Botswana Bulletin #50
"Time to go!"
February 23, 2012
Greetings one and all from a relatively
warm Edmonton, Alberta, Canada! Yes, I’m
still here! I’ve had a few people
comment on how they thought I had left for Botswana because they hadn’t seen me
for a while. I spent most of January in
British Columbia so it’s understandable why some were thinking that way. The target date for leaving was set for the
end of February and it looks like I won’t be missing that by much. Stay tuned for more on that in the prayer
requests section. For now, I’d like to
fill you in on another change I’d like to make to my prayer letters.
I’ve been calling the letters I’ve been
sending out “prayer letters” but those who are regular readers will know that
it often is much more than that.
However, I am sensitive to the fact that for most people time is a very
precious thing and we don’t all have the same amount of free time to read 4 or
5 pages of stories (even though they are excellent). J So, in an effort to please all my readers,
those who have time to read my entire letters and those who don’t, I’m
adjusting the format slightly. I’ve been
thinking about how I can change my letters and the best option I’ve come up
with (from help from some of you) is to start my letters off with prayer
requests. After all, isn’t this the main
purpose of the letter? For those who are
regular readers you will know that I usually leave my prayer requests at the
bottom of my letter as kind of a summary of what you just read. Well, I’ll now be putting that summary first
and then if you have time or are interested in reading further details, I’ll
still have my usual stories and such after the prayer requests. I hope you enjoy the new format and I hope it
appeals to all of those who enjoy reading my letters. Thanks to all of you who take time to read
them, and a special thanks to those who faithfully pray for the requests
mentioned.
Prayer
Requests
So without further delay, I’ll dive right
into the prayer requests. Here they are:
1)
Support – This request goes into both the
praise and prayer category. I now have
enough financial support to cover an entire year of ministry in Botswana, and
80% of my 2 year term. Praise the
Lord! Many have responded to the need
and I am so grateful to them and to God for how he has provided these necessary
funds. The reality is that I am planning
to serve for at least a 2 year period so any future funds will be going towards
my second year of service. The goal now
is to raise enough support for my second year of service by January 2013. The current shortfall is substantial (about
$10,000) but what is impossible with man is possible with God! Continue to pray that the Lord would provide
in abundance for those he calls and sends into the mission field.
2)
Travel – A plane ticket has now
been purchased and I will be leaving Edmonton on March 4th at
11am. Please pray for safety as I
travel, that I’ll be able to make all my connections and that my bags would
arrive with me. I’ve been hearing that
more and more bags are disappearing at the airport in Johannesburg so I’m
praying that I won’t become a part of that statistic. I’m not planning on putting anything of major
value in my check bag but it would be nice to have a change of clothes once I
arrive in Botswana! J
3)
Mother – For those who don’t
know already, about 4 weeks ago my Mother took a tumble down our basement
stairs and broke her left leg. The
doctor has mentioned that it is healing nicely but because of my Mother’s pre-existing
heart condition she is too weak to be able to handle herself on crutches. This has forced her into a wheelchair. As many can imagine it has been a difficult
transition. Please pray for healing and
that she would be able to regain the ability to walk and be more independent.
4)
Connections – Praise the Lord
for the extended time I’ve been able to have with family and friends here in
Canada (10 whole months!). Pray that as
I leave that I would “leave well” having opportunity to say proper good-byes.
5)
Unity – I’ve been struggling to
figure out how to best pray for the issues Flying Mission has been experiencing
there in Botswana. My best attempt has
been to pray for unity. If there is
disunity in the body of Christ, it is difficult to move ahead. However, when we are unified, meaning
specifically unified as one in Christ, this is where the power of God can be
displayed. Please pray for unity among
those within Flying Mission and that the way forward would become clear.
