March 1, 2012
February is finished. Another month has gone by. It’s hard to believe that another month of my time here is already done. How incredible it is to me that so much can be accomplished, so many surprising events can occur, so many new faces can become familiar, and so many relationships can be built in such a short time. After realizing this, it makes me see how important it is to value time. I’m not saying "clock time" necessarily, but rather, we need to value the time we share with others. It is easy to say, "Oh, I don’t need to talk to this person right now." I know I am not the only one who puts things on the back burner because it’s so much easier to do than to make time for people when so much else seems to be more important right then. As I look back now, I see that I did this a lot back at home in the states. I would put off time with various friends who mattered to me, and who sometimes needed to talk, and then regretted not taking that time to listen and share with them. But being in Africa has deepened my understanding of how important it is to value every moment we have with someone. Rather than just brushing off opportunities to develop strong relationships, I find myself more and more embracing them, because once the chance is gone, it is gone, and it won’t ever come back. I see how many chances God gives us to shine His light on the people we encounter, how He gives us words to share, and how sometimes I haven’t obeyed, or have missed the cues God gave me.
I have seen in my time here the many opportunities that He has given me to share His unending love with others. God has blessed me so much in my work at St. Peters Daycare Center. I’ve had a wonderful opportunity to teach and to learn from children who have suffered. Some have lost family members to AIDS. Together we are looking at the love of Jesus in the Bible, and I am trying to help them trust Him (and the staff!) to be Lord of their lives. A few years ago I could not have seen myself in this position. How could I help anyone? Would people even take me seriously? God’s answer was "yes, you can encourage my people, and they will take you seriously because of what I am doing in you, because of who you are in ME." And that’s why it’s very important to accept with an open heart every chance He offers us to show others what He is like through our own obedience. The staff and Mma Mudereri have told me how much God’s love radiates out from me, and that even children see it. Wouldn’t it be a real sadness if I had refused such a wonderful opportunity to share the good news with children in a way that lets them see that He is good and can use ANYONE who is willing to be used by Him! I think we should change the "service project" to the "honor project!" It is an incredible honor to be asked to do anything at all for the Lord Jesus, and it brings honor to Him to try to obey his invitation to be His messenger.
Last week I also visited Cheshire again, and met with Rra Mabusa, who is in charge of the Cheshire Center. It was terrific! I also met with two women, Mma Leleti, who is in charge of the staff, and Mma Catherine who advocates for the disabled who live there. Together we took a look at the plan I am developing for teaching a class on Scripture as it relates to the disabled, showing them to be created in the image of God exactly like anyone else. We want to discuss what that means for the church, for the disabled, for those who work with them. We talked about the scriptures I might use, and the concepts we want to cover. We need to decide exactly who the participants will be, but I think we are going to include staff, parents and some of the youth from St Michael’s who want to get involved, as well as the disabled themselves. This will be an interesting mix, and ought to be a good time for all of us. It will probably be five or six weeks long, so we can talk about the way Jesus refused to blame the blind man or his parents for his disability (which is a big deal here.) There is a lot to share, and I am eager to get it organized enough to send a plan to Dr Malone, my teacher for the indigenous theologizing class.
There was also another really cool thing that happened! I had gone to the Spar Grocery Store at RiverWalk, and the manager, Maurice, came up to me and wanted to hear my whole story. He also wanted to see any artwork I had with me, so I pulled out a couple of cards that were in my backpack. He told me that he has seen me in there a lot, and how much he loved my "positive attitude and bright smile." He knows I am a Christian, and he is too. But he had not thought much about how the disabled fit into God’s plan. He said he would like to display my work (good thing I brought some of the large prints!) at the store along with some of his friends’ artwork. Then we got talking about how the disabled are so often hidden away at home, so that few people get a chance to know what they can do. He said he wants to contact Cheshire and other places and schools for the disabled and have other disabled people bring their artwork, their music, and their other talents to share. He wants to have a whole Saturday that focuses on the disabled and their needs and their abilities! He even wants to contact the media for this event! This is too cool, huh?!
