June 21, 2009

Yes...we know this update is way overdue! The last two months have been extremely busy! Julie went back to work at the beginning of May and she is pictured above with her class of nine students. She is really enjoying the group of 9 and 10 year old students with their inquisitive and active minds. Science seems to be the favorite subject of the class and the first unit of the term has been mixtures and solutions. There have been a number of messy experiments and project reports to share from each cooperative learning group over the last 6 weeks and it will be hard to move onto a new topic....


In addition to teaching academics, Julie and another teacher at the school have been doing a Bible Club on Monday afternoons. There are currently 15 students in attendance and the students have been enjoying learning how to apply God's word in their daily life. The picture below is of most of the children that are coming to the Bible club.
A highlight for Colin in early May was getting to meet Harry Selby, a famous professional hunting guide that lives in Maun.

The busy season is here for flying, and the flight schedule filled almost every day. Just before Travis left Flying Mission in the middle of May, both Colin and he were shuffling a large film crew from the USA. Possibly some of you reading this may have heard of the show Andrew Zimmere and Bazzare Worlds. The crew was flown into a remote strip to film the San Bushman people. Pictured below was the some of the action on the airstrip when the last plane load arrived on the airfield after two days of getting everyone there.
Filming a San (Bushman) mother and child.

Interviews and getting ready for filming.

Spear received from this San Bushman.

By the time Colin had brought the last load of people and gear from Maun, it was too late to return for the night. Colin took this opportunity to camp out at the airstrip in the C207 for the night.
Shade shelter and sand buckets in case of fire.

A pillow, a blanket and mat, a cooler with sandwiches and a copy of Magnum Magazine
is all one needs for a good camp out.

When the first light appeared the following day, he was able to take off for Maun.


Since Travis left on the 16th of May, Colin has been the only pilot here and has had many nights scheduled to stay at Jack's Camp to save on flight costs. He has enjoyed viewing the birds and wildlife, in addition to building stronger relationships with the staff working there.

A desert tortoise.

Red billed Wood Hoopoe

Red Billed Francolin

Lilac-Breasted Roller

Above, Pied Crows

Below, Yellow Mongoose

Male Steenbok, about 18'' at the shoulder

Above, a birthday party for a member of the staff at camp.

The pilot tent is not as up scale as the client tents, but comfortable enough to pass the time in.



At times, Colin has had to spend a full day at the camp waiting to fly a group out the following day. He has taken some short walks in the surrounding salt pans.
WATER, PLEASE!
Too much time spent in the desert----alone!

And, as always...Colin has had ample time to view the incredible African sunsets.
On May 18, Keith Kowalski arrived a day ahead of the moving truck with his families household belongings. Cheryl and the couples two children and dog drove up from Gaborone on the 21st. Also Deb Spicer, the wife of the FMS operations manager, drove up with Cheryl. Deb spent three nights with Julie while Colin was busy flying and staying at Jack's Camp. During the time Deb was here, Julie allowed a friend to download pictures of Travis water skiing to email him in the states. On the storage "stick" used to hold the pictures, was a virus and the intensive computer virus that shut down the functions of many programs. Even the virus protection program on our computer, could not stop the virus. Fortunately, there was a good IT in Maun that was able to correct the problem. It took 5 hours, but everything was back to normal afterward and before Colin returned to Maun. It was a blessing to have Deb here and to help pray and brain storm through the problem. Pictured below is Deb at Island Safari Lodge the day after the computer was fixed and after church on Sunday. Below the picture of Deb, are two pictures from the set of pictures Travis wanted of water skiing in the Thamalaklane just before he left Botswana. He had told us it was the first time he had ever water skied were they had to get out of the water because of hippos.

Water skiing in the desert, it has its dangers.

Mr. Hippo, one of the dangers.

Now that the Kowalski family has moved to Maun, Keith has been flying as much as possible with Colin. In addition, the chief pilot has been here for two different weeks of training.
June came upon us quickly with all the flying of clients and occasional mercy flights, company coming and going, along with Julie working again. The first week of June started off clear and cool as is usual for winter. As the second week of June began, the chief pilot was here to fly with Keith. Colin was planning on some time on the ground to complete office tasks, as the chief pilot and Keith were going to take the charters. Currently, there is also a C210 here along with the C207. On Monday the8th, an actor from the US was visiting Botswana and a last minute charter was suddenly given to Colin just after arriving at the office in the morning. It meant he would have to overnight at Jack's Camp and there was not enough time to drive back out to our house to pack a bag. He decided he would be fine for one night and loaded the plane with the special guest pictured below. The actors name was Luke MacFarlane and he acts in a show called "Brothers and Sisters."
That evening, clouds moved in all over Botswana and a huge storm sat over the country pouring rain for two full days. This was extremely unusual. Because of the bad weather, Colin ended up stuck out at Jack's Camp until Thursday. The strip was flooded by the first day of rain and a Caravan pilot from another air service tried to fly out. While taxiing, he got stuck in the mud, so the plane was unloaded and with the help of camp staff he was able to get unstuck. The C210 Colin flew out, sunk into the mud halfway up the wheels just sitting parked at the strip.

Stuck Caravan, above
Water logged runway and Cessna 210, below


End of the runway beginning to dry out.

It seems for weeks we have had consistent company visiting with us. So many people have come and gone in the middle of all the other things mentioned above, that we have not kept up with a photo dairy. Our most recent memories consist of three weeks ago, when one of the short term missionaries from Gaborone was here with his family that was visiting from Germany. Two week ends ago the FM IT, Graham, drove up with the flight scheduler for Maun that is based in Gaborone. We were able to get a few pictures from their weekend here. On the way up, they had a major blow out and Graham is pictured below showing the damaged tire.


The office is officially open, and the Maun team met on Saturday to work with Graham and Melly. The chief pilot was here also here and much was accomplished.

Above left to right, Colin, Julie, Patricia, Robert and Keith. The Maun crew.

The latest FMS family to visit was a mechanic and his wife. They were able to spend a few days out at Jack's Camp, and a night with us on the return trip. Colin flew them out to the camp, but the pilot tent was full so he had to fly over to another near by camp called Planet Baobab. He stayed in one of the regular customer huts with a view of the near by baobab trees in the area. Walt, Ev, and Robert


Planet Baobab guest hut.

Below, Baobab trees
We continue to enjoy meeting people from all over the world and sharing with them what the Lord is doing through FM to help people in Botswana.


Colin even got to fly Alexander McCall Smith, author of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, to Jack's Camp. The famous author is pictured with Colin below, along with his wife and daughter.


Things that continue to catch our eye are local people packed in vehicles and in the backs of trucks. Donkeys and donkey carts for transportation, and a different night sky. Not only is the moon upside down, but also the big dipper.

Room for one more?

I wish I'd had a donkey when I was a kid.

We are still enjoying the fellowship at the local church we attend, especially the little children that come from the small houses and huts in the neighborhood.
Innara and Gift continue to be in our lives, though it has been hard to see them as often now that Julie is working and Colin is flying much more. Innara is still growing in the Lord, but her faith is being tested as she tries to find day labor jobs to provide for the two of them. Since she could no longer be under the care of WAR, she has found a small place to live on the other side of town from us. We have been able to help with the rent and some food, but she is still living very minimally. Please keep her and Gift in your prayers, that the Lord will provide a good job for her. There is still an issue of her status in the country, so it makes getting work all the more difficult.

Gift will be 6 months old on July 12. He is sitting by himself and trying to crawl now. In addition, he is cutting two lower front teeth.

Thanks once again to all of you who have taken an interest in what we are doing here in Maun. With the fullness of the last two months, we have not been very good about communicating or responding to emails. Forgive us, and please keep writing as we miss you all. We know that the Lord has placed us here to love, encourage, and help those He has places in our lives. God does nothing by accident, so we look at each person and ask what it is the Lord would have us do to bring them closer to Him. Though it was hard to leave the life we knew behind, we feel there is much we can do here to... "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galations 6:12.

May 1, 2009

The picture above is just a funny follow up from our last blog posting about how horrible the road to Kasane is to travel on. This photo was on the front page of the local newspaper as an April Fools Day spoof, though the caption states that the "road is no laughing matter." We agree.

As always, we fully intended not to let so much time laps between postings but we are staying so busy it is hard to make time to communicate all that we have been doing. Much of our time has gone to providing hospitality to other missionaries. Some of our visitors live further out in the bush communities and they come to Maun to do shopping and business. After years in living bush Alaska and needing to rely on the hospitality of others when we went to town, it is nice to be able to help fellow servants of the Lord. In addition, we have been able to support other Flying Mission pilots and personal when they come here for special charters, mercy flights, or just to visit Maun and the outlying areas.

