresses. We heard him say Mosi’s name as they talked (in Setswana). After they finished he turned to me and said she had gone to the church before, and that she knew who Mosi was. He had said to her that Mosi was the one she needed to see to study with, to learn. Oscar said we had the “God & Man” tracts, so I went and got one out of the truck. Jimmy gave it to her, and got her address. The other waitresses (about 4) had been watching, and after Jimmy had given the tract to the first waitress, as she walked off one of the other waitresses took it from her to look at it. So I went to the truck to get more! By the time I had returned, Jimmy had gotten all of the addresses of the waitresses (except one). We gave them all the tracts, Jimmy writing inside the front cover of each one who it was given to, and the name “Church of Christ”. We told them we would be back (the campaigns).
When Jimmy had first turned to me, he had asked if we had an introduction to a correspondence course (they weren’t ready when we had left Mahalapye), and that’s when Oscar mentioned the tract.
When we had gone to Mosi’s, we had passed the church building. The roof was gone, and the walls were cracked. Oscar was very sad to see this.
Tomorrow morning we see Mosi, and then off to Maun.
If I hadn’t left my suit in Gaborone, Jimmy wouldn’t have been at the lodge with us, to get their names. We later baptized 5 people from the lodge. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose”, Romans 8:28.
8-7-96
I am very tired, so this may be short.
I took a cold shower last night (no hot water), then went to bed. It is cold at night, and there is no heat in the rooms. It warms up quick in the day, though.
We went to pick up Mosi, then went to see if Gao was coming. He will take the bus later, because of the funerals.
We stopped in Gweta on the way to Maun, to eat lunch and to see Tlale. Not a good report. He travels in his job, and there is no other preacher there. He didn’t appear real excited that we were there. Not unhappy, just a little uncomfortable.
When we arrived in Maun, we went to see George Bendu. He wasn’t home, so we went to get our rooms. Tonight we are at the Sedia Hotel.
We are booked from tomorrow through the 12th at the Island Safari Lodge, at a much cheaper rate. They were much friendlier, too, very willing to help us, unlike where we are tonight. This is peak season, when all the Europeans are on holiday; they just swarm the place, and everything’s booked. The woman at the I.S.L. is going to get us lodging from the 13th through the 18th, somewhere, somehow. We believe her. A very helpful, flexible woman.
Again Jimmy got the names and addresses of the waitresses at lunch (and one at breakfast back at Nata). He is a very natural talker, real personable.
Mosi and I are sharing a room. We talked a bit about when Royal Oak stopped supporting the work, how they felt about it here. He said they had been upset, and that they didn’t understand why it happened. From something he said in passing, it sounded as though some less mature Christians fell away afterwards. He said that R.O. didn’t act very Christian.
That is the problem here, he said, people are not honest (meaning sincere), and don’t stick with the faith. He said they need someone to study with them.
8-8-96
Jimmy is great at approaching people. Everywhere we eat he talks to the staff.
This hotel is much better than the Sedia, and cheaper. We will be here through the morning of the 13th, hopefully longer (if there are any cancellations). It would be nice not to have to move.
We met with the paramount chief of Maun, a courtesy to him to ask his permission to preach in his village. We went to his office; Chombo is a clerk there, and he brought us to him. We would have gone through Bendu, who is a head man in Maun, but we missed him (Mosi, who is very much for protocol, worried that Bendu might be angry at us for not going through him, but he wasn’t).
The paramount chief is a very young man, perhaps 25, a year out of school (he studied law). It goes by lineage, the office does. The man has great difficulties facing him, as a disease has infected the cattle here, forcing their destruction. These men are cattlemen, and it has turned their world upside-down. In addition, it has not rained in a very long time, and they have a lack of water. The river has dried up. We had a prayer together in his office, Oscar speaking, Chombo, Mosi, Jimmy, and myself present. Very good prayer Oscar made.
Oscar wants me to continue this work. He pulled me aside once, then once when I said that David (my son) had wanted to come, he said he could come next time, he would be the right age then. I will comment on all of this later.
I am surrounded by preachers, and I am expected to preach several times. Oh boy, am I in trouble.
Mosi and Oscar love to joke with each other, cutting each other down.
I am homesick.
Well, I have sermons to write, so I am ending this.
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Later that evening…
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Just came back from talking with Oscar about what is going to take place over the next several days in Maun. He assigned me my tasks (preaching), and then we talked and laughed (Hazel, too) for awhile. Christian fellowship is so wonderful.
A word about the paramount chief. He was visibly troubled by what he is facing regarding his people. He was sincerely open to us, welcoming our campaign, not just lip service. And as Oscar said, how many leaders would let you pray with them in their office? I was impressed by him, Oscar, too.
8-9-96
Again, evening has come quickly. We went shopping after breakfast. We went to the bookstore so I could get David a Setswana-English book (this is what he asked for). I found two that I got him, a dictionary and a phrase book. Mosi was very helpful, he suggested at breakfast that we go find a bookstore so I could get the book (I had mentioned it at lunch in Gweta on Wednesday), then he went and found the phrasebook, and then checked if they had the dictionary in back.
After looking around the bookstore and paying, I walked outside. Mosi says, “Do you know this man?” He was pointing at a bulletin board. I looked, and it was an advertisement for our meetings! It was in Setswana (they translated for me); under “Speakers”, it read:
- Steven Carney (USA)
Oscar Glover (USA)
Bendu had posted flyers all over Maun (we later saw one at the post office, to which Oscar asked Mosi, “Are you sure it doesn’t say ‘Wanted’?”). When Oscar came out of the store, Mosi did the same to him as he had done to me.
On Wednesday morning the woman from the Best Western in Francistown (her name is “Tiny”) called to say they had found my suit in Gaborone, and would hold it until I returned. We had stopped at the Best Western in Francistown, hoping it would help if they called. I had called and called, “We haven’t found it, we are looking, call back”. So Tiny called (by the way, she was neither tiny, nor fat), same answer. I left the info with Tiny (her suggestion), that I would be back in Gaborone in September to pick it up. We went on to Nata. The next morning she called us at the lodge in Nata. Now, I had not told her where we would be staying; she tracked us down (there are only two western-style hotels (lodges) in Nata, but still, she had only known we were headed for Nata). What service! So my suit is waiting for me in Gaborone.
We are going to Toteng tomorrow morning, to preach to the brethren there. My first sermon (albeit a short one, only 5-10 minutes). I am excited. I wrote it today, it is on the supremacy of Christ, as an intro to Oscar’s, which is on hope.
Mosi is hilarious. He comes out with some things that are just devastatingly funny. Oscar, too. The two of them together, they are funny.
