First days in Botswana

Four of us traveled to Botswana as part of the SCN Lay Mission Volunteer program. The goal of our trip is to immerse ourselves in the culture of this country, learn about and experience the ministries of the SCNs, and offer support. Before arriving at the ministry sites, we spent the past two days in the Chobe National Park area. We have been overwhelmed at the natural beauty here. Tonight, we arrived in Kanye where we will be with Sister Pat and Tootsie. We were greeted at the Gaborone airport by each SCN and Tootsie Gish,SCNA - a heart-warming welcome for this next phase of our experience. They'll put us to work and we'll share proof of that in future blogs. We'll also update you on their ministries.

In the meantime,though, let us share with you some of the beauty of these past two days. When we first arrived, we met a huge elephant on the road and our guide told us that after two days, we'll have seen so many elephants that we would hardly pay attention to them. Well, I must now have 845 photos of elephants (not really that many), and my heart still jumps when we come across one. We've laughed at how the animals stare at us staring at them. We've learned about wart hogs, and water buffalo and baboons. We've watched hippos come out from underwater spewing water only to quickly submerge again. We were breathless when we finally spotted several lions. In all of this, we have marveled at the beauty of God's creation - at the order of nature and the way the different species live together. There's a watering hole behind the property where we stayed. Throughout the day, all kinds of animals come for water and we were privileged to be witnesses for these days. We are filled with profound respect and gratitude for this opportunity. Truly, this is an amazing world we live in. Enjoy this short video that captures only some of the beauty. All the animals pictured are in their natural habitat, roaming freely. We took the photos from a jeep and boat.