We hope everyone is well and enjoying the summer time in the US, Germany, Thailand and Korea.
It is winter here with day temperatures in the 50‐60’s and night temperatures in the 30‐40’s. There is no heat in the offices, churches or houses. At night, we stay warm by piling on the blankets. Heda wears two sets of everything when going to bed. During the day, layering is in order. We continue to settle in and are very happy to report we have obtained our two year resident visas and our Botswana driver’s license. The tricky part of the latter was passing the eye test. You look through a viewer and are asked to identify a specific geometric pattern within a larger geometric pattern, stating if the pattern is in the upper, lower, left or right segment of the screen. The pattern becomes smaller with each consecutive screen. You had to identify 7 out of 10 patterns and locations correctly. They black out one eye and then the other. We passed, but just barely.
One night we woke up to hail pounding on our flat, metal roof. Wind and rain were whipping the open and closed windows. Rain was coming between the spaces around the doors. The entire yard was covered with one inch of hail. The next morning we saw that all the plants were shredded. People say they have not seen a storm like that in over ten years.
Ascension Day in Botswana is a National religious holiday, with most people attending church, which for us was in the morning. Some places had services outdoors. We understand that it is like that in most countries in Africa and also in Germany.
We are settling into our jobs at the church. Heda has visited patients in their homes and at the Kgothatso‐Encouragement house and spent time at an orphanage in a nearby village. The care given to the patients and the children at both facilities is excellent. You can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in their midst. We’re attaching a one page write up of each facility. Ron has been working on the budget and auditing church records. One of the newer projects funded by the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) involves the village of Manyana. It is a joint endeavor of ELCSA and ELCB (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Southern Africa and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana). In the way of history, 30 years ago the ELCB was formed when a faction of Lutherans in Botswana split from ELCSA and formed the ELCB. Both churches profess the same Lutheran theology and have the same teachings and liturgy. The Manyana project will hopefully be helpful on the road to reconciliation between the two Lutheran entities. Philip Knutson, the ELCA representative for the Southern Africa region, who lives in Cape Town, South Africa, visited us for a couple of days in May. At this time we visited Manyana. The scope of the project is to live out our God‐given unity in Christ. A horticultural aspect of the project is to grow food to provide assistance to the needy in the community i.e. HIV/AIDS infected. The crops they were growing were wiped out by the same hail storm that hit Gaborone. They were already replanting when we visited just days after the hail storm. We will keep you informed of the progress of God’s work in our future blogs.
Our visit with Rev. Philip Knutson was most enjoyable. He was our first ELCA guest in Botswana. He has been involved in pastoral work in Africa for most of his ordained life and is a great resource for us, for which we are grateful.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Hi everyone! We are excited to share the events of the last month with you.
We're starting to learn the names and faces of the people of the congregation of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd and look forward to the Sunday services. The children, all ages, are delightful. They are a part of the service, participating in the singing and sharing of the peace. Then, when it's time for the sermon, the Sunday school teachers take them to the large, separate, one room Sunday school building for their program. They return to the regular Church service for communion.
We are particularly thinking of everyone during the Lenten season. Ash Wednesday was a very moving service. Our ashes were large black crosses on our forehead and a sobering reminder of our earthly existence. We have been attending Lent services on Thursdays. The singing is really beautiful. The services alternate between the three Lutheran Churches in Gaborone. Last Thursday it was held at Itumuleng, where we were greeted by a mother hen with her brood. The church doubles as a day care center to help support it financially.
We moved into a rental house the weekend of March 7-8 and are settling in. We've gotten basic but very comfortable beds for our bedroom and for the guest bedroom. Of the latter-friends and family take note. Also we have a couch for the living room and a dining room table and chairs. We made a special purchase-two hand woven cane chairs. The artist is a gentleman from Zimbabwe who works for Botswanana craft, a shop which sells local African art and artifacts. For those of you who have asked about our dishes and flatware, we've moved to a set of dishes and flatware for four. We are enjoying South African wine.