I am very glad that I came. Oscar said we would have a lot of fun, and we are. I am homesick, be sure of that, but only when I have time to think about it, which isn’t very often.
Hazel is certainly mother to us, just like a den mother.
8-10-96
Well, I blinked my eyes, and here it is evening again. It is literally amazing how fast time is passing. All at once, time is speeding by, yet it feels as if I have been here much longer than a week. In some ways, even when I was at Metro airport seems like a lifetime ago. So much of the unknown is becoming known. There are six weeks to go, yet that seems so long (for I miss home), yet the days are going by so quick that I think when I reach the end I will think, “Already?”
In some ways this land is quite beautiful, and quite barren. Here in Maun (my favorite area so far), they are in the fifth year of a drought. There are boats here at the lodge, and a seawall, and the river is completely dry. Yet, the trees are green. Amazing (there are wells, of course, but no surface water).
Went to Toteng, didn’t preach. We had two restorations, and three wanting to be baptized, but Bendu has to find water to baptize them. He had a spot, but now it’s closed off. No water to baptize, unimaginable in the U.S.
The two who were restored had fallen into denominationalism because the preacher had died. They held on as long as they could, but as neither of them could read, they had no one to lead them. Oscar emphasized that they had to meet together, and take the Lord’s Supper, that they can do that, and must.
Studied, and wrote another short sermon today, on prophecies of Christ.
8-11-96
Last night before dinner, Oscar said it would be nice if I could continue the work here in Botswana. He told me how it had seeped in and took hold of him, and wouldn’t leave. I told him I would talk to him at a later time, that I had no answer to give, but I also told him that it’s starting to seep into me also, more like a vine twisting it’s way up my leg. It is no longer a picture on a board, it is fleshed out.
Tonight (hopefully), is when I will first preach. It will be at 6:30 pm (that’s when it’s supposed to be, anyway). Well, I have to finish getting ready for worship (it’s morning).
It is now night (after 9), and back home (the U.S.) they have probably finished lunch (after morning worship) and arrived home.
Preaching is not much different from teaching. It is a bit more straightforward, just a different crowd.
Tonight was mostly people from the Maun congregation. Hazel seems pretty sure that there were others, I don’t know. We preached outside the school (it was cooler) by lantern. Stopping all the time for an interpreter breaks up the flow, though, and things take a long time to say. But the important thing is that it is being said.
I’m comfortable here, I wish I was home. I’m having a great time, I wish I was home. I don’t really wish I was home, but I miss it. I hope everyone is okay.
John Ndolo and Gao arrived today. We didn’t know John was coming, He’s sleeping on the floor in Mosi and Jimmy’s rondoval.
Tomorrow morning the men are going door-knocking, so to speak.
8-12-96
Well, talk about contrasts. I forgot that I had the key and that the room was locked, and I walked off after lunch. As I came back I remembered Gao was locked out, so I went to Mosi’s to tell him it was open, and to apologize. He said it was okay, he was fine. What seemed strange was that Jimmy, Gao, and John were all lying around listening to the radio, on which was Guns-N-Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine”. The West is everywhere. At the restaurant/bar here they play a variety, from Michael Bolton to “Gangsta’s Paradise”. Mostly mid-80’s British pop. Jimmy and Gao are both 37 or 38, and I don’t know how old John is, probably about my age. It can be hard to guess, Mosi looks younger than 59, and Gao, even after knowing his age, I would put at no more than 25-27.
I went out looking for the monkeys this afternoon to get a picture (we had seen them at lunch), and I couldn’t find them. Came back, they were walking across my porch!
The turnout from non-Christians has been much less than I anticipated, I don’t know if any have come. Good turnout from the congregation, though.
Hazel is downright vibrant! Never seen her this way.
The lantern at the meeting wasn’t working too well. There were flames everywhere around it, when it finally did light. Everyone scattered, and they threw a lot of sand on it to put it out. It smelled like propane, yet what I’ve seen in stores is called paraffin.
Preached again, I think I like it.
8-13-96
We’ve moved to Audi camp, and are sleeping in tents the next three nights; then back to I.S.L. for two, then back here for two (only Oscar, Hazel, and me; the others are staying here at Audi). Not a bad setup, they have a pool (so did I.S.L.); we will try to get it to baptize in.
All of the lodges (except the Best Western in Gaborone) have been run by Europeans (they are either South African or Australian here, young adults).
8-15-96
Haven’t written much lately, I have had neither the time nor the inclination. I gave Steve Woodhouse’s sermon last night. It took about 50 minutes, but only seemed about 20 or 30. Afterwards there were about four or five questions, which Oscar handled quite well.
This is our third day in tents. Tomorrow it’s back to I.S.L. for two days, then back for two more here, then that should be the end of the tents.
The men have been going through the village in the mornings, trying to get people to come at night.
We have a good lunch spot, and a good dinner spot.
Tomorrow we will be baptizing those from Toteng (Lord willing). This will entail driving the 70km there to get them in the morning, then coming back here to baptize them, then taking them back home. A full day.
No preaching today or tomorrow for me, then a short intro on Sat. and Sun., then a full one on Monday (my own).
Well, I am closing now. I have written four postcards and this, and I have to study, and write two intros.
Oscar just poked his head in and said he would like to go over to I.S.L. to see if we can get the pool to baptize in. I’ll study later!
We have just returned from inquiring about the pool, and picking up the men, and lunch. The owner at I.S.L. said “with pleasure” we could use the pool.
Now it is no longer comfortable in the tent, it is hot. Soon it will be unbearable. It is about 1:45 pm It was comfortable this morning, cold last night. It has been windy in the morning, still in the evening. The breeze has almost stopped now, just small gusts.
The sunlight is much more penetrating here than at home. It is hot. It is odd to think that now, August, it is starting to be spring, and will only get hotter; that to go north is warmer, and driving is fully backwards (or rather, opposite). Driving on the left side of the road, shifting with my left hand, it’s all becoming quite natural.
8-16-96
I am exhausted, yet I still have to get showered (as soon as I finish this) and go to the meeting tonight.
I just got back from Toteng; it’s been a long (but short) day. We baptized seven people today, with three people we couldn’t find. We have no way of notifying anyone ahead of time that we’re coming, so it’s hard. We left Toteng without two people, they were out gathering wood. It isn’t pleasant deciding that they would have to wait, but we had no choice. We didn’t know where they were, and we had to come back because others were waiting. Now we will have to find another opportunity, which we may not be able to. Bendu will have to handle it somehow.
Tonight the sermon was on God’s grace. Enough said.
I feel a little guilty coming back to the lodge with the men in tents at Audi. If we could’ve gotten the extra room, we would have.