The house and yard continue to be a blessing to all of us living here. We have a new neighbor in the flat next to Travis and he is a young pilot flying for Mack Air, named Kari, and he is from Sweden. Now that it is fall time (with the mornings and evenings being cool in the mid 50 degree range) the cement fire pit is used fairly often by us all. There is something very relaxing and pleasant about watching the wood burn and cooking over the coals.


Colin continues to build friendships with the fuel workers at the airport. Now that they all know he has a camera, when ever a new person is hired they ask to have their picture taken with Colin and then he gives them a printed color copy. Gomes is the newest person hired, and he has also been attending the same church as us.Julie has been enjoying the woman's fellowship from the church and was invited to attend a birthday tea for one of the women who turned 80 years old on the last day of March. It was a small gathering, as most of the ladies from church were working. Those that worked dropped by in the afternoon to wish this dear lady a blessed day.
Another special event that we were both invited to in early April, was the marriage of our neighbor to one of the three main chiefs for this area. It was a huge affair that actually lasted a few days. Julie ended up attending the first day reception by herself as Colin had a full day of flying. It was a lovely gathering on her families plot with lots of traditional foods and entertainment. The wedding tents were then moved the husband's family plot the next day, and the activities continued. Though we miss seeing our neighbor on a regular basis now that she has moved to her new husband's home, we continue to talk by phone and they have both been by to visit a few times since the wedding.


The same week end of the wedding, Julie also attended a baby shower for one of the Love Botswana missionary families that had a beautiful little girl while we were in Zambia in March. The temperatures were perfect for an outside gathering on the Love Botswana Outreach Mission property. Most of the ladies that attended the shower also go to the flourishing church established by the mission over a 20 year period. While the new mother was opening gifts, everyone enjoyed passing the baby around to cuddle and admire. And of course, the food and fellowship was awesome.


Innara and Gift are still doing well, and Innara continues to grow in her understanding of God's love and provision. She eagerly reads the Bible we were able to give her, and has been highlighting verses that speak to her heart with encouragement. The pictures below were taken when Gift was 3 months old and sixteen and a half pounds! On this particular visit, we were able to bring Gift some larger clothes as he has been growing so rapidly.
When ever Innara refers to Colin, she calls him "the grandfather." The title seems to fit him!
When Gift got tired and started to fuss, Innara just tied him onto her back with a towel and he went fast to sleep. This is how most of the women here carry their babies.
Our first Easter here was spent at a community sunrise service in the garden of an older woman that attends our church. The garden was by the river and it was a cool crisp morning with a diverse group, that all joined together for praise and worship. The sunrises and set sets here are always beautiful, but the Easter sunrise seemed extraordinary and emphasized even more so the awe and thanksgiving we felt for what the Lord has done in our lives.


After the service there was a wonderful time of fellowship, along with hot-cross-buns and tea in the garden.


The rest of the day was quiet and rest filled. Later, Travis joined us for a simple dinner of braiied (BBQ) chicken and a fresh apple cake for desert.

A few days after Easter, Julie was asked to help with a Bible camp being held at the Island Safari Lodge near our house. Our good friends own and operate the lodge and the camp ground with the large pool near by, was ideal for a camp retreat. There were twenty six students from two local schools, ages 7 to 13 years old, which attended the three nights and four days of camp. There were lots of fun team activities, new songs to sing about Jesus, Bible stories and verses all with the major focus being on the love of God and how He answers our prayers. The students were organized into four small groups with a leader to have discussions and prayer time with. The last picture in the set of photos is of Julie with her small group. Everyone at the camp slept in tents provided by the lodge and got a T-shirt that said, "Enjoy Jesus Christ" with the main memory verse from John 10:10...which says, "Jesus has come to give us life". The camp was a great success and by the end of our time together, no one wanted to go home. The way it all came together with all those involved in preparing for the camp, was truly a testimony of Zechariah 4:6, "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD Almighty." The spirit of the Lord was deeply felt by all of us there and we are all planning to do another camp over the next school break in August.










While Julie was having a great time being a part of the Bible camp, Colin was off flying in and out of Jack's Camp with an overnight complete with the usual Makgadikgadi Pans sunsets and huge spiders to fearlessly face inside and outside of his tent.


While the C207 was in Gaborone for maintenance, a C210 was used for the charter work. Colin was able to return to Livingstone in Zambia and flew over the ferry crossing we traveled across on the Zambezi in our recent trip in March. The Zambezi River and the Okavango Delta rivers have been experiencing a major flood. The ferry landing in the pictures below are higher than when we traveled and it was closed for some days after our trip due to the volume of water flowing from Angola. That water is all headed our way and expected in Maun by the middle of May.
The picture above is of the pilots wing mounted mirror used check to see if the landing gear is up or down.

Top of picture above is Kazungula, Zambia. Bottom shows the landing in Kasane, Botswana.

Above: Kazungula Zambia, below is Kasane, Botswana

The weekend after the Bible camp, we decided to travel to Nxai Pan National Park. The entrance is just about an hour and a half drive east from here, and then it is about another couple of hours driving north on a sand track road. The local paper had just printed a cover photo of a lion visiting a campsite in one of the other parks near by (see below) and our sense of adventure was stirred. It was also our last opportunity to get away for a couple of days, as Julie is returning to teaching along with the increased flying that Colin will be doing when Travis leaves the middle of May. The last night we were camped, we had lions and a hyena in the camp ground but they chose to investigate the elaborate set up of trailer tents next to us. Julie slept through all the commotion...
Since Colin has yet to do any hunting here with a gun, he has become very proficient in shooting game with his camera. Below are just a few shots of some of the animals he got while we explored the park. There were other parts of the park we found intriguing included in the photos below.
Steenbok above, Springbok below

Below are pictured Baines Baobabs; the Baobab trees painted by Thomas Baines in 1847. Thomas Baines was originally part of David Livingstones missionary/exploration party. In comparing the trees with the paintings only one limb has broken off in One hundred and sixty two years.




Above: Gemsbok

Below: Shower/toilet facilities at Nxai Pan campsite. Note solar water heaters and concrete cones with sharp steel stakes sticking out to discourage elephants from "taking showers" (also discourages late night beer drinkers).

Above: Kori Bustard
Below: Giraffe at sunset



Above: Impalla buck
Below: Impalla doe


Above: Colin says "Wow big pile of poo, Elephants must be close."
Alternate title: "A poo in the hand is worth two in the bush."
Below: Snail shells in the desert.


Above: Black backed Jackal
Below : Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk

Above: Elephant at the pan (water hole).

Above and below: Mud covered elephants in light of the setting sun.
While in Nxai Pan we had gathered a lot of grass, butterflies and bugs in our radiator. This with the fact that our radiator had been "serviced" with water only and no coolant, made our vehicle over heat on the way out of the park. After stopping we noticed this small (nine inch) Kalahari Tent tortoise stuck in the sand track not ten feet to our front. Praise the Lord we had to stop or he'd have surely been flattened. After cooling off a bit we added more water and removed the majority of butterflies and grass and had no more trouble on the way home. Colin has since taken to servicing the car himself where possible.


The new Flying Mission web site has been launch, so check it out at: www.flyingmission.org, it has all the current personal and projects listed along with many great stories of what the Lord is doing through this mission. In addition we are always thankful for your faithfulness in praying for us and for those we are ministering to while here in Botswana. Please keep Mmatshimo in your prayers, she has had to have numerous teeth pulled recently and is waiting on other test results as she has not been feeling quite right for a while. A screening for cancer was done over a month ago and she is still waiting to here from the doctor. We wanted to go to the hospital with her and discuss some other tests with the doctor, but she wants to wait and says she is trusting to God about her health... Also, please continue to lift Innara up in your prayers. She needs to find her own place to live and a job to provide for Gift and herself. She can no longer be protected by the organization WAR. We have been helping her some, but can not support her. There is a possibility she can move into a small flat with no electricity nearer to us, and there are some other Zimbabweans that we know living in the same place who will help watch over her. Hopefully, we can get something worked out soon because she has been in a temporary flat for the last few days but it is in a bad neighborhood...Misheck and Debra are doing well, and have been blessed with a better living situation through friends of ours. Additional work has been scarce for them, but the new housing and plot are free of charge with a good area for growing a garden to eat from. Both of them are such a pleasure to be around. Despite hardships in their lives, they continue to do just as the Lord states in 1 Thess. 5:16-18, "Be joyful always; pray continually; and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

March 28, 2009

It has been a week now since our return from Zambia and we have been blessed all week with a variety of Flying Mission Services visitors. We are eager to share about the six days of travel experiences we had, so with this first free opportunity since our return... here we go!

