Botswana Bulletin – Twenty Third Edition

Botswana Bulletin – Twenty Third Edition

“A Canadian Christmas”

Greetings to all from the “City Of Champions” Edmonton, Alberta, Canada!  Well, technically I’m not actually “in” Edmonton.  I’m living just north of the big city at my parents house in Fort Saskatchewan.  The reason I usually don’t tell people I’m from Fort Saskatchewan is because then people think I’m living in the province of Saskatchewan which makes things kinda confusing.  So to simplify things I just say I’m from Edmonton.  Besides, I do spend a lot of time in Edmonton anyway so its not too big a stretch.  Anyway, enough about that, let me get into telling you what I’ve been up to the past few weeks.

Well, I guess first off I should mention that I’m no longer in Botswana!  I’m going to assume that most of you knew that but in case you missed it, yep, I’m back home in the Great White North.  I left Botswana on November 21^st and arrived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada the next day.  I spent a few days at the SIM Canada headquarters in Toronto (well once again I kinda lied, it’s actually in Scarborough but that’s basically Toronto) and had a good debriefing with the staff there.  On November 25^th I flew from Toronto to Edmonton and I’ve been home ever since. 

So, some of you may be wondering, “What now?”  Well, that’s a very good question and its part of the reason why my prayer letter has been late.  Oh, before I get into that I should mention for clarity that my contract with SIM has expired as of the end of November and no donations will be collected or accepted on my behalf.  If you were a monthly supporter I believe this should have been communicated by SIM Canada.  If it wasn’t I apologize for any miscommunication that there may have been.  So yah, in short, don’t send money because I can’t legal accept it.  However, for those who have given during these past years I want to say that I think you are awesome!  I am pleased to announce that I was never in need financially because of the awesome support I received from home.  Thank you so much for your generosity.

Ok, hopefully that clears that up.  Where was I now?  Oh yes, “What now?”  Well, first I should mention that it is the desire of my heart to return to Botswana.  I have been given a formal invitation from Flying Mission to return as a member of the IT staff.  So, with this in mind I see a few possible options from where I can go from here.  Once again I should mention something for clarity.  I have spent 2 years on the mission field and this is the longest length of time someone can go as a “short term missionary”.  Therefore, if I would like to return to Botswana I must switch from a “short term missionary” to what they call a “long term missionary”.  There are various differences between the two which I won’t get into but basically it means things will have to change.  So, with this in mind here are the options I see in front of me.

Option #1:  I could simply fill out the required paperwork through SIM Canada and return to the mission field as a long term missionary through them.  This would definitely be the easiest and fastest way to return.

Option #2:  I could see if a church would be willing to sponsor me as a missionary.  Basically what this means is a church would take responsibility for me while I am in Botswana.  They would take care of my finances and medical insurance, etc just like SIM Canada has been these last 2 years.  Since the church wouldn’t likely charge administration fees for this it would likely be cheaper to go this way. 

Option #3:  I could see if another mission organization would be willing to send me to Botswana.  The only organization I’ve known in the mission world is SIM.  Perhaps there are benefits in going with another mission that I have been unaware of. 

Since arriving here in Canada I have been exploring these three options to see which one God is directing me too.  I have spoken with SIM Canada about my desire to return to the field and they have outlined for me the steps I need to take in order to do that.  So basically all I need to do is say to SIM that I’d like to return with them and the process can be underway.

I also have been speaking with my pastor here in Fort Saskatchewan.  I was attending Fort Saskatchewan Alliance Church for 4 years before leaving for Botswana and I have been looking at the possibility of them being my “mission organization”.  At this point we are still in discussions about exactly how this will work and I don’t see anything being decided until next year.

I have also been in contact with various mission organizations and frankly I have been encouraged by what they have had to say.  I’ve realized that SIM has a very good reputation among other mission organizations.  When I’ve spoken to them about the possibility of changing from SIM they have encouraged me to stay with SIM.  Basically they told me that the level of support SIM gives is either equal or above what any other organization could give.  So it’s been worthwhile contacting these other organizations and hearing the good things they’ve had to say about SIM.  Also some organizations were unwilling to send me to a specific area.  What I mean by this is SIM is partnered with Flying Mission thus making it easy for SIM to “loan” me to Flying Mission.  Other organizations because they don’t know Flying Mission weren’t interested in sending me to a field outside of there scope.  This is wise considering that the sending organization would then have little knowledge of what I was doing and thus they would find it difficult to facilitate any needs I may have.  Since Flying Mission represents SIM in Botswana it’s easy for SIM to facilitate “from a distance”. 

Ok, hopefully that wasn’t too confusing.  So basically what has to happen now is prayer and patience.  Since it’s almost Christmas this will kind of go on hold until the new year but hopefully by January or February a decision will be finalized.  February is when the annual “Missionfest” is held here in Edmonton so I’m thinking I might delay my decision until then.  For those who don’t know, Missionfest is a big conference where mission organizations get together and promote the ministries that they do.  I’ve been to a few in the past and it’s a great place to get information on different organizations.  It would be a great place to exhaust the idea of switching to another organization.

So, that’s basically where things are with me as far as work is concerned.  For those who may be wondering about how I’m feeling being home I feel great.  I’ve never had much trouble with culture shock or reverse culture shock for that matter.  I thought it was awesome that it was -30ºC when I arrived in Edmonton!  The snow is awesome to see this year!  I’m hoping to go snowboarding sometime during the winter.  So yah, home is home.  How could I hate it?  I guess the one thing that’s kind of lame is everybody is at work during the day so I don’t have much to do.  This isn’t bad for a few weeks but I don’t think I could take this for months.  So, I may end up working for a few months to give me something to do.  This will be good as it will help me build my savings up as they have been depleted almost to nothing these past 2 years.  Another possibility is taking a course.  As a Computer technician there is always something new to learn so I may take some time to do some studying.  Decisions, decisions!  Such is life!

So, with all that said I should close.  I would like to take this chance to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  May God richly bless you through 2007!

Before I go I’d like to share a few prayer requests.  Here they are in no particular order:

1)  Please pray that God would direct as he leads me back to Botswana.  It’s a big decision and I do not want to rush things but be patient and wait for His voice.

2)  Please pray for my boss Richard.  The Flying Mission IT department has now lost 50% of its staff…me!  That means Richard’s work load has increased by 50%!  Please pray for him as he manages the work by himself.

3)  Please pray for Open Baptist Church in Botswana.  I was an active member of that church and am now going to be away for an extended amount of time.  Please pray that the ministry there will continue to grow and flourish.

4)  Please pray a prayer of thanksgiving to all of the people who prayed for me and supported me financially these past 2 years.  None of it would have been possible without them.

I could keep going but I think that’s enough prayer requests for now.  Thank you one and all for your support during this stage in my life.  I look forward to seeing you all in the new year.  Happy holidays!

Peace and prayers,

Graham Crawford <><