I will be preaching my sermon Sunday night, the last meeting here in Maun. Oscar then will give a closer. I have to work on my sermon tomorrow.
I’m so tired.
We’ve already been here over two weeks; it’s gone by very fast.
We’ve only been here two weeks; it seems like a lifetime.
I miss my home, my bathroom, my bed.
8-17-96
Why am I here? Do I really believe in God, have I given my life to Him?
Hazel said to me in the car that I have been such a help to them; that they couldn’t have gotten done what they have gotten done without me. Oscar then said the same. But I feel as though I’ve done nothing.
What have I really done? I’ve driven the vehicle, taken the men into town, preached a little, taken the video. That’s it.
What bothers me is what seems to be my inability to tell people about Christ with conviction. I care about people, I love people (do I?). I want to preach because of that (meaning that I want to preach out of caring, not out of selfish reasons), not because of selfishness. For I am selfish. From the time of memory till now, I am selfish. Also, I have always acted out of reaction, instead of proaction.
I believe in my heart of hearts that God exists, and that Jesus is His Son. But have I really given my life to Him?
The way I am has certainly changed because of Him. Things that I used to do happily I now loathe. But how do I spend my strength?
Oscar says that we are mainly here to strengthen the brethren, to prod them on. That it is they who need to do the actual evangelizing. If we convert people, great; but that isn’t why we are here.
I am waking up, and I don’t like what I see of myself. I have held myself up for too long. I need to let Christ hold me up. I have grown weary, and I need to regain my strength. I know that some (a lot) of the weariness comes from reining myself in for so long. I have been on the defensive for so long that I don’t even know what offense is.
My failure to discern and divide the Word properly in the past has left a chain around my leg, but I held the key all this time, I just didn’t see it. I have wasted a lot of my life. The question is, what do I do now?
I must find my talent. I know it isn’t in going up to people cold; the sooner I accept that, the happier I’ll be. But I have to find the way that I can work. How are people saved, except they hear what saves them?
8-18-96
Worship day. And a whole lot else.
Mosi has been sick; he has problems with chronic malaria. Right now we think it’s only a cold (or the flu), but he’s hardly eaten for two days. He hadn’t gone out with the others in the morning on Friday or Saturday, nor to the evening meetings. He went with us to worship this morning.
John found out that someone from his congregation has been stabbed to death with a spear. He and Mosi were going to leave today, but we had the wrong information and missed the bus.
There was a toddler sucking on a pencil at worship this morning, so Hazel has taken out her shoulder pads to give to the kids this evening (yes, shoulder pads).
I am speaking this evening, my own sermon, on the sufferings of Christ.
Another man was baptized yesterday, a brother of one of the men baptized on Friday (he hadn’t been home on Friday).
I moved back to Audi today (though I am with Oscar and Hazel in their room at I.S.L. at the moment), I have a tent to myself.
The time here in Maun has gone by very quickly. Tonight is the last meeting, tomorrow we go to Makalamabedi, then Tuesday to Victoria Falls. I have to start taking the malaria pills tomorrow. Next Sunday is the halfway point, and this week is going to go very quickly, I believe.
I am very tired, it is late, and I have to get up early. As Oscar said earlier, you really don’t have time to get bored here.
The sermon went well, a little short. That’s okay, I can expand on the end (it needs it. I just summed it up tonight. I can really flesh it out).
8-19-96
Went to drop off Mosi and John at the bus stop this morning. Then I went to I.S.L. to get my laundry, Oscar & Hazel, and a shower.
The shower episode I handled terribly. I felt guilty about using Oscar & Hazel’s shower while Jimmy and Gao were still here at Audi. So I tried to do it quietly. I asked Gao whether they (Jimmy and Gao) wanted to stay here while I dropped off John and Mosi, and picked up Hazel. I said Oscar and Hazel were waiting for us for breakfast, but as we were just finishing breakfast here, there wasn’t anything to do there, blah, blah (or I mumbled something to that effect). Jimmy said he wanted to go somewhere in town, since I was going to be there. I went to get the truck, wondering what to do. To make a long story short, they didn’t go, I took a shower, and I felt incredibly guilty. I could have handled it so much easier. Learning the hard way again.
Went to Makalamabedi, about 8 women and over 20 children. I think two of the women wanted baptism. We couldn’t do it now, the river is dry. Bendu will handle it. One of the women there was a Christian. The men were off cutting grass.
We met under a large Makala tree – it was HOT today, but under the tree, and with the breeze, it was cool.
The name of the place means “the two Makala trees”. Seems that the chiefs of the central district and the northwest district met there, each camping under a Makala tree. Gao told me.
Talked with Gao for a long time this afternoon. He is a very good man. He said to me, “If you take two years of Bible, you will be a great man, your sermons are very good.” I had said how I would like to go to school. I don’t know about great.
We talked about a lot of things. I really like him (and not because he said that about me!).
We go to Victoria Falls tomorrow, have to get an early start; it’s six hours on unpaved road. Took my first malaria pill (Hazel asked me if I had earlier, I said no, she became a mother instantly). I must pack now.
8-20-96
I am sitting in Oscar and Hazel’s room at the I.S.L., having just showered, waiting for them to return from dropping off Jimmy and Gao. Hazel just walked in.
Now we are on the road.
8-21-96
We are at Ray Sullins’ house in Victoria Falls. We arrived last night. Jerry (his father) and his wife are here, also. They are all very nice, and have made us to feel at home. Beautiful home. We are out on the porch, which is about square, about 15 ft. on a side. They border a game reserve.
We went through the Chobe, a very rough ride. My back is very sore, and I have marks from the seatbelt on me.
8-22-96
Time to catch up on everything. It is early, no one is up yet.
The ride through the Chobe was misery. Oscar was in a hurry to make the border by 1800 hrs. (it closes), so he drove fast. The road was almost just a trail (it was a trail).
The auxiliary tank on the truck has a hose coupling from the inlet pipe to the tank, which has always allowed fumes into the back of the truck, and on the trip the gas expanded so much, and with the bouncing, that some things got gas on them, and everything smelled(s) like gas to an extent. The “God and man” tracts had gas on them. My bag with my Bibles, notebooks, misc. stuff had gas on it, but it didn’t penetrate. Also we had two water containers burst, so there were water-soaked bags (on the bottom of the bags). My duffel bag with my clothes in it was wet, and on the whites you could tell that it had been well-water. Cindy (Ray’s wife) dried my clothes and washed my whites, in addition to the jeans that had gas on them.