On Tuesday the 17th of March, we departed Maun to the north with our friends Jeff and Staci Powers. Jeff and Staci have been the Baptist missionarys in Maun for over eleven years. Their experience with the Maun area and people that they shared with us was critical in helping us settle into Maun quickly and easily when we arrived here. Their mission decided they were now needed in Namwala, Zambia, approximately seven hundred and fifty road miles north of Maun. The day before we left a large moving van had loaded most of their household belongings, and Jeff's truck and trailer were also packed to the full. Using the rack Colin had made for the Pajero allowed us to carry the two large 11 year old dogs that Jeff and Staci have had since puppies when they first came to Botswana. Staci also rode with us to help keep the dogs calm, as they had never gone on a long trip before. We did have to take a number of rode side breaks now and then so that we could all stretch our legs a bit.

Our travels took us first east from Maun to the small community of Nata. The going was good and we kept alert for some of the usual rode hazard such as livestock and people traveling by donkey carts. Note the plastic chair in the cart pictured below, it provided more comfort than we normally see built into this mode of travel.

At Nata we traveled north to the village of Kasane. The road is known to be very dangerous as it is badly in need of repair. The first 25 miles were okay, but then for about 20 miles there were huge potholes everywhere on the road leaving cars to use the gravel shoulder as it can not even be driven on.



The next 60 miles were better, with random bad spots. The closer we got to Kasane, the more elephants we saw just feeding along the road side causing us to take a wide birth around them.


After approximately 11 hours of travel we reached Kasane and spent the night at a building in an industrial area, that a friend of Jeff's owned. There was running water and a fence around the property so the dogs could roam free. Jeff and Staci stayed in an office, while we slept in our car like we had done when we went to the Moremi Wildlife Reserve in August.

Rising long before first light, we ate a light breakfast and headed to the boarder separating Botswana and Zambia. The plan was to be one of the first to cross the pontoon ferry, pay all the fees and charges, and be on our way north again by 11 am....

Going through the Botswana side was simple, and we drove to the ferry landing to cross the Zambezi River. At the landing, tourists are bombarded by so called "clearing agents" wanting to help you with all the boarder procedures. They make a living by cheating their clients with the money exchange once at the boarder post in Zambia. Jeff and Staci had warned us of their
aggressiveness, and a fight even broke out as two men each tried to get to Jeff before the other.
Jeff went across before us as the ferry can only carry one large truck and a couple of vehicles at a time. The crossing is a major transportation route north and there are always trucks lined up for about a mile with a two to three day wait before their turn.

Two pontoon ferries transport people and vehicles across, so once Jeff was on his way the next boat landed and we were soon loaded and crossing ourselves. The Zambezi reminded us so much of the Yukon River we lived beside for over 30 years. It made us rather nostalgic and somewhat homesick to be on the river while crossing....



To that point, things had gone pretty much as planned. We had been at the boarder crossing when it opened at 6:30am, but we never imagined we would end up spending the whole day waiting to get "cleared" to enter Zambia. The boarder is lined with buildings that we needed to go into one at a time and pay for the pontoon crossing, our visas, a vehicle carbon tax, vehicle insurance, a council tax, and when Colin got to the last office to pay the road tax he was denied the paperwork as we did not have the "blue book" for our car. The "blue book" is what they call the registration, though all cars have a registration sticker on the windshield. Colin attempted to sway the official to look at our sticker and allow us to enter, but he would not budge.

Fortunately Travis had a key to our house, so we phoned him and told him where the registration papers were. He then made a copy and went to the small police station by our house to have it certified. After scanning it, he emailed it to the legitimate clearing agent the Powers had in Kasane, who had one of her workers hand carry a copy across on the ferry. It all took one hour from the phone call, a miracle in it self, but then the official made Colin stand in line for two more hours to wait for the final stamp on the paperwork.

By then it was 2pm, and the Powers paperwork had not yet been cleared. It was even more involved for them because of the move and importing a car. We spent the day watching people come and go from the boarder and even their moving van that came after us, with all the main household things, cleared before Jeff and Staci. In the end, we were the last vehicles out of the boarder gate at 6:30pm and Jeff still had to do more paperwork in Livingston the next morning.


It was just about dark and we had another hour drive to Livingston where we stayed the night at a camp ground. In the morning, we left Jeff in Livingston and continued to travel northeast. The movers where now hours ahead of us, and we needed to open the house for them to unload the truck.

The road out of Livingston was bad also, but a bit better than the Kasane road as they had filled most of the larger pot holes in with dirt. There was also a long dirt detour before finally getting to good pavement again.
There were lots of interesting things and people to see along the detour, as it took us through little settlements along the way. We stopped to look at a large snake that some people killed by the side of the road where they sold charcoal at a roadside stand. Everywhere we went, bright yellow and orange daisies grew wild and the countryside was far more lush and green than Botswana.


To get to Namwala, the new location for the Powers ministry, we had to once again leave the paved road at Monze and travel northwest on a mostly one lane dirt road. It was about 4:30 pm when we arrived at Jeff and Staci's new home and after helping to move things into the house we spent the night on cots in the guest room.

Jeff had spent another full day and night in Livingston, and it was decided that Staci just wanted to start unpacking so it would be best if we started our journey back. With hugs and a few tears, we loaded ourselves back into the Pajero and had a leisurely drive back though the rural one lane road to Monze. We enjoyed stopping to chat with local villagers as they fished with large baskets or fish nets by standing in the swollen creeks along the way.

All along the way, people used oxen and carts for transportation instead of donkeys, and we never saw any livestock left unattended as you find in Botswana.


The rivers in the north are flooding this year, due to a larger amount of rain this season. We saw a village flooding and also had to cross a swollen river on our way back. Colin took off his shoes to walk across first to see how deep it was before driving through. There were ladies in the water fishing and started laughing at his ankles and feet that are bright white where his socks keep him from tanning. The river was safe to cross, so we moved on.

Just outside of Choma on the paved road south of Monze, we saw Jeff and visited briefly and said our good-byes. By late afternoon on Friday March 20, we arrived back in Livingston to stay the night. Victoria Falls is just about 3 miles out of Livingston, so we wanted to have plenty of time in the morning to see the natural wonder. Our 27th wedding anniversary was a week away, so as a surprise, Colin decided to check the prices of a nice hotel just walking distance from the falls. It is currently the off season for tourists, and in addition the woman at the counter gave Colin a resident rate when she heard we had helped our missionary friend's move up to Zambia, so it was very reasonable.

The grounds were beautiful and after days in a car, we enjoyed walking around looking at the birds and wildlife on the property. In the background was the constant roar of the falls, in which the locals referred to as "the smoke that thunders." Our room was lovely and we enjoyed the visits from the monkeys living on the grounds.








Early the next morning we got the complementary rain coats offered to people staying at the hotel, and we headed off to the falls just a few hundred feet beyond the back gate of the hotel. A major attraction at the falls was bungee jumping from the bridge built in 1904 between Zambia and Zimbabwe, maybe next time??? Even though we could only see part of the falls due to the mist generated during the rainy season, the power and majesty of the water was still incredibly spectacular.


The Zambezi River was filled to the brim from all the rain and in the picture below, we are standing at the top of the falls near the edge as the water rushes over.

Near the entrance of the falls, there were many local artists selling their crafts to tourists visiting Victoria Falls. We enjoyed walking through the little shops and bartering with the vendors while we purchased a few mementos. Victoria Falls is definitely a place we would love to return to if any of you would like to come visit us.
On Saturday March 21, after our visit to the falls, we once again crossed the Zambezi River on the pontoon boat and returned to Botswana. It was mid afternoon, so we decided to camp beside the swollen Zambezi River in Kasane for the night before driving that horrible road again. We had a great camp style meal and enjoyed a quiet evening by the fire listening to the nearby hippos. Early in the morning we arose to a bull elephant about thirty feet from our tent munching in the thick brush. We cautiously ate a quick breakfast and while packing our car rack, we had a visit from a family group of Banded Mongoose. They chattered and murmured back and forth all around our feet before moving to a neighboring camp site to raid dirty dishes left out from the night before.

Returning to Maun, we traveled south back to Nata and then west through the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans. We stopped at the entrance to the Nxai Pan Reserve to ask a few questions and across the road was a large bull elephant. Some time in the near future we would like to camp at Nxai Pan as it is only about an hour and a half from Maun.

By 4pm on Sunday, we were home and shortly after were greeted by the FMS Operations Manager and his friend that were up from Gaborone. They had been camping at Nxai Pan for a few days and had all kinds of stories to tell about all the lions they saw. The chief pilot and another pilot also arrived here on Sunday for training exercises and left Thursday. On Friday, two other pilots had a charter here for the weekend so, as it was mentioned at the start of this blog, we have been blessed with lots of FMS family over the week.

