Feb 19, 2012
Dumalang, my friends! Otsogile Jang? I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the coming of spring. I’ve heard that you all in Missouri had a couple of inches of snow last week. I’m very happy for you all but I have to admit that I did feel a little bit jealous that I could not be there with you to celebrate the snow! It’s been very hot here and on some days it gets to the point where it is very uncomfortable. I try to keep drinking water and other fluids to keep me from becoming dehydrated which does help a lot but sitting in your own sweat is not the most pleasant feeling in the world, I must admit.
This last week has been full of blessings, valuable lessons, and some cultural adjustments. First, cultural adjustments. I’m not someone whose ever had experience with hired domestic help, certainly not in a different culture and country. Ntebeleng and I were becoming very close, and I really liked having her as a friend and companion. But I was not careful to remember that she is still my paid assistant, who is here for a job and not my best friend. I started buying stuff for her that I thought she needed, helped her pay her phone time, let her use my phone when she no longer had any minutes, took her to lunch so we could practice my Setswana etc. It started getting to the point where she depended on me for a lot of financial help, and I started feeling that she was taking advantage of me. She didn’t want t do the housework we had agreed for her to do, etc. I think that for me to have kept on saying that she was my friend wasn’t helping either. Our definition of friends is very different in our two cultures. When I started backing away from her and becoming more direct with her about asking me for things, the tension between us started to increase. It got to the point where I needed to talk to Mma Evelyn, the one who brought Ntebeleng to work for me to help me figure out a way to settle the situation before it got totally out of hand!
On Wednesday, Mma Evelyn sat us both down and listened to both sides of the story. Then Evelyn explained to us that in each culture the definition of friendship is different. She also helped us see that it is not wise to borrow each other’s things such as using each other’s phones, buying things that aren’t necessary, as if she was not a paid helper. We are friendly, but not exactly "friends." Talking it out really was helpful for both of us and I feel like my relationship with her is much better now that we came to an understanding of what is appropriate. Thank the Lord!! This situation was very discouraging to me at the time because I felt like I was the one at fault, and that I really failed to be careful and aware of the situation at hand. I began to doubt myself a bit and then I became distressed that I was not as culturally aware as I thought I really should have been. I just really had not understood, and neither had Ntebeleng. The night before Mma Evelyn came; I talked to the Lord about this and He really did help me see that this is a complex cultural issue and it is NOT necessarily a failure. I made the commitment that night that no matter what happened at the meeting the next day I was going to continue to love Ntebeleng and be her friend no matter what, and move forward. I felt that once I did that I was more prepared to listen in the meeting and open myself up to making things right again for both of us. I think 
Ntebeleng had felt badly, too, because she thought it was rude to refuse what I offered, even though she was glad to have the things, but she knew she ought to repay it and couldn‘t. I didn’t know how she felt and she had no idea how I felt. In the end, it was wonderful and both of us have a fresh understanding. There is a way to be friends, and yet employer/employee, but it has to be clear. Now it is! Thank you Evelyn!
