First Days in Botswana

Because of limited access to the Internet and a very full schedule in these first few days in Botswana, Emily has not been able to update her blog. We are Emily's family, and we have spoken with Emily two times. She has asked us to pass along some news to you. If we get something confused here, Emily can get it straight when she's able to communicate personally through this site!

Emily arrived safely in Botswana on January 4, very tired after a 35-hour journey. All of her nearly 200 pounds of luggage also arrived with her! The first few days were spent in the area of the capital city of Gaborone. Emily, along with her fellow Journeyman Kelly, traveled to the city of Francistown on January 7 for a week of "crash" lessons in Setswana, the national language, and training for their assignment. On January 14, Emily made her way to the town of Palapye, which will be her location of ministry in Botswana.

Emily is teamed in Palapye with Kelly and another Journeyman, Crystal, as they work in the schools and a local Baptist church in the area. Crystal came to Botswana last fall, and she has been serving in Gaborone. Emily met Crystal last spring when they were in the same orientation group at the Missionary Learning Center. Over this past weekend, Emily moved into the small block house that will be her residence. Her house is one of three new houses in a compound enclosed by a brick wall. Two guard dogs also call the property their home. Until the security system is installed and activated, a security guard is present, too. Emily is the occupant of the house with the kitchen. Kelly and Crystal share the house--which is just a few feet away from Emily's--that has the living room. The third house is currently vacant. Emily has for the most part been eating American-style food, but she did have a meal with pani worms, which involves some caterpillar-looking things cooked in tomatoes and onions. On Monday night Emily made spaghetti sauce from scratch. She tells us we would be impressed with the cooking skills she is demonstrating.

This week Emily has begun her teaching assignment in public schools in the area of Palapye. She is teaching a course called "Guidance." The core of the course is the "True Love Waits" curriculum. She is teaching students in Form 1 and Form 3. These are students comparable to our 7th-8th graders and around 10th graders. Form 3 is the last level of the students' formal education unless they pass an exam and continue on to Form 4 and Form 5. Then there are additional exams, and about 2% of the students are accepted into the university. Emily has 9 classes during the week, which run 40 minutes each. Each class has 40-45 students. She will also be counseling one afternoon a week and will help out with some of the clubs at the school. The schools are on a six-day rotation, so her schedule will change from week to week. She will have off day 6 of each rotation. Emily is teaching her classes in English, which is the official language of Botswana. She says that she has to try to imitate the students' Batswana accents in order for them to be able to understand her English! (We have learned the country is Botswana, but Batswana is the collective term for Botswanan citizens.)

On Sunday, January 15, Emily attended the church with which she and Kelly and Crystal will be working. The church is led by Brazilian Baptist missionaries. The church met in a tent with about 30 people present. The service was in Setswana and English.

The possibilities for communication are certainly more limited for Emily in Botswana. There is no landline capability at their residence. Emily has purchased a cellphone, but it costs $1.00 per minute to make even a local call. Without Internet access at their compound, she will need to use an Internet cafe in Palapye. She understands there are a couple of them in town.

We have told you probably more than we know and most all of what we remember. We hope before too long Emily will be able to update us all firsthand by her blog, including some pictures. Emily continues to be grateful for all of your prayerful support!