From our street to yours ...

Glyn, Susan, Maeyken, Adriaena

June 2007 #4.4

Tough Decisions ... WWJD?

Winter has come with it’s cold breezes and frigid nights. People from cold weather climates laugh when we describe how cold winter can be. With daytime highs in the upper teens and 20's it can sound rather silly. But without central heating buildings cool down quickly. People bundle up looking terribly silly to our North American eyes. But bodies accustomed to the high temperatures of the summer are chilled to the bone when winter strikes. Those without the luxury of heaters huddle around fires at night and bundle up in layers of clothes and blankets.

One day we had a visitor at the gate. We know this man well but had drawn a hard line a while ago about helping him. He was becoming too dependent on “the Mennonites” as he faced one crisis after another. He was desperate. His landlord had locked him out of his sparse small one room house because he had not been able to pay rent for three months. And he needed money for food. What was I to do? His request was basic to his survival and the desperation in his face was heart breaking.

Last week I visited a family who live in a rondavel. Rondavels are wonderful in the summer but in the winter the cold air gets trapped in them. Knowing some of their needs I came laded down with several old blankets and a duffle bag of clothes for the little ones - flannel sleepers, socks, hats etc. It was the end of the month so food was not an issue. Recently designated as “destitute” they receive an ample food package from the government every month as well as free formula for the babies. There was food tucked away in the corner but no formula. The clinic was out of formula. Maybe they would have more on Friday. Maybe not. The four month old twins were drinking tea to put something in their little empty tummies. The toddlers also didn’t have milk. While I was there one of the school aged children came home with her government supplied milk. These toddlers drank this milk with a sense of urgency. It was as if they knew it would be awhile when they would taste milk again.

In both cases the question arises, how much can we help without creating an unhealthy dependency? It would be easy for me to give out money, food, blankets and clothes to meet their needs. But does that help them in the long run? I also do not have an infinite source of money and resources. This time I choose to lend the young man money to give him shelter for another month with the clear understanding it is a loan. And I went to the store and bought a small tin of formula for the babies and some milk for the children. (We have heard that they have since received the government formula)

Jesus teaches us that we are to help those who are poor and who need help.

We believe that as Christians and as Mennonites. Unfortunately freely giving out things like money, clothes, food and blankets does not always give people the help that they really need. The question “What would Jesus do?” (WWJD) frequently goes through my head. I’m not always sure but until I get the answer I’ll just have to keep bumbling through saying no when I feel I must and helping when I can.

Susan

Monica

Monica Shank a university student from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario and member of Valleyview Mennonite Church also in London has joined us for a 12 week student internship. She has spent her first few weeks with a programme called “Face the Nation”. This is an HIV/Aids initiative lead by Open Baptist Church where leaders trained almost 100 Christian University Students for ministry to Senior Secondary School students. Each Senior Secondary school in Botswana will have up to 5 of these volunteers in their school for 5 weeks with a message of behavioural change, abstinence and God’s good news of salvation for all.

Monica will also volunteer at Old Naledi Educational Centre, a second chances school for people who want to complete their primary education. Mennonite Ministries Botswana has a long history with this school and we are pleased that we will be able to tangibly show them our ongoing support through Monica’s presence.

Upcoming Events

July 24-26 AIMM meetings in South Africa including input from ex-Botswana Mennonite mission worker Bryan Born

Nov 16 - Jan 16 North American assignment.

Blog

We aim for weekly updates of our Blog. This seems to rarely happen on schedule There is a link to the blog from our website. Or follow:

http://thegatheringsite.ca/botswana/

It seems that sometimes this programme gives you an old page. Try pushing the reload button on your browser or the general button on the blog to get the most current posts.

North American Assignment

We will be in North America from Nov 16 through Jan 16. During that time we will be visiting with our supporting congregations and connecting with friends and family. We hope to enjoy some snow too!

Mennonite Church Canada is putting together our schedule. While we will be visiting our “partner congregations” on Sundays we are open to other events just to “hang out with you”. In other words we are happy NOT to have any formal part in an event but would love to just be present with you.

