SAD DAY

Just quickly on Zambia.

Jeff is on his way back from being in Zambia 10 days. I didn't manage to go with him because I wasn't feeling well, bladder infection. But don't worry, God's timing, God's plan. I stayed for a few days with some friends in South Africa because our friend Richard (the I.T. guy with FM) was going down and back so I was able to just catch a ride with him. I had a good rest. Jeff should get home about 1:00 today weather permitting. Then we are going to head down to our friend's house in SA and have a mini debrief, so he can fill me in on his Zambian adventures. Thank you so much for praying for us. I was disappointed not to go there with him but now I think it was for the best. The Lord knows the best route and he's working things out according to his plan. So I wasn't too fussed and then I got a chance to go to SA and rest and that was really great.

Sad News

I returned to Botswana on Wed afternoon and found that Mmane (who was house sitting for us) had written a few telephone messages. One was, Pastor Charles/Solomon, please call, baby died. I finally got a hold of Solomon and he told me that his youngest, a boy named Matheous, had just passed away on Monday. He had been in hospital with a bad case of diarrhea, it was a bit of an epidemic, lots of children where in sick and some others have died as well. Matheous was actually discharge and they thought he was recovering, but the next day the father laid down for a nap only to find the boy dead when he woke up.

The do have three or four other kids, but it's still hard to take. Doug (housing supervisor for FM) and I rode together to meet Solomon at the funeral parlor. Richard and a Missionary Pastor named Steve also joined us. Steve was asked to officiate (is that the right word, preach the sermon) for the funeral. Of course Richard and Doug where then asked to pray and comment at various times as well.

We had no idea that the baby was at the funeral parlor and that we were taking him to the church. They pulled his little perfect body out of the cool chamber and laid him on the table beside the tiny coffin. My eyes filled up with tears and I just held onto the mother. Her sister-in-law and mother-in-law where also there. Luckily Doug had chosen to drive the van. After the child was prepared, we said a prayer and then put the baby in the back of the van, the older ladies sat with the casket and I sat with the mother and off we went to the church. It was a long silent drive.

I did not envy Steve's job as preacher but he did a great job. He said "Let us celebrate his life." He also said to the parents, it's okay to cry, to grieve but then he gently went into the fact that Matheous is with Jesus now and that even though his life was short to us he still was part of God's plan and he is still in God's hands.

After the service, I was asked, along with the mother, the mother-in-law, and the sister-in-law to carry the casket out into the van. Then we went to the burial sight.

The grave had already been dug and even had a cement floor and brick walls, it wasn't that deep, maybe 3 feet. Me and Granny stepped into the grave and placed the casket gently in the middle. Then there was more singing and praying. Then the men took shovels and started to cover the grave, this was very hard for the mother. Then while we were there they, place a piece of tin roofing over the grave and covered it with cement that they mixed up right then and there. This is partly to make sure that the body is not dug up and used for witchcraft. I stood by the mother in the shade with a few other relatives. I didn't have any headache tablets for her so I just rubbed her shoulders and neck. I could sense that the worst was over for her, as far as the funeral went. She seems to be breathing easier. The prayers and songs where all very encouraging.

Then we headed back to the church for tea. Doug and I where a bit afraid of drinking any water there, seeing as how the mother had just gotten over the diarrhea and her daughter was still in hospital dealing with it. Richard, Steve, and Doug (my ride) explained to Solomon that they couldn't stay long, so Solomon brought the parents and some relatives in the church and then to my great relief offered us coke to drink. We sat for a few minutes drinking coke and talking with the relatives and then we made out leave, of course shaking hands with everyone and saying, stay well, peace be with you and God bless you.

So the morning started out very heavy indeed but even I could feel the closure and the comfort of our Lord and to trust that God is still in control.

Please pray for Solomon and Carol and their children (one still in the hospital).

We will fill you in on all the Zambia news soon.

Please check out our blogsite, new stories and pictures. The address is at the bottom of the email.