In addition to having company after our return home, we were able to see Anne and Gift and give her a NIV Study Bible that was sent from our church family in Galena. We have also been gathering some larger baby things for Gift, as he is really growing fast. Please keep them in prayer, as they can only stay at the safe house for another couple of weeks and a door has not yet opened to resolve Anne's status to stay in Botswana.

Again, our thanks go out to those of you who continue to send encouraging emails and keep us lifted up in your prayers.

March 15, 2009

Looking at Maun from the air in the picture above, it is amazing how fast each month here has gone by. Once again we are trying to reflect on what we have done over the last month....As the days pass, we seem to feel less like visitors and more comfortable and at home in this country. The down side to that is that we often forget to pull out the camera, as things seem familiar and not so new and different. So, this month's blog should be a lot shorter.

Just after our last blog posting another Flying Mission Services family came to Maun for two weeks as they considered moving here to help. To celebrate their arrival we had a group dinner with the Maun team. Pictured below is the Kowalski family, Robert, Patricia, Travis, and ourselves just before having a family sit down dinner on February 16.


It was really great to have another FM family with us in Maun and the Kowalski's seemed to easily fit into the flow of life and the ministry opportunities here. The current plan is for them to move up from Gaborone at the end of May.

While the Kowalski's were visiting, the team met to work on cleaning and fixing up the office. In no time at all we scrubbed walls, floors, and the bathroom in addition to patching holes in walls in preparation for painting. It is now painted and ready to have the office furniture and phone lines put in for business.
Also while the Kowalski's were here we had another pilot from Gaborone stay with us for four days as the mercy flights were based out of Maun using a Cessna Caravan. Colin was flying regularly with the Rescue One team to gain Caravan flight experience. Most of the flights were transporting patients from Maun to Francistown about 274 miles east from here. Pictured below is the FMS pilot, Matt Hogeboom, and the medical personal waiting in the heat for the ambulance to arrive. The last picture is the Francistown airstrip as the plane comes in for a landing.



Colin has also been flying to a variety of bush strips over the last month near the pans southeast of Maun. In the dry season the pans are just dry salt lakes, but we are still in the middle of the rainy season so they are filled with water. As Colin flies into the remote airstrips he sees large herds of Zebra, Wildebeest, Gemsbok and other wildlife enjoying the availability of water in the pans. The landing strips are in very remote places and he often has to share them with the wild animals of the area.



On the 2nd of March, Julie spent seven days substitute teaching at the international school she worked at earlier for three months last term. The current fourth grade teacher will be leaving at the end of March to return to the United States, so Julie has agreed to take the class over when the students return from break in May. It was a tough decision, but we felt the Lord can best use her gifts and abilities there. In addition, she hopes to have an afternoon Bible club for the students attending the school.

After the first week of substituting, Colin had to fly out to one of the Safari camps on Saturday and spend the night. It was suggested that Julie fly along also. The camp manager decided since it was slow that we should use one of the guest tents so we would be more comfortable for the night. Check out the pictures of the "tent". The camp is rather expensive and we enjoyed having a taste of luxury for the night. Since we had to drive to another camp early in the morning, the manager arranged for a wake up call at 5:15 am with tea and muffins for us.

On the drive to the other camp we saw an Aardwolf, which we were told is an unusual sight since they are nocturnal animals. They are a member of the hyena family and mostly eat just termites. We also saw some fleeting hartebeests and Zebra grazing in the cool of the morning. Unfortunately, we did not get any good pictures as the animals quickly bound away when we were spotted.


Currently, we are preparing for a trip to Zambia to help the Baptist missionaries we have become friends with. After ten years in Maun, they are moving to a small village in south western Zambia. We plan on leaving Maun on the 17th and returning on the 24th. It will take two days of travel each way, so we will be camping out along the way. To purchase a car metal rack was a bit too costly for us, so Colin has built us one out of wood to carry extra gear for the trip.

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel. Furthermore, continue to pray that the Lord will use us in the lives of others...We are still helping Mmatshimo, Anne and her baby, along with Misheck and his wife. There are others that we also feel the Lord has placed in our lives to encourage spiritually, and we have enjoyed being open to His daily guidance as He has places people in our lives.

February 15, 2009

As you can tell by the long laps from the last entry, it has been another eventful six weeks leaving little time to enter our reflections in this blog. There are a number of areas of service that have consumed our time since last writing, but the primary focus has been on ministering to people and working on establishing a more functional base of operations for the commercial flying operation here in Maun. Please bear with us as there is a lot to share and explain.

Shortly after our last posting, the C207 airplane was ready for the 100 hour maintenance check in Gaborone. On Monday, January 8, we flew south to deliver the plane to the FMS mechanics there. It was really nice to get away together, as the flying the last week before going had been particularly busy with holiday travelers. There had also been a number of scheduling mix-ups at the travel agency, which had sent us scrambling to correct. The clients never new of the jugging act that had gone on and they were all contently transported from one destination to the next on time. Yet it had left us a bit exhausted. While in Gaborone, it was great to see all our Flying Mission family and meet some of the new people that have arrived after us. Sorry to say, we were so focused on fellowship and visiting with everyone that we did not take any pictures. After four days, the plane was ready to go and we had to say our good-byes until the next 100 hours of flight time. Colin had to pick up passengers at one of the safari camps on the way back from Gaborone and bring them to Maun, so Julie caught a ride in one of the FMS twin engine planes heading to Maun on a mercy flight.

The day after we returned home, we realized someone had hacked into Colin's email account and sent a request for money stating that he had been robbed in Nigeria. It was very frustrating, as we were locked out of the account and could not let a number of people know that it was a fraud. After four days of battling through the hotmail system, we finally regained control of the account and locked the hacker out. We could then let everyone know what had happened. It did consume a lot of time and energy, and again we apologize to those that were impacted. The blessing in the whole incident is that we felt humbled by the genuine concern so many people had for us.

Around the middle of December we had begun gradually building a relationship with a young pregnant Zimbabwean girl. At the time she had been abused, abandoned, and sleeping in a junk car near where Robert, our porter, and his wife Pusetso lived. Having no passport and being here as a refugee complicated her situation immensely. Out of compassion, Robert and Pusetso took her into their simple home, but asked us for help as her situation as a refugee in addition to another person to provide food for was beyond them. We helped with food and began coming to visit more often, but Anne (an English translation) was bitter and just wanted to die. It was hard to even get her to smile or trust us. Anne and Pusetso are pictured below just before Christmas. Anne is on the left and Pusetso is on the right. The little bit of a smile on Anne's face was more than we had seen to this point.

Anne did trust Pusetso and Robert, and the four of us were praying for her. Pusetso also started a Bible study with her, as we sought council from other longer standing missionaries here about her status in country. She did not want the baby and our fear was that she might abandon it in a field somewhere or even worse kill it at birth. Both scenarios are a growing problem in this country for the poor and disadvantaged, and by being here as a refugee she had no access to hospital or health services. Our missionary friends at Love Botswana Outreach Mission (LBOM) have a proposal in place with the government to rescue and place abandoned babies. Their own adopted four year old daughter had been left in the bushes to die, but a barking dog had alerted someone who took her to the hospital. That is were they fell in love with her and took her home. Now the government process is almost completed for LBOM to have safe place to for women leave unwanted babies.

We were advised by our friends to get in touch with the Women Against Rape (WAR) agency that is sponsored by the European Union. Because of the abuse in her situation, we were told that she may have some protection as a vulnerable woman through the global agency. Every time we made plans to pick up Anne to go talk to the councilors at WAR, she would disappear. The night before leaving to go to Gaborone, we got a call from Pusetso that Anne was in labor and asked us to come to take her to the hospital. We did take her and with some intervention they amazingly admitted her. Unfortunately, we knew we were leaving for Gaborone at 6am and had concerns about leaving Anne. We called our friend at LBOM to explain what was happening. At that point, they were making plans to take care of the baby and find adoptive parents as Anne did not want to keep the baby. While we were gone, LBOM intervened on Anne's behalf along with WAR and battled through hospital issues revolving around Anne's resident status. Having WAR involved gave Anne the needed legal protection to have the baby in the hospital. By the time we returned she still had not had the baby (she had had a false labor), but she had come to accept Jesus as her savior. She was definitely a changed person. The fear, pain, and hardness in her heart were gone. She had also decided to keep the baby. Because WAR was now involved and Anne had been suicidal before entering the hospital, in addition to not knowing what her HIV/AIDS status was from the abuse, the hospital had to keep her admitted. She was getting three minimal meals a day and a bed, but the verbal harassment from two of the hospital staff was abusive due to her being from Zimbabwe. We visited her daily to keep her encouraged and bring her additional supplies while she waited. Remarkably, while waiting she found out that she was HIV/AIDS free and could nurse the baby when born.