In the mornings we are on the road by 7am and get home around 5pm or later. By 6pm it cools down. This is when we go upstairs to the balcony. We sit in the cane chairs and watch the 6:30pm sunset. From the front of our house, we have a great West view of the sky. As the sun descends, it leaves spectacular streaks of color. Then a breeze stirs and turns the air cool. It's lovely. By 7:30pm it has turned quite dark. This is the cue for the bugs to come out and for Ron and Heda to go in. We want to share, that while house hunting we learned the following terminology-Acon, which is pronounced acorn and refers to the air conditioning wall united mounted in a room, usually the bedroom. But since it turns cool at night we have not used it. We have a Geyser-the term for hot water heater. It is mounted on the outside wall of the house. We do see solar panels on some of the roofs. Most homes have no heat, even though the temperature occasionally reaches freezing in June and July (winter).
The areas in Gaborone are divided into blocks and plots and extensions. The extensions 1-14 are in the down town area and contrary to what the name implies are the first real planned sites for housing and government buildings. So extension 1 might be the area around the Main Mall, extension 2 the University of Botswana etc. Later the newer areas were designated as blocks. For instance we live in block 8, plot 37124. There are also numbered industrial blocks which have plots as well. It gets interesting trying to find a certain building in a certain block when street names are not used much and not too evident. There is no mail delivery, only PO Boxes. We love to get mail and use the PO box for the church. Our address is
Ron and Heda Christ
ELCB (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana)
PO Box 1976
Gaborone, Botswana
The area where we live is a mixture of one and two storey homes. Almost all are surrounded by brick walls. In addition most of the walls are topped off with electric wiring and electric wired gates. Many of the homes have plantings outside their walls that help to soften the barricade look and feel. Inside the property, yards are landscaped with rocks and grass. Some have kept the dense, desert dirt of the land with flowers, scrub trees and shrubs. In the case of the latter, the dirt gets swept and raked, leaving a zigzag design. You'd think no weeds, right? There are plenty!
Many of the people keep large dogs in their yards and these dogs like to howl during the night and some sound like wolves. Our neighbors diagonally across from us have three dogs who really like to bark at the moon and whatever else they see.
The weekend we moved in, there were large tents in the yards of our neighbors. This means someone died. It is customary that everyone who knows the family is expected to come to pay their respects. This becomes quite costly for the family since they provide the food and drink etc. for all who come. When someone dies here, people refer to the deceased as late. During the announcements at church, we heard that Mr. Kobi was late, meaning he died.
We live in the Northern part of Gaborone, relatively close to the airport. It takes us about 30 minutes to get to most locations. The church took delivery of the white Hilux Toyota truck that was ordered a month ago. Other news, we turned in the paperwork for our work visas. DHL and Fed-Ex came through and delivered our certified diplomas and Ron's birth certificate. Unfortunately we're still waiting for Heda's birth certificate from Germany-sent in February. They are trying to resend it.
In the mornings we listen to the Voice of America on our short wave radio. The reception varies but we really love listening to the news from the US and from around the world, even though the news is still far from good these days. We buy the Economist here at the bookstore and try to stay caught up.
We completed our formal sessions of Setswana lessons. It's a stepping stone in getting to know the people and the culture. The Batswana people are very appreciative when we try to speak the language. They help us and are very forgiving of our many mistakes.
We've finally opened a bank account after five visits to the bank, a huge accomplishment.
We're finding our way around the city. Ron has the driving on the left side down! We have had to tape our map of Gaborone, it's starting to tear from so much use. Most people take kombies, a 12 seat bus that usually crams in more. There are no transfers so each route is a separate fare. We often give rides to the church staff etc.
Also in March, the annual staff retreat was held for the pastors and 'workers' of the Lutheran Church of Botswana. The site, the Lutheran seminary called Woodpecker, is located South of Gaborone. It is a beautiful drive dotted with hills and a river crossing. Ron and Heda were invited by the Bishop to attend. We spent five fulls days meeting staff and learning about the affairs of the Church. Morning devotions in the chapel started the day, followed by work-shops, tea break, discussions, lunch, more workshops and talks and dinner. Most of it was conducted in English and when in Setswana and or Afrikaans, someone was seated next to us to translate. The center, a former lodge, though in need of building renovations, is very lovely. It is on Crocodile Road next to a river which forms part of the border with South Africa.
