Thursday, July 16, 2009

Two Months in Botswana

We have been in country for two months and a lot has been accomplished. Aaron is very busy building, fixing, maintaining, and being the go-to guy. He thrives on it, even though it makes him very tired at night. So far I have 269 of the books entered in to the computer so that job is going along very well. I just finished listening to Michael J. Fox's latest book, and now I have a new one to start--Bill O'Reilly's "A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity." I bought it from Barnes and Noble, downloaded it to the computer, then to iTunes and then to my iPod. Easy--well, pretty easy. Yesterday we had an appt. at the Embassy to get new pages put in to our passports. We might not need them before the passport expires in 2011, but just in case. Because the consular is going home later this month and in August, we had to make an appt. and the day available to us was the 15th, and the time given was 10. No choice in that area. We got there a little early, went through the check-in procedures and security, and were escorted to the office in the embassy. Aaron, of course, spoke to the Marines on duty (I sure wish my nephew could get that easy duty.) When we went inside there was a lady sitting there who appeared to be upset. CNN was on and the volume was down. I asked the lady if she was okay and she said she just didn't like hearing the news. We got to talking and found out that she and her husband have lived in Botswana since '92. He was a commercial airlines pilot but is now a pilot for Missionary Aviation Fellowship. This couple adopted a child from Botswana who when she was 10 days old was in an accident with her parents and another person. They were in a pickup when the accident occurred and the baby was thrown out and landed on her head. She lay on the road until sometime the next day before being discovered. The people who adopted her were told that she'd be blind, never be able to walk or to talk. But she is now 8. She can see (although she'd be considered legally blind) and she can walk and talk a bluestreak. The family spent 5 years in America getting her the medical help she needed. The mom was there to pick up her new passport since they are making a trip to the States to see family. We were at the Embassy for about 1.5 hours so it was nice to have this lady to talk to. After we got our passports back, we came back home for awhile before heading out to a hotel for lunch. Some mission executives from Springfield, MO were here very briefly and lunch was part of the plans. We went to the Grand Palm Hotel where they serve a buffet that would knock your eyes out. I threw caution to the wind and ate anything I wanted, and I seemed to want a lot. While I was out getting a dessert for Aaron and me, they execs were question Aaron about our future plans. Now all along we'd planned that this would be our last trip over here. We pay for this ourselves and maybe out kids want us to leave them a little something when we go to heaven! Actually, I think they are pleased that we are serving God in this manner and don't mind the money we spend. These guys told Aaron that we could be used in a lot of places. So who knows where we'll end up next. Every day is an adventure when Jesus is in control.