Botswana has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa and women are usually tested as soon as they realize they are pregnant. If they are found to be positive, then they begin drug treatment to hopefully keep the disease from being transmitted to the baby. Once the baby is born, they can not nurse the baby as an added precaution. What a testimony to God's protection over Anne and her baby.

On January 12, a beautiful 8 lb. 5 oz. baby boy was born and Anne has named him Gift. Pictured below is Anne a day after giving birth and Gift just one day old. The nurses would not let her show us the baby, so we gave her the camera to get a picture to for us to see.

Anne had also made some friends in the hospital who had not yet delivered. They visited and celebrated with us in the lobby and we later returned with pictures and baby things for them.

Two days after giving birth, Anne was placed in a safe house and is currently protected by WAR. The women who are the councilors involved with her are Christians, and she continues to read the Bible and grow in her understanding of the Lord. Because she is at a safe house, in which only WAR knows its location, we can only see her once a week for a an arranged meeting. The first picture below is of Anne and Gift when he was one week old. The next picture was taken just before he was one month.

We continue to help provide spiritual encouragement and basic provisions for Anne and Gift as the councilors guide her through forgiveness issues. In addition, we are praying for a way that she can establish a legal residence here in Botswana.

The weather in January continued to be pleasant in the morning, and then would get hot and humid in the afternoon usually leading to a heavy thunder shower in the late afternoon to evening. In a matter of minutes, there would be small lake like puddles all over our yard. Everything has gotten a lush green and somewhat overgrown. We have kept Misheck (pronounced Meshack) the gardener, busy not only tending our yard, but also the Flying Mission Services rental house as everything quickly get over grown.

As Misheck spends more time with us, he has become like a family member. When he shared with us that he had gotten a message from his wife that his nine year old daughter was sick in Zimbabwe with Malaria, and growing weaker daily, our hearts were heavy with his. We had helped him acquire full time work, and leaving to return home was not a option. His brother and sister-in-law decided to go back to Zimbabwe, so we were able to purchase the costly malaria medication to send along on the journey with them. Two weeks later when Misheck's wife, Debra, returned she emotionally thanked us for saving their daughters life. Conditions in Zimbabwe are horrible as their government crumbles under corruption. Currently, it has the highest inflation in world, there is 90% unemployment, and people are sick and dieing of colera and starvation because of no food or good water. Many families are separated as individuals like Misheck and Debra leave their homes to seek work and food. They have left their two children with Debra's mother and travel back as much as possible with supplies. Pictured below is Misheck and Debra after church recently.

Colin has also had to battle through some heavy rain conditions while flying the last month and a half. He has had a few mercy flights to transport injured people and a woman in labor from an outlying village. The picture below shows, and the story to follow explains, a little of what he has experienced when flying the mercy flights of late. An Afternoon of Prayer: I'm at home tinkering with the electric motor that supplies our house with water from the nearby Thamalaklane River when my cell phone rings at my side, it's 3:45 pm. A call from the Seronga Clinic to our base in Gaborone for a mercy flight has been forwarded to me in Maun. Seronga is a small village that sits on the banks of the Okavango River ninety miles north of Maun and in the Okavango Delta panhandle in the northwest part of Botswana. Though it is connected to the road system, the ride for a critically injured patient to the nearest hospital can be a tooth jarring four to five hours. Though the hospital is only thirty four miles to the west, the road travels first north one hundred miles, across a bridge and then south another two hundred miles to reach the hospital. With the airplane we can cut the arrival time to the hospital by almost 2/3, with the patient only traveling twenty minutes in the plane. The patient, an elderly woman of seventy-four, has been accidentally wounded in the back and legs with a blast from a shotgun. She rests very uncomfortably in the Seronga clinic losing blood as I am racing to gather my flight bag, stretcher and blankets for the plane in Maun. At 4:00pm I'm at the airport and by 4:30 I've filed my flight plan, removed two seats from the Cessna 207 aircraft, secured the stretcher into it, preflighted the plane and taxied for fuel. This afternoon is a typical Botswana rainy season afternoon. We have huge towering thunderstorms dumping torrential amounts of rain onto the earth below. They are a menacing dark grey with their black columns of rain lit by nearly continued bursts of lightning. Just as I pull up to the fuel pumps one of these storms moves onto the airport. The wind gusts blow, the rain comes down in sheets and lightning strikes all around. The fuelers are reluctant to fuel under these conditions, but I will soon run out of day light if I have to wait for this storm to pass. The fuelers realize this is a critical mercy flight and so with with the foolishness of the brave run to the hoses and plane. Two men hold the ladder as another climbs up to the wing and yet another holds an umbrella that threatens to collapse in the wind. The first prayer of the afternoon, "Lord protect these men, don't let lightning strike here." Prayer answered.

Its 4:45 and I've received taxi clearance to the end of runway 28. As I taxi down I look behind me to the departure end of the runway, it's all blackness punctured with white lightning bolts. Second prayer of the afternoon, "Lord move this storm from the runway end." I taxi to the end turning the plane to line up on the runway. I see light grey rain mists with hints of blue sky beyond. Prayer two answered. Now it's 4:55 I'm on the way to Seronga. Flying for fifty minutes across the flat Okavango Delta at fifteen hundred feet above the island laced water ways, I'm not distracted by the herds of antelope or even the elephants. The cloud ceilings are high and visibility excellent, I have no doubt that God is responsible. As it is getting toward evening and cooling down, I think there will be fewer storms on the way home. Later I would wonder, did I think I was now in control? My wrist watch, that I can't seem to stop looking at, now says 5:45 as I land at the Seronga airfield. The ambulance, a small four wheeled drive pick up with a covered bed, backs up to the plane. I open the cargo doors at the back of the plane and turn to help the medics load the patient who is laying on a foam mat and sheets in the back of the truck. My heart breaks as I see this small elderly African women whose face is already wrinkled with time and experience now more contorted with pain. We lift her into the plane with the bed sheet she was lying on to the blankets I'd prepared on the floor of the plane. She groans with pain I can't imagine. As the medics hang her I.V. from the ceiling and belt her in I hold her small head in my hands and pray the third prayer of the afternoon, "Lord ease her pain, let her ride be comfortable and preserve her life". As I open my eyes I see her smile at me, she is still in pain but not more than she can bear. Prayer answered.

Now 6:00 pm we depart Seronga. After a twenty minute flight we are in Gumare and off load the patient to another pickup with a foam pad in the back. We depart and after another twenty minutes I am back in Seronga dropping the medics at home thinking, "If I lived here I'd be home now." As I depart, my constantly nagging watch says that it is 6:50 and with the little tail wind I expect I should reach Maun by 7:35 pm, official dark. In Botswana there is no night flight except by instrument flight rules. I do not detect any tail wind. I'll be one or two minutes late but I can handle that. It's becoming dusky and it seems darker toward Maun but I can handle that. As I fly along I meet, fly through and circumnavigate heavy rain and thunderstorms that have developed since I last passed through, but I can handle that too. My circumnavigations around the storms have cost me more time, I'll arrive several minutes past "Official" dark. Perhaps I should turn about but as I look behind me there is no turning around as a line of thunderstorms has built there. Thirty miles out of Maun, with the help of an overcast layer of cloud, it is dark. It's as dark as Africa can be with no moon or stars or even people below with campfires. I've flown like this in Alaska between towering mountains, have I not?, I can handle this. I look forward and expect to see the glimmer of Maun lights but they are not there. I look in the darkened cockpit to the now bright screen of the moving map GPS navigation radio. More advanced than the GPS's I'd used before, it shows little "z" marks on the map where it registers lightning strikes. On the moving map display are a line of "z" marks between Maun and me. Suddenly it registers in my brain that I can't see Maun because, lurking out there in the darkness, there is a line of heavy thunder storms there. OK! I CAN'T HANDLE THIS ALONE. With head bowed and eyes momentarily closed I offer the fourth pray of the afternoon, now evening. It's the same prayer that I've offered so many times in thirty years of flying the Alaskan bush. "Lord, I need a path through this weather and I put myself fully in your hands." In a time of trouble that prayer can be said faster than it can be read. As I looked up with the confidence gained of similar prayers answered many times, I saw first the "z's" on the GPS screen were gone and then saw the lights of Maun. Confident of God's help, it is always still breath taking to see a prayer answered so visably. I land at Maun twenty minutes after dark but only eleven minutes after official dark. I said the fifth prayer of the day, a prayer of thanksgiving, and filed the paper work documenting my transgrestion and then life goes on, most importantly for my distressed passenger from Seronga. After I'd prayed I'd have been happy with a safe but scary ride through a heavy rain. I'd still have given the glory to God. But when we pray we should expect big answers. God likes to leave no doubt of His greatness or who is carrying us through. Many of my experiences in life and especially in Maun bring to mind Deuteronomy 3:24 which says "O Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do?"

