“How long have you been here for?”

12/3/19

In this post I share about my faith, missionary work, and my limits for work with missionaries as a governmental employee. If it’s not your cup of tea I totally respect that, feel free to check back for next blog in a few weeks.

           Wednesdays at my clinic are slow. If you can imagine a liquor store on January 2, then you’re only halfway there, and you still must remember that my position in the clinic isn’t as a health care provider. Regardless of the amount of people in the hallway waiting for the nurses I’m not able to apply even a band aid.

           As you can imagine this leads to a certain level of boredom as I message my counterpart (my liaison I work with in the clinic) for something to do, and start to flip through my Setswana note cards (I use these to study the language). Sadly even the Alcohol Committee volunteer who normally helps me isn’t to be found. At this point I’m left with few choices of how I can spend my afternoon. Leaving work so early wouldn’t be a good idea, even as a volunteer. I might not always have work but my presence in the clinic on a daily basis is important for my long-term integration into the community.

           A quick glance up at the sky showed an overcast of clouds and a light breeze floating through the village. Where I live this equates to only a moderate amount of sweat pouring from my body on my short walk home, and living near the river has a number of benefits, but minimum temperatures of 80-95 combined with the humid air from the river, makes me wish Climate Change could dry up the river just a little bit faster.

           Even still I needed an excuse to leave, so I decided to tell my supervisor I would be going on a community walk to engage with the people in the village. In all seriousness these walks are some of the most effective ways to get to know people on an individual level. Truthfully, it’s more awkward than trying to kiss a girl on a date and ending up with a handshake, but there’s still a chance to learn something. After swinging by my house, I set out for my walk and started going compound to compound talking with anyone I saw standing in the yard. In my khakis, dress shirt and “Indiana Jones” hat, I looked more like a lost tourist than anything else, yet I continued.

           After several encounters with several of the locals, and one proposal for marriage, I reached my quota of sun exposure for the day and was headed home. Rounding the corner, I saw one more Motswana to talk to and went up to introduce myself. She greeted me and upon hearing I was American she motioned me inside to talk to the two Americans who lived where she was cleaning.

           Within the Botswana culture, this is an incredibly common thing. You walk by a friend’s house and you simply walk up to the door and ask to hang out, unannounced. It’s a perfectly acceptable cultural practice and leads to several unexpected interactions much like the one that followed.

           Walking up to the house I was met with a white woman in her mid-50’s to early 60’s. She greeted me and ushered me inside to a home that was nothing like most Botswana homes. The moment I stepped inside I felt as though I was back in America. The walls hung with framed photos of family members, artwork and memorabilia and the couches were so plush I wanted to lie down and take a nap on them. This home felt so different from my own living situation, it was an oasis, which I appreciate far more now than when I arrived 5 months ago. After greeting the husband Keith, I quickly learned both he and his wife Robin were missionaries. Full stop.

           I live in a balance here of faith and service. As a governmental employee the word of God cannot leave my mouth while I am representing the Peace Corps. Think of it as wearing a hat. The moment I leave my house to walk down to the clinic I put on my Peace Corps hat. I am an employee of the government who has no opinions on politics, faith or activism. For if I were to express my opinions to try and sway others I would be in violation of my contract and be removed from my position. However, serving internationally is tiring, stressful and often requires a constant level of vigilance, all of which drains you both emotionally and physically. To help with that, Peace Corps recommends that we participate in our faith whenever possible as an anchor in our lives. In a place where consistency and schedules are “loose” to put it mildly, a weekly church service every Sunday aids in releasing some of that stress and frustration. However, the metaphorical line is drawn when it comes to the support of the church’s projects and missionary work. So, I must strike a balance between my faith, my image in the community, and my desire to serve if I ever want to be effective in this community.

           What transpired next was something of a mutual analysis of each other’s roles and goals. It became clear to me that Keith was very familiar with Peace Corps and not always in a good way. Over the past 10 years he had met several volunteers with each interaction varying greatly. Some Keith said were lovely and had done some amazing work within the village during their two years, maintaining a strong friendship with both he and his wife. Others, however, had grown increasingly resentful of the village, turning to alcohol and other distractions without showing any level of pleasantries toward he and his wife. Keith was assessing what kind of volunteer I would be, and likewise I was assessing what type of missionary he was.

           By no means do I ever seek to generalize missionary work. Much like every Peace Corps position is different, every long-term missionary I’ve met is different. There are those who seek to convert. They knock on doors, holding books filled with their own theology, and count the number of converts they have at the end of their service. There are others I’ve met who seize every conversation as an opportunity to share the word of God and have no problem telling a school child they’re going to hell if they don’t repent. There are also those who do incredible work without every speaking a word about their faith. They are the unsung heroes who work with the people to support the projects only the people want. They fund women’s shelters, engage with sexually trafficked women and build sustainable long-term businesses. For every negative story you hear of missionaries proselytizing there are several who do amazing work without every speaking a word about their faith. My goal was to figure out what kind of missionary Keith and his wife Robin were. And I did.

           I surmised that both Keith and Robin fully understood their work in the Kazungula community. Not only did they both speak fluent Setswana they spoke at length about the challenges the community faced. The development of the bridge, the truckers and the rising rates of HIV and STIs all found their way into our conversation with both speaking equally on the issue. I sensed no level of proselytizing in their words and only dedicated involvement in the community. To them this place was their home and they were in it for the long haul. The longer we spoke the deeper each of us got into our beliefs and the initial barriers of analysis were slowly removed. Keith and his wife were a wealth of knowledge about the community and for me to not engage with them would be like digging a mine and avoiding all the diamonds (Botswana’s economy runs on diamonds for reference). Our conversation left me feeling hopeful of my opportunities in the community and with a new set of resources. Not only have that, but I now had a church community in which to practice my faith.

           A chance conversation with a stranger led to a much larger gift than I expected. I might have gone 2 years without ever knowing I had a couple of missionaries living so close to me. What’s more is that I have an opportunity to see how people do long term meaningful work. One of the challenges with international service is that so many have the desire to do work, but no education or training on how to do it. Peace Corps does a good job at the basics, but to make real impact, the best way to learn is to watch others. Learn from their work and incorporate it into your own. Maybe that’s something we can all learn to do more of.