Wheels and the Bush Braii....

Well, I think we have finally settled the question of transportation. Ever since our arrival here we have been driving a Toyota Camry on loan to us from Flying Mission. It has been a great car and a real blessing but we needed to purchase our own transportation. The question or transportation was partially answered two weeks ago when I acquired a Yamaha TW200 on/off road motorcycle from Dan, a FMS pilot who was going home. Dan had been using the motorcycle not so much on the road but to travel on 4x4 trails through the bush from his house in Phakalane to the airport and back and I have been able to do the same thing. And now with God having blessed us with a flat in Mmopane I will be able to take similar trails to the airport from there and stay almost entirely off the roads. The motorcycle is hopefully going to save us a bundle on gas.

However, a motorcycle is obviously not going to solve all of our transportation needs, especially when it comes to the rainy season. We definitely needed a car or truck. On that point we went back and forth a lot. Obviously, with gas prices being as high as they are there is a strong motivation to keep it small and for a while we were convinced that we should forego the 4x4 and get something like a Nissan March or a Toyota Tazz (both are about the same size and shape of a Geo Metro). However, the more we thought about it we realized how incredibly limiting such a car would be. We would literally be stuck in Gaborone except for the main highways and that is not something that we want in terms of ministry or of our own traveling in and around Botswana. So, we started thinking about a 4x4 again. As it happens, Dan (the pilot that was leaving) and his wife had a turbo diesel Mitsubishi Pajero for sale as well so we went to look. After having mulled it over for a while we made Dan an offer and ended up buying the Pajero. While certainly pleased with the new truck I couldn't help but wonder if we had done the right thing in the vehicle department. The Pajero certainly was going to use more gas than a March or Tazz. Well, this afternoon we got a call from the Genhiemer's, an American family living in Botswana who run a Christian bookstore here. The were having a Bush Braii and wanted to know if we would like to come along. (Braii means "cookout" and a Bush Braii is just a cookout in the bush) Well, we jumped on the opportunity for the fellowship and a chance to get out of the city for a few hours (and to drive the Pajero in the bush!). We met out at the Genhiemer's about 3:30 in the afternoon and by 4:00 or so a caravan of 2 Land Cruisers, a Toyota Surf, a Subaru Forester, and our new Pajero was headed into the bush (there were about 15 people) As it happens the Genhiemer's live right on the edge of town so we didn't have far to go before most traces of civilization disappeared. After about 20 minutes of driving down some true 4x4 trails we pulled into a small meadow and everyone started to unload their chairs, tables, picnic baskets, and food. Then we all fanned out into the bush to gather firewood. Soon we had a nice pile of wood and a cheery little fire going. After a bit we raked out some coals under a grate and tossed on the meat. As we ate, the sun went down and the temperatures plummeted. We just tossed on more wood and scooted closer to the fire. Soon, someone produced a guitar and we sat and listened to the soft music, talked, ate, and looked at the spectacular panorama of stars that only a desert night can produce. I felt at peace with the Pajero. Yes, it'll cost more to run and we will have to be careful with our usage but our evening in the bush never would have been possible in a Tazz or March. The 4x4 is going to open whole new doors for us in Botswana and we are very excited about it.