Suddenly, F Squad is faced with the overwhelming reality of being done with Month 10 out of 11. We have one month to go on this journey and that feels impossible yet we cannot ignore it. I’d like to give you my top 11 moments from this past month. Here they are:
1. The bulk of the month was spent in tents (except for 4 days). This meant that we were outside the majority of the time with opportunities to hammock, see the sunrise and sunset, and just generally enjoy creation. I doubt I’ll ever get another month in life quite like this with an opportunity to camp for as long so it’s been a special treat. Fun fact, I sent my tent home with my parents at the beginning of Swaziland. Thankfully my good friend and squadmate, Shannon, took pity on me and lent me hers for the month. It worked out perfectly because we both had the exact same tent for the Race!
2. Our original campsite, Beams, was in Gaborone. We had showers and toilets available to us indoors but otherwise, we were outside. One day, several of us wanted to watch a movie in the afternoon and if you’ve ever tried to watch a movie on a laptop when the sun is still up you’ll know that the glare cannot be ignored. Our solution? We watched the movie sitting on the floor of the bathroom. It was absolutely ridiculous and wonderful at the same time.
3. I wrote about this earlier in the month but our experience with the torrential downpour and the events that followed proved to be one of the most memorable days of the month, if not the Race. Read my blog called “Classic World Race and Tips” if you want more details.
4. As you know, Easter happened this month. Team Chasing Jubilee and Team Mosaic were together in Gaborone for Unsung Heroes training so we all went to church together. The service was conducted in a western-style so the worship was in English and the sermon filled all of us. Afterwards, Chasing Jubilee went to the Bull and Bush restaurant near our campsite for an Easter brunch. Our teammate, Courtney, even got everybody doughnuts in place of Easter baskets. It was a great day to celebration the resurrection of our Savior!
5. Our month began with a week of training for Unsung Heroes in Gaborone. Once we finished, we traveled to Kasane and camped at a gorgeous lodge. It was absolutely spectacular with it’s wooden decor and pool, however, we were off in a campsite rather than in the luxurious rooms. It was called Chobe Safari Lodge and across the street was a sister lodge. Our meals for the month were interesting and a fair bit off budget (personal, that is, because it was difficult to stretch our daily team budget…we got smarter as the month went on) by necessity but we figured out that lunch at our lodge was cheap with an expensive buffet for dinner while the sister lodge had dinners that were more “affordable.” The first time we ventured across the street we all showed up in typical World Race attire that included athletic shorts, flip-flops, t-shirts, and rain coats with our day packs in tow. What a sight we must have been to the guests who were clearly enjoying a meal meant for refined pallets (they obviously were not concerned about the budget and indulged in the expensive portion of the menu)! They were all sniffing and swishing wine. Meanwhile, we were overjoyed to find something that was within a $5 price range (our daily food budget). I voiced the comment to my teammates that I have never felt like more of a savage in my life. It was hysterical and appalling all at once. What’s more, the dinner guests were hardly speaking above a whisper. We felt quite unrefined. Fortunately, we attempted the restaurant again to find a much more amiable atmosphere and concluded that our first venture was just a bad day.
6. Our campsite was always hopping with animals. We saw warthogs, baboons, monkeys, rodents, a wide variety of birds, and signs warning of crocodiles and hippos on a daily basis. Some of the baboons were as big, if not bigger, as I would be on all fours. One of our prayers for the month was to somehow achieve a free safari for the entire team. I’d it was a success, though we went on a legitimate safari later on. As an animal lover, it was so great to walk around with the animals so close. To give a more accurate picture, the monkeys felt like the Botswana version of the Michigan squirrel because of how many there were. Additionally, it was quite hilarious that every local that we came in contact with warned us not to be out at night, not for the danger of people, rather the wildlife. We heard things like “be careful of the elephants” and saw signs that said “Wildlife Corridor. Drive Carefully at Night.”
7. As I mentioned in #5, our food situation for the month proved interesting because we were in tents without a refrigerator and a large population of ants just waiting for anything to devour that we might try and keep in bags. We did have a place for a campfire as well as access to a grocery store within about 10 minutes walking so we resorted to making hobo bags. They are this awesome meal consisting of meat, vegetables (potatoes and carrots), and seasoning that get wrapped in tinfoil and put into a campfire for roughly half an hour. Those were some of the most delicious meals we had and paved the way for some great team bonding. I became an expert fire-starter without any of the materials that make it easier in the States.
8. One part of our ministry consisted of making encouragements that were merely bright paper cut out in fun shapes with Bible verses on them. We handed them out to the staff at the lodge as well as on days that we went into town. It was so fun to see an individual’s face light up and a lot of fruit came from it because the staff would tell us that they went home and looked up the verses. So cool. My teammate, Bella, was deemed the team encouragement enthusiast because she loved handing them out so much.
9. The best day of the month, in my opinion, was when we did truck driver ministry. In order to get across the border to some of the surrounding countries, trucks have to wait anywhere from 2-5 days to get transported by a ferry. The day that we visited, one of the ferries had broken down so only two trucks were being transported at a time. There were more trucks lined up than we could count because the line went far out of sight. We brought apples and encouragements with us and wandered along the line having conversations. It was so rewarding because once they realized we were not trying to sell them anything, the drivers opened up and we had some great chats.
10. Unsung Heroes involves networking and finding connections for future partnerships for Adventures in Missions. One of the connections that proved to be so rewarding we found out through word of mouth from one of the staff at the lodge we stayed at in Kasane. This woman does a lot of work with orphans as well as some things with Red Cross. After meeting with her, Linda and I asked if we could pray for her. She opened up and shared with us some of her faith struggles. Both of us felt so encouraged by her vulnerability and loved having the chance to offer her insight to keep pressing on in her journey. Neo is an amazing woman.
11. Chasing Jubilee was assigned two different cities for the month because we were not assigned a specific ministry. Our month began in Gaborone for training, then continued to Kasane for almost two weeks, and finally ended in Francistown. In Kasane, during one of our campfire cooking nights, we were asked by two young men if we had any firewood. What started from a simple conversation, soon turned into an invitation for housing once we moved to Francistown. The family we stayed with, the Buckleys, are from the States but have lived in Botswana for nearly 25 years. They were delightful people. Our housing included the best beds and legitimate covers that we have had (at least for me) all Race. Their yard even had real grass and they had two pet dogs. It felt like heaven and was a great way to end our month.
Now, all that is left is South Africa. Chasing Jubilee will be based in Pretoria for the month and we will be working with a ministry called Pop-up. Wow. Month 11 really does come around, as impossible as it may seem in Month 1. I’ll update as I can but the posts may be less frequent this month because by the end of it I’ll be back in the States. Prayers for a great end to the Race are both greatly appreciated and necessary. Thanks for hanging with me this whole time by reading my blogs and with general support!
