A Little Bit About Where We Live And Work

Front view of our home.















View of the local primary school from our front door.















Overlooking the neighbor's yards.














Our patio and backyard.

We live on a corner, so to our right is a through-road and at our back is a house that operates a day care and there is a cement wall between us. We also have a wall between us and the through-road. We live in town with lots of houses on the street and many of the houses have dogs.

Jeff performing maintenance.















In Lusaka, Jeff and Joel Bolthouse doing a repair job.















Dear friends - Jackie and Michele.















Two students and Thabo who used to work for Flying Mission.

Culture 101 Ladies Night

On Friday Jeff was flying some doctors up to the Tuli block, so he was going to be gone for two nights. I had already planned to have a "ladies Night" at my house, just dinner in the garden and a chick flick. Well, three of my friends bailed and it was only going to be Nicole and Diane, but that was fine too. In the afternoon I went to my friend Hazel's house, she's the young lady that had a baby in Dec. He's one month old now. Anyway, I had a children's illustrated bible I wanted to give Lefa (the baby), and I added a magazine for Hazel, a bible, and a little bible study on marriage. In the meantime her friend Lesedi dropped by to show her a funeral program. She had just found out that her boyfriend, who was living in South Africa, had died in a car accident. After some time I went to excuse myself and Lesedi asked if I could drop her at home, which was just a few streets down. As we were talking by the car, they both lamented at how they wanted to do something tonight. So I said "well I was having some ladies for dinner, would you like to come." They agreed happily and Lesedi was very happy that I was making lasagne as she wanted to learn how to cook it.

So about 4:30, through rush hour traffic, I came back to collect Hazel and Lesedi. Hazel asked if her older sister could come, and I had to accept, but in the end she decided not to. But then Hazel comes walking out with her baby and her 10 year old sister. I thought to myself, "what is going on?" Well, 10 year old sister was coming as babysitter. So I relented and we went to pick up Lesedi. When I got there here comes Lesedi and some other girl about her age, well it's her cousin Mammi. I chided myself, I've lived here 7 years and I should have known that if I invited Lesedi and Hazel that it wouldn't just be them. So finally we made it back to my place and I put everyone to work making lasagna or setting the table outside. The weather was great. I went to take a picture of the artist and their table and they decided that we should have a photo shout on the lawn, so we all took turns putting on Mammi's hip sunglasses and posing for photos.

Little sister was true to her job, she held the baby, played with him, fed him. They put him on a blanket in the grass and then inside and little sister barely said a word. Nicole and Diane showed up with salad and rolls and we had a really nice dinner in the garden. I was surprised that the Batswana liked Lasagna so much, but there you have it. Lesedi is studying to be a Lawyer and was quite engaging and Mammi was studying Human resource in S.A. After dinner we moved in doors and I put the DVD in. Most Batswana ladies that I know, don't really like watching videos but this was a musical so it was okay(Bollywood film, Bride and Prejudice). Well, about 30 minutes into the movie, Hazel's mom phones and says, it's time for her and baby to come home. I knew this would happen, luckily I had already seen the video, so I quickly took her home,not wanting Lesedi and Mammi to miss out, I let them stay. As we were leaving, Mammi hands Hazel 20 pula so that she could pick up a prepaid cellphone card while we are out as if we had all the time in the world. So I finally get back and I suggest we have desert and then Hazel calls and can't find her key, can I go look in the car for it. I couldn't find it either. Finally the video was finished and Nicole and I took Lesedi and Mammi home, and they all liked the video very much and I was glad that Lesedi's mind was put off of her boyfriend's death for a few hours. But I must say I was quite tired after the whole event.

So Ladies Night turned out somewhat different than I had expected.

Botswana Bits

A stiff necked Lady

Thank you for your prayers and advice about my neck. Sorry that so many of you out there are also suffering from neck pain. The doctor visit went really well, the Doctor really took me seriously, she was a very surprised that I had suffered from Headaches so long and that I thought this was fairly normal. She sent me to have some x-rays done just to make sure it wasn't a bone problem. Luckily, they came back and the spine is fine. But it would seem that I had another bladder infection, which can also cause headaches. So she gave me some meds for that and sent me to the physio. I tried the physio I had went to before but she was away until Feb. so I went with the doctors suggestion, a lady named Lorato (which means Love in Setswana). Come to find out, Lorato, has been been practicing for 20 years, though you would never know it by the way she looks (she looks young). She was very thorough and gave me lots of lectures on how to stand properly and sleep properly. Then she went to town on my neck, took my breath away and brought a tear to my eye but now after three visits it's beginning to loosen up. All my "headache" muscles where in a constant state of spasm. Yesterday she put me on traction and I do it again on Friday. My doctor scheduled me for 6 visits but I think we'll have to do more, but if this is what it takes not to have headaches and to get my neck sorted then we think it's worth it. I really feel like God blessed us with a Doctor that takes me seriously and a good physio that I can stick with until the deep muscles give up their death grip. So God is really answering our prayers

What to name kitten?

