Four Americans from different states, different
backgrounds, different positions in the veterinary field, and of different ages
all came together in Mmabatho, South Africa for a two-week short-term mission
(STM) trip. Only with God’s grace and
blessing can such trips succeed in both ministry and team relationships.
It was such a pleasure hosting this year’s STM group
made up of a retired veterinarian, two emergency technicians, and a pre-vet
student. Every year, I wonder if I
should offer a STM trip again because it is a lot of planning and work to
prepare for, but every time I do, I’m blown away with how the students here are
encouraged.
After picking up the team in Johannesburg, we headed
up to a game reserve called Madikwe for a two night safari. In addition to seeing the big five (lion,
leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo), we were also blessed with cheetah,
giraffe, zebra, and many antelope species.
Our trip was not without stress however.
My car decided to start acting up again with a loss of power. It
wouldn’t go over 55mph at the best of times and there were a few hills on the
way that I was sure we were not going to summit. It had done a bit of this
while my parents were here in April, but two Honda dealerships had told me
there was nothing wrong with the car and it had been behaving itself in the
intervening months.
We discussed getting a rental car to finish the
drive to the game reserve, but by now we were out in the middle of nowhere and
would have had to retrace our steps significantly to get a rental. After much prayer we continued on our slow
way and thankfully made it to the reserve and back to Mafikeng without the car
giving up. My local mechanic thought it
might be the catalytic converter and, sure enough, getting rid of the converter
fixed the problem (thankfully it isn’t illegal to remove it here). It was such a relief for the rest of the team’s
visit to have a fully functional car! The
Deceiver does his best to sow chaos and doubt, but God’s faithfulness shines
through.
While in Mmabatho, the team spent time with the
students on rotation in our clinic, helped with a rabies vaccination outreach
in a local village, taught several review sessions for all the final year
students, went out witnessing with our Acts 1:8 students, shared their
testimonies on multiple occasions, helped with an overnight AWANA camp at
church, and generally poured into the lives of the students at NWU. The two technicians were especially well
placed for connecting with the students and giving great practical advice.
One of the technicians on the STM team is a new
believer so we were also blessed to baptize her on the last night of the
trip! Wonderful memories formed for
everyone.
On another note, shortly after you receive this
letter I’ll be flying back to the US for my furlough. It would be wonderful to meet up with you
while I’m home. I’m also happy to speak to churches, Bible studies, etc about
the work God is doing here at NWU.
Please get in touch if you would like to connect while I’m home
(Nov-Jan). I will also be attending the
Fetch veterinary continuing education conference in San Diego so if you will be
there, please let me know! My contact details follow:
Postnet Suite 030, Private Bag X2230, Mahikeng South
2791, South Africa
Cell +27 82 052 3837 (WhatsApp and SMS/text)