Colin continues to enjoy interacting with people at the airport. He has especially enjoyed building friendships with the locals that work fueling the planes out on the ramp. We continue to be amazed at what a useful tool the camera has become. Everyone here seems to love posing for pictures and then seeing themselves in the digital picture view window. Better yet has been the joy it brings when we return with prints copied for each one. Few people here can afford the luxury of having pictures of themselves or family members at home. Though the color ink cartridges are costly here for our printer, the photos are a great relationship building tool. Below is just a few pictures of some friends at the airport, and those mentioned that helped Colin when he needed to fuel for the mercy flight previously explained.

Other things we have been busy with to support FMS is finding and working out a lease for an office here. Office space near the airport is extremely hard to find and expensive. We were fortunate to discover an office in a small complex down the road from the current airport entrance. The owners agreed to give it to us at a very reasonable rent, and after agreeing to take it we found out that when the airport renovations are completed, along with a new terminal building, the office will be across from the new main entrance! Pictured below is the outside of the complex and the office. It will be another place we will need to go clean up and paint.
Another request from the management in Gaborone, was to find a young Christian Motswana woman to be a meet and greet/ secretary for FMS. The Lord seemed to lead us to just the right person, and Patricia has now joined our team here. Julie has been volunteering and helping to train Patricia, who is pictured below in the center with Robert to the left of her. There were a few VIP people coming through Maun recently at different times, and we were all at the airport to meet them. We have been told that there will even be new uniforms for everyone soon.
A larger job we were involved in for FMS while the flying has been slow, was to clean up, repair, and paint the flat next to our house. It took over 50 hours of work to get it ready, but by the time Travis, the other pilot, returned from his travels it was ready to go. He is now moved in and momentarily settled until things are in place for his possible transfer to Francistown, east of Maun. Pictured below is the outside of the flat, and the inside of the finished flat.

Travis ended up being gone from Maun for two months, but two of those weeks were in Gaborone after he returned to Botswana. Over the last two months KooKoo has gotten very comfortable living with us, and with Travis living in the small flat next door it seems like we will keep her here until a new home can be found for her. Where ever we are in the house, she needs to be close and has become a good little companion to us.

The house and yard continue to be a blessing. We have always believed in a ministry of hospitality and enjoy housing other missionaries for a night or more while they take care of their business in Maun. In addition, we were recently able to host a birthday dinner for our church worship leader. Pictured below is the gathering of the worship team with their families, and Pastor Alex and his wife, from the church. In addition, Misheck has been transplanting new plants into the yard that people have given us, and we marvel each day over the colorful flowers, birds, and sunsets that surround us.

Once again we thank all of you for your prayers and emails. Please pray for the Lord's continued provision and protection. The more we get involved in the lives of people here, the more we need greater prayer support in these areas. Also, in the middle of March we should be traveling to Zambia to help our Baptist missionary friends move to a small village there. It will take two days of travel each way. We are currently waiting on an expensive part that went out on the Pajero so that we will have air conditioning for the trip (we are still Alaskans at heart and more dependent on cool air than we like to admit). The first attempt to get the part has failed and it ended up in some safari camp in the Okavango Delta but no one knows which camp....So as everyone says here,"This is Africa."

January 3, 2009

A new year has quickly swept in, and it is hard to believe we have been in Botswana for six months now. 2008 certainly was a year of change and transitions for us. A favorite gospel song of ours says, "Time is filled with swift transition, naught of earth unmoved can stand. Build you hopes on things eternal. Hold to God's unchanging hand. Trust in Him who will not leave you, whatsoever years may bring..." We certainly have been "building our hopes on things eternal", and "holding to God's unchanging hand". Even though we have made our share of mistakes in the process, we can still keep our sense of humor and continue to trust in Him through all the new experiences we have been encountering.


Shortly after the posting of our last blog, Mmatshimo asked us to come watch her traditional dance group perform again. At the time, we did not realize that the group was asked to be the entertainment at a graduation ceremony for the Wildlife Management Institute. It turned out to be a four hour formal affair, and we politely sat through the whole thing. Mmatshimo and her group performed a few times during the event along with a few other groups. But mostly there were many government officials there, with lots of military pomp and ceremony involved as 200 game rangers and conservation agents received their degrees. Pictured below are some of the rangers during the singing of the national anthem, and Mmatshimo's group singing and dancing in their new costumes.
A few days after the graduation we enjoyed the company of old friend's who used to live in Galena, and some friends of theirs, as they stayed with us a night while passing through Maun. Tim and Laurel Osborne have been living in Namibia for the last ten years, but had been helping with a project putting radio transmitters on Kori Bustards (big birds) in the Central Kalahari Reserve. They stopped for a visit on their way to Zambia where they spent Christmas with friends. The friends they were traveling with were on their way to Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwean boarder, and then were to fly back to the states from Namibia on Christmas day. Just about a quarter mile from our house there is a woman that makes some of the nicest baskets around here, so everyone was thrilled to get some lovely souvenirs to return home with from Botswana.
Only three days past after our Namibia guests departed, we had the pleasure of another visit from our missionary friend from Rakops for two days. After twenty years ministering in the country, John had some good insights to impart to us and many interesting stories share. His company was a pleasure. We continue to feel blessed with this home, and thankful to be able to extend hospitality with others the Lord brings into our lives.

One day, after five months of living in Maun and driving by the sign pointing the direction to the Game Studio Taxidermy, we finally got to drive out into the "Boro" ward area and view the factory. Julie had established a friendship with the owner's daughter-in-law, so she had been out to visit the property previously for a "coffee with cream" invitation one day after church when Colin was flying. It is a long way back on a sand track road, but well worth the drive. The property is beautiful and located by the river, with a bird aviary that Katie and her husband own. The factory had burned down a few years ago, so the elephant pictured below was just getting replaced from the original loss. Most of the recently completed trophies had just been shipped out, and the staff was on break when we visited, but there still were plenty of interesting animals to view and of course a good visit to have with Katie over tea.

A real highlight for us during the Christmas season was the discovery of boxes filled with baby clothes and toiletry supplies in a Flying Mission Services storage container. After filling our Pajero with all the items, we took them to the Flying Mission house to sort. Most of the baby clothes were already in 1 gallon zip-lock bags, which had salvation tracts in Setswana from a publisher in South Africa. There were also boxes of empty zip-lock bags and boxes with hand towels and face clothes, soap, shampoo, tooth paste and tooth brushes. Furthermore, there was a box of tin cups with a Bible verse painted on each one. So we put those things together and mad additional toiletry bags. There were also some canvas bags with the Flying Mission Services decal and some T-shirts for adults, so we made care bags using those also. In addition, each bag had a Flying Mission Services brochure in it. As the Flying Mission Services team in Maun (minus Travis who was still in the states visiting family), we organized piles of gift bags to be distributed to local people in need. We had baby bags sorted for new or expecting mothers, toiletry bags for children, along with a few adult items in the canvas tote bags. Robert and Pusteso knew of a number of new mothers not only around Maun, but also in their home village of Sepopa north of here. Some additional bags went to the church we attend to be given to people a few days before Christmas in more rural areas. Mmatshimo helped out by going with us to the out lying village of Sexaxa (pronounced Sicaca), and taking bags to her village of Disaneng. Pictured below are just a few of the people we visited when giving out the gift bags. People here live very simplistically in small huts. The children have very little and were thrilled by the simple gifts bags we distributed. It felt a bit like being a pied piper of children as we visited from home to home. They loved having their picture taken, and all Colin had to do was point the camera in a direction and they would run that way, gather together, and pose. Below is just a sample of the fifty or so shots we took during our village visits. Notice the car toys made from wire they were so proud to show us. We have been printing out the pictures we take and returning for further visits as we continue to build relationships with the people the Lord draws us to.
Not only were we able to give needed items to people who greatly appreciated the material help, but we were able to plant some spiritual seeds in addition to reflecting Christ like love as we distributed the gift bags. In a small and simple way it felt like we were able to truly share Christ, the real gift of Christmas this season.

Christmas in Maun was very low key, with little or no commercial hype as we usually experience in the states. Moreover, the lack of snow and the hot weather further hindered any sense that it was time for Christmas. We did enjoy a very nice candle light service at the church we have been attending that was on the 20th, and by the 23rd of December we had planned to attend another service on Christmas day and join our friends that own Island Safari Lodge near our home for a holiday meal. But with a charter cancellation on the 26th, and Robert's family trying to get to their home village about five hours drive from here, we decided to take a brief trip up the delta "panhandle" for Christmas instead. Early the morning of the 24th, we picked up Robert's family and loaded more of the gift bags in the car to take to Sepopa. Pictured below was what much of the village looks like, and the little yard entry to Pusetso's mother's home once we arrived there. Robert grew up right next door, so both were excited to have time with family. Note the bundles of papyrus reed drying for later sale or use as fencing as seen in the pictures.