The following weekend we took a trip to the northern part of Botswana and a city called Maun. The purpose of the trip was to accompany an individual, Polisi Kivava, from UEM-United Evangelcal Mission, an organization headquartered in Wupppertal, Germany. The UEM works in 13 countries in Africa, 15 in Asia and 6 areas in Germany and supports various local programs. The UEM currently supports three projects of the Lutheran Church in Botswana. We-Polisis, Ivy the ELCB church treasurer, Heda and Ron reviewed all three projects and found them at different stages of development. The first one, Thuso (Help) located in Maun, is a large rehabilitation center for physically and mentally disabled youth and adults. It has several activities including agricultural, water purification, weaving and leather crafts, physical therapy and an HIV/AIDS testing station. We also visited the towns of Sehithwa and Kang to review the orphanage-due to HIV/AIDS and counseling centers there.
We traveled 1900 Km, making a big semicircle around the edge of the Kalahari Desert. Although the roads are paved, there are potholes. We had three tire blowouts. When we were changing one tire, we were told to be on the lookout, as lions were in the area. We did not see any lions, but did see several families of ostriches. The biggest hazard was avoiding the donkeys, cows, horses and goats that were standing on the road or grazing along the road.
We have started to move into our offices where we will be working. They are located in the church compound where we first lived. Heda has been assigned by the Bishop to be the HIV/AIDS coordinator for the Lutheran Church of Botswana. The position has been vacant for six months due to lack of funding. It is desperately needed. She will be traveling to various sites. As for Ron's work, the financial department is busy right now with the outside audit and the annual budget preparation.
We are looking forward to our first Easter in Botswana. Happy Easter to everyone.
Ron and Heda
We're starting to learn the names and faces of the people of the congregation of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd and look forward to the Sunday services. The children, all ages, are delightful. They are a part of the service, participating in the singing and sharing of the peace. Then, when it's time for the sermon, the Sunday school teachers take them to the large, separate, one room Sunday school building for their program. They return to the regular Church service for communion.
We are particularly thinking of everyone during the Lenten season. Ash Wednesday was a very moving service. Our ashes were large black crosses on our forehead and a sobering reminder of our earthly existence. We have been attending Lent services on Thursdays. The singing is really beautiful. The services alternate between the three Lutheran Churches in Gaborone. Last Thursday it was held at Itumuleng, where we were greeted by a mother hen with her brood. The church doubles as a day care center to help support it financially.
We moved into a rental house the weekend of March 7-8 and are settling in. We've gotten basic but very comfortable beds for our bedroom and for the guest bedroom. Of the latter-friends and family take note. Also we have a couch for the living room and a dining room table and chairs. We made a special purchase-two hand woven cane chairs. The artist is a gentleman from Zimbabwe who works for Botswanana craft, a shop which sells local African art and artifacts. For those of you who have asked about our dishes and flatware, we've moved to a set of dishes and flatware for four. We are enjoying South African wine.
In the mornings we are on the road by 7am and get home around 5pm or later. By 6pm it cools down. This is when we go upstairs to the balcony. We sit in the cane chairs and watch the 6:30pm sunset. From the front of our house, we have a great West view of the sky. As the sun descends, it leaves spectacular streaks of color. Then a breeze stirs and turns the air cool. It's lovely. By 7:30pm it has turned quite dark. This is the cue for the bugs to come out and for Ron and Heda to go in. We want to share, that while house hunting we learned the following terminology-Acon, which is pronounced acorn and refers to the air conditioning wall united mounted in a room, usually the bedroom. But since it turns cool at night we have not used it. We have a Geyser-the term for hot water heater. It is mounted on the outside wall of the house. We do see solar panels on some of the roofs. Most homes have no heat, even though the temperature occasionally reaches freezing in June and July (winter).
The areas in Gaborone are divided into blocks and plots and extensions. The extensions 1-14 are in the down town area and contrary to what the name implies are the first real planned sites for housing and government buildings. So extension 1 might be the area around the Main Mall, extension 2 the University of Botswana etc. Later the newer areas were designated as blocks. For instance we live in block 8, plot 37124. There are also numbered industrial blocks which have plots as well. It gets interesting trying to find a certain building in a certain block when street names are not used much and not too evident. There is no mail delivery, only PO Boxes. We love to get mail and use the PO box for the church. Our address is
Ron and Heda Christ
ELCB (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana)
PO Box 1976
Gaborone, Botswana
The area where we live is a mixture of one and two storey homes. Almost all are surrounded by brick walls. In addition most of the walls are topped off with electric wiring and electric wired gates. Many of the homes have plantings outside their walls that help to soften the barricade look and feel. Inside the property, yards are landscaped with rocks and grass. Some have kept the dense, desert dirt of the land with flowers, scrub trees and shrubs. In the case of the latter, the dirt gets swept and raked, leaving a zigzag design. You'd think no weeds, right? There are plenty!