We went to Victoria Falls yesterday. What a wonder. Awesome. The water level was low, so two of the falls had no water, but that was good (for us), since the mist would have been too great. It was great anyway, you could see the walls of the gorge, and rocks down by the river. It drops into a gorge, and you can walk the length of it on the opposite side. Watched someone bungee jump off the bridge (further down, around the bend). The falls drop approximately 100 meters.
On the ride here (through the Chobe) we saw giraffes, elephants, kudus, deer, I saw zebras. Last night we went out with a spotlight (while driving), saw some buffalo.
Ray and Cindy’s daughter Nicky (Nikki?) (she just told me that she is three) is in here playing peek-a-boo as I’m writing this. She’s been acting shy around me (until now).
8-23-96
It is early, and I’ve gone out on the porch to be alone. Other showers are going, soon everyone will be up. It’s overcast, and slightly cool.
Yesterday we went curio shopping (more today), ate lunch at a hotel that overlooked a watering hole, then went on a game drive through the park (Victoria Falls National Park), then went to African dancing, then went home.
I bought elephant bookends (asked $650, paid $420), small animals for the kids (4 for $100, asked $44 each), an elephant for the Pragers (asked $550, paid $265), a pencil basket for work (Marked $85, paid $45), and a T-shirt for David ($103.35). The exchange rate was approximately $10 Zimbabwe to $1 U.S. (all prices stated in Zim dollars!).
At lunch we saw 4 Kudu, an herd of deer-type animal, and baboons at the watering hole (also a warthog). There were no animals when we came, and they left just before we did. The baboons were fighting, chasing each other around. That’s how we spotted the warthog, it ended up in the middle of a baboon fight. They didn’t bother each other.
The game drive was very fruitful. We saw guinea fowl, kudu, buffalo (a herd of literally hundreds and hundreds), deer, a giraffe, and elephants. One herd of elephants we saw numbered more than thirty. They were crossing the road and walking alongside us, eating. Adults and babies. We watched them for awhile. They were no more than fifty feet away.
The dancing did nothing for me, though the first act was a marimba band, all marimbas (bass ones, tenor, etc.), made of wood and/or gourds. They were alright.
There was a man baptized in the morning, in the Zambezi, just above the falls. There were rock shelves in the river (you could almost cross dry, and it’s the width of the Detroit River (well, maybe not; but it is very wide), but with islands), which made pools near shore, and that is where they baptized the man.
More shopping, $180 for two ebony walking sticks (asked $160 each), two elephants for $190 (asked $180 each), two giraffe plaques ($20 U.S., $100 Zim), one hippo and one rhino for $110, and one large rhino for P70 & $20 Zim.
8-24-96
I am sitting in a rondoval in Gweta, the lodge there. It is a bit of a dive (especially the bathroom). It is shelter, though.
In restaurants in Africa, it takes up to an hour or more to get your food once you’ve ordered (thought I’d write that while thinking about it. Also, Mosi snores (he’s sleeping right now)).
It was nice at the Sullins’. It went by in the blink of an eye. Jerry kept saying I should be the first American to attend the school. Methinks that would be considered a permanent leave of absence from work! In some ways it would be a good thing to do (especially if I pursue mission work), some ways not so good. The school is in the middle of nowhere in Zambia. This lends to good studying, but the school is in the middle of nowhere in Zambia! Ray teaches there now, but he’s going back to the States in October, to work for the Truth For the World media ministry.
Jerry gave Oscar and myself a lot of books when we visited the school yesterday. He gave me thirteen (!), Oscar about the same. Books they use for textbooks, brand new. He just kept going, “Here. Want one of these? Got one on this?” I have plenty of books for my new bookends.
Tonight is my first under mosquito netting. Odd.
Can see the Milky Way here. Cool.
I want to go home. Soon.
Very tired. Goodnight.
8-25-96
Today was very relaxing. We worshiped here in Gweta. There were seven Christians (counting us), and some visitors, including two of the waitresses from the lodge here, whom Jimmy had talked to when we went through here on the way to Maun on the 7th. They have come here (church of Christ) before. We will be studying with them at 10 pm tonight, when they finish work. There may be a third coming.
Today after worship, I read one of the books Jerry gave me, titled “A General Introduction to the Bible.” I didn’t read it all, there are 600 some-odd pages. Very good background on the manuscripts, etc. I was very much on edge yesterday (driving 500 km may have had something to do with it), and now I feel much better.
8-26-96
Four women came last night, and all four are being baptized today. We baptized two at 8:30 am, and now we are about to go with the other two (it is about 10 am).
When we got to Tlale’s with these two, there was one woman at his house to be baptized, also (she had been to worship Sunday). Then, when we were at the pond, another girl who had been to worship came by and wanted to be baptized, so she was.
Right now we are in Zoroga, waiting for Mosi, who is rounding up the Christians. It might be awhile, and we are sitting in the truck in the shade, munching and waiting.
We are going back to Zoroga tomorrow, all the people (most of them) were at a court hearing.
We are back at the Nata Lodge, I’m in the same room I was in three weeks ago. Hot water, but not when we first got here. Had to have them come light the heater. This is the first bed since Gaborone that is not worn out (the mattress). This is also the nicest place we’ve stayed, and we’re booked through when we leave (the 13th?). It will be nice not to have to move.
At Gweta, they played the Police’s greatest hits at lunch (and dinner), and here at dinner it was Simon & Garfunkel’s greatest hits. (At Gweta the bar and restaurant were in the same pavilion, here they are close together (music is at the bar)).
The rumor of a member of John’s congregation being killed with a spear was false.
We are booked pretty solidly through Thursday, a lot of studies.
8-27-96
I am forcing myself to write, lately. I just don’t have the desire, however, if I don’t, I think that later I will regret it.
Today we went to Zoroga (ZA-ROW-HA). We waited while Jimmy and Mosi rounded everyone up. We were sitting in the truck under a tree, with the doors open. A group of children gathered around, about ten ft. away, watching us, not daring to come closer. A few of the boys were edging closer, daring each other. One motioned to me to come out, but I motioned to him back, smiling, but he wouldn’t. They were laughing, nervously, and trying to sneak up on us. I lay down on the back seat, and one of them swiped at my hair. I would hold out my hand for them to touch, but the one motioned that I would grab with the other one. It was a game. We would move, they would take off (not far, no more than twenty ft. or so). Eventually a lot of the girls came up and we talked with them.
24 people, including the head man, are being baptized tomorrow. We have to go get them, there is no water there, and bring them here (there is some water (salt) in the Nata River). It is 40 km (25 miles) to Zoroga from here. For this reason, we borrowed Keboree’s truck, also. Then, as I was leaving Nata, I saw John Ndolo, and convinced him to use his truck, too. He may or may not be there, it’s hard to say. I hope so, it would mean we could make it in one trip. This would be helpful as there are three women from the lodge (workers) who are being baptized at 11 am.
