Last days in Botswana

It's hard to believe that our time here is drawing to a close. Yesterday, all the Sisters and Tootsie gathered with us in Metsimothlabe for a debriefing and evaluation of our experience. Our time together was set in the context of prayer. We gave each of the Sisters a small wooden heart as a token of our gratitude.

Today, we visited the St. Mary's Pre-School and the Sisters in Lobatse since we haven't had the chance to spend a lot of time with them. We are so impressed with the school and the work of Sisters Ann and Olive.

Tomorrow we will treat everyone to lunch before we head to the airport. It will take a long time to process all that we've experienced. We are filled with gratitude for each moment.

Volunteers continue to experience Botswana

Yesterday we finished painting the alphabet, pictures, etc on the walls of the Mmopane Center. Monica and Millard also trimmed a thorn tree in the yard. We were proud of how everything looked when we finished. We were surprised today with a performance of a tribal dance by the children of the Center. The students of this Center are known in the area for their dancing and we watched in amazement.

Tonight, we enjoyed an Indian meal prepared by the sisters here and then played Jenga to finish out the night. A great time!

Today, we toured the Hospice and Millard is building supports for a trellis. This afternoon, Sister Pat and Tootsie are driving here for a visit - we've missed them so it will be a treat to see them again. Sister Nalini is helping to lead an all-day workshop for youth in a nearby village.

We stand in admiration of the work of the Sisters in each place we've visited. The spirit of Mother Catherine is so evident. The deep faith and generous hearts of the Sisters shine through in their interactions. What we have given is so small compared to what we have received. Our hope is that our presence here is a sign of our great love and support of what they do every single day.

Our time here is quickly drawing to a close. We are soaking up every minute and remain so grateful for all of this!

Volunteers begin work in Mmopane

We arrived in Metsimothlabe yesterday and received a warm welcome from the sisters. In the evening, we attended a special Mass for a Brother who works in Botswana, followed by a dinner. It was truly an international event with at least 9 countries represented.

Today, we began painting a Center for orphans and vulnerable children in the village of Mmopane. Sister Vinaya is the director of the center and she provided great leadership today. The children are referred to the center through the outreach program of the Hospice. We are painting the alphabet, numbers and some pictures to help with their educational efforts. We made great progress today. We are surely grateful that Sister Olive joined us to share her artistic skills.

Project completed in Tswaaneng, Botswana

We finished painting the church in Tswaaneng village today.

Each place we visit leaves us with new insights that broaden our understanding of the world. One of the many lessons learned these two days is how precious water is. When we arrived at the church, we learned that the water had been shut off to the property and the water vats were empty. An elderly woman brought two 5 gallon buckets of water for our use, and we know that she was sharing a valuable resource with us. We saw donkey carts with jugs and buckets on the wagons, lined up at the water station on the way to the village. For the people in this village, water is extremely precious. This experience makes us think about the ways we use water.

Tomorrow we leave for Metsimothlabe where we will visit with the Sisters and paint a day care in the village of Mmopane. Thanks for sharing in our journey in this way and for your prayers for our continued safe travels.

Monday in Botswana

Today, we traveled to the remote village of Tswaaneng to begin the work of painting the church and replacing the doors. As we arrived at the village, we stopped to meet the village chief. Then we stopped at the school, where the children sang for us. The headmistress then asked what song we would sing. We decided that "My Old Kentucky Home" was appropriate, and we were grateful that the students didn't laugh at our pathetic rendition!

The village is about 1 1/2 hours from Kanye where we are staying. One thing that has made an impression on us is gentleness of the people. We've met many people and most tell us their name, followed by the meaning of their name. We've met a woman whose name means "thanksgiving", and another whose name means "comfort". Thandi, who drove us to the village told us that her name means "love", and we worked today with a young woman whose name means "tears". Gracious, loving, and heart-filled people.

We've almost finished painting the inside of the small church. Tomorrow we'll touch up the inside, and we hope to complete the painting of the outside of the church also. Millard worked hard on the doors and with a lot of muscle-power and a hand-saw, the front doors are almost finished.

On Wednesday, we'll head to Metsimothlabe where we will visit with the Sisters there, visit their ministry sites, and help to paint a day care center in Mmopane.

We continue to feel very blessed.