Mma Lesego, our Motswana "mother", is one of the dearest people in all the world to me.  My regard for her knows no bounds.  For many decades, she was a hardworking woman who raised eight children in a hot and dusty climate, with no electricity and no running water.  Now blind and limited greatly in what she can do, she is still a woman of great courage, perseverance, and faith.

By the time we came to Botswana in early 1992, Mma Lesego had been widowed for numerous years.  She had pretty much finished raising her own children and had started raising the next generation.  Then she was asked by our mission to raise Mark and me, too -- in the Setswana language and culture.  When we arrived, Mma Lesego had three grown children living with her and seven grandchildren.  Mark and I lived in her son's house next door, but we shared her toilet facility, so we visited her yard several times every day.  In addition, we accompanied Mma Lesego almost everywhere she went -- to the kgotla (tribal meeting place), to weddings, to funerals, on social visits, to the clinic, etc.  We also "helped" her with chores -- fetching firewood, building a kraal, mudding floors, and so on.  (As novices, we weren't that much help.)

One of the highlights of my week is teaching Sunday School – under the trees. A special set of conditions comes along with it. During the summer, the higher the sun gets, the deeper we move our chairs into the shade. During the winter, when we get cold, we stop the lesson long enough to do calisthenics to warm us up. When it's windy, the seed pods and pollen stick in our hair. I never dealt with predicaments like this when teaching Sunday School in the US.

Mark wasn't home last night, so KG got to sleep with me. She looked at me in my flannel pajamas, with my hair pulled up in a messy knot on top of my head, and said, "You are SO beautiful, my mama." Hearing KG say that used to make me laugh and crack jokes about her vision impairment. But I have learned to enjoy looking through my daughter's eyes. It is one of the miracles of life that a child can look at her mom when her mom looks her worst and still think that her mom is beautiful!

Although Flying Mission is a ‘service’ rather than a ‘church-planting’ mission, all of its missionaries attend local churches and play their part in the life of those churches. This item, from John and Faith Solt, tells of some of their experiences as they worship with a local group of believers in the area of Lusaka in which Flying Mission Zambia has its base.

When we arrived in Zambia we wanted to attend a church within walking distance of our home. We saw a sign for a Baptist Church but it took us three Sundays to find it! It was out in the bush. As we arrived we heard the choir singing in beautiful harmony and everyone welcomed us.

KG was an exuberant worshiper yesterday.  It was one of those Sundays when I struggled with whether I should rein her in or whether I should give her free rein.  But as I watched her dancing and jumping in the aisle, I thought back to our first two years at this church, when KG walked on her knees instead of her feet.  I wondered if the people who might be annoyed by her exuberant aisle-dancing now ever think about that.  Her knees looked like camel knees back then, they were so thick and calloused from doing the work of her feet.  We were so grateful when she finally gained the confidence to walk upright, even though she had the gait of a happy bear.

This is Bob Parkinson, from Canada.

Not so very long ago we wrote a news item on the shipping container that Bob organised to be sent to Flying Mission Zambia. 

At the time of writing, the container had not been opened. Now we are delighted to show you some of what was inside. Being a practical sort of a guy, Bob knew what to bring and has been able to furnish the mission with many useful tools and materials. Here is just a 'taster' of what the 'metal box' contained.

What to do when your tired and hungry daughter locks herself and you out of the house for 2½ hours:  Review memory verses; list what you're thankful for; pray for Daddy to come home; say the sounds of the alphabet; practice rhyming; count to 50 by ones; count to 100 by 5's; count to 100 by 10's; pray for Daddy to come home; sweep the gazebo floor and the sidewalk; play “I Spy”; take the laundry off the line; use the clothespins to practice phonics; thank God that Daddy came home!

“Mrs Pauline, will you help my Grandmother?”

There are often a number of children by the gate at the end of the runway asking for shoes, but here was a young teenager whose immediate concern was for someone other than herself. 

“What is the problem with your Grandmother?”

“She had a stroke 4 weeks ago and we need help.”  

The thought of someone lying immobilised inside a mud brick dwelling, with no health service to provide care, reminded us of the desperate plight of many of these people. 

As told by Paul Collier, Flying Mission Guesthouse:

I had just done something that I had not done for several years: I had bought my wife a bunch of roses to celebrate her birthday. We were in the car on our way home when my mobile phone rang. Pauline answered the call but could not make out what was being said. I did not do much better but recognised it was Leonard, the Zambian foreman at the Flying Mission Zambia base where we live and work; with all the background noise all I could make out from what he said was, “…outside your front door.” We were still 10 miles from the base and it was just beginning to rain where we were but, looking in the direction of home, the sky looked very dark. We decided that there must be heavy rain at the base and maybe the water was coming in the front door of our home or, more likely, the front door of the guest house.

SITUATION VACANT:

Missionary to work as a shoe shop assistant:

• Must be able to lift heavy boxes

• spend hours inside a hot and smelly 40 foot long container

• bring a smile to the faces of satisfied customers

• be willing to be accused of dealing unfairly after trying your utmost to be fair