At 10:30 pm two more women are coming to study.
Forgot to mention that we saw vultures twice today, the first time we’ve seen any. These are large birds, and quite beautiful in their own way. They are brown (dark) with black neck and heads. They were eating by the side of the road, some on the carcass, the rest near or circling overhead (no room left on the carcass). The carcass was (I think) a donkey we had seen on the way out, lying in the ditch, another donkey standing next to it, and I think I had seen it move (that’s what had caught my attention).
8-28-96
Three weeks from today I will be home. We are scheduled to arrive at 4:20 pm, approximately the time it is here right now.
Tomorrow we will be going to Francistown. We had planned to go today, but instead we baptized 22 people; 18 from Zoroga (6 left there yet), 4 from Nata (they work here at the lodge).
Didn’t get to bed until 1 am last night because we were studying with some women from here after they got off work. 2 were baptized today.
Mosi and I left at 8 this morning to go to Zoroga, we got back at about 9:30. We baptized them right in the river behind his home. Everything went well, we were all finished about 4:00 pm (this included lunch after taking them back to Zoroga, then baptizing the women from here. Three of them were supposed to be baptized at 11, but only one was at the pickup spot. We waited a little, then after taking O & H back to the lodge, I went back to get the rest of the people to take back to Zoroga, and one of the other women was there. I said we were baptizing another woman at 2, we would do her then. It then turns out that the woman who was going to be baptized Monday came today, so we baptized three this afternoon. The last woman from this morning had decided she wanted to study more, first).
It is a beautiful day today, very comfortable. At least 10-15 degrees cooler than the last couple of weeks. It has been HOT!
There is an ostrich farm here at the lodge, behind our room. I can look out the window and see them going by (right now, as I write).
8-29-96
Today we (O,H, & I) went to Francistown. It is 175 km from here (Nata), so it takes a bit to get there.
We went to the bank first, then we went looking for skins. The BGI that had skins the last time Oscar was here, we got there and there were no pelts, only skins prepared for clothing (or whatever). We were disappointed.
We ate lunch at KFC, then walked around the plaza it was in. We came across a store with a few pelts (I bought two small ones for me, a huge one sewn together in a design for the Pragers). Mine was P77.98.
We then went and bought metal trunks to ship the curios home in. I also bought a tie.
On the way home, I got caught in a speed trap. I was clocked at 99 km in a 80 km zone. The fine was P125. Ouch (much cheaper than in the States, though). I took it humorously at first, almost laughing as he wrote the receipt, but later I lost my humor about it.
As we were waiting for dinner time, a young man knocked on our door. He had heard from the women here and wanted to learn about Christ. So we studied with him (he works here at the lodge). We shall baptize him tomorrow.
While we were studying, a mouse was running under the bed. Eventually he ran by the door, and we let him out.
8-30-96
We baptized that man today. We ran around getting fuel and mantles for the lantern. The valve on Mosi’s tank didn’t work right, so the man (Peter) is letting us borrow a tank.
When the moon is out, it is so bright it hides all but the brightest stars.
Oscar told me the other day that this is the best way to do this work, sending the men into the villages, because of the language. Then, today, I heard him say to Mosi, “Do you want Steve to go with you tomorrow?”, then he poked his head in the truck and said, “Mosi said that you’re to go with him tomorrow.”
During the day, when you step out of the room the flies immediately descend upon you. It is very annoying having a large fly buzzing constantly around my head and under my nose.
Laundry hasn’t been a problem.
The food here at the lodge is very good.
8-31-96
Went out with Mosi and Jimmy today. It was quite eventful. This morning we ran into the policeman who gave me the ticket. We got a great laugh out of it. Mosi said, “He set you straight, now you set him straight!”, or something like that, to me. It was funny. They (he and his friend) have said they will go to the meetings.
We visited two people who have fallen away. As I am the guest, Mosi taught me, I have to take the most comfortable chair. He told me this because I had declined the chair so Mosi could sit. So, also, I am the one to teach, and preach. I was unprepared for teaching someone who has fallen away, so the first one was awkward. That, and she would give no real reason as to why she quit going to the church, and started at a denomination. Hopefully she will come tomorrow.
Afterward Mosi said that sometimes the spiritual churches will offer jobs, healings, etc., so people go. The native religions offer gods that give protection, luck, etc.
The second said he would come to worship tomorrow, and gave us permission to speak to his family, which we did, later. Mosi knows this man from a long time back, and it is probably his health problems that caused his falling away.
Next we went to a member’s house, whose mother is gravely ill. The mother is not a Christian. Mosi said perhaps we could pray for her, or offer words of comfort. But how can you give comfort in a situation such as this? Mosi said that we probably couldn’t teach her, and I agreed (though now I have mixed feelings about that. However, her daughter is a Christian, so hopefully she has been taught). The sister of the Christian went to a denomination (I think), but she said that since she was created by God, and was a child of God, she couldn’t be baptized. We showed her the separation that sin caused, and taught her, and she said it was clear, and she would think about it.
After lunch we went to see a woman, who is a relative of someone from Zoroga who was baptized. She sent word (her husband did) to Mosi that she wanted to be baptized; the woman from Zoroga had told her about it. She needed to be taught, so we went (Mosi & myself). Her and five of her children want to be baptized, they have accepted the gospel. The first people who I have taught who accepted. She wants to consult her husband first (it is a custom), he wasn’t there, so we are returning Monday.
As I was starting this day’s entry, a man came to Oscar asking for a bible. He had with him certificates from WBS (he is the father of the young man here we baptized yesterday. They both work at the lodge). It turns out he attends a “Church of Christ” that is really a denomination, and Mosi has talked with him about it before. He also hasn’t been baptized. We didn’t give him one, but told him if he obeys the gospel we will give him one. He has said he will come tomorrow (we talked to him the other night, and he had said he would).
When studying with people (literally preaching), I understand now why Oscar goes into such detail. I tried to just hit the high points (it still takes a little while), and it felt as if I hadn’t said near enough. Yet people said they understood clearly. It truly is the Word, and not the man. I am saying this so my head won’t swell, and so I make sure the credit goes where it belongs, and to keep straight in my head that we are told to sow the Word, and He gives the increase. And I must keep straight in my head and my heart that this is for their benefit, not mine.
9-2-96
September already. Time certainly flies.
Yesterday we worshipped at Nata and at Manxotai. At Nata it was under a tree, as the building was destroyed by the rains. We started earlier than they usually do, and we don’t think everyone was notified. Some people were showing up during the course of worship, and we gave the Lord’s Supper at the end.
