Botswana
Bulletin #60
"Cars,
Planes and $30,000 Hotel Rooms"
April
8, 2014
Prayer Requests
1) Flying Mission CEO – Please continue to be in
prayer for a new CEO for Flying Mission.
This is the highest ranking position in the mission as has been filled
by an part-time interim person for almost 3 years. Please pray that the Lord would lead us to
the person he wants.
2) New Arrivals – We have a number of people in
the pipeline to arrive to work with FM.
All of them are currently support raising which can be a difficult task. Pray that the necessary funding would become
available so they can join us in ministering here in Botswana.
3) FM Financial Situation – Flying Mission is in
financial crisis. Our funding is very
limited and we are operating on a month to month basis. Please pray that ways to generate funding
would emerge so that we can continue to function as a mission in Botswana.
4) Power and Water – The power situation seems
to have stabilized for the moment but the issue is not fully resolved. Also the main city dam is still low so water
rationing is still in effect. Pray that
the power and water situation would improve as it affects everyones daily life
here.
Introduction
Greetings
all from beautiful Gaborone, Botswana!
Signs of winter are beginning to appear.
This includes the temperature and night dropping below +20C. Yep, that’s considered cold here. I’d complain that I’ve kind of gone from “winter
to winter” but its hard to complain when the weather still seems so
pleasant. The rainy season is drawing to
an end which is unfortunate because we still have a very empty looking
dam. I’m not sure what the plans are to
remedy that if the rain doesn’t come but I just continue to pray about it. God has a plan so I’m just trusting in
Him. Some of you have asked how my trip
back from Canada went so maybe that is as good a place to start this letter.
Trip Back To Botswana
My
Father and I travelled together for about 3 weeks during the month of
February. We saw a lot of western Canada
and 3 churches before finally coming back home to Edmonton, AB. After travelling for that long I wasn’t
exactly looking forward to MORE travelling which would be happening only a few
days later. The trip back to Botswana
was going to be a long one this time around.
Considering I was on holiday in Cape Town when I got the call about my
Mom, travelling back to Africa would include a stop in Cape Town to pick up my
car and then proceed to drive 1600kms back to Botswana. Considering further that I would be jet
lagged upon arrival in Cape Town made this trip seem quite daunting. However, I did manage to split it up a bit
which helps with the jet lag.
My
first stop was to travel to Toronto to visit the SIM Canada office for a few
days. SIM Canada has had a new director
(John Denbok) for some time now but I’ve never managed to meet him. We were able to schedule a meeting this time
around so that was one of the purposes of the stop. The second purpose I wasn’t sure would actually
happen. I’ve had a growing number of
friends settle in the Toronto area and I was hoping to visit as many of them as
possible while I was in town. As it
turned out I had a chance to visit nearly all of them which was good.
I
was able to visit with Tina Kort who is a former Flying Mission colleague. Tina is now retired and is settling in well
in her new home. We miss her a lot here
in Botswana and it was nice to hear that she misses us too.
I
was also able to visit another former Flying Mission colleague, Matt
Hogeboom. Matt was a pilot in Botswana
for a number of years. He started out
flying in Maun and eventually joined Flying Mission in Gaborone. He now flies jets for Sunwing and was flying
back from Cuba the day I left so we met up at the airport for dinner. It was good to hear he’s settled back into
life in Canada with his family. And hey
Matt, next time you fly to Cuba, take me with you! J
I
also had a chance to visit my good friend Gabriel Ting. Gabriel has lived in China for the last 6
years so I haven’t seen much of him and his family during that time. Gabriel is now living in Guelph and was nice
enough to travel to Toronto in the snow to visit me. We ate at a great Chinese restaurant and I
got to see Gabriel’s Mandarin skills in action.
Since I am lacking skills in that department Gabriel did the majority of
the talking. I think the only thing the
waiter said to me while we were there was, “Would you like a fork?” I felt so judged. J In case you’re wondering I turned down the
fork. As the old saying goes, “When in
Rome, do as the Romans do.”
