A Backwards Glance

We have been in Botswana for 11 months now.  It is interesting to look back to my arrival here.  Boy those were some tough days!  I was jet lagged, culture shocked, and stressed out.  I had no idea how I was going to ever get that disgusting empty apartment into fit shape to welcome my dear, sweet, loving wife.

I knew no one.  I didn't know how to get anywhere.  I couldn't understand much of what was said.  I didn't know where my classes would be, when they would be, and fortunately I didn't have any idea what they might be like.

I was in big trouble.

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me."  (Jn 14:1)

Easier said than done.

Yet looking back, it's hard to remember the details of those tough days.  Those memories have been replaced with memories of people, places, animals, birds, flowers, trees, scenes.

Believing in the Christ takes a troubled heart and heals it, and Blesses it.  Thanks be to G^d.

The Ladies #1 Detective’s Guide to Botswana

Brenda has really enjoyed reading the Alex McCall Smith’s series of books set in Botswana.  We have written about this before, many months back.

Reading these causes her to want to read passages to me.  Indeed, Smith knows whereof he speaks.  Even though the author is male, he does a great job capturing the details of the land.  

We have just returned from the Northern part of the country, and the book she was most recently reading involved the detective and her assistant going to this area.  

The names, places, people, and circumstances capture the details of the place.

We have been on the lookout for the heroine's home street.  We haven't yet found Zebra Drive, but we found Zebra Way, and noticed that the sign disappeared right after we saw the street.  We drove down a ways a couple of months later and found another sign still standing.

It is neat to us how he used the details of this place in his stories.  He knows whereof he speaks, in a literal sense.

Not sure why this is on my mind so much, but G^d also knows whereof He speaks in his best-seller.

G^d knows the names, places, people, and circumstances and capture the details of this place.

We can use Smith's book as a guide to Gabs and Bots, how much more ought we to use G^d's book as a guide to this world?

Practice makes permanent!

One Pricey Veggie

We went to our favorite store today, the Pick-n-Pay at Riverwalk Mall near our apartment.  In just a few minutes we managed to buy $50 worth of groceries.

I took a look at the register receipt and discovered that 250 g (about 0.5 pound) of asparagus cost us about $5.  Brenda had thought it cost about $0.5. Some difference eh?

It is not always easy to figure out the cost of things here.  Some are clearly marked, and some are not.

The same is true with life.  We want to count the cost, but sometimes it is clearer than others.  But sooner or later we have to pay the bill.

Some things in Scripture have immediate positive pay-off, others are clearly investments that won't pay dividends, maybe for a long time.  Unlike finances though, obeying Scripture always pays off.  It is a sure deal and yes, "Past performance is a guarantee of Future Returns!"

Kgale Hill Climb

Things You See on the Side of the Road… In Africa

We have seen some unusual stuff from the side of the road here:

• 10P haircut huts (8P= $1).
• Driving schools everywhere
• Warning signs for elephants and antelope
• Crocheted table cloths for sale
• A wedding being conducted under a large baobab tree.
• Donkey carts,
• Herds of goats, cattle, sheep, horses...

Not to mention all of these Animals (from paved roads mind you):

• Elephants (lots)
• Giraffe
• Spring hare
• Ostrich
• Kudu
• Eland
• Warthogs
• Side-striped Jackal
• Ground hornbill plus all sorts of other birds
• Cape Buffalo
• Baboons and monkeys
• Mongooses of several species

One of the thrills of driving through Africa, you never know what you will see.

Rondavel

Remember when we slept in a cave in Kang in South-central Botswana?

Well this trip we slept in a rondavel.  A rondavel is a round mud hut with a thatched roof.  It is the most common permanent home in the small rural villages of Bots.  Ours was similar in size except the walls were made of cement, and the bathroom was attached.

Brenda really, really like the bathroom. You could shower and look up and see the stars.  This was because.. there was NO roof.  I liked it too.  There isn't that much rain here in Gweta, in East central Botswana, so no roof didn't matter all that much... we suppose.

For people living in real rondavels full time, there are typically 2-4 bouidlings all located inside a wooden-fenced compound.  One will serve as kitchen and one as sleeping quarters.  Sometimes there is an outhouse in the compound.

There are usually trees, but never a blade of grass.  There is dust and dirt everywhere and we marvel that the people generally look and smell clean.  How they do this is a mystery to us.

Brenda and I both remark that we are totally unaware of the majority of people in the world.  it's not jsut that we don't knwo them, we don't even know that we don't know them.

But, G^d knows them.  He died for each one.  If not a sparrow falls, then neither does a Batswana (word form for people of Botswana).

Allah Akbar indeed.  G^d is great!

Bushman

One of the neat things about Africa has been the people we have met whilst trekking around Botswana and South Africa.

Our first night at Gweta Lodge, we sat around the campfire.  After while I fetched the marshmallows and cut a branch and started roasting them.  After a while Brenda retired to get ready for bed.  Several marshmallows later, I started for bed myself.  As a I walked by the open-air dining area, I saw someone I thought was the proprietor's father.  I walked up and introduced myself and we hit it off.  He was Darren B, a friend of the proprietor's father, the founder of the Lodge.

Darren said, "I saw you roasting marshmallows, and said to myself, there's a man who knows how to enjoy himself."

After a short conversation we realized we were sou lmates.

Darren was born in Zimbabwe, worked in South Africa and now was a freelance guide in the Okavango Delta.  He loved the bush, and enjoyed life.  The more we talked the more we related to each other.

The next morning Darren had to leave pretty early to travel down to Francistown with a friend.  We saw each other and he came right over to the gazebo outside our rondeval.  We chatted a few more minutes and he mentioned the book he is writing about his lifetime of experiences.  A soul mate indeed.

I gave him a business card and bid him farewell.  I asked him if he minded if I prayed for us before he left.  He happily assented.  I prayed.  Afterwards he smiled and thanked me.

I suspect I'll see Darren again, but I have no idea where.