Ntebeleng had felt badly, too, because she thought it was rude to refuse what I offered, even though she was glad to have the things, but she knew she ought to repay it and couldn‘t. I didn’t know how she felt and she had no idea how I felt. In the end, it was wonderful and both of us have a fresh understanding. There is a way to be friends, and yet employer/employee, but it has to be clear. Now it is! Thank you Evelyn!Now for the blessings. I have the most fun and wonderful service project ever at St. Peter’s Daycare. I absolutely LOVE working with the children there. They are real
ly poor, disadvantaged kids whose families cannot care for them. Either a parent has died or both have, so they need a place to be in the daytime. AIDS is still a huge problem here. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have been going there. This week I read the story of the Feeding the 5,000 from my Setswana Bible to them. They seemed to really understand the story and are able to tell me about how "Jesus shared the food he had with others" and that he was teaching his disciples to "share what they had"! They see that Jesus can do anything, and that when we follow him we can take part in his way of life too. This week we have been acting out the story, which is hilarious, and overall we have been making good progress. Beauty and I wrote out the lines last Friday and distributed them to the children. The little boy playing Jesus is named Miguel and is 5 years old. He is a very bright young man and has pretty much memorized his lines in just a few days. We keep changing the disciple who asks Jesus to send the people, because the little boy, Faith, who was originally supposed to say the lines often gets nervous and freezes and then doesn’t say the lines. We got a girl to do the part and she was very
good and we really did not have to tell her what to say! Last Friday we put the children in their costumes which excited them greatly and they all squealed with delight as they took turns trying on their costumes. One little girl in particular whose name is Monkogogi, and is about 4 years old, was just adorable as Mma Beauty helped her into her white cloth dressing gown. She kept twirling around and around as she was being put in the dress and then would giggle with joy. We are going to perform the short play this coming Wednesday the 22nd at the 8:30 am chapel. I’m really getting close to these children.
ly poor, disadvantaged kids whose families cannot care for them. Either a parent has died or both have, so they need a place to be in the daytime. AIDS is still a huge problem here. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have been going there. This week I read the story of the Feeding the 5,000 from my Setswana Bible to them. They seemed to really understand the story and are able to tell me about how "Jesus shared the food he had with others" and that he was teaching his disciples to "share what they had"! They see that Jesus can do anything, and that when we follow him we can take part in his way of life too. This week we have been acting out the story, which is hilarious, and overall we have been making good progress. Beauty and I wrote out the lines last Friday and distributed them to the children. The little boy playing Jesus is named Miguel and is 5 years old. He is a very bright young man and has pretty much memorized his lines in just a few days. We keep changing the disciple who asks Jesus to send the people, because the little boy, Faith, who was originally supposed to say the lines often gets nervous and freezes and then doesn’t say the lines. We got a girl to do the part and she was very
good and we really did not have to tell her what to say! Last Friday we put the children in their costumes which excited them greatly and they all squealed with delight as they took turns trying on their costumes. One little girl in particular whose name is Monkogogi, and is about 4 years old, was just adorable as Mma Beauty helped her into her white cloth dressing gown. She kept twirling around and around as she was being put in the dress and then would giggle with joy. We are going to perform the short play this coming Wednesday the 22nd at the 8:30 am chapel. I’m really getting close to these children.Mma Mudereri had the parents over on Friday for their monthly meeting and she had me come along so that the parents could meet me. Mma Mudereri introduced me to the crowd and told them that I was a student from the USA studying here in Botswana until July. She explained to them that I was teaching the children about Jesus and telling them the stories about his love and kindness and that the children were beginning to understand Jesus’ love for them because of what I was able to show them. Mma Mudereri also said how much she and the staff appreciated having me there and that it was important to them that the children see someone like me and understand that just because I’m disabled does NOT mean that I cannot do things for myself and can teach them things just like any other able bodied teacher. The parents seemed to appreciate this and they broke into applause once Mma Mudereri was finished. What a blessing to be able to teach others and broaden their horizons.
Another blessing this last week was that I was asked by a lady named Pam, whom I met at the Cathedral the Sunday before, to come and speak on Valentine’s Day to the Thuto School just outside Gaborone where she works. She said she’d been watching me for the last 2 Sundays and was so impressed with all that I did and my confident attitude and thought that it would be great if I could speak to the children at her school and encourage them. I was honored by this invitation and opportunity to witness and of course I said yes. So on Valentine’s Day Ntebeleng and I headed to the school and we were greeted by a crowd of children from the ages of 5 up to 12 all wearing reds, whites, and pink for Valentine’s Day. They were gathered in the court yard where they were going to have a presentation. Each class took turns doing various skits, songs, and poems for the specia
l day. It is bigger here than it is in the USA! After all of them were finished it was my turn to speak to the crowd. I introduced myself and told them where I was from and what I was doing in Botswana. Then I told them that I was born without arms or legs and that it was no accident and how much I could do for myself. I even showed them how I draw, brush my hair, hold a toothbrush, and how I washed my face. And since it was Valentine’s Day I stressed the part about how God loves each of us just the way we are and that we are made in his image. They seemed to really understand this and even repeated back to me the part about how we are all made in HIS image. Then I told them what my interests are, what I like to do in my free time, etc… After I finished speaking the principle told the students that if "Miss Minda can do this degree in college and 
draw, teach and preach as well as do so much else for herself than there is no reason why you cannot use the gifts God gave to you. I don’t ever want to hear any more excuses about why an assignment isn’t finished or why you did not get your homework done. From now on all of you are without excuse!" I think that I encouraged the staff as well.