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| The excellent Chinese food that we ate (with chopsticks!) :-) |
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| My good buddy Gabriel Ting. Now equipped with epic Mandarin skills! |
I
was even able to visit people I wasn’t planning on seeing at all. The Redekopp family just happened to be
visiting the SIM Canada office at the same time as me. The Redekopps work for Flying Mission in
Zambia and have been friends of mine for years.
The Redekopps are SIM missionaries seconded to Flying Mission as
well. They had just travelled to Canada
from Zambia for home leave (furlough) so it was great to be able to spend some
time with them. Surprise me anytime
Redekopps!
So,
after visiting friends in Toronto it was time to leave for a place where I know
nobody…Dubai! It was my first time
flying there so I was really excited.
For some reason my flight back to Cape Town was cheaper going through
Dubai (I usually travel through London) so I was excited to see this city you
hear so much about. I even got to fly
with Air Emirates whom I’d never flown with (I usually fly with British
Airways). For those wondering, I thought
Emirates did an excellent job. I’d
definitely fly with them again. The trip
was full of firsts as I even had the chance to fly in the infamous Airbus A380
(the worlds largest passenger airliner).
I have to admit, it was the best overseas flight I’d ever had. That huge plane is comfortable…even in peasant
class! I actually laughed out loud when
they issued me my ticket. I didn’t know
rows went this high. I was sitting in
row 77! And that wasn’t even the last
row! I got out of my seat to check out
the bathroom and the rest of the plane during the flight. At the end of the cabin near the bathrooms
there is a spiral staircase that is roped off that heads up to the upper
deck. I was told there was a first class
bar/lounge up those stairs which sounded pretty cool. I was tempted to take a quick look but I was
worried I’d get myself into trouble. I
want to be able to fly with Emirates again one day! J All in all it was an excellent 13 hour flight.
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| Night time on the A380 |
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| Day time on the A380 |
As
an added bonus to flying to Dubai, I actually got to spend the night in a hotel
there…for free! I arrived in Dubai at
about 7:30pm Thursday evening and my next flight to Cape Town (which was also
with Air Emirates) wasn’t until 8:30am Friday morning. SIM’s travel agent informed me that because
of the long layover I was eligible for a hotel voucher from the airline. Sweet!
On my way to Dubai I spoke with a guy beside me who lived and worked in
Dubai. He recommended I check out Dubai
Mall while I was in town. I had heard of
this mall and the crazy indoor ski hill that it houses. Another unintended bonus was that I was
arriving on Thursday night. Unbeknownst
to me, the weekend in Dubai is actually Friday/Saturday instead of Saturday/Sunday. This worked in my favour because things were
open much later on Thursday night than they were on other days. I believe this is because Friday is the day
Muslims go to the mosques for prayers. Anyway,
so once I landed in Dubai I made my way to the hotel to book in. After booking in I looked at the time and it
was 9pm. Great I thought, I should have
a couple hours to snoop around the mall before everything shuts down for the
night. As I walked away from the
check-in counter a woman walked up to me with a brochure in her hand. She explained to me that they offered 2 hour
city tours of Dubai and that they would be leaving soon. The cost was only $20 and the fact that I
would get a chance to see a lot more of Dubai than just the mall I took up her
offer. We left the hotel around 10:30pm
and got back around 12:30am Friday morning.
I had a chance to see some of Dubai’s famous hotels, the tallest
building in the world (Burj Khalifa) and it’s modern downtown core. As impressive as some of the sites in the
city were I couldn’t help but think of how ridiculous it all was at the same
time. I mean, the tour guide took us to the
Burj Al Arab hotel which apparently is a 7 star hotel. I didn’t know the star system went that
high! Anyway, one of the passengers on
the tour asked what the price of the most expensive room was per night. The answer:
$30,000! I mean, come on. It’s a hotel room! Does it come with a wife or two or
something? The hotel even has a helicopter landing pad on it. I'm guessing this is for customers who go into cardiac arrest after seeing there bill and need to be rushed to the hospital. Frankly, I have gone on hikes
in the Rocky Mountains that brought about more shock and awe to me than that
hotel. All that being said, I’d totally go
to Dubai again. It’s a pretty
fascinating place to visit.
