Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
June Java
Hello! Its good to be back from the land of dead power-cords and no blogging! Todd’s parents have arrived and brought with them lots of goodies from America. One of those goodies was a new power cord (and a back-up, actually) and so I am back online once again and have a connection to the outside world. So, lets see what can I offer from the last few weeks to update you on what has been going on in this dry, dusty land called Okahandja.
Friday, June 3rd marked the start of our coffeebar ministry - an open place we want to offer as an alternative to the people, rather than going to the clubs, bars and shebeens to hang out, have fun, listen to loud music, and dance on Friday nights. Our first night open we had a turn out of about 15 people, which was pretty good I’d say, considering we didn’t advertise – just did things by word of mouth – because we wanted to start small. We served coffee, tea, and cooldrink. Drinks were free the first night, and we told everyone we would begin charging a meager fee the second night of the coffeebar –
N .50c for coffee and tea, and N .20c for cooldrink. To give you some perspective, that’s about USD 8cents for coffee/tea, and about USD 3cents for cooldrink. The second Friday went very well also. Saw some new faces, had some good conversations, sold a lot of coffee, and cookies! Erin baked peanut butter cookies and sugar cookies and sold them for N .50c a piece. They were a big hit. One great way of getting to know the people who come, and beginning to build relationships with them is simply by gathering at a table in the coffeebar and playing a game together. I saw a few people sitting quietly, not interacting much and I decided to see if they wanted to learn how to play Phase 10. An hour later we were all joking and laughing and having a great time playing and getting to know one another. Here are some pictures from the coffeebar:
Clinton dancing to the music:
People playing games:
Hanging out at the coffeebar:
Friday, June 3rd marked the start of our coffeebar ministry - an open place we want to offer as an alternative to the people, rather than going to the clubs, bars and shebeens to hang out, have fun, listen to loud music, and dance on Friday nights. Our first night open we had a turn out of about 15 people, which was pretty good I’d say, considering we didn’t advertise – just did things by word of mouth – because we wanted to start small. We served coffee, tea, and cooldrink. Drinks were free the first night, and we told everyone we would begin charging a meager fee the second night of the coffeebar –
N .50c for coffee and tea, and N .20c for cooldrink. To give you some perspective, that’s about USD 8cents for coffee/tea, and about USD 3cents for cooldrink. The second Friday went very well also. Saw some new faces, had some good conversations, sold a lot of coffee, and cookies! Erin baked peanut butter cookies and sugar cookies and sold them for N .50c a