If you have an event you would like us to be part of or you want us to connect with your church you can contact us directly or you can contact:

Hinke Loewen-Rudgers hloewen-rudgers@mennonitechurch.ca

or Rebecca Yoder Neufeld

ryoderneufeld@mennonitechurch.ca

Confirmed dates

Nov. 23 Missions Event, Baden ON

Dec. 9 Wadsworth Ohio

Adriaena on the Skyway Trail. She warmed up after a slide or two.

Family and time away

In North America things are winding down for the summer. Children are finishing up another school year. Families planning vacations and summer activities. I can picture the change in communities as people spend more time outdoors and enjoy those long summer days. Here we are winding up again after our month long term break. Both girls are back in school. This is the term we get up in the dark, huddle around the heater and wear our clothes in layers!

We had a great vacation in May in the Blyde River Canyon/Kruger Park area with our friends David and Shirley Froese from Winkler, Manitoba. The days were spent hiking and sight seeing in the Canyon area and then game driving when we moved to the Park. With lots of time in the evenings we honed up our card playing skills.

The splurge of the holiday was going on Skyway Trails in Hazyview, near Nelspruit, South Africa. The longest cable run in Africa! With 1.2 kms of cable and eight stops along the way it was quite an experience. Maeyken and Glyn had the time of their lives. Adriaena started out a bit hesitant but at the end regretted doing the first few runs tied up with one of the guides. As for Susan, well she’s just proud that she managed to do it! Quite an accomplishment for someone who is afraid of heights and not too adventurous! Seriously she would never have done it without our infamous guide named Victor who made it sound soooo easy!!!

On the high Veldt looking towards the low veldt (east) near the Blyde River canyon, South Africa

Adriaena spent the first week of June (Tues. to Fri) in South Africa at an outdoor education camp with her class from Thornhill. She had an amazing time. Mostly we’ve heard about all of her experiences with snakes. One of the teachers apparently has a picture of her with a snake around her neck. We’ll get that one on the web site if we can get a copy of it!

We also had a really good time with the Bluffton University group that was here for three weeks in May. What a great group of young adults. They were thrust right into a village setting, faced the challenges with courage and left with lots of amazing stories. We know they went back to the USA changed people. Glyn and Susan were privileged to spend a weekend with them before they left talking about their experiences.

Please Pray for...

... Monica Shank. Monica is here for 12 weeks as a student intern with Mennonite Church Canada. Pray for Monica as she lives in Botswana and as she faces the challenges and joys that come her way.

... Maeyken has been having problems with her knees and one of her ankles giving out on her. This is proving to be quite painful and curbs her ability to play sports. She is seeing a physio therapist who has identified the problem and she will see an Orthopaedic surgeon in July to make sure there are no further issues. The physio is confident she will be 70 percent better by July IF she faithfully does her exercises! Pray for healing and for endurance as she does these exercises!

... Mission Worker for Francistown. We have been praying for a colleague in Francistown. There is a woman with Mennonite Mission Network ready to come but her funding is not coming through. (Network personnel must have their cost of being on the field in pledges or cash before they come.) Please pray that American churches and individuals will come forward to offer their support not just for this person but for the ministry in Botswana. If you belong to a Mennonite Church in the US and wish to offer financial support please contact Barbara Eichorn (secretary to Africa Network Administrator Steve Wiebe Johnson).

... Emerging classes. We continue to get requests for new classes. Susan will be working with Moruti (Rev.) William from Kanye to begin a class there. Steen will work with the Lerarla class. Glyn is going to pick up interest in Pitseng and renew contact with a class in Lobotse as well as the classes near Francistown.

...Our North American assignment. We will be in North America from mid November to mid January. Pray for those who are putting the church visitation schedule together in the next couple of months.

Give Thanks for...

... Bluffton University learning trip. Thank God for an amazing experience for the students and leaders. Pray that all who were involved can now assimilate their experiences and new understandings into their everyday lives.

Mail us at:

Susan Allison-Jones & Glyn Jones

Box 33, Gaborone, Botswana

Phone us at:

267-390-5554 (Just remember that we are 6 hours earlier than Ontario!)

Skype at:

susanglyn

Email us at:

Our web site:

which includes pictures and previous newsletters: http://www.thegatheringsite.ca/susanglyn/

We welcome your financial contributions for our support and invite you to send these to:

Mennonite Church Canada WITNESS

600 Shaftesbury Blvd

Winnipeg MB

Canada R3P 0M4