New MANS Chaplain and Maskwacis Church Pastor Jumpstarts July Soccer Camp in Town

Pastor Tsholo blends his enthusiasm and love of people into innovative ministry in Maskwacis, even in the toughest of COVID times. Within days of Alberta lifting its social restrictions in July, the Botswana-born Maskwacis Church pastor and MANS chaplain was running his fifth annual summer soccer camp for youth of the Maskwacis reserves.

EDUCATION NEWS

Tsholofelo Sebetlela—perhaps better known as Pastor Tsholo—is a busy man. As the chaplain at Mamawi Atosketan Native School (MANS) and pastor of the Maskwacis Seventh-day Adventist Church, he balances a dual role, guiding both high school students and members of the wider Maskwacis community. With COVID restrictions being lifted July1, Pastor Tsholo wasted no time in setting up his fifth annual Maskwacis community soccer camp the following week.

Although his job comes with a lot of responsibility, to Pastor Tsholo, it is a blessing. Arriving in September 2020 from his prior assignment in Lloydminster, he is thankful for the relationships he has been able to form with students and Maskwacis community members over the past year, despite the pandemic curveballs. He was overjoyed when he could run his first truly social event for the Maskwacis community in July, enlisting members of his church congregation, like Jimmy Potts, to assist as coaches (see “after camp” video interview clip in The Tsholo Report at albertaadventist/ maskwa-movies).

Pastor Tsholo did not always see himself working in Maskwacis. He was born and raised in Botswana. His name, Tsholofelo, means “hope.” In 2008, he flew to Toronto for what he thought was a visit. However, four months in, he fell in love with a woman named Nadine. They met at church. He decided to stay. Nadine and Tsholofelo got married and had three children before they eventually decided to leave Toronto so he could pursue theology studies at Burman University.

Curiously, before their move to Alberta, Nadine brought up the idea of him focusing on Native ministry specifically. At first, Pastor Tsholo was not so sure. “In my mind,” he explains, “the gospel needs to go to everybody. Why narrow yourself and your potential?” His first church service in Maskwacis changed his thinking. “That,” he says, “was an eye-opening experience for me… I thought of Canada as a first-world country. I thought that meant everyone had a house with lights and high rises around them. Being in Maskwacis reminded me of being back home.”

Though the pastor describes his life back home in Botswana as “challenging,” on the other hand, he says, “Home is always home.” He has not been back since he emigrated in 2008. He misses it. True to his name, he is hopeful for an eventual return, but in the meantime, his background has given him unique tools and perspectives for ministering through the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of those tools is food delivery. “I connect with people by doing stuff with them… [Delivering food] has been a way to visit for five minutes, socially distanced.” Another major community building tool for him is soccer.

Of his decision to combine ministry and sports, Pastor Tsholo explains, between laughs, “I wasn’t a good basketball player. Soccer, I’m okay. I realized there’s no point in trying to reinvent myself. Soccer is something that I love. I should use what I know.”

He soon channelled his love for soccer into a community soccer camp. Pastor Tsholo considers this one of the highlights of his involvement in Maskwacis.

A Community Partnership

“What I love about the soccer camp,” Pastor Tsholo says, “is the collaboration that we have, the partnership that we have. We had kôhkoms—grandmothers— making food for the kids every day—you can imagine, five days a week! These women made sure that the children were fed. We also had volunteers from the community. And on Fridays, we would have family get-togethers where parents get to play with their children. It’s so heartwarming to get to see them joking and playing together.”

Growing Together What should people outside the Maskwacis community understand about the First Nations community in which he is involved? “Human beings are not for you to judge on the outside,” he says. “We need to get to a place where we can be interested in each other’s stories. Let me get to know you before I can say, ‘I know you.’ Let me hear your story, and then we can grow together.”

BY Myken McDowell | Communications Specialist and Master Printmaker living in Edmonton.