TWIR, Part 2

As the school / work week began, Caleb made a presentation on the life of Captain Cook, along with two intrepid compatriots.



Meanwhile, Roscoe P. Coltrane continued to take it easy.


Malena enlisted the help of a neighbor friend, Wapa, as she did a baking project for school. Pancakes.


And I flew a team of doctors with Airborne Lifelink out into the Kalahari desert for a day of medical outreach.

The Week in Review, Part 1

It's been awhile since I've put up any images on the blog; here's a quick review of the past week or so.



My boss, Mark, is friends with a brother and sister who were orphaned at the ages of 10 and 8. Six years later, they are still forging along without the support of any significant family members. We four Weiseths joined him and a few other folks from Flying Mission and from church for a house painting party. Malena managed to get no more than 15% of the paint on herself.




Caleb did great, ascending to great heights in order to get every square inch covered.



On Sunday, Malena and Shelley went and rode horses at a nearby stable, while Caleb and I engaged in more motor-driven activities. There is a nearby motocross track; Caleb shaved a good thirty seconds off of his previous best lap time.



Meanwhile, I studied the adventures of a local dung beetle as he (or she) valiantly tried to wrestle this prime piece of dung up a significant incline.

. . . to be continued

African Speed

Well, it's been a few weeks since my return from the beautiful USA - a whirlwind tour consisting of five or six gloriously busy days with family and friends in Seattle, and two weeks of eating, sleeping, and breathing 737 at Higher Power Aviation in Dallas.

I had hoped that we'd be farther down the road in terms of getting operational here. But the mark of an veteran of Africa - a title to which I suppose we Weiseths can begin to lay claim - is a moderation of temporal expectations. So. . . we are currently at the mercy of the powers that be, both in Botswana and South Africa, as we wait for papers to be signed, licenses to be validated, and manuals to be approved. In the meantime, I am dividing my time between pushing the paperwork forward and starting to fly air ambulance operations again.

homeward bound

Well, after a month stateside, I'm headed back to my beautiful family in Gaborone. It was a dizzyingly fast 30 days, with a week home with my folks and time with siblings, nephews and niece, and friends. . . then on to Dallas where my Flying Mission partner in crime Matt and I got "type rated" in the Boeing 737.

If the reason for getting captain rated in the 737 is a mystery to you, stand by just a few days and all will be revealed. Right now I have a plane to catch. . .

Happy New Year, everyone!

 

2010 was one heck of a year for the Weiseth family.  Casting off, packing up, or packing away all we own and making a new life here in Africa hasn’t been without its share of turbulence.  But we find ourselves slack-jawed with amazement at God’s tender, direct, and faithful guidance over these past twelve months.  He steered us into just the right place for our family, and we are so very thankful to be here.  Here are a few highlights from our year:

 

 

 Flying Mission has a Boxing Day tradition of visiting the hospital, distributing Bibles, talking with and praying for people there.  More than ten families showed up this year, distributing hundreds of Bibles in both English and Setswana, and forging some great relationships.  Caleb and I are headed back today, and it’s a Weiseth family goal to continue visiting throughout the coming year.  The little ones in particular touched our hearts, and there’s been some talk about starting some sort of drama or puppet show for them.  If you have script ideas, let us know!

 

 

 We had kind of assumed that all neighbourhoods in Gaborone would look like this, but in actuality it’s kind of a rarity.  Many have paved streets and a good deal of traffic.  The dirt streets and relative quiet of our little corner of town allow all four of us to get out a lot and spend time with neighbours.  Caleb and Malena in particular are constantly out and about with kids, exploring and playing.  We look forward to continued open doors of ministry on our block.  Here a few kids join us for some of our own 4th of July festivities.

 

 

It’s always great to get out of town for a bit.  In early December the four of us travelled in South Africa, spending a few days at a great little cabin in the tiny town of Groot Marico – swimming, canoeing, rope swinging, bird watching, and star gazing – followed by four or five days with friends in Johannesburg.  Just before the trip I reached my limit with the Botswana heat and shaved my head.  I soon learned firsthand about what I regard to be a highly questionable Botswana practice: when someone shaves his head, people spit on their hands, dip them in the dirt, and slap the unfortunate man hard on the head. . . and laugh uproariously. 

 

2011

 

And what does 2011 hold for us?  O that we had a clue.  I must needs be a bit cryptic at the moment, but the spectrum of possibilities is wide!  Nevertheless, as we look forward to the upcoming year, we do so with great confidence.  Many years ago, my lovely and wise Mom introduced me to the passage in Joshua 4 that speaks of Stones of Remembrance, a memorial that Joshua had the people set up so that they would remember God’s faithfulness and provision in bringing them across the Jordan. Every time they and future generations passed by those stones, their confidence in the Lord was bolstered by that tangible reminder of God’s untiring, perfect, and all-foreseeing care for His people.  The four of us Weiseths have added greatly to our pile of stones this last year, and the beauty of it is that it has nothing to do with our own faithfulness or bravery.  It has everything to do with God and His character.  It is in Him that we place our trust in 2011, no matter what comes.