Another opportunity to talk about the Lord came when I was with Tshegofatso Bogacu, whom I mentioned in my last blog. I had been rethinking my decision to participate in the Fundraiser walk for Cheshire, because it was outside of Gaborone and the walkers needed to be there at 6:00 am on Saturday the 25.th I was not sure if I was going to be able to get a taxi ride at that hour on a Saturday morning. Sandy had an engagement at 9:00, so she could not participate in the event with me. I told Tshegofatso on the Sunday before that I was worried about how I was going to do this. She told me that she’d be happy to take me, since she and her boyfriend would be walking as well. She said that she would pick me up around 5:30 am so we would all arrive in time for the walk. I was so glad for her help, and I’m glad I went.
My day began at 5:00 when I woke up and had Sandy help me get showered and ready for my 5:30 pick-up. Tshegofatso came with her boyfriend, Tshepiso Sasa Molelekeng, who gently helped me get into the large red car, and we headed off to the walk. Here is where some great God-talk happened. As we were driving along the dimly lit road, Tshegofatso and I started a discussion about Lent and what it meant to each of us. We both have the same understanding that Lent means a time to emptying ourselves of "junk," and to be more open to God who wants to fill us with more and more of himself. It is a time when some people commit themselves to fasting from various food such as chocolate, meat, soda, or wheat products, while others choose to give up certain types of things like Facebook, anger at others, or resentfulness. It’s not just about giving up something, although that can remind us of what we are really doing - but also taking on, or making room for something else, like patience or being willing to forgive. I told Tshegofatso that I’m giving up my habit of getting so easily irritated with myself about the things I struggle to do, or when there is something that really is difficult to understand how to resolve, (such as the situation Sandy and I have had with hired help, for instance!) I shared that when I do this, let go and stop being annoyed with myself because I can’t resolve everything by myself, or do everything for myself, or make everything "work," I end up being more open. Then I am more able to see and to understand more clearly what God is trying to teach me. She told me that she has made the hard decision to deliberately love others more carefully than she usually does. She says that sometimes this is very difficult for her to do. She explained to me that when she chooses this way that this makes her feel like she is closer to God (who is Love) and to see that we are called to love and value every human being, even when it’s difficult at times. We both thought how important Lent is to us, and that it really does help us become more aware of our relationship with our Lord and Savior. I told her how it helps us cry out to the Lord for help when we really see ourselves this way, and that it makes us see that we cannot do anything apart from Him. As we were talking I thought to myself, how often we do forget how much God loves us, and wants us to be closer to Him. It’s like, "yes, I know all this" and, "I have already heard this a thousand times before in the many conversations I’ve had with friends"…and yet I still forget how important it is, to not just hear it but to obey it so I can this experience it again and again. I remember the hymn that many of us have grown up with, "I have decided to follow Jesus." It originated in a tribe in my birth-country, India where new believers were being severely persecuted. My mom told me that there is a verse we don’t sing in English. I loved it and think it is particularly powerful. "Though I may wonder, I still will follow. Though I may wonder, I still will follow. No turning back...No turning back.." I think I am sometimes uneasy admitting that I do sometimes really wonder what God is doing, worrying about it, and then not being excited to see what is coming next. When I wonder, I don’t always trust Him. I think I need to KNOW. But it is true, even when we "wonder" and aren’t sure what is going on, we still want to be able to sing, "No turning back, no turning back." I think that’s why Lent is so important. To think that if I had been too shy to ask for help getting there, I’d have missed the walk, which was great for me and gave me a chance to meet so many others who are interested in the disabled - and I would have missed this very valuable conversation and a great opportunity to keep building a friendship with a young woman whom I enjoy and admire.
Anyway, the walk was wonderful and long. It gets hot so early in the day that we needed to get it underway very early. There were more than 200 people who participated in the walk, including many of the youth from St. Michael’s. Since we started so early, the weather was nice and cool for the whole hour and a half walk. Tshegofatso’s boyfriend, Tshepiso, pushed me the whole way, for which I was very grateful! There are just things I can’t do at all here without assistance. In the US I’d have just grabbed my electric chair and "done it myself!" But this is good. I am learning how to allow myself to be dependent when I need to be so that I don’t miss anything God has for me here. Tshepiso told me that it was a great experience for him, too, and that he also enjoyed it as much as Tshgofatso and I did. I had a lot of fun with the youth, trying my choppy Setswana with them. It’s getting better all the time, thanks to everyone who is willing to repeat words over and over for me! I’m glad I went, and I feel like my relationships are growing with the young people, with my new friends, even with strangers who were there to help out other disabled people.