l day. It is bigger here than it is in the USA! After all of them were finished it was my turn to speak to the crowd. I introduced myself and told them where I was from and what I was doing in Botswana. Then I told them that I was born without arms or legs and that it was no accident and how much I could do for myself. I even showed them how I draw, brush my hair, hold a toothbrush, and how I washed my face. And since it was Valentine’s Day I stressed the part about how God loves each of us just the way we are and that we are made in his image. They seemed to really understand this and even repeated back to me the part about how we are all made in HIS image. Then I told them what my interests are, what I like to do in my free time, etc… After I finished speaking the principle told the students that if "Miss Minda can do this degree in college and 
draw, teach and preach as well as do so much else for herself than there is no reason why you cannot use the gifts God gave to you. I don’t ever want to hear any more excuses about why an assignment isn’t finished or why you did not get your homework done. From now on all of you are without excuse!" I think that I encouraged the staff as well. After I was finished, the principal and the teachers presented me with a gift of 480 pula! I was not expecting this and I almost cried when they presented it to me. Once the assembly was over the teachers distributed candy to all the children and sent them to their classes. Ntebeleng and I went to have a talk with Pam and Mma Maria-the woman who started Thuto School. She, Mma Maria, told us that the school was started in her home a few years ago and that this large building was just opened the first semester of this school year! She has also started the Thuto Primary School which is just a few kilometers away from this school. She told me that when she started the school in her home she and her husband had very little money, a big dream, and never failing faith. So see how good God is - everywhere and all the time?!
Now for the valuable lessons. God has really blessed me this last week with a lot of good experiences that will remain with me forever. First, He really helped me understand that cultural misunderstandings really are not easy to avoid and they will happen. This doesn’t mean that it is failure when I don’t understand something and that I JUST HAVE TO LEARN what works and doesn’t.
Second, I used to not like children because they made me feel so self-conscious of my body because of their curiosity. I have really discovered through this service project a love for them that I haven’t ever fully known, or for that matter wanted to admit. But in this last month of working with them and nourishing them I have had so much fun. This is a wonderful feeling for me because I’m able to give them hope and encourage them to follow God, and then to the dreams he shows them. Maybe one day I’ll be able to adopt my own children and love and care for them, but for now I love my work with these children and they give me a lot of hope. I have been reminded of one of the most beautiful passages in the New Testament in Matthew 19:14 when the disciples are discouraging the children away from Jesus, and his simple reply : "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
My third and final one for the moment is this. God has helped me see that I’m a teacher; I know not the kind that teaches math, science, literature, etc… I’m a different kind of teacher who encourages people to offer to God who they are, as they are, and to see themselves as God’s gift, and then to offer to the world what they have; a teacher who helps others see and appreciate differences, and one that gives hope!
As I close this I would like to leave one prayer request which has to do with language. I’m doing fine in it, but as I’m moving onto level 2 there are things that are becoming a bit more complicated, such as telling our taxi drivers where to take us, and being able to describe some things around me. I keep getting some words mixed up. I love it, but it is sometimes so confusing! Please pray that I don’t get frustrated with myself too much with this. It is easier to be patient with others than with myself!
Love you all. Sala Sentle!
Minda
Minda
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