Love,

Michele for us both

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://jeffandmichele.blogspot.com

The Social Butterflies

Butterfly Invasion

We've had a wave a lovely white butterflies over the past two weeks. Sometimes there are so many it looks a bit like snow or flurries at least. The butterflies seem to enjoy a few of our flowering bushes at the back. There are so many it looks like the bush is moving. Anyway, it really brightens my day, thought you might enjoy it as well. Just today I noticed that we have more butterflies but the new ones are slightly bigger and mostly black and yellow, where as the others where small and mostly white and yellow. Unfortunately, Pumpkin, thinks they are a new play toy and he catches one and pins it down, then lets it go, and then catches it again until it's wings fall off. I suppose it's nothing compared to the big kitty who snatched a pigeon out of the air and left only the feathers as a testimony to her vicious appetite.

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://jeffandmichele.blogspot.com

Metsimotlable Ceremony

Bit of background

Nicole and I decided to attend the opening of the Lesang Bana Care Center (which means Let the children come to me). Nicole has been with FM for a short term. She works with the homebased care ladies who conduct patient visits. I have worked with the homebased care ladies for over a year teaching communications; how to listen, conduct counselling and the dos and don'ts of approaching people. In the past some FM nurses taught the hombased care ladies practical care for patients such as bathing, treating bed sores and mobilizing. All of this has helped the volunteers in Mogoditsane and the ones in Metsimotlabe. During my work I got to know Father Gabriel (Priest in Metsimotlabe), and sometimes me and Father Gaby, and Sister Angela (who heads the Catholic Church's AIDS department and whom I've know for over 5 years) would sit together and lament about all the tradegies and challenges that the weeks or months had brought. { A mother of 7 dying of AIDS with no relatives to care for the children} { A grandmother who is looking after 5 or 7 grandchildren while grieving for the loss of her own children and trying to muster the energy and money to care for them}


















{Michele & homebased care}




















{Future Moruti}

I was so blessed to hear that Father Gabriel and the congregation had started a preschool for orphaned children in Metsimotlabe and that the children where accepted regardless of whether they where Catholic or not. From our conversations I know that Father Gabriel wants to share the love of Jesus and it's not about looking good or boosting numbers in the church. They now have 44 preschoolers for this year and as the number and demand swells the need for more space and better suited facilities became evident

Father Gabriel explained that it was actually the youth at the church that first approached him about building a center for the children. He stood behind them, he also went to all the appropriate community groups like the chief, the village development committee, certain government committees and other community groups and told them the idea and they got on board. This good work did not happen overnight. It was a two year process.

Knowing how great the needs were, the work entailed, the jumping through hoops and all that had to be done in order to pull off such a project, we all knew it was the Lord and by His grace alone. There are just so many things that can and do derail you along the way. So to see the building up and running is just a testimony to God's unmerited favor.

{Father Gaby}

The actual ceremony

Nicole and I were mainly going because this was a very big event for the ladies that we have been working with in the homebased care as well as for our friend Father Gabriel. They have all worked so hard and long to see this thing become a reality. We were also very encouraged to see the center finished. Connie, one of the HBC volunteers who is very dedicated, expressed that she was really glad we came. In Botswana culture, attending events and functions together is a big way of saying "I love you." Nicole and I pulled in and one of the youths escorted us with an umbrella (it was very sunny) to the large tent that was errected just in front of the center for the occasion. They had a red carpet down the middle, rows of chairs, two tables at the front for the "big wigs" like the Bishop, the Minister of Heatlh (a government official), different city council members from Metsimotlbe and Gaborone, and so on. The pre-schoolers sitting up in front of them on children sized chairs. They had many potted plants positioned here and there for decoration. Between the center building and the large tent there stood a large stage that was about two feet high where young men were busy errecting another shade between the building and the large tent. The boys worked diligently even up to half way through the ceremony to get this thing up and secured. There was a podium at the front of the large tent. They had microphones and big speakers that worked most of the time.