On another note, last Wednesday we had to let Ntebeleng go. That was very hard for me. I like her a lot, but she just wasn’t doing the work we had hired her to do. We got some really good help from the Anglican Women’s Fellowship about how to do it in a culturally appropriate way, so that she would not lose face. We did not want to hurt her, and we did not want to let her think that we do not like her, but Sandy and I just needed someone else to work for us. We are in the process now of finding a replacement, or, really two different part time people, one to work with me and one to do the housework.
There’s an older woman, Elsie, who will probably work out to do the cleaning. She is very careful with that kind of work, but she is an older woman who because of her age and physical condition can’t possibly work with me.
We think we have another person for me, though. There’s a young woman named Kamohelo who seems interested in the job. She’s good at beadwork, and I am interested in jewelry making as well. She’s nearer to my age and might turn out to be a pretty good companion, especially since Sandy is helping me get ready in the morning so she won’t have to do anything like that. I just met her yesterday, but Sandy has known her since she arrived last year, so we will see if this works out.
There’s just one more thing I want to share this week. Father Amanze, my supervisor, set up a meeting for Sandy and me at the Office of the President of Botswana where we met for over an house with a former theological student of Father Amanze’s. Thomas Timmy Motingwa has been appointed by the President of Botswana as Coordinator of the Disability Unit for the country. Imagine what it can mean to have a committee Christian in this job! We had a great time, and he asked me to serve on his national disability committee until I leave in July. This was just amazing. He hopes I will have time to speak to others about what it means for the disabled to be seen ad real people with needs and gifts. Of course, for me (and for him) this truth comes from Scripture, form creation itself, so it will always be a time of telling the truth about God’s love and power, and denying that evil spirits or evil behavior on the part of our parents, made us the way we are. This message is so needed her. And the freedom that comes from it can make a real difference. One day Dr Frost, my ICS professor in Bolivar, commented that my disability IS my "platform." It is the gift I have been given by which I can share the love and the purposes of God, the great salvation of Jesus Christ and the power of the Spirit of God over all others spirits. I see more and more how that is exactly the truth.
Okay - I think that is all I can write for now.
Ke o Rata (I love you)!
Minda
February is finished. Another month has gone by. It’s hard to believe that another month of my time here is already done. How incredible it is to me that so much can be accomplished, so many surprising events can occur, so many new faces can become familiar, and so many relationships can be built in such a short time. After realizing this, it makes me see how important it is to value time. I’m not saying "clock time" necessarily, but rather, we need to value the time we share with others. It is easy to say, "Oh, I don’t need to talk to this person right now." I know I am not the only one who puts things on the back burner because it’s so much easier to do than to make time for people when so much else seems to be more important right then. As I look back now, I see that I did this a lot back at home in the states. I would put off time with various friends who mattered to me, and who sometimes needed to talk, and then regretted not taking that time to listen and share with them. But being in Africa has deepened my understanding of how important it is to value every moment we have with someone. Rather than just brushing off opportunities to develop strong relationships, I find myself more and more embracing them, because once the chance is gone, it is gone, and it won’t ever come back. I see how many chances God gives us to shine His light on the people we encounter, how He gives us words to share, and how sometimes I haven’t obeyed, or have missed the cues God gave me.
I have seen in my time here the many opportunities that He has given me to share His unending love with others. God has blessed me so much in my work at St. Peters Daycare Center. I’ve had a wonderful opportunity to teach and to learn from children who have suffered. Some have lost family members to AIDS. Together we are looking at the love of Jesus in the Bible, and I am trying to help them trust Him (and the staff!) to be Lord of their lives. A few years ago I could not have seen myself in this position. How could I help anyone? Would people even take me seriously? God’s answer was "yes, you can encourage my people, and they will take you seriously because of what I am doing in you, because of who you are in ME." And that’s why it’s very important to accept with an open heart every chance He offers us to show others what He is like through our own obedience. The staff and Mma Mudereri have told me how much God’s love radiates out from me, and that even children see it. Wouldn’t it be a real sadness if I had refused such a wonderful opportunity to share the good news with children in a way that lets them see that He is good and can use ANYONE who is willing to be used by Him! I think we should change the "service project" to the "honor project!" It is an incredible honor to be asked to do anything at all for the Lord Jesus, and it brings honor to Him to try to obey his invitation to be His messenger.