We got to Manxotai at 2. It is a small building, not really a building. It consists of poles and sticks stuck in the ground, with a roof. The roof was in disrepair. There was a large turnout, many non-Christians. There were so many kids sitting on the floor that I couldn’t get to the back when giving the Lord’s Supper.
I have to talk about (well, write about) the road to Manxotai. It was a pleasurable ride. It was a wide dirt (sand) road, and most of the bumps were long, easy ones. There was shallow sand, deep sand. The trees lining the road were reddish color (the leaves), and it reminded me of a fall drive on a back road at home. Then there were tall trees as we left the main road, we drove through a forest. Mosi said this was Eldred Echols’ favorite place (in Botswana?). We crossed the dry river bed at a “hand-made” “bridge”, a four-wheel drive low-water crossing. Great fun. Get to drive the main road again, but much further; it’s the road to Sepako.
Today we are going to get the mother and children to baptize.
9-3-96
When we got to the woman’s home, there was another child (these are older children, from 13 to early 20’s, I would guess) who wanted baptism, and the mother wouldn’t come. Her husband and her were saying she had a bad leg, but Mosi believes she had been drinking (this is 9:30 am). We made sure the other child understood, then baptized them.
After returning from town, I realized I didn’t have the room key. So I had to get them to let me in the room (it turns out Jimmy didn’t have it, he had left it in the back seat of the truck when we had dropped them in town). Then, I locked it in the room. Also, I was late for everything yesterday.
We (Jimmy and I) went to study with a young woman yesterday, we were late leaving the lodge (my fault), so we missed her at work. We found out where she lived and went. Two of her friends also sat in (she stayed with 4 other women (all early 20’s), they are nurses, in town on a work program of sorts, they aren’t from Nata). One of the friends left during the study, and when we were done I asked if there were any questions. The other friend then asked about baptism. She believed the Baptist doctrine of saved through faith, and we went back and forth for a while, but she staunchly believed in salvation without baptism. The woman we went to study with (who Jimmy had said didn’t even know the books of the Bible) said no, so we left.
Bendu arrived late last night.
Yesterday was a long day.
The meetings didn’t start last night, the school had something going on, and we couldn’t use the building.
Now it is night.
There is no moon, and it is literally dark. The sky is truly black, with an incredible amount of stars. At the school, after we were finished, we were outside, nothing around us taller than a one-story building (a few trees, short ones, here and there), no lights, only a flashlight. Mosi turned off the flashlight, it was almost unreal. It was as if the sky were almost on top of us, a canopy, truly black. Even here, at the lodge, with a few electric lights and some tall trees, it is very impressive.
Today, many things happened. We met the chief of Nata. That was first. Then we split up, Mosi & I one way, Gao, Bendu, & Jimmy another. We went to the school first, to make sure we had a room for this evening. Sure enough, there was a problem. We saw the superintendent (principal), and he had been told we were going to be holding a seminar (here that means, or implies, we would be serving food, also). Also, there has been an end to allowing churches the use of school buildings for worship. So we explained what we needed, and what we were doing, and he said he needed to call his bosses (or whomever was an authority in this matter. Originally he said he would tell us at 3, but Mosi told him we needed to let the children know so they could tell their parents, so he asked us to wait outside, and he would check). We were called back in, and there were two women in there that weren’t there at first. He said he decided not to check, that since we only wanted use for 3 days, and since he didn’t have a problem with churches using the rooms for worship (his personal feelings), he agreed to let us use it. Then we went in the room to tell the kids to tell their parents.
While we were resting under a tree, two women walked up, we said hello, they set their purses down, and walked off to go to the stores. We couldn’t believe it, they just left their purses. After we watched them go from store to store, they came back (5 to 10 minutes). Mosi knew who they were, they had bought or sold with his wife, they were from Zimbabwe. When they came back, we invited them, turns out one of them had lived with a church of Christ preacher (and his family) from 1977 – 1984. She hadn’t known there was a congregation here for a while, then said she didn’t go because she didn’t understand Setswana that well. Turns out Mosi speaks their language, told her he could translate for her. They came to the meeting tonight. The lessons were in Setswana & English only (he meant to translate at worship). She knows English.
Met Benjamin today. He says there is no God. He would be good on the Lord’s side (if we could convert him. At least Mosi and I think so). Deep convictions, magnetic personality. Very open, straightforward. Willingly debated. We’re sending Oscar.
A lot of people showed up for the meeting (including the two Zimbabwean women). It went well. My sermon was on studying, Oscar’s on the covenants.
9-5-96
Only a few moments before we go. We are going to go baptize a woman I converted yesterday (the Lord converted, I just preach). I shall comment more on our day (yesterday) later, but first the night.
Last night four people showed up. We went from a full room, down to four people. I gave the lesson on the one church. A lot of children showed up after we finished.
Yesterday we went through what Bendu called the drunk part of town. Morning till night, they never stop. Every house we went to (4), there was someone who had been baptized in the past who doesn’t attend. Mosi said later that they have baptized over 100 people here in Nata, and not many were at worship Sunday; a handful, less than 15. The woman we are baptizing today is the daughter of one such woman.
It is amazing the difference shade makes. The sun is penetratingly hot, but in the shade it is completely comfortable.
It is now afternoon. Oscar & Hazel went to drop off Mosi, find Keboree, and finally, go look at the HUGE baobob (mowana) tree that is near the lodge.
The woman we went to baptize, Mosi tried to convert her sister (from a denomination), then they got her to come along, Bendu and Jimmy trying to convert her on the way to baptize her sister. No luck.
Mosi had went with us to pick her up because the mother has been baptized, says she has been too sick to go to worship, and says Mosi has said that he would come over, or send someone, but never came. He told me he saw her a couple of weeks ago, and that he has seen her walking around town.
After the baptism he took me to see his brother-in-law, Stone O’Riley. Yes, he’s Irish (well, South-African, kind of). His father was Irish, his mother African. He’s 86, married to Mosi’s wife’s younger sister (she’s late 30’s, I would guess), and won’t become a Christian. Mosi said that when they talk that Stone will get him off the subject. So Mosi took me to him. He (Stone) let me go a little, but not real far, then he started talking in Setswana. One thing he did talk about that Mosi said he hadn’t before was that he knew his time was drawing near (to die), and that his goal (my word) is dying happy. He doesn’t believe there’s an afterlife, but believes there is a God.
Mosi, on the way over there, goes, “I’m giving you all the hard ones (the people he hasn’t been able to convert that he’s known for a long time), that’s why you get the good chair!” He was joking, but oh, did we laugh!
