As told by the Muth Family
As Greg and Elizabeth Muth prepare to wrap up nearly a year of ministry in Botswana, Africa they’re not the same family that left Columbia last summer. Over the last ten months, they’ve poured themselves into the lives of students, young parents, hospital patients, pastors, and local communities throughout Gaborone—walking alongside people in the everyday rhythms of ministry while watching God move in ways they never expected.
Nearly a year ago, Greg and Elizabeth boarded a plane with their three boys and returned to a place they couldn’t forget. What began as a mission trip to Botswana in May of last year had become something much deeper. They came home to Columbia believing they had left a piece of their hearts behind. And before long, the Lord made it clear: they were supposed to go back.
While serving in Botswana on that original trip, the Muths met Brent and Amanda Turner, an IMB missionary family who had spent years serving in Gaborone. As the Turners prepared to return stateside temporarily to care for family matters, they made an unexpected offer: would the Muths consider coming back to Botswana to live in their home for a year and continue the ministry work?
About a month later, after a growing sense of God’s leading, Greg and Elizabeth said yes.
Life in Botswana looks very different from life back home. The Muths live in Gaborone, a city of roughly 300,000 people, where everyday life moves at a much slower pace. Simple tasks that might take minutes in the United States can take hours—or days. But for the Muths, that slower pace has become a gift. That extra margin has allowed them to invest deeply in people.
Their home has become a hub for ministry. Mornings are spent homeschooling their boys, while afternoons and evenings are filled with ministry opportunities spread throughout the city. Some days involve administrative work caring for missionary property. Other days involve soccer fields, hospitals, churches, sewing centers, and conversations around kitchen tables.
One of Elizabeth’s weekly ministries is Blessed Hands, a sewing and vocational training ministry for women who are survivors of domestic violence and abuse. Women gather each week to learn sewing, basket weaving, and beading skills that can help support their families financially. But alongside the practical training comes something even more important: the gospel.
“The draw for them is to come in and learn this skill,” Elizabeth explained, “but we’re also going to share gospel truth with them.”
Another deeply impactful ministry has been Thrive, a pediatric oncology play therapy program at a local hospital. Many of the children receiving treatment rarely leave overcrowded hospital rooms, so volunteers simply come to help them be children again.
“We did puzzles, made jewelry, kicked a soccer ball,” Elizabeth said. “It’s really a way for them to forget that they’re sick for a little while and just play instead.”
The ministry has also opened doors for prayer, Bible stories, and gospel conversations with children, parents, and hospital staff.
One of the ministries closest to Greg’s heart has become Hope Academy, a soccer outreach ministry in partnership with a local Baptist pastor. The pastor originally began coaching neighborhood boys simply by showing up every afternoon at a community field and building relationships. Over time, that ministry grew into a powerful discipleship opportunity.
The Muths helped rally support from friends and members of First Baptist Columbia to restore the badly damaged field. Together, they cleaned rubbish, leveled the ground, installed new goalposts and nets, and helped provide registration fees and equipment for the boys.
“It just sounds so simple,” Greg said, “but this seems to be the most impactful ministry that I’ve seen.” The impact is already becoming visible. Recently, four boys from the soccer team began attending church—twice in a row.
The Muths are also heavily involved in Fusion, a high school ministry gathering that hosts 60–80 students at a time. The evenings include meals, worship, Bible teaching, and encouragement for students facing enormous pressures at home and school.
“It’s just a safe space for students here,” Elizabeth explained.
One night at Fusion, after hearing the gospel presentation from a visiting college team, a young girl approached Elizabeth with questions about faith. That conversation eventually led to Elizabeth praying with her as she placed her faith in Christ.
The Muths have also opened their own home for discipleship. Once a month they host young married couples to do a christian parenting book study. Around meals they discuss parenting, marriage, and following Christ faithfully within the home.
That emphasis on discipleship has become central to the Muths’ ministry philosophy in Botswana. While Botswana is often considered a “Christian nation,” Greg and Elizabeth quickly discovered that many people blend Christian language and traditions with African ancestral religious practices and prosperity-gospel teaching.
“Very, very few of them know what that actually means,” Greg said when speaking about Christianity in Botswana. Elizabeth added that one of the greatest needs they’ve observed is a lack of intentional discipleship within the local church. “The concept of discipleship isn’t really happening here as we understand it back in the States,” she explained. “Having a mentor, doing life together, studying God’s Word, praying together, accountability—that kind of thing isn’t really happening here.”
That realization has shaped much of their work. The Muths are investing deeply in relationships—walking alongside people, asking hard questions, and helping believers develop a genuine, personal faith in Christ. And through it all, the Lord has changed them too.
Greg said one of his biggest prayers before leaving was that this season would strengthen their family. “The biggest change I’ve seen in our family is just the closeness of our bonds,” he shared. “And the growth spiritually, emotionally, maturity-wise has just blown my mind.”
Their boys have embraced the experience wholeheartedly—involved in soccer ministry daily, trying rugby and cricket, building friendships, and even creating their own lemonade stand outreach to share the gospel with neighbors. “We’ve been really proud of our boys,” Elizabeth said. “Just seeing how they’ve flourished.”
For Greg and Elizabeth personally, the year has reshaped their priorities and perspective. Even amid hard day and sacrifice, they say they’ve experienced something deeper than comfort: purpose.
“Serving the Lord has been the most purposeful thing I’ve ever done,” Greg said.
And even as the Muths get closer to the end of their first year in Botswana, the work continues.
This week, a college mission team from First Baptist Columbia will travel to Gaborone to serve alongside the Muth family before returning home on Memorial Day weekend. The team of 12 students and leaders will focus on evangelism in both rural villages and on a local university campus, while also helping lead programs for children throughout the week.
As our church family sends this team out, there are several meaningful ways we can pray for both the team and the Muth family: