Botswana Bulletin – Thirty Sixth Edition
“The Home Stretch”
March 26, 2009
Greetings one and all from a sunny
Gaborone, Botswana! Yes, it appears the
rains are finally beginning to subside, although one never knows here. The weather can be very unpredictable at
times which is why I guess the weathermen on BTV (Botswana TV) only use 3
guesses as to which might happen; warm, hot or rainy. Speaking of weathermen, while I was in Cape
Town over the Christmas holidays I was watching the news and started laughing
when I noticed that the weatherman was talking with a southern American
accent. Part of me wondered if people
even understood him because he was pronouncing the names of some of the cities
very strangely. I wonder what it would
be like to have a South African with a thick Afrikaan accent as a weatherman in
say, Tennessee? I’m assuming a few of
the locals would struggle with that accent as well.
Anyway, I think that’s enough about
weathermen for now. I’ve had a few
people ask me about how my school application is going. To tell you the truth, not much has
happened. Last month NAIT “acknowledged”
my application which basically means they received the application with all the
bits they needed and could now go through the process of acceptance. Last week I received an e-mail from the
department head’s assistant requesting an interview with me. This was supposed to happen either Thursday
or Friday last week but the interview never occurred. I’m still waiting for the department head to
confirm a time for the interview. This
is where things sit at the moment. I
would appreciate prayer that the interview happens soon, that whatever
technology we use to communicate (whether it be via the internet or phone line)
would work as it should, and that the interview would put me in good
standing. I’m not exactly sure what kind
of questions they will ask during the interview. They didn’t specify the type of interview it
would be. I’ve never been interviewed by
a school before so I’m not sure exactly how it will work. Anyway, your prayers would be appreciated for
that.
Flying Mission has once again been blessed
with safety during an emergency landing that occurred at the end of
January. One of our pilots from Zambia
(Rick Rempel) was flying from Livingstone, Zambia to Gaborone, Botswana when a
problem occurred with the engine of the plane.
After trying to remedy the problem without success Rick decided that he
would have to land the plane immediately.
His hope was that he could land in Kasane (a large village at the
northern border of Botswana) but he was unable to make it and was forced to
make an emergency landing in an open field. The plane sustained some heavy damage during
the landing but everyone on board was ok.
Little did Rick know but the landing wasn’t the end of his adventure for
the day, but just the beginning! There
was an ELT (emergency locator transmitter) on the plane which was activated
during the rough landing telling the airport the exact coordinates of where the
plane had landed. Shortly after this the
BDF (Botswana Defence Force) search plane was able to do a fly-over and
confirmed the planes location and that all on board were ok. The plane returned to Kasane and mobilized
the police department to send some vehicles out into the bush to rescue Rick
and his passengers. Unfortunately this
task was easier said than done. During their attempts to reach Rick and his passengers one of
the search vehicles had a flat tire, (it’s likely there was no spare) another
broke a tie rod, and the rest all got stuck in the muddy ground, a result of the
fantastic rainy season we’ve had this year.
Meanwhile, FMS (our flight operations in Botswana) received word here in
Gaborone that one of our planes went down near Kasane. So, our Aviation Manager here in Botswana,
Mark Spicer, got into our King Air 90 Air Ambulance and flew to Kasane to help
with the rescue process. Rick and his passengers ended up spending
all night in the wrecked plane in the middle of the African wild. Eventually a BDF
helicopter arrived on site around 9am the next morning.
The helicopter transported Rick and his passengers to Kasane were they
were all examined and found to have no serious injuries. Our operations in Zambia had also heard that
the plane had gone down so two of our personnel there got into a plane and flew
to Kasane. After Rick was cleared by
doctors he was then taken back to Zambia in the plane that FMZ (Flying Mission
Zambia) had sent down. The damaged plane
was insured so it’s likely we will receive an insurance settlement which should
cover the loss of the plane. Praise the
Lord for his goodness and grace!