Due to an early departure, we arrived in Sepopa by noon with plans to stay at the Sepopa Swamp Stop Lodge near by to the village. After checking in, and enjoying a light meal, we rented a boat and driver to try some fishing on the Okavango River. It was not the peak season and Colin did not have any success, but we just enjoyed being on the water for a brief time. Our boat driver even made Julie a water lily necklace, and explained aspects of traditional living by the local people while Colin fished. We were only able to be out on the river for about an hour when a huge storm blew in; after all it is currently the rainy season...The storm was very dramatic with thick sheets of rain and spectacular lightening. We made it back just in time and watched the storm from the shelter of the lodge along with a few other guests staying there.


Another couple from Durban, South Africa was on holiday in Botswana and we enjoyed visiting with them at the lodge. We had decided to explore the Tsodilo Hills the next day where there are approximately 2,700 rock paintings created up to 3,000 years ago by the San/bushman people. Botswana is almost totally flat except for this small group of hills in the northwest part of the country. Our new friends, Jackie and Clynton, asked to join us on our Christmas day trip to the hills. The guide book said that the road in was rugged, so we all felt it would be better to travel together. After almost 3 hours of beating our way into the hills through soft sand tracks needing 4 wheel drive, the hills finally were in view. We found our way to the main gate and were immediately noticed by some village children selling necklaces made from local seeds and reeds. They seemed quite good at negotiating a sale, and of course we all could not refuse a few mementos.

Driving further into the hill area we discovered that there was a newly built museum and camping area inside. Continuing to drive around some of the roads close to the museum area, we explored caves and found numerous animal paintings on the rock walls as we hiked in some of the trails of the roads.

The funniest part of our adventure was when we realized there was a well maintained road to travel in on from further north of Sepopa and it only took us half an hour to drive back out. We all felt that going in through the bush had been a fun adventure, though if we return some day we would definitely use the new road. Back at the Swamp Stop Lodge, a nice dip in the pool was a great way to get relief from the heat and finish our Christmas holiday.

Two days after Christmas, the chief pilot for Flying Mission Services was here for a few days, and it was nice to see someone from our Gaborone Flying Mission family. He left on the 31st and New Years eve was spent visiting with our Baptist missionary friends and praising the Lord for His continued provision and care.

Most recently, Colin has been flying fairly regularly with the holiday travelers going on photo safaris to the bush camps near Maun. Julie finally got to go with Colin to pick up two passengers the other day, and seeing the area from the air for the first time was impressive. We saw giraffe and gemsbok on the flight out, in addition to hitting a small bird at 5,000 feet above sea level (a large bird could have been a problem). Robert is pictured below after taking it out of the plane cowling. Colin started joking about it being a small chicken for Robert's lunch, and other porters around continued in the fun. Because of the heat in the engine, it was pretty well cooked and jokes were made about a small chicken braai (BBQ) for Robert. People here are plesantly easy going, and Colin really enjoys his daily interactions with those he works with. This morning we had a chameleon clinging to the wire fence around our patio, hissing at one of the dogs as Red tried to attack it. The fencing was gray and the post near by was brown. In the photo below you can see how closely it had changed its coloring as it tried to blend in to its surrounding, but that still was not enough to protect itself from our barking dog. Colin held out a large stick and the chameleon carefully climbed on and allowed itself to be transported to the safety of a nearby tree. It then changed to the color of the tree bark. How amazingly simple for this small creature to just change to blend in to a new place. How quietly trusting and content it was to just be safely transported to a new location. How remarkably adaptable and flexible.We can not say that the changes this year were easy or always simple, but the transitions in our lives have been positive and we certainly can see the hand of God in it all. Each day we continue to try to be a small blessing in someway to someone here as we seek guidance and direction from the Lord. In a recent Bible devotional a scripture was quoted that said, "Who despises the day of small things?" Zechariah 4:10 NIV. The overall point of the devotional was that often as Christians we can get caught up in the adage of "the bigger the better" when it comes to ministering. People sometime want to measure success in numbers or spectacular displays of God's power. But in reality, all God is interested in is our heart and our willingness to be obedient. It is good to remember that even in small things, His spirit is enabled His purposes will be fulfilled. We are just a small part of the Lord's work here in Botswana, but in this new year and season of our life please pray we continue to be obedient in the small things (and maybe a bit more like the chameleon.)

December 8, 2008

It is hard to believe so much time has pasted since we last posted a blog. As we get more involved with the community and in peoples lives here, the less time we have had to put everything that has been happening into words. Please be patient as we try to recap the last six weeks....

Colin flew the C210 to Gaborone on the third of November for routine maintenance and returned on Air Botswana six days later, as the plane needed more extensive prop work. That week was emotionally very difficult and being apart made it even more so. We had known that Colin's mother's health was failing, and at 93 years old, she had been ready to go be with the Lord for some time. All that week she lingered as friends and family said good by, until she quietly passed on November 6. It was hard not to be with her even though we knew when we visited in June that it may be the last time we saw her on this earth, but it was also a time for rejoicing as she went home to be with the Lord. Though not financially wealthy, she was always rich in the way it really counted, in her love for the Lord. Raised in a Christian family and in turn raised her children in Christ, she was able to see all three accept Christ and two go onto foreign mission fields. God always provided more than enough and she always reflected Christ to others. Can one be richer than that? We are so grateful to Colin's cousins for the years of watching over her at the nursing home, and for being there to the end when we could not. During that same week, a Flying Mission Services family in Gaborone also lost their 18 month old son in an accident. It was quite a shock to everyone with the mission, and our hearts went out to the family who had just joined the mission team two months earlier. We thank all of you who have prayed for the family when we cried out for prayer. They have felt those prayers through the Lord's goodness in strengthening and upholding them in their loss.

By the end of the first week of November the long awaited rains started. With the rain came relief from the heat and cooler weather. Moreover, the land turned lush and green within about ten days and the dry, dusty, sand track roads are now moist with puddles. Along with the summer rains, a variety of larger insects, lizards, and snakes have come also. Pictured below is a cicada moth. They live in the mopane trees, and during the heat of the day make a buzzing noise that is so loud it makes conversation in a mopane grove nearly impossible. Also shown is a chameleon that Colin found sunning itself on our car one day, and a snake Colin killed on our patio one night. We found out later that this snake's venom is not deadly, but 90% of the snakes here are usually very poisonous.

In addition, we continue to see new birds and animals in our yard on a regular basis. One night a few days after returning from Gaborone, Colin was sipping Roobos tea on the patio and watching the sunset when.....Colin says, "I thought, 'If a leopard were to be in that big tree (20 yards from me) there wouldn't be enough light to shoot by.' Just as the thought crossed my mind, the silhouette of a large cat slid up the tree into the upper branches! I new it could not be a house cat, as it was too big and had a particular grace in movement that even in low light, I could see. Startled, I ran for my flashlight while calling Julie and our neighbor to come see. That way if it were a leopard, I'd only have one chance in three of being mauled! Actually, caught in the torch beam was a very large spotted genet. The genet is an African wild cat somewhat smaller than a leopard. It appeared quite calm and after watching us for 20 minutes, it came down the tree. Even with the dogs watching and waiting at the base of the tree, it easily out distances them to and then over the fence. It was a real thrill for us!" We tried to get some pictures, but only ended up with a tail shot as it moved from branch to branch. The first picture below is a download from the net, and our tail shot is proof this is a true story! Furthermore, we have had a few mongoose and kangaroo rats in the yard.

A week after getting home from Gaborone, Colin was asked to go up north to Zambia to help with wildlife counts Flying Mission Services was contracted to complete. Travis and the mission pilots in Zambia had been busy with the project for a month. The morning Colin was to fly Air Botswana to Johannesburg South Africa to catch a flight to Zambia, Mmatshimo called and asked if we could take her to an outlying village to pick up part of her groups dance costumes being made by an elder woman. These were special parts of the costumes that are skirts called a matlhaka, pronounced makaka which means sheet. Julie says," Since Colin was leaving, I told Mmatshimo I would take her. We had to wait for her friend OT (she goes by the initials for a name too long to say or write) who knew the woman, and then for the woman and her husband to get done at a village meeting taking place that day. As we drove the seven miles out to the village, I realized OT did not speak any English, as Mmatshimo translated everything said between us. OT said we had to meet the woman and her husband at the river when they crossed by Mokoros ( a traditional wooden canoe) from the village meeting. There are people who run little ferry businesses with these boats, and we had to find the ferry dock. As we drove in and out of sand track roads trying to find the right spot, Mmatshimo told me to stop and she asked a man walking from the river with fish he had caught, where the landing was. They chattered in Setswana and then the man hopped in the back seat with OT. He would tell Mmatshimo were to go and then she would tell me. We finally found the landing just as the elder couple came ashore. Everyone piled in the car, even the man with the fish, and we drove to the couples house. In the heat of the day, and even with all the windows open, body smells mixed with fish permeated through the car...Once we drove back into the couple's plot, they brought chairs out from the small hut and everyone visited under the shade of a tree while the ladies discussed the papyrus reed skirts. OT and Mmatshimo put them on to test how well they would swing when dancing and decide two were good, but the other two needed more work. The whole time the man with the fish just sat there with us, but did not join in the conversation. No one really acknowledged him, which is odd in this culture. I found out later from Mmatshimo that he was the couple's cousin and was waiting for a ride back to the road with us. I didn't understand a word being said, but everyone was friendly and I just smiled a lot." Pictured below are Mmatshimo, OT, and the elder couple who are dressed in their Sunday best for the village meeting they attended. They are holding the four matlhaka skirts. Furthermore, they make nets and the couple brought one out to show me. Notice pictured behind them is a papyrus reed fence around their little brick house. Also pictured below is the man with the fish.

Colin had to make two attempts to get up to Zambia on Air Botswana, and finally got there on Sunday the 16th. Zambia is closer to the equator with more rain, so it is greener with much more humidity than Botswana. Flying Mission has an old farm house that has been converted to a guest house where Colin was able to stay. He really enjoyed the comfort of relaxing by the pool after a long day of flying. It was somewhat of a contrast from flying in the cold of winter in Alaska. The only real difficulty while away was dealing with even more bugs. Colin thought the bugs were big and bad here, but found an even larger and more diverse population of bugs while in Zambia. In addition, he was bitten by a large spider his first night there while sleeping. He still has the fang marks to show for it. Fortunately it was not deadly, but the venom did cause swelling and pain for a few hours after. Pictured below is the guest house along with just a few bugs he encountered and the dead, smashed spider that bit him in the night.

Colin found the country to be mostly rural, with dynamic and friendly people living through out. Nearly everyone farms or works on huge commercial vegetable farms. The guest house is also in a rural area and has a dirt landing strip that the Flying Mission Zambia team flies from. The strip is about 15 miles from Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia. Every day Colin flew from the strip over to the international airport in Lusaka to pick up his four observers. Pictured below is a typical village like many others that dot the country side. Additional photos are of the plane and people Colin flew with daily.

The work was similar to the wildlife surveys Colin has done for years in Alaska, though he had a larger plane and more than one observer. They would fly at 300 feet counting all the animals they saw between two ropes that were tied to the wing struts. They saw lots of elephants, cape buffalo, and antelope. Colin says, "A few times we accidentally crossed the Zambezi River boarder into Zimbabwe. At one point we flew over a camp with lots of little brown uniformed men running toward a small shed. When I was told it was an army encampment, and the shed was an arms storage unit, I beat a hasty retreat."

The day after Colin returned from Zambia, we went to a farewell dinner for two missionary friends from the United States that had been with the Love Botswana ministry for the last four years. They are changing missions to Word for Africa and will be living in Lobatse, south of Gaborone on the South Africa boarder. The event was held at the All Nations Village Church, which is basically a large open tent meeting place. We enjoyed visiting with people we knew, making new friends, and enjoying the food, music, and warm fellowship throughout the evening of November 23.

One of our neighbors in the flats next door, Munya, has moved to Gaborone and Adrian will be moving in a couple of weeks also. Colin has taken over the maintenance of the property, and the first thing to fail was the water pump. Luckily, Colin had been keeping up with filling the two large "JoJo" water containers holding our water for the house. That gave him a few days to figure out the problem. Colin says," The pump is on a stand pipe beside the Thamalakane River. Because of the present high water, to get to the electric motor I had to wade out through the weeds, lily pads, and papyrus stalks. The water was almost arm pit deep and what's the saying about, "Up to your elbows in crocodiles..."? I managed to take the pump motor off and have it tested (nothing wrong there), reinstall it (another date with the crocs), then found and repaired a faulty wire connection. All this was done while standing in the water on an aluminum ladder (power at the house was shut off of coarse), without being electrocuted or chomped by crocs. Makes me think of a line in a Clint Eastwood movie,'Well, are you feeling lucky punk? Are you?'." After a few days of problem solving, the pump was functional on Thanksgiving Day. Our Thanksgiving Day was actually celebrated on Saturday with thirteen other Americans at the Village Church Pastor's home. It is not a national holiday here, so most of us were working on Thursday.

With Munya moving to Gaborone, we have now inherited the two guard dogs that live on this plot, along with the Zimbabwean gardener named Meeshak, who comes once a week. So many people here live on very little income, and are so grateful for a job. The Lord seems to be bringing certain people into our lives, and we can to provide work for a few that are in need. Meeshak is pictured below as he waits for a down pour to stop. Note the foamy puddle behind him by the lawn just a few minutes after it started to rain.

In addition to friendship and relation building with people here in Maun, as a Maun Flying Mission Services team, we have begun to meet on Monday nights to share in a time of prayer and fellowship. We are pictured below with Travis, Robert, and Robert's wife Pusetso. Also, other missionaries working in some of the remote villages have heard Flying Missions Services have perminent people here now, and they are hungry for Christian fellowship when in town to do business. Over the last few weeks, we have had a team of three stay with us from the village of Rakops in the central Kalahari (second picture below), and a young couple that live near Xai xai (pronounced Ky ky) on the Botswana-Namibia boarder. They are pictured outside with their little girl and they also are with Word for Africa ministering to the San bushman people.

The last three weeks of the school term were particularly busy. Not only were there end of the year things to take care of such as report cards and classroom closure, but also an awards ceremony (they call it "Prize Giving"), and a Christmas program for the students to practice for and perform. With Colin gone to Zambia, it was a perfect time to complete the twenty-four end of the year "Reports". With the school being a private international school, the reports were very detailed and time consuming. Then for prize giving, every student gets some sort of award for a strong or improved academic area. The ceremony started at 10:30am on November 28, and ended at 1pm. All 200 students were given an award, then there were special sports awards before a 30 minute brake for tea. All the lower aged classes did some sort of entertainment after tea. The little ones that Julie worked with for the last three months, did two dance routines with the dance teacher that had come one day a week all year. The pictures to follow are of Lucy, her team teacher, sitting with some of our students. The next is the class with Ketty, our classroom aide, and the two pictures after that are of the students doing their dances to "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." The last photo is all the Standard 1 through 7 students at the end of school Christmas play. The program took place at the All Nations Village Church on December 3. The little ones opened the show with a lively song led by the music teacher.

We continue to bounce back and forth between the Maun Methodist Church and the Village Church. On Thursday we go to a mid week service at the Village Church, then on Sunday we fellowship at the Methodist Church that is a mixture of expatriates (like us who have moved here from other countries to work), people from India and Korea, Zimbabweans, and local Batswana. The first picture below is of Pastor Alex blessing the children as they go off for Sunday school. Also, Julie has started helping with worship music and meets with a few different people each week to practice at our house.

Colin dropped Travis off at the bus station at 6am on the 6th of December to travel to Gaborone, and then to the states to see family and friends. He will also go to Germany and Switzerland on his return to see other missionary friends made through Flying Missions over the last year and a half. A total time of six weeks in planned, and so we have now brought KooKoo home to be with us while he is gone. The biggest concern is to keep the door locked so she will not get out. The dogs have already gotten the previous renters cat....We are convinced she is an African Wild Cat. She has longer legs and ears than a domestic cat, and has the distinct reddish-brown on the back of her ears in addition to a longer ringed tail, and other distinguishing features. If you remember from an earlier blog, she was found alone on the side of the road in the Gaborone area.In closing, we are ever thankful for all of your continued interest, prayers, and encouragement. We feel the Lord is truly blessing us in our time here. The house is perfect for our needs and we are grateful for His provision. In the picture below, Colin enjoyed watching and listening to all the birds in our yard during a recent tea break (10am is always tea time here). It is our hope to continue to share the blessing of this home through hospitality to others. There is much need here, and we are seeking His guidance on where to zero in on the personal mission God would have us do. At this point, we are still observing, seeking, and waiting for a definite call. We do feel we have been able to encourage and help others in a variety of ways though, and will remain focused on helping to build the Flying Mission base here.