The days are running one into another again, and it is hard to keep track of what day of the week it is. It is two weeks since we were in Zimbabwe, and it seems like two days.
9-6-96
At the meeting last night, no one showed up. There was only Mosi and his wife, Keboree and his family (they weren’t his family, Oscar (or Mosi) said), Bendu, Gao, Jimmy, myself, and Oscar & Hazel. Oscar started the lesson, and we knew it was hard on him (I knew, I assume they knew, too, how could you not know? The night before had been hard on me at the start). Then, after a few (maybe 5) minutes, three of the new converts came in. That changed the mood immediately (they were from the six children whose mother had the bad leg). Then, about halfway through, kids started pouring in all at once like a river. Thirty, easily. The same had happened the other two nights (though they didn’t arrive until after I finished, the night before). We don’t know where they came from. After Oscar finished, Mosi talked to them for a long time in Setswana. He taught school for 21 yrs., and it is obvious he loves kids.
Before we left the lodge for the meeting last night, Jimmy said that he was leaving today. Three of his relatives had been killed last week in an accident, and he is going back for the funeral.
I don’t know if this has anything to do with it or not. Jimmy had asked Oscar in Maun if he could preach one night, and Oscar didn’t want him to. Then, night before last, he asked again. The first time I don’t know what Oscar told him, but I know that we had a schedule already, and we had reservations about having him preach, beside. This time Oscar told him no, we had a schedule to follow.
Well, time to eat breakfast!
9-7-96
Had a dream last night that I arrived home. Went through Berkley. The Pragers had picked me up (not at the airport, though, but at a schoolyard/park-type area in a bad part of some city, I had just told some man and woman from some African nation selling something to go away). I was in the back of the van with Mike, Andy was ahead of us, I don’t know who was driving. As we went through Berkley (it was gray, cloudy), a small child in the van with us asked me how Paris was. I said I didn’t go through Paris, but London was cool. I then started talking about the architecture of London. But everyone seemed like they were preoccupied (more like they knew something, and wouldn’t tell me), not paying any attention to me. Then I noticed Amanda sitting on the floor between me and Mike. We drove up to a big, fancy hotel, and went inside. No one would say anything to me, they wouldn’t tell me what was going on. A man who worked for the hotel walked up to us, saying something about “steel magnolias”, that they weren’t ready or something, and everyone shooshed him (told him to be quiet). It was about this time that I woke up.
Took Jimmy to the bus stop yesterday after breakfast. He ended up getting a ride in the back of a pickup (with a lot of other people). It’s about 275 miles to his home from here.
After dropping him off, Mosi took me to a schoolteacher he has been trying to convert, so we could set an appointment to study with her.
At one of the homes that Jimmy, Bendu, and I went to the other day, there was an old man who believed, but who wanted to be sure that he needed to be baptized. He told us that his wife had died, and that before she did some faith healers said to give them P200 and bring her to Francistown, and they would heal her. When they didn’t, some other guy came and said they didn’t know what they were doing, give him P200, he would heal her.
She died.
He didn’t seem bitter about any of this, he just wanted to study more. Bendu tried, then I tried (explaining about baptism). He wanted to consider more.
The reason I’m writing this is Mosi and Bendu went to see him yesterday, and we’re baptizing him today! Also, the daughter of the last woman we baptized. They had gone to try the sister again, but she wasn’t there, and they converted the daughter.
We held the meeting in Zoroga last evening. Good turnout. We are going to Madala tonight. I’m preaching.
On the way home (it was dark), up ahead we saw a donkey starting to cross the road. We slowed down, and he just crossed real nonchalant, paying us no mind (till the end, then he hurried). It was hilarious (you had to be there). Then a few minutes later, we saw a bird walking across the road. Not big, but a long neck. It walked to the middle of our lane and stopped. It just stood there, and we ran it over (we heard it under the truck). The thing didn’t fly off, it just stood there, and there was nothing we could do. We all burst out laughing (except Hazel, who called us a bloodthirsty bunch). Not because we killed a bird, but because the thing just stood there (for the record, we would have avoided it if at all possible).
9-8-96
Thought it was the 7th. Then I remembered that last Sunday was the 1st. It is hard to keep track of day and date.
Last night we held a meeting in Madala (Gao’s village). We are worshipping there this morning, then we’re going to Sepako to worship this afternoon. P.B. and crackers for lunch.
I gave “The One Church” last night, then Oscar gave a small talk after. Right when I was nearing the end, the bugs became ferocious. I was reading by flashlight (Gao held it), and the bugs weren’t bad at all, just near the end; they seem to have come out of nowhere. We were in the partially completed building, the roof is on, the walls almost up.
9-9-96
The power is off here at the lodge, I think they are hooking the electric lines up. Or something. They run off a generator, but they have had power lines run out here from town. I heard the manager talking earlier that if the inspector came today, they would have power tomorrow. Maybe they got an early start.
It is strangely overcast (sort of yellow), and very hot. Since the generator is off, the fan won’t work, and it is hot. The flies are horrendous today. Most of the time they are not a problem (though they are bad in the day here at the lodge; I think it is because of the type of vegetation here. In town and in the village they aren’t bad). Today, at the lodge, they are BAD. Buzzing around my head is annoying, but not bad. These guys hover in your face (and land), under your nose.
9-10-96
It is hard to believe it is the 10th of September already. Soon we will be home.
The cloudiness yesterday was actually smoke from a bush fire somewhere in the veld. So Mosi told us.
Sunday we worshipped in Madala, and then Sepako.
When we returned Saturday night, we found that the police had been at Mosi’s house, saying that Mauricio’s (Bendu) mother had died. It was too late to take the bus back to Maun, so he left Sunday morning as he had planned to originally. There has been a lot of deaths on this trip. Not on the campaign, literally, but relatives.
Mosi and I went to study with a schoolteacher yesterday. We ran short of time (she had to go to work) so we are going back at 7 am on Thursday. Mosi has talked with her several times before, but she hasn’t become a Christian yet. She is honest, and says what she thinks. I like her a great deal. She goes to a denomination. She listens.
Last night we went to Manxotai. The meeting went well, albeit with a billion insects. Everywhere, the men are out cutting grass, so it is mostly women and children who come.
We are baptizing a woman today who was supposed to be baptized Saturday, but she had been sent somewhere by her parents to do something. Mosi saw her yesterday, so we are baptizing her today.
Again she wasn’t there. But it turns out that there was a man also to be baptized there. So he was baptized. We saw her later, she said she had no change of clothes, she was washing them so she could be baptized. Mosi thinks this is just a line.
Well, I was wrong. They haven’t hooked the electric up, and again, they’ve shut the generator off. This is highly unfortunate, as it is hot, oppressively so, and I can’t run the fan.
