Just Another Day At Immigration

Jeff has been at Immigration for a few days now trying to turn in paperwork for our residence permit. The first day, after waiting a few hours, he spoke with someone who told him to wait and she would get to him. After waiting another 2 hours, he saw her collecting her bag and when he questioned her she stated she had forgotten him and to come back in the morning. Needless to say, it's a week later and we are still trying to get results. I thought maybe it would help if I went, so yesterday we arrived at 7am to see only 7 other people. However they didn't have the usual numbers to give out so we were told to keep track ourselves who came first. By 8am we were speaking with a lady who gave us a form to fill out and said to come right back to her. Five minutes later we returned only to be told they had found the numbers and were given #88. By 10am it was our turn only to be told that Jeff's photo was too large (the photo shop told him it was the right size!). We were told to get a smaller photo and return with a typed letter stating that he is totally supporting and in control of me! By 11am Jeff was back with the items only to be told they had lost the paperwork! By noon it was found but he was told the computers were down. They wouldn't allow him to take the paperwork with him so he stayed there to make sure they didn't lose it again and to keep his place in line.  At 4pm he called to say he was coming home.  The computers had not come back up so they told him to come back on Monday.  Of course the papers were left with them so who knows where they will be on Monday!

As Believers we should constantly strive to be more Christ-like.  We might have lost track of that during our frustrations of the day, but we reflect on Romans 5:3-4; "We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces patience; patience, character; and character, hope" and resolve to try again on Monday! And as we read Matthew 6:25-34 once again, we know that God REALLY will take care of everything and if He wants us in Botswana, the paperwork will get taken care of.  Of course, there is that little thing about "His perfect timing..."!

(Posted by April)

Back Home in Botswana!

Well, it’s been a long time since I have posted anything.  While we were home on furlough in the States I often thought it was harder to get on the internet than here in Botswana but I must have been having a brain lapse.  Since we arrived here last Friday, our internet at home has not been working and is sporadic at church.  Last night we went to Wimpy’s for coffee because they supposedly have WiFi.  However, it said we had a connection but never did connect so we enjoyed our coffee and came home unable to send any messages home to the States.  I am typing this blog in anticipation for the next time I might actually get connected!

Our flight from Atlanta to Jo’berg was uneventful except there was a delay because a lady was having a panic attack about flying so they called the paramedics. Eventually she disembarked and we were able to head out.  Because of that we missed our connection to Gaborone.  Delta was kind enough to put us up in a nice hotel and fed us dinner and breakfast.  They said they rebooked us at noon the next day but when we arrived Botswana Air informed us that we couldn’t leave. They could see the tickets on their computer but Delta had somehow flagged them so they couldn’t issue boarding passes. The Delta counter didn’t open until 4pm so we might make the 6pm flight.  Since it was only 10am, we were a little disgruntled but a lady that worked for the company that was holding our luggage went out of her way to connect with a Delta representative off site and we boarded just as they were closing out the noon flight.

Thato (the young man staying at our house) met us at the airport.  Before he learned of our delay the night before he had gone to the airport where he met Pastor Adekunle (from our church here) who had come with lots of food that his wife had prepared.  Thato had put it in our fridge.  What a wonderful surprise!  That afternoon I decided to go to the grocery store to restock.  On my way there I was almost thru an intersection when a lady shot thru hitting me on my left rear side hard enough to spin my SUV almost 90 degrees!  Thankfully no one was hurt but upon exiting the vehicle I was greeted in Tsetswana.  Not only was I a little tired from travelling and couldn’t understand what anyone was saying but Jeff’s cell phone was not working, and our other vehicle had a dead battery.  I felt a little worried because I didn’t know who to call.  Gabi, Norman and Desmond were all out of the country and no one would tell me how to reach the police. Luckily 2 policemen happened along and helped tear off the side bar which was up against the rear wheel so I could drive my vehicle.  They told us to go to G-West police station which I’d never heard of so was told to follow the lady that hit me.  I felt like a lamb being led to slaughter as I followed her, making so many turns that I wondered if we actually were going to the station.  We did arrive there and I was able to reach Jeff.   I was given a breathalyser test and we all returned to the scene so the officer in charge could determine what happened. The other driver was then charged and ticketed P500. This all took over 3 hours and I still hadn’t gotten to the store!

I was ready for bed at that point but our landlord came over and since it was dinnertime, I needed to feed everyone.  Thank goodness for Pastor Adekunle and his wife.  She certainly cooks great food. It fed 4 hungry people with some left over and was delicious!  And even though we still don’t have internet we are thankful for God’s protection and for good friends for fellowship, who also help us in times of need.  Once we get settled in we will keep you updated on our ministry here in Botswana.