Thank you for all your suggestions. My father-in-law suggested "claws" which is also pronounced "Claus", ha ha ha. That was a good one. Someone suggested Cornelius, in anycase we landed on the name pumpkin which we pronounce punkin. He's quite happy with his name, probably because it's synonymous with food or getting petted. Big kitty and little kitty have finally made friends, well big kitty tolerates him now in anycase. Punkin is still not that excited about big black hairy Bombur, he puffs up like a fluffy bunny when he sees Bombur but Bombur doesn't give him too many hassles only that he wants to smell him.

The day in the life of the FM Chief Engineer

Jeff stayed late Tues night to get one of the planes painted while the weather was nice. He didnt' want to chance it because Bryan needs the plane to fly up to Zambia on Sat or Sunday for a week of meetings and what not. He is hoping that all the last bits and bobs can be put into the plane today so he can get a weight and balance done. Jeff is doing a flight from Friday to Sunday up in the Tuli block. He flies some doctors up there to took after the staff at one of the safari camps. He's had a pretty intense week so I think sitting around at the camp will do him some good. Last weekend, while I was at the wedding, he made a box for me so that we would have somewhere to store our garden tools and make the back porch look nicer. But in typical Jeff fashion, it's so beautiful that I can't imagine putting garden tools in it but there you have it. I want to make some cushions to put on top so that it can be like a bench as well. He brought it home last night. He says it looks like a coffin, maybe because it was such a pain to make, hee hee.

Choc Chips,

I want all the folks that sent us the choc chips with the US team to know that we are putting them to good use, mainly enjoying them. I have taught three people now the art of making American Choc chip cookies. I told my friend yesterday that I should start making chocolate chip cookie disciples and she laughed and said "I can testify!!" ha haaha. So I've taught a Motswana lady, a South African, and now a lady from Zim. It was nice to have her over because while we made cookies we had time to chat about deeper stuff, which is what she really needed. I also had enough cookies (because my recipe makes 52, we take care a biness) to give her some to take home, take some to physio and have some for us as well. You see I had this wonderful Marriage booklet bible study thing that was written by the minnonite missionaries and it's very culturallly relavant to Batswana. Anyway, the receptionist at physio said she just got married last year and was talking to me about her struggles with the in-laws. I asked if she's like to read this booklet and she said that would be great. She even asked me if she should call and remind me to bring it. So I gave her the booklet with a plate of cookies, that always helps. In anycase, she wants the recipe so now I might have Choc chip cookie disciple number 4, hee hee.

Mmane

Thank you so much for praying for our sister Mmane. I finally got to see her on Sunday after church. We met at the mall for a cool drink. She said she has decided to go to church this year and she was very happy about it. She had just come from there when we met. She grew up Lutheran in her home village of Ramotswa so she started attending the Lutheran church here in town. I know she was serious becuase on Sat. night she was with her cousins and decided to leave them early so she could get home to have a good night sleeps before church. I asked her if they had any bible studies and she said that she had been invited to a bible study just that morning. I encouraged her to go because I know that if she is in God's word she will grow and become strong and be able to deal with some of the harder issues of her life. She hadn't read through the wounded heart pamphlet, and I encouraged her, that while she has time and she's not working, to go through it. But I won't push it because the Lord knows when the time is right, I just encourage. Yes, she quit her job, it wasn't such a positive place to work. She payed her rent for two months and payed two month on her loans. Please continue to pray, she's on the right road, but she's not out of the woods yet. Plus eventually she will need a job again. I hope and pray she will be able to find something closer to where she lives and that's not so tiring and stressful.

Lilian

Just to let you know that Lilian had a healthy baby girl on Dec 26th. She even received one of the bibles that FM gives to all the patients at the Public Hospital on Boxing Day (Day after Christmas). Baby and mother are fine.

Well, sorry these things get so long but I just didn't want to leave you in the dark about stuff I'd talked about earlier.

Hope you all are enjoying your 2006.

love,

Jeff and Michele

Jeff and Michele Royce
c/o Flying Mission
P.O. Box 1022
Gaborone,
Botswana
Africa

royces@flyingmission.org.bw
http://www.flyingmission.botsnet.co.bw/news.htm
http://botswanabits.blogspot.com/