Early on, Elvira and I decided that one way to get to meet people in town would be to attend church services at the various denominations – Catholic, Anglican, etc. One Sunday we met a young American couple who had the same idea. We decided to attend a service together at the Baptist Church which was located in the Location (i.e. the African part of town).
Anyone traveling through Francistown would have been hard pressed not to have noticed the Baptist Church. Presumably the Baptists had decided that the best way to minister to “the people” was to live and work right where the people lived and worked. However, while the church itself was fairly nondescript, the adjacent house which was provided for its minister and his family stood out like a sore thumb. There in the middle of a sprawling community, made up of mud huts with thatched roofs, no vegetation whatsoever but for the occasional thorn bush, dusty roads and a series of shared community water stand pipes, stood this California-styled bungalow, complete with a white picket fence and one of the greenest lawns I had ever seen. Given a chronic shortage of water in Francistown, green lawns were an oddity in town generally, let alone in the Location. Upon entering the house one was confronted with a baby grand piano on which was a signed photograph of John Glenn in his space suit wishing the Minister and his family all the best with their missionary work in Botswana. Incidentally, the Minister was the only dentist in town – and a very good one at that. His practice on Sundays was to greet all of his parishioners at the door as they entered the church. That particular Sunday when the four of us arrived, to his obvious surprise and delight, he was effusive in his welcoming. We took up seats towards the back of the worship space trying to be as inconspicuous as possible; even though, other than the Minister and his family, we obviously were the only white folks in attendance. While I don’t recall what the sermon itself was about, I’ll never forget how the Minister decided to end it. Friends, today is a very special day for us as we contemplate how much our faith truly means to us personally. Today is the day when I shall ask each and every one of you to look within yourselves and decide where you stand. For starters, I ask that each of you who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to stand up right now. Everyone in the church stood up at this point. The Minister, clearly quite pleased with the response so far, then said: Now I ask each and every one of you who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that he died for our sins to move toward the right side of the church. Everyone in attendance, including the four of us, shuffled to the right side of the church. The Minister’s smile broadened as he presumably received the reaction that he had hoped for. Finally, my friends, I ask that each and every one of you look within yourselves. Those of you who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, believe that he died for our sins, and would be willing to do anything that we ask of you to help our mission better serve the people of this community, please move toward the left side of the church. Everyone, EXCEPT the four of us, dutifully moved to the left side of the church. Each of us had made our decisions on our own, independently, as we had no time to consult with each other about what to do. There we found ourselves, the only ones still standing on the right side of the church. Talk about being conspicuous! The Minister’s smile immediately turned to a frown, as for some reason he appeared surprised by our reaction. The service thus ended at this very awkward moment. The Minister then positioned himself at the doorway where he shook hands with everyone and thanked them for attending. He avoided eye contact on our exit, and we never did return. Note: The above story is an excerpt from my memoir with a working title: Botswana: Full Circle From Winnipeg’s Inner City to the African Veldt Adventures of a CUSO Volunteer I hope to have it published before the end of this calendar year.
20 Comments
8/4/2022 02:51:03 pm
Edirne baymak servisi hizmetlerimiz memnuniyet odaklıdır. Detayları incelemek için hemen web adresimize göz at! https://www.edirneklimaservisi.com/edirne-demirdokum-servisi/
Reply
8/20/2022 07:47:53 pm
Neden NestaCloud.com? Biz her zaman müşteri memnuniyeti odaklı çalışan bir ekip olduk. bu sebeple sorun yaşasanız dahi elimizden geleni yapıp çözüme erdiriyoruz. Memnuniyet sağlamak için kar oranımızı göz ardı ediyoruz. Sizinle çalışmayı NestaCloud ailesi olarak çok isteriz.
Reply
8/21/2022 10:05:52 am
Mp3Video.org'u tercih etmelisiniz çünkü Youtube Mp3 ve Youtube Video İndir alanında lider teknoloji sağlayıcılarındandır. Hızlı altyapısı güvenilir sistemi. reklamsız ara yüzü ile kalite odaklı bir hizmet sunmaktadır. pişman olmama garantili bir servistir.
Reply
8/22/2022 03:46:10 am
DonghuaTR İle Türkçe Animeler Ve Donghualar yani Türk Anime seçeneklerielinizin hemen altında! İstediğiniz içeriği En yüksek kalitede izleyebilirsiniz. Hızlı ve çalışkan ekibimiz her gün yeni bölümleri ışık hızında siz değerli kullanıcılarımıza sunar.
Reply
9/25/2022 03:04:36 pm
En güncel urfa haber için sitemizi ziyaret et! Site adresi https://haberurfadan.com/
Reply
10/5/2022 12:51:34 pm
Takipçilerden ve azalan hesaplardan bıktınız mı? Kesinlikle profesyonel takipçi satın alma seçeneği ile başlığımızla büyüme şansınız var.
Reply
10/6/2022 06:13:54 pm
istanbul kepenk tamiri sitesidir! Kepenk tamiri hizmetleri için ziyaret et! https://kepenktamiriistanbul.net/
Reply
10/19/2022 10:14:34 am
Discounts average $8 off with a Zaful promo code or coupon. 50 Zaful coupons now on Joyful Coupon.
Reply
10/22/2022 02:56:40 pm
Find all of the best SHEIN coupons live NOW on Insider Coupons. Free shipping gift cards and more. 29 live offers hand-tested today!
Reply
12/19/2022 07:25:32 pm
İnstagram takipçi satın almak istiyorsan tıkla.
Reply
1/4/2023 09:02:46 pm
100 tl deneme bonusu veren siteleri öğrenmek istiyorsan tıkla.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Add a StoryRelate an anecdote, several anecdotes, a favourite memory, a story from your time in Botswana. It can be funny or serious, long (500 words max.) or short. Please email your content (including any photos you wish to include) to: Archives
April 2021
Categories |