I didn’t go to Sepako with the others. Felt terrible this morning. At least my toothache went away. I will be glad when the malaria pills are over, they affect me in different ways, none pleasant.
They got to Sepako, set up, and then the head man came to take everyone to fight a fire that was advancing towards the village from Zimbabwe. So they came back.
This time next week I will be on a plane, over half-way to London. The trip is essentially over as of Friday, when we return from Zoroga. We are leaving Nata on Saturday morning to go to Mahalapye. We worship there on Sunday, then leave for Gaborone. That leaves all day Monday and we leave Tuesday evening. That means we won’t be half-way to London, we leave at 6:05 pm (Botswana time), we don’t get to London until 8:20 am (Botswana time).
This trip has certainly been different from what I expected.
I do believe that I will be coming back.
Lord willing.
9-11-96
Went to Dukwi (Duke’-we) today to tell them we are coming tomorrow.
Just finished dinner, and the song as we were leaving was “Oh, Girl” by the Chi-Lites. I love that song.
We had a meeting in Nata at the building this evening.
Tomorrow morning at 7:00 Mosi and I are meeting with the schoolteacher again, and at the same time Oscar is meeting with Benjamin. I have been looking forward to going back to see her, I hope she will accept the gospel. I really like her a lot; not so much in the male-female sense, just that I like her, a lot.
It seems strange that we’re already almost at the end of the line. Going to Vic. Falls really broke up the trip, Maun seems like a different trip, almost (in some ways). Nata has almost been anticlimactic, especially with Jimmy and Bendu gone. Time goes by strangely here. It’s hard to keep track of day and date because time passes by events, or mornings, or afternoons; it takes time to do things, but the concept is different, so it doesn’t seem as though it takes time to do things.
9-12-96
Saw the Nata Sanctuary today. The Nata river has water in it, and the Sua pan is full. I couldn’t see across it. The water is unsuitable for drinking, though.
Both of the studies fell through, neither of them were home. So we came back, ate breakfast, and went to the sanctuary.
Went to Dukwi, that fell through, also. Seems they all had other plans (or something like that).
9-13-96
Our last day in Nata.
Today we go to Zoroga to show them how to conduct services. Perhaps the chance will come up to baptize those who need it.
The sun is slowly but surely rising. It takes a long time to come up. Obviously, I’ve been awake for awhile. My back is hurting, so I couldn’t fall back asleep, plus, I was probably out by 9 last night.
The electric just came on. Now I can see what I’m writing. Which sort of doesn’t matter, because there’s nothing I wish to write about.
Went to Zoroga, that fell through. They were installing a new paramount chief, so everyone (most everyone) was there.
We dropped off Mosi and Gao, and said our goodbyes. My own personal feeling is that Oscar will be back, but not Hazel. It is just too rough on her. She is a completely different person here from the one back home. She is not near as meek (usually).
Just waiting to go to lunch now. Yesterday was a long day, and today may end up being even longer. It’s now just a matter of waiting until tomorrow morning.
I suppose I could end this now. Everything is finished, it’s just a matter of going home. But, you never know, so I will keep up until London, at least. We have around a five-hour layover, not enough time to leave the airport.
This trip has been comparable to a day. The morning was coming here, and Maun, lunch was Vic. Falls, afternoon was Nata, dinner is getting back to Gaborone and London, flying out of London is putting this puppy to bed.
9-14-96
Well, today was sort of eventful. We got to Mahalapye, the hotel wouldn’t take credit cards, we didn’t have enough pula, so we continued on to Gaborone.
The hotel has changed drastically since we were here. They changed behind the desk, adding large cabinets that also divide things, they enclosed the bar, it’s no longer part of the restaurant, and the way the restaurant does things has changed; they’ve added a host, as well. The room price is the same.
Last night I counted my remaining traveller’s cheques, and couldn’t account for $200. Then I remembered that I had given some for a deposit here in August, and I couldn’t remember if I got them back or not. Well, I hadn’t and they gave them back to me today. We got here after housekeeping left for the day, so I haven’t got my suit yet.
I met Rich Maduba today. Not at all what I expected. I expected someone intense (Oscar had said he was a fiery preacher, I had seen photos of him, and he appeared stern). Instead, he is a kind, sweet, caring man, very peaceful sort of man. Very much the picture of the kindly, grandfatherly, wise old man. I like him. He is almost completely blind. He said perhaps I could be a missionary there in Francistown (resident kind).
Drove a long way today (from Nata), have to go to Mahalapye in the morning (220 km one way), it’s after midnight, I have to get up before 6, etc., etc.
On August 10th I wrote on how fast time was passing, and how upon reaching the end I might think, “Already?” Well, here it is, the end, and in some ways it passed in the blink of an eye, yet in others it’s as though I have been here for years. Maun almost seems like another lifetime. I can sit here, and thinking of how I was when I was here (in Gaborone) before, I see a tremendous change (but I also had just entered a foreign country).
It mostly feels sort of odd.
9-15-96
September 15th? Unbelievable. I’m sitting here watching some French variety show, though I would think it’s some sort of talent or game show, there are 3 people sitting off to the side of the stage with scoreboards in front of them (like the “Gong Show”, or something), but until now they haven’t done anything. Now the M.C. is asking them questions (I think). Before this there was a rock band, an opera singer, a disco singer, and some couple; now I don’t know what’s going on, some other singer. Now it just cut off.
I can’t believe that in 2 days I’m going home.
Over the last 2 days I’ve driven about 500 miles. Over the time here we’ve gone over 5000 miles. It doesn’t seem possible.
I can say that all of this now feels a bit like a dream. I’ve had Africa on the brain (so to speak), it’s been a top thought, for quite some time. Now it’s about over.
On the way over, I kept thinking of how long 7 weeks was going to be. Now I can’t believe that I’m sitting here, and it’s over.
9-16-96
The T.V. has been interesting here. I’ve watched “Maverick” (the movie), the Beatles anthology, “Cheers”, and assorted other things.
9-17-96
Yesterday was enjoyable. After breakfast they brought my suit which I had left here in August. Then I walked around the mall for a while, and tried to track down a Springbok jersey for Kevin Armstrong. After lunch, a nap (not on purpose), then I went to the bookstore for a while, then I bought a giraffe for the Pragers, and a wall hanging for me.
Today we leave. So, I must get motivated, it’s almost 7:30 am, and we have to be out at 11 am (check-out time). The truck has to be back by noon, and our flight doesn’t leave until 6:05 pm (OUCH). We also sit at Heathrow for 5 hours or so. This is going to be a long, long, long trip home.