6)
Richard’s back/early departure
– Richard Wheatley, the IT Manager of Flying Mission, my direct supervisor, has
developed some major problems with a disc in his back. The problem started in December and the pain
and problem have escalated to the point where he is now requiring surgery. His surgery is scheduled for today (Thursday,
February 23rd). This will
mean that Flying Mission will be without any IT personnel until I arrive. This is the main reason why there has been a
rush put on my arrival, and why I am leaving before all my financial support has
been raised. Please pray for Richard and
his recovery process which will likely be around a 2 month period. Pray for me that I would be able to settle in
quickly upon arriving in Botswana and that I would be able to attend to a
number of urgent needs in the office.
This marks the end of my prayer requests so
if that is all you have time for then feel good that you are up-to-date with me
and know how to pray. However, if you’d
like to know more feel free to read on where I talk in more detail about my
time with family during Christmas and my trip out to BC last month.
December
events - Family Christmas
This year was a special one because I was
actually in Canada to celebrate the Christmas holidays. I hadn’t realized how many times I’d been
away during this time of year until I stopped and thought about it. Since 2003, I had only been home for the
holidays 3 times…in 8 years! So needless
to say it was almost a bit strange at first being home. I spent Christmas Day at my Sisters house
which was great because of the excitement my nieces and nephews displayed on
Christmas morning. I remember when I
used to be like that, probably annoyingly so to my parents. My sister has adopted our family tradition
where you get to go down first thing in the morning and find the treats in your
stocking. This held the kids over until
the rest of us could get up and get ready to open presents, but when it was
time…the wrapping paper didn’t have a chance.
I was reminded this year of the story of 4
year old Spencer Kelly, a child living in the USA. A few years ago Spencer was in the mall with
his mother and grandfather and was watching as children lined up to see
Santa. Spencer had been taught that
Christmas is the holiday to celebrate Jesus’ birth so when he saw everyone
lining up to see Santa he asked his mom, “Where’s the line to see Jesus?” I was glad that as a family we had some time
to talk together about the wonderful gift of Jesus. My Father had an interesting view on typical
Christmas gift giving. Over the years
our family has often decided how much we will spend on each person in the
family. So basically this means that
what you spend on one person in the family simply comes straight back to you as
you know the other person will spend about the same amount on what they get
you. In essence, it’s more of an
“exchange” than a true gift. How
different the gift of Jesus is! We could
not possibly “exchange” with him a gift of the same value as eternal life in
heaven. The gift itself is priceless as
was the price he had to pay to make it available to us. So, long story short, I had a great Christmas
with my family, one to remember. Which
as it turns out will be good, because I may not have another Christmas at home
for some time. I also had a chance to
visit my 94 year old Grandmother in Stettler, AB on December 29th. It’s great to see that her mind is still
there even though her body is beginning to deteriorate. After a good visit with her and my uncle Ross
I headed out to Smithers, BC with some friends for New Years. Special thanks to Lee and Tara Corneau and
family for hosting us while we were there.
Special thanks to my travel companions Paul Hartman and Anne Colenbrander
for making the trip possible and for making it a blast! J
January
Events - BC Bound!
For those of you who thought I had left,
well you were right. I just left
temporarily to visit friends and supporters out west in Beautiful British
Columbia. The main purpose of the
journey was to speak at Parksville Fellowship Baptist Church on January 15th. They had invited me to speak about my mission
trip for all 3 of their services so needless to say it was a big day! However, even though that was the main purpose of my trip, I
did take time to visit friends and supporters along the way. I was able to make stops in Lone Butte, BC
(near 100 Mile House), the lower mainland which included visits from Abbotsford
to Vancouver, and finally Vancouver Island including stops in Victoria, Duncan,
Nanaimo, Parksville and Qualicum Beach.
I was thankful for the time I had to do lots of visiting with old
friends and make a few new ones as well.
