Sometimes people ask me, “What is it like to be a missionary? What changes have come about in your life?” Well, let me just say that it has involved many …
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Streams in the Desert – Beverly Hammett
What an interesting two months it has been! The month of October was filled with visitors. We began the month by welcoming our oldest son and his family to Africa and celebrating a few days together in South Africa. Then we had the privilege of having Connie and Kristen Nadaskay with us for a week. About the middle of the month our oldest son and his family came here to visit with us and the Castners, so we had a fun time enjoying the grandkids and spending time together. It was sad to say goodbye to them and send them back to America, but we are so thankful to our home church for letting them come to visit.
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Streams in the Desert – Beverly Hammett
Greetings from Botswana! I can’t believe that it is October already. Our weather is being extremely crazy right now. This past week it was over 100 every day. Then last night the temperature dropped and tonight we have rain and down in the 40’s.
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Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
Hope you are enjoying what is left of your summer there. Here we are enjoying moderating temperatures, sunny skies, and no humidity. The downside is that it is very, very dry and dusty.
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Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
Greetings from Botswana, the land of beautiful blue skies! As I sit at my computer writing this letter to you, the sliding glass door is open, the sun is shining, and the breeze is blowing gently.
Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
Greetings from sunny and hot Botswana! You would think that temperatures would be cooling down a bit, since we are now officially in the Fall season. But the last time I looked, it was over 90 degrees outside today. We did have some cooler weather last week, which was very enjoyable, but which also caused problems all its own (more about that in a minute).
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Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
The last two months have been a whirlwind of activity, especially the month of November. My husband visited a new village and started Bible studies there once a week. It was exciting to see the eagerness of the people in wanting the study the Bible. Hopefully that interest will translate to a seeking of God and His truth and not just an interest in what the white man is doing, or wanting money from him.
Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
Dear Ladies,
I have learned many new things in the last two months—some willingly and some by default. Here is a run-down of some of those things.
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Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
We just said good-bye to the last of the ladies group that was here. It was sad to see them leave—Rachel and I have truly enjoyed the fellowship. It was fun having them here and the time went by very quickly. I think they all enjoyed their time here and hopefully learned some things that will be of help to them in the future.
In a few weeks, we will have to say good-bye to Rachel and Sam as they head back to America to life. Rachel’s final appeal was denied, so she has no choice but to leave. Samuel has decided that it is time for him to come back also so he can finish with Bible Institute and hopefully earn a little money. We will miss them both very, very much. They have been a very active part of the ministry here and very involved in the work.
Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
Greetings from Botswana! I can tell that winter is almost here. The days are much shorter now. The last few days have not gotten as warm, and the nights are dipping down to around 4 degrees Celsius. For all you Americans, that is about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. So the house is cool and doesn’t warm up much during the day. We dress in layers in the morning, and then take off layers as it warms up a bit or if we go outside.
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Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
Wow, so much has been happening lately, I am not sure where to start. They say time flies when you are having fun—so we must be having lots of fun! I can honestly say that we are enjoying our time here and are keeping busy doing the work that God has called us to do.
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Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
Greetings from Botswana and Happy New Year to each of you—oops, I guess I am a month late already. It is hard to believe that January has already flown by! I hope you had a good holiday season and are now busy serving the Lord in this New Year. When I was a kid, I could never imagine living past the year 2000 and here we are at 2012 already. For those of you who are wondering if the world is going to end this year because the Mayan calendar predicts it, just put your mind at ease. I can say with assurance that we have at least 7 more years until the world ends—and that is only if the Lord comes back in the rapture this year and takes all those who are saved home to heaven. So just keep your eyes on the Lord and stay busy doing what He has called you to do!
Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
Greetings from Botswana! It is a beautiful COOL cloudy day with the promise of rain in the forecast. We have enjoyed about a week of delightfully cooler days and lots of rain showers. On our trip to the village yesterday, I noticed that there is a little water in the riverbeds—a very unusual sight. The rains have started early this year, so we are hoping that is a good sign and will mean lots of cool days and lots of rain.
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Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
Greetings from dry and dusty Botswana! It has been interesting learning to live in a desert climate. Since our last rainfall was in March, and grass is a rare commodity in this country, dust prevails everywhere. The slightest little breeze stirs up the dust and dirt. Just the dogs walking through the yard sends up clouds of dirt. And when they play and run and fight, it looks like a dust storm in our yard. The other night we had a wind storm and it actually sounded like ice was hitting the windows—but it was just dirt and sand.
Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
Much has happened since our last update. We have seen the Lord’s hand at work in the village of Makobo. This is a village about 30 KM outside of Francistown where we have been teaching every Sunday for about 5 months. This group of people had many false beliefs—including animal sacrifices and ancestor worship—so we had to go slow and make sure they understood the truth of God’s Word about salvation. What a blessing it was a few weeks ago to see eight precious people, all adults, bow the knee on a cold concrete floor and call out to the Lord to save them! The next week on Sunday 4 more adults were saved. Please continue to pray for this group of people.
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Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
Shortly after moving here, my husband and I were looking for a place to go walking each day. There is a private school right down the road from us, so we talked to the headmaster and got permission to walk on their soccer field. School starts at 7 AM so when we go walking, we must start around 6 AM. One morning early we were out walking and suddenly we heard a trumpet playing. A rousing trumpet song is not something you expect to hear anywhere at 6 AM, but especially not in Africa
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Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
Many things have happened since our last update. I would love to tell you everything, but I shall limit myself to 3 cultural experiences.
The first and biggest cultural experience was my husband’s case of malaria. When he woke up on Monday morning complaining about a severe headache, muscle pain, joint pain so severe he could hardly walk, chills, fever, and feeling very tired, my nurse’s brain immediately thought, “Malaria.”
Beverly Hammett – Streams in the Desert
The phrase used at the end of verse 6, streams in the desert—also the title which I have chosen for these updates—is a powerful word picture. A desert is a barren wilderness, a place where water is very scarce. But a stream in the desert brings life. Along the stream will be trees, grass, and other forms of vegetation that normally would not be seen in the desert—and many different kinds of animals and birds.
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Beverly’s December Update
Greetings from Africa! It is hard to believe that it has been almost 2 months since we said goodbye to you all. We have seen many changes and many blessings, as well as some discouragements. But over-all, we can see the hand of God working in so many ways. It is always exciting to serve the Lord and watch Him work!
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A Right Perspective
Several times in the Psalms David cries out to God, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” I have often puzzled over that statement. Why did David pray such a prayer? Then one day I was thinking about a high rock, and I realized that when you are wandering around in the wilderness or the woods, a high rock is useful for climbing up on to get a good perspective. From the top of the rock, you can see not only where you have been, but where you are, where you are going and how to best get there. It helps you to get your bearings.