You may all be asking yourself this question, “Madeline, where have you been for the past 3 months?”
Sometimes I look out at the vast plains, the unending sky, the thatch houses, and herds of wildlife surrounding this giant sandbox that I live in and ask myself the same question.
I have grown to love this slow life in the bush of Botswana. Sitting under the shade of an African tree watching the sand and talking with teammates, my clothes stitched together with smoke from cooking over a wood fire all day, carrying buckets of water on my head from the well to the house, and visiting people in the village without the restraint of a watch or other obligations. It is hard to believe I will be in the states soon apart from this new life of screeching donkeys, bucket showers, starry nights, and a beautiful culture that still has no boundaries in regards to personal space.
Over the past 3 months or so, our team has been in 3 separate locations in Botswana. Here is a quick snippet of my time in each place.
The first was Maun, the most urban of all 3 locations. The Lord blessed me so much in this town and he handed me ministry that I loved. I was able to work at a small NGO in town that grows crops for the community. I planted vegetables, harvested basil, and weeded in the hot African sun. On other days, I would work setting up a compost for the school ( the school is on the property of Love Botswana, our main ministry contact), and I was able to teach the agriculture classes about all things composting. The only thing better than sticking your hands in dirt is teaching kids to love sticking their hands in dirt. It was incredible.
The next place we went was a small village about an hour away called Sehithwa. This was a more difficult season for me, and I struggled with the village. The majority of parents were absent from their children’s lives and began drinking around 3 PM, which led many of the kids to stay at the church till dark. We played games, sang songs, and gave hugs to children desperate for affection. But above all, my favorite woman to visit was a grandma named Halehake who cared for two boys, Alphie (4) and Penyo (10). She was a strong woman, but old age had taken a toll on her; she was always in pain. My teammate Rachel and I visited her daily to help her around the house, cut her lawn, cook her lunch, and sometimes just sit with her under the shade of her fruit tree. Over time, her heart became less hard and the Holy Spirit encouraged her, giving her strength and endurance. By the end she also wanted Rachel and I to marry into her family, she had no sons, but she did offer cows. It was very difficult to pass up.
And the last, and my absolute favorite place was a village 8 hours from Maun called Xakao (yes it it pronounced with a click). We lived with the most precious family who pastored a local church. The Spirit of The Lord was in this place and it was evident through the freedom in the church, the people in the village, and the stillness of the day. It is here that I have truly experienced the peace of The Lord. And it was here that I met a woman who changed my life. Runenge is a 40 year old woman, afflicted by spiritual warfare since age 13 and because of violent tendencies, chained to her house by her ankle. Some days she was angry and on other days exhausted and unresponsive, but we continued to visit her each day, praying for her, singing over her, reading to her, and sometimes sitting in silence with her. My heart broke for her and I loved her deeply. I wanted to see her free from her bondage. Through our time with her we saw her eventually smile and laugh, which was a huge transformation from the first meeting with her when she almost threw a bowl at one of our teammates. And on our last day, she came to church with us. It was the first time she had ever been. With her The Lord taught me to trust him, to pray with every ounce of faith I had, and to worship him even through discouraging times. I intend to write another blog on these ideas, but for now I will say that here in Xakao, The Lord met me in beautiful ways to show me his goodness.
As I leave each of these places, I leave a part of my heart behind, a part of my soul that I have knit into each snoring baby on my chest, each grandma I’ve kissed, and every spiritual battle we’ve prayerfully fought. My heart breaks for each goodbye, but it presses on knowing that in two weeks it will be reunited with my family at home, whom I love dearly and miss greatly. It has been one heck of a journey. The Lord has taken me across the world to show me his love, but this race has not ended, for as I go home, it will have only just begun.