{The Stage}















{The Big Tent}


















{Grad sporting the "cool" shades}















{Decor}

You have to understand something about gatherings in Botswana: there is always someone appointed as the Master of Ceremonies and he or she (a woman is this case) makes sure everything flows nicely. Our M.C. lovingly explained where people should stand, when they should come up, and she sang along in the microphone with some of the hymns we sang between speeches. You see, the program is a very fluid situation so there is a lot of work for the M.C. She had to interject sometimes and say extra thank yous that were missed and stay on top of all the changes that are bound to happen with such an event.




















{Regina Smiling}















{Dream Song}

You also have to imagine that everyone likes to be helpful with the microphones and the microphone stands so there were several adjustments being made by several folks while people were giving speeches, some of those adjustments where helpful and some not so helpful. But all in all I think things ran very smoothly and we could see that heaps of effort had went into this event.

First there was lots of welcoming of all the different people and then the Bishop came in. Then there was a time of thank yous. As soon as I saw there were two tables for the "big wigs", I thought to myself, this is going to be a long ceremony. I figured they would all get a chance to give a speech, but luckily it was just the Bishop and the Minister of Health that gave speeches and Father Gabriel gave one at the end. After the welcomes and thank yous the preschoolers came up and they were adorable. They each took turns going up to the microphone and doing something like counting to ten or naming the seasons (sounding like sprrring, summa, aautom, and winta) and then they would say what they wanted to be when they grew up. One boy got stuck while counting to 10 but at the end did manage to recover. He said he wanted to be a policeman and everyone roared with laughter because of how the current police force is, but I'm sure the kid took no notice. Another little girl recited the seasons and then said she was going to take over Father Gabriel's job. That was a hoot coming from this little 4 year old. After the MoH, the Bishop gave a speech, but we couldn't hear the whole first half because his microphone wasn't working. Plus he was standing on the stage which put him up too high and all you could see was from our vantage point was his mouth and down because the large tent was in the way. Another hilarious thing was that the guys taking video didn't use the zoom lens. They would just walk right up in front of who ever was speaking or who ever they wanted to record and stick the camera in their face. They got right in the way of any of the audience being able to see as well, but they took no notice. Then they would walk up and down the middle aisle getting video of "us" the audience and again would just come right up to you. They also was a time when the contractor came up and handed over the keys to the center, the amazing thing was that we found out there were three guys that worked nearly full time on the building project (community members) who were not payed but just volunteering.

They presented the opening plaque which was mounted on the outside wall of the center. As they opened the curtain they let two doves go but instead of flying majectically they just dropped to the ground. With the shade cloth up where were they supposed to go? The doves eventually made there way to the top of one of the speakers and remained there for the rest of the ceremony.

There was a person, (I can't remember if it was the city council member or what) who got up with a bottle of champagne and proposed a toast. Then they filled all the big wigs glasses and they drank to it. Nicole and I just smiled at one another. I mean, what next?

The Bishop went through each room and blessed it with holy water, I had to laugh at myself because I thought his assistant was bringing him his eyedrops but it was the holy water. (not that I really agree with the holy water thing but I appreciated the fact that he wanted to commend each room to God)

{Doves}












{Grads}















{Preschoolers}

Afterwards people were welcome to go and see the center and while they were waiting to go through, Father Gabriel and the Lesang Bana children, had organized entertainment. There was a drama. The children (including the older ones that attend the kids club on Saturdays) sang special songs. There were two traditional dancing groups, even Father Gabriel and a group sang a broadway musical song from Joseph King of Dreams (or is it Coat of Many Colors, can't quite remember) and then the the kids gave out paper flowers to lots of people in the audience.

Nicole and I decided to leave at about 12:30. We knew lunch would be served at some point but we were both tired and had another function to go to at our church. We did observe the bulk of the ceremony and it's was good for us to attend something that was so important to the ladies that we work with. It really means a lot and we were also encouraged to see the community support and to see that the center open and running.

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{Traditional Dancers}

Hope you enjoyed reading about this little ceremony.

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://jeffandmichele.blogspot.com