Trip to Botswana Day 3, part 1

Wednesday March 21
On Tuesday the committees met to discuss the activities at the Synod level (Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe).  On Wednesday the full Executive came together for reports from the committees- Finance, Mission, Ordination and the organizations- Women's Fellowship, Youth, Men's Fellowship, Soldiers of Christ, to hear a report from the search committee (for the new General Secretary) and the Assembly planning for September.

 President and President Elect Basil Manning (from South Africa) and Philip Strydom (from Namibia)

 The flags of the five countries of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa.

 The wonderful crew who fed us during the week of meetings.

Then we went off on a field trip to meet with the Chief and see the burial grounds of the King and his family.

 Walking up the hill to a sight that is very special to the people of Botswana and the local community.

 The burial grounds.  No pictures are allowed of the graves as the people want to keep this area non-commercial.

 The view of Botswana from the top of the hill at the burial grounds.  The ancestors continue to watch over their people.

 And they watch over the church- (the red roof in the middle of the picture.)

The chief took time to take us to the graveside and tell us the stories of the people buried there.  He explained that "the core pillar of being chief is to bring the community together."

These are the storage areas that the King built to hold the stores to take care of the widows and children in the community as he followed the teachings of his Christian faith.