Last week I also visited Cheshire again, and met with Rra Mabusa, who is in charge of the Cheshire Center. It was terrific! I also met with two women, Mma Leleti, who is in charge of the staff, and Mma Catherine who advocates for the disabled who live there. Together we took a look at the plan I am developing for teaching a class on Scripture as it relates to the disabled, showing them to be created in the image of God exactly like anyone else. We want to discuss what that means for the church, for the disabled, for those who work with them. We talked about the scriptures I might use, and the concepts we want to cover. We need to decide exactly who the participants will be, but I think we are going to include staff, parents and some of the youth from St Michael’s who want to get involved, as well as the disabled themselves. This will be an interesting mix, and ought to be a good time for all of us. It will probably be five or six weeks long, so we can talk about the way Jesus refused to blame the blind man or his parents for his disability (which is a big deal here.) There is a lot to share, and I am eager to get it organized enough to send a plan to Dr Malone, my teacher for the indigenous theologizing class.
There was also another really cool thing that happened! I had gone to the Spar Grocery Store at RiverWalk, and the manager, Maurice, came up to me and wanted to hear my whole story. He also wanted to see any artwork I had with me, so I pulled out a couple of cards that were in my backpack. He told me that he has seen me in there a lot, and how much he loved my "positive attitude and bright smile." He knows I am a Christian, and he is too. But he had not thought much about how the disabled fit into God’s plan. He said he would like to display my work (good thing I brought some of the large prints!) at the store along with some of his friends’ artwork. Then we got talking about how the disabled are so often hidden away at home, so that few people get a chance to know what they can do. He said he wants to contact Cheshire and other places and schools for the disabled and have other disabled people bring their artwork, their music, and their other talents to share. He wants to have a whole Saturday that focuses on the disabled and their needs and their abilities! He even wants to contact the media for this event! This is too cool, huh?!
Another opportunity to talk about the Lord came when I was with Tshegofatso Bogacu, whom I mentioned in my last blog. I had been rethinking my decision to participate in the Fundraiser walk for Cheshire, because it was outside of Gaborone and the walkers needed to be there at 6:00 am on Saturday the 25.th I was not sure if I was going to be able to get a taxi ride at that hour on a Saturday morning. Sandy had an engagement at 9:00, so she could not participate in the event with me. I told Tshegofatso on the Sunday before that I was worried about how I was going to do this. She told me that she’d be happy to take me, since she and her boyfriend would be walking as well. She said that she would pick me up around 5:30 am so we would all arrive in time for the walk. I was so glad for her help, and I’m glad I went.
My day began at 5:00 when I woke up and had Sandy help me get showered and ready for my 5:30 pick-up. Tshegofatso came with her boyfriend, Tshepiso Sasa Molelekeng, who gently helped me get into the large red car, and we headed off to the walk. Here is where some great God-talk happened. As we were driving along the dimly lit road, Tshegofatso and I started a discussion about Lent and what it meant to each of us. We both have the same understanding that Lent means a time to emptying ourselves of "junk," and to be more open to God who wants to fill us with more and more of himself. It is a time when some people commit themselves to fasting from various food such as chocolate, meat, soda, or wheat products, while others choose to give up certain types of things like Facebook, anger at others, or resentfulness. It’s not just about giving up something, although that can remind us of what we are really doing - but also taking on, or making room for something else, like patience or being willing to forgive. I told Tshegofatso that I’m giving up my habit of getting so easily irritated with myself about the things I struggle to do, or when there is something that really is difficult to understand how to resolve, (such as the situation Sandy and I have had with hired help, for instance!) I shared that when I do this, let go and stop being annoyed with myself because I can’t resolve everything by myself, or do everything for myself, or make everything "work," I end up being more open. Then I am more able to see and to understand more clearly what God is trying to teach me. She told me that she has made the hard decision to deliberately love others more carefully than she usually does. She says that sometimes this is very difficult for her to do. She explained to me that when she chooses this way that this makes her feel like she is closer to God (who is Love) and to see that we are called to love and value every human being, even when it’s difficult at times. We both thought how important Lent is to us, and that it really does help us become more aware of our relationship with our Lord and Savior. I told her how it helps us cry out to the Lord for help when we really see ourselves this way, and that it makes us see that we cannot do anything apart from Him. As we were talking I thought to myself, how often we do forget how much God loves us, and wants us to be closer to Him. It’s like, "yes, I know all this" and, "I have already heard this a thousand times before in the many conversations I’ve had with friends"…and yet I still forget how important it is, to not just hear it but to obey it so I can this experience it again and again. I remember the hymn that many of us have grown up with, "I have decided to follow Jesus." It originated in a tribe in my birth-country, India where new believers were being severely persecuted. My mom told me that there is a verse we don’t sing in English. I loved it and think it is particularly powerful. "Though I may wonder, I still will follow. Though I may wonder, I still will follow. No turning back...No turning back.." I think I am sometimes uneasy admitting that I do sometimes really wonder what God is doing, worrying about it, and then not being excited to see what is coming next. When I wonder, I don’t always trust Him. I think I need to KNOW. But it is true, even when we "wonder" and aren’t sure what is going on, we still want to be able to sing, "No turning back, no turning back." I think that’s why Lent is so important. To think that if I had been too shy to ask for help getting there, I’d have missed the walk, which was great for me and gave me a chance to meet so many others who are interested in the disabled - and I would have missed this very valuable conversation and a great opportunity to keep building a friendship with a young woman whom I enjoy and admire.