Many of the people keep large dogs in their yards and these dogs like to howl during the night and some sound like wolves. Our neighbors diagonally across from us have three dogs who really like to bark at the moon and whatever else they see.
The weekend we moved in, there were large tents in the yards of our neighbors. This means someone died. It is customary that everyone who knows the family is expected to come to pay their respects. This becomes quite costly for the family since they provide the food and drink etc. for all who come. When someone dies here, people refer to the deceased as late. During the announcements at church, we heard that Mr. Kobi was late, meaning he died.
We live in the Northern part of Gaborone, relatively close to the airport. It takes us about 30 minutes to get to most locations. The church took delivery of the white Hilux Toyota truck that was ordered a month ago. Other news, we turned in the paperwork for our work visas. DHL and Fed-Ex came through and delivered our certified diplomas and Ron's birth certificate. Unfortunately we're still waiting for Heda's birth certificate from Germany-sent in February. They are trying to resend it.
In the mornings we listen to the Voice of America on our short wave radio. The reception varies but we really love listening to the news from the US and from around the world, even though the news is still far from good these days. We buy the Economist here at the bookstore and try to stay caught up.
We completed our formal sessions of Setswana lessons. It's a stepping stone in getting to know the people and the culture. The Batswana people are very appreciative when we try to speak the language. They help us and are very forgiving of our many mistakes.
We've finally opened a bank account after five visits to the bank, a huge accomplishment.
We're finding our way around the city. Ron has the driving on the left side down! We have had to tape our map of Gaborone, it's starting to tear from so much use. Most people take kombies, a 12 seat bus that usually crams in more. There are no transfers so each route is a separate fare. We often give rides to the church staff etc.
Also in March, the annual staff retreat was held for the pastors and 'workers' of the Lutheran Church of Botswana. The site, the Lutheran seminary called Woodpecker, is located South of Gaborone. It is a beautiful drive dotted with hills and a river crossing. Ron and Heda were invited by the Bishop to attend. We spent five fulls days meeting staff and learning about the affairs of the Church. Morning devotions in the chapel started the day, followed by work-shops, tea break, discussions, lunch, more workshops and talks and dinner. Most of it was conducted in English and when in Setswana and or Afrikaans, someone was seated next to us to translate. The center, a former lodge, though in need of building renovations, is very lovely. It is on Crocodile Road next to a river which forms part of the border with South Africa.
The following weekend we took a trip to the northern part of Botswana and a city called Maun. The purpose of the trip was to accompany an individual, Polisi Kivava, from UEM-United Evangelcal Mission, an organization headquartered in Wupppertal, Germany. The UEM works in 13 countries in Africa, 15 in Asia and 6 areas in Germany and supports various local programs. The UEM currently supports three projects of the Lutheran Church in Botswana. We-Polisis, Ivy the ELCB church treasurer, Heda and Ron reviewed all three projects and found them at different stages of development. The first one, Thuso (Help) located in Maun, is a large rehabilitation center for physically and mentally disabled youth and adults. It has several activities including agricultural, water purification, weaving and leather crafts, physical therapy and an HIV/AIDS testing station. We also visited the towns of Sehithwa and Kang to review the orphanage-due to HIV/AIDS and counseling centers there.
We traveled 1900 Km, making a big semicircle around the edge of the Kalahari Desert. Although the roads are paved, there are potholes. We had three tire blowouts. When we were changing one tire, we were told to be on the lookout, as lions were in the area. We did not see any lions, but did see several families of ostriches. The biggest hazard was avoiding the donkeys, cows, horses and goats that were standing on the road or grazing along the road.
We have started to move into our offices where we will be working. They are located in the church compound where we first lived. Heda has been assigned by the Bishop to be the HIV/AIDS coordinator for the Lutheran Church of Botswana. The position has been vacant for six months due to lack of funding. It is desperately needed. She will be traveling to various sites. As for Ron's work, the financial department is busy right now with the outside audit and the annual budget preparation.
We are looking forward to our first Easter in Botswana. Happy Easter to everyone.
Ron and Heda
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)