T minus seven weeks and counting...

Seven weeks from the very moment I am writing this, I will be at Dulles Airport reunited with my team, awaiting our departure to Botswana. That fact, although I know it's true, it all still seems to fade in and out of reality for me. It hasn't hit me that I will be spending roughly five weeks in Botswana, a country in Southern Africa. No matter how many times I tell people this, I still can't believe it's actually happening.

For the first half of our trip, we will be helping out at an orphan feeding station. We will be running a sports camp and vacation Bible school for the kids. I am so excited to meet these kids and to play with them! Please pray for these kids. I haven't even met them, and I love them so much!

The second half of our trip we will be talking to college students on the campus of the University of Botswana. The country only has one university, which means it is filled with the country's future leaders. We will talk with the students about spiritual things and hear their thoughts on life and God.

The official language of Botswana is English, however, it is mainly used as a language of business. Setswana is their native language and is more of their "relational" language. Our director explained it this way; you could go up to the  desk at a hotel and ask for a phonebook in English. The person at the desk would converse with you in English, but when they converse with their co-worker, they would speak in Setswana. The kids, especially the younger ones will probably only know Setswana. We've been learning, through our group on facebook, a few phrases in Setswana. Something really awesome I have found out is that a few years ago, Chris Tomlin, a popular Christian singer, was over in Botswana. While he was there, the people taught him his song "We Fall Down" in their language. We've actually been learning the song so we can sing it when we go. This is a YouTube link for the song in both English and Setswana: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrRZc_gruU.

I promise to post again soon, but I probably should go study for some of my finals (finals week starts this Wednesday 5/18 and ranges to the following Tuesday 5/24). Enjoy your day!

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Modimo o a go rata