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| The infamous 7 Star Hotel "Burj Al Arab". Ripping people off since 1999. |
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| The massive Burj Khalifa. Living there would be cool unless the elevator broke down. |
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| Downtown Dubai as seen from the bridge to one of the Palm Islands. |
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| One of the many mosques I saw while in Dubai |
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| There didn't appear to be any problem with the power in the UAE! |
Well,
after getting a few hours of sleep in the hotel it was time to get back into a
plane and head to Cape Town. The flight
to Cape Town was uneventful (which is a good thing) and when I arrived I was
happy to see my car pull up with my good friend Marlain at the wheel. Beni and Marlain Londt are good friends of
mine who live in Botswana but are originally from Cape Town. They have two daughters who are living in
Cape Town and Marlain was there helping them getting settled into a new
place. I was also pleased to see that
Marlain had arranged a “Snook” dinner for me that night (Snook is a common salt
water fish caught off the coast of South Africa). After spending the night with the Londts it
was time to get in a car and do some driving.
I drove as far as Kimberley, South Africa the first day and then finally
arrived in Gaborone, Botswana the next day.
I tell yah, after all that travelling it was good to know I’d be staying
put for a while. All I wanted to do when
I got home was relax on the sofa, maybe watch a little TV and chill out. Those plans were short lived as reality hit
me quite quickly. About 10 minutes after
walking into my house the power went off.
I went to the bathroom and then realized the water was off as well. Welcome home Graham! J Fortunately my friends Owen and Hilary
Swearengen called and asked me if I’d like to join them for dinner and a cozy
fire out in their yard. Ah, good friends
and a cozy fire. Worth far more than a
$30,000 hotel room in my book.
Power And Water Situation
The
power and water situation in Botswana has been quite grim as of late. When I arrived in March power cuts lasting as
long as 13 hours were becoming the norm.
The situation with the power now seems to have stabilized but power cuts
do still occur from time to time. I was
told that one of Botswana coal power plants was damaged and in need of
repair. Apparently the country is now
running diesel generators as a backup but a more permanent solution is needed. Please pray that the Lord would help direct
those in charge of this utility to remedy the situation.
In
my opinion the more alarming situation is that of the water supply. The dam is still very low despite a good
amount of rainfall in February. I’ve
been told that one of the rivers that feed the dam (Notwane River) has been
dammed up by farmers. From what I
understand this is a legal right of the farmers but causes concern because of
the effect it has on the capital city. I
am unaware as to what other options Botswana Water Utilities have but please
pray that this situation would be resolved as well.
Open Baptist Church Update
It’s
been good to be back playing drums at church!
I was warmly greeted by my friends in the worship team and they all
confessed that they missed having me around as well. The church itself seems to be heading in the
right direction again after some internal turmoil. The Associate Pastor has been preaching most
Sundays and there is a new leadership team in place. I believe they will begin searching for a new
senior pastor soon. Please continue to
pray for Open Baptist Church that the healing process would continue and that
they would be able to find a new senior pastor that would be able to lead the
church into the future.
Flying Mission Update
Please
continue to pray for Flying Mission. Our
current interim CEO is due to depart at the end of the month. His departure will leave the role of CEO
vacant. This affects FM in all sorts of
tangible ways. Please pray that the Lord
would direct us to the person he wants to lead FM into the future.
Also
continue to pray for FM’s finances.
Things are still very tight financially but we are managing to stay
afloat. Please pray that the Lord would
continue to provide the funding so that Flying Mission can continue its work in
Botswana and Zambia.
Conclusion
I
think that is all that needs to be said for now. Thank you for those that have been praying
for me and my family the last few months.
It’s a new chapter for our family so we’d appreciate your continued
prayers as we sort out how we carry on without Mom. Thank you to all those who continue to aid me
financially as well. Without you I
wouldn’t be able to be back in this country I love. I know its early but I wish you all a Happy
Easter! May you be encouraged by the
love our Lord Jesus Christ showed to us at Calvary. Blessings to you all!
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.