I’ve also had a few people asking about
when I’ll be returning home. SIM has
booked my flights and I will be leaving Botswana on June 25th. From Gaborone I will fly to Johannesburg,
South Africa and then to London, England.
I will be spending some time in England visiting with friends and am then
scheduled to leave London on July 6th. I arrive in Toronto the evening of the 6th. I’ll be in Toronto for a few days at the SIM
Canada head office for debrief and then I should be heading to Edmonton. The flight from Toronto to Edmonton hasn’t
been booked yet because I’m not sure how long I’ll need to be at the SIM office
for. Once that is sorted I’ll know my
arrival date. I’m guessing it will be
around July 9th.
Once I’m back in Canada my summer schedule should
look something like this. I’ll be
visiting my supporting churches in Fort Saskatchewan, AB, Fort McMurray, AB and
Parksville, BC during July-August (no fixed dates yet). I’ll definitely be spending some time in the
lower mainland and may also make a trip to Calgary if time allows. Classes begin the first week in September so
I’ll have to be back in Edmonton by then.
I’m finding it hard to believe that I’ll be back in Canada in only 3
months. I will definitely miss Botswana
but I’m really looking forward to reconnecting with friends and family back
home after almost a 2 year absence.
Some of you have been wondering what will
happen as far as my status as a missionary while I’m attending school. As far as Flying Mission is concerned I’ll
officially be moving on as I’m uncertain as to if or when I’ll be returning to
Botswana. They are currently searching
for a replacement for me so continue to pray that someone would be found before
my departure. I will continue to be a
member of SIM and will have my membership status changed to “on study
leave”. During study leave I can
continue to receive support and once the study break is over I can immediately
resume work with SIM. My hope is that
with this new training from NAIT I’ll be able to better serve the mission
community as an IT person. I’m not
exactly sure as to what capacity I’ll be able to do that yet but SIM has said
that there should be plenty of opportunities in the future. I’m not certain what my needs will be during
my schooling but I can tell you that I should have enough to cover my school
fees but may need some assistance paying for personal living costs during the
school year. These details probably
won’t be sorted out until July so I’ll keep you posted on the details as they
become available for those who may want to continue supporting me during my
study leave.
On a more personal note, some fellow
missionaries here in Botswana, who also just happen to be Canadians, have lent
me a book called “Faith Like Potatoes”.
The book is written by Angus Buchan and it’s been very inspirational to
me. The man has gone through some very
tough things in his life and it’s been a blessing to see how his faith has
brought him through each and every trial.
It’s reminded me of my own journey over the last number of years and how
I’ve been able to lean on God through all the ups and downs. I’ll admit that it hasn’t always been my
first instinct to pray when trouble hits, but this book has been reminding me
of the power of prayer and how it should be the first thing we do. If you have time to read it I would highly
suggest it. There is apparently a movie
called Faith Like Potatoes as well for those who aren’t big into reading.
Well, this letter may be shorter than
you’re used to but this is about all I can think of writing for now! J Anyway, before I go I’d like to leave you
with a few prayer requests. Here they
are in no particular order:
1)
School Interview – Please pray
that my interview with NAIT would be scheduled soon and that it would go well. Pray that the school will accept my
application.
2)
Emergency Landing – Praise that
nobody was injured during an emergency landing in Northern Botswana last
month. Pray that things will get sorted
out with the insurance company
3)
Flights – Praise that my flight
home has been booked
4)
Wrapping Up – Please pray for
me as I slowly begin to wind down here in Botswana. Time has been moving quickly so please pray
that I would finish well
Once again I want to thank you all for
being such a supportive team to me during my time here in Botswana. I feel so blessed to have you all in my
life. I look forward to seeing many of
you in a few months time!
Peace and prayers,
Graham “Rapula” Crawford <><
For more info on SIM Canada visit: www.sim.ca
For more info on the Flying Mission visit: www.flyingmission.org
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