Special thanks to those who provided accommodation for me which included
Russ and Carmen Phillips, David and Joan Evans and Chris and Jody King. Thank you so much for taking me in and making
me feel like family. I’m looking forward
to my next trip out west already! J
After returning from BC I had the
opportunity to attend, in my opinion, the best worship conference there
is! The conference is called
“Breakforth” and every year they gather the top worship leaders in the world
along with special guest speakers including Tony Campolo and Josh
McDowell. Needless to say the conference
was excellent and it was a great time of reflection and refreshment. I was also able to attend some more practical
classes which included a drum workshop.
It was great to be able to take in a few lessons as I’ve mostly been a
self-taught drummer. Thanks to Pastor Gord
Schutz at Fort Saskatchewan Alliance Church for making the trip to this conference
possible for me.
February
Events
One thing that I’ve always enjoyed about
being part of a mission organization is how it makes you feel like part of a
large family. I had the privilege of
seeing part of the Flying Mission family whom I hadn’t seen in quite some time,
Rick and Tracey Rempel. Rick and Tracey
work for Flying Mission Zambia and are currently on furlough. As part of their furlough Rick is doing his
flight instructor training in Three Hills, AB which will enable him to do check
rides which will help keep our pilots keep their licenses current in Zambia. Rick and Tracey invited me to come visit them
and their two boys, Matthew and Joshua.
I can remember during my first year in Botswana a few of the other
short-term boys whom I was staying with would call Rick “Uncle Rick”. It’s interesting now that to Matthew and
Joshua I am “Uncle Graham”. It’s great
to be part of the family of God!
The rest of February has mostly been
wrapping up my time here. However, I
have had lots of chances to do some activities that I typically miss while
being in Botswana. Those who know me
well know that I love to go to rock concerts, or more specifically, Christan
Metal concerts! My good buddy, Paul
Hanson, and I were able to attend a few Christian metal concerts since I’ve
been home. I was glad we were able to
attend one more this month before I headed out.
Thanks for the great night Paul!
I’m gonna miss going to concerts with you buddy! I also had a chance to attend the PBR Canada
Cup series. What is PBR you ask? Professional Bull Riders! As a kid I had the opportunity to attend many
Calgary Stampedes which means I grew up watching rodeos. This is another event you don’t often see in
Africa. Maybe it’s time Botswana had a
rodeo? Maybe they need a PBR Africa Cup
tour! J
Lastly I’d like to explain in a bit more
detail what is happening as far as my departure. As I mentioned earlier I will be departing
Edmonton on March 4th at 11am to begin my journey back to
Botswana. The original plan had been to
go for a 2 year period before returning to Canada. SIM typically recommends that each missionary
raise 100% of their needed funds before heading out. Well, at the moment I do not have enough
funds to cover 2 years of ministry.
However, there are enough funds for a 1 year term. So, when news came to me regarding Richard’s
back surgery I spoke with SIM and FM about possibly doing a 1 year term. After discussing the issue, it was agreed and
approved that I could do a 1 year term with the goal of attempting to raise the
second year of support while on the field.
I’ve had a few people mention to me that “an active missionary is a
supported missionary” meaning that I should just get to work and trust the Lord
will provide. This is a new challenge
for me as I’ve never left to do mission work without being fully supported so
pray for me that I won’t be tense about it.
The good news is that I will be seeing most of you sooner than I had
thought. I like the idea of returning
home once a year to reconnect with supporters but I also understand how that
can disrupt the work on the mission field.
Pray that this would all be worked out in the fullness of time.
Anyway, I think at this point I’ve run out
of things to talk about which I know, must be hard to believe. J In closing I’ll simply state again that I’ve
been blessed to have had an extended period of time back home. Know that I will miss all of you here in
Canada and look forward to seeing you all again when I get back. Thanks again for your prayer and financial
support which makes any work I do in Botswana possible.
Peace and prayers,
Graham Crawford <><
For more info on SIM Canada visit: www.sim.ca.
For more info on Flying Mission visit: www.flyingmission.org
The opinions expressed in this letter are
my own opinions. They are not
necessarily the opinions or views of my employers, SIM or Flying Mission.
