Ghanzi, Botswana Week 1

As this is Africa we still didn't really know exactly where we where going until a few days before we left. We happened to go Ghanzi first, which has an internet cafe. We originally thought we would be out in the middle of nowhere in the Okavango Delta or the Kalhari Desert with the Bushman, but things got moved around. A week from now we are going from here in west-central botswana to north botswana in a town called Maun (which is at the southern tip of the Okavango Delta.) After two weeks in Maun we will probably head to a town in the middle of the Kalahari desert for two weeks. In that time we will be with the Bushman people. I am pretty sure I can get internet in Maun (its one of the bigger cities in botswana) but when we are with the bushman its doubtful.

As for this first week in Ghanzi, we drove for about 18 hours over two days and my mom's water bottle that I had for three months broke just hours before we left for outreach. When we where only a few hours from Ghanzi we almost hit a cow. We where driving on a section of road that is really dangerous at night. During the night many cows love the warm asphalt and lay in the middle of the road. Once we got to Ghanzi we have been staying at Windows of Hope, an ministry run by a man named John. We have been sleeping in tents on the hard sand for the past week and will continue to do so for the next five weeks until we go to a YWAM base in South Africa for our final two weeks of outreach. Over the week we have been getting to know a group of local teenagers. We have been having small groups, church, and other events with them. We also have been doing some yard work and will soon be working on John's patio. As we where walking around praying one day, we met a family that had two disabled children. One was completely paralyzed and couldn't speak and the other was also paralyzed but could hear and speak. The first time we saw them we all had the sense God was going to heal them and we strongly felt we should pray for them. The next time we visited these children, we took them on a walk in their wheelchairs. It was the first time they had been outside the house for a very long time. When we got back we prayed very intensely for them and again thought the Lord would do something but God didn't do anything physically. After we prayed the girl started to cry as she wasn't healed as we had hoped for. We where all very dissapointed but still feel the Lord will do something whether it is now or later. We also plan on coming back at least one more time to help do some gardening and pray for them again. So more prayer the better! Last night we had quite a large wind and rain storm (it is the dry season here) and the girls in our group got quite a lot of spiritual attacks. Some saw dogs fighting and others dark images. They where up for a long time praying through that. I don't think satan is to happy that we have been praying for the children in the wheelchair.

Outside of those things the time here has gone quick already and we will be heading to the next place in a week. It is rough sleeping on hard sand but I am starting to get used to it a bit. During the day in the tent it, at times, has hit 115 degrees and outside in the shade it is still around 95. I am looking forward to what God will do here in Ghanzi. The people here are very friendly and hospitable. As you might expect many of the teenagers love to dance and sing, man are they really good at it! Although I am loving it here I am also looking forward to going to my next destination in Maun.