Anyway, the walk was wonderful and long. It gets hot so early in the day that we needed to get it underway very early. There were more than 200 people who participated in the walk, including many of the youth from St. Michael’s. Since we started so early, the weather was nice and cool for the whole hour and a half walk. Tshegofatso’s boyfriend, Tshepiso, pushed me the whole way, for which I was very grateful! There are just things I can’t do at all here without assistance. In the US I’d have just grabbed my electric chair and "done it myself!" But this is good. I am learning how to allow myself to be dependent when I need to be so that I don’t miss anything God has for me here. Tshepiso told me that it was a great experience for him, too, and that he also enjoyed it as much as Tshgofatso and I did. I had a lot of fun with the youth, trying my choppy Setswana with them. It’s getting better all the time, thanks to everyone who is willing to repeat words over and over for me! I’m glad I went, and I feel like my relationships are growing with the young people, with my new friends, even with strangers who were there to help out other disabled people.
On another note, last Wednesday we had to let Ntebeleng go. That was very hard for me. I like her a lot, but she just wasn’t doing the work we had hired her to do. We got some really good help from the Anglican Women’s Fellowship about how to do it in a culturally appropriate way, so that she would not lose face. We did not want to hurt her, and we did not want to let her think that we do not like her, but Sandy and I just needed someone else to work for us. We are in the process now of finding a replacement, or, really two different part time people, one to work with me and one to do the housework.
There’s an older woman, Elsie, who will probably work out to do the cleaning. She is very careful with that kind of work, but she is an older woman who because of her age and physical condition can’t possibly work with me.
We think we have another person for me, though. There’s a young woman named Kamohelo who seems interested in the job. She’s good at beadwork, and I am interested in jewelry making as well. She’s nearer to my age and might turn out to be a pretty good companion, especially since Sandy is helping me get ready in the morning so she won’t have to do anything like that. I just met her yesterday, but Sandy has known her since she arrived last year, so we will see if this works out.
There’s just one more thing I want to share this week. Father Amanze, my supervisor, set up a meeting for Sandy and me at the Office of the President of Botswana where we met for over an house with a former theological student of Father Amanze’s. Thomas Timmy Motingwa has been appointed by the President of Botswana as Coordinator of the Disability Unit for the country. Imagine what it can mean to have a committee Christian in this job! We had a great time, and he asked me to serve on his national disability committee until I leave in July. This was just amazing. He hopes I will have time to speak to others about what it means for the disabled to be seen ad real people with needs and gifts. Of course, for me (and for him) this truth comes from Scripture, form creation itself, so it will always be a time of telling the truth about God’s love and power, and denying that evil spirits or evil behavior on the part of our parents, made us the way we are. This message is so needed her. And the freedom that comes from it can make a real difference. One day Dr Frost, my ICS professor in Bolivar, commented that my disability IS my "platform." It is the gift I have been given by which I can share the love and the purposes of God, the great salvation of Jesus Christ and the power of the Spirit of God over all others spirits. I see more and more how that is exactly the truth.
Okay - I think that is all I can write for now.
Ke o Rata (I love you)!
Minda
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