The last time I saw Flying Mission's Mercy Leshomo in action, she was teaching basic financial skills to a group of home-based care volunteers. Today she was at it again, only this time she was teaching these skills to a group of dynamic young adults. Each of these youth has received Lifeskills training from Flying Mission and is in turn now teaching his or her peers. Most of them have founded or are leading youth clubs, with the purpose of teaching and encouraging the youth in their communities to make good life choices. One participant mentioned why they are so passionate about learning everything they can to help their clubs grow and develop. “It's reported that 25% of those in our country who are HIV+ don't even know it. We are still in denial. We are telling ourselves that this is a problem only in the city, but it is a problem in our villages, too. It is important to be informed.

I don't like camping. Period. It's a lot of work, especially here in Botswana where it really does mean bringing almost everything but the kitchen sink. However, when our church went camping one weekend last year, I could tell from the reports afterwards that we had missed out on a really good time. So, when our church decided to go camping again this year, I told my husband, Mark, that I would give it a try. It helped that the location chosen was much closer this year -- in Mopane, only about 20 minutes from home. This meant that an escape was possible, should the conditions prove to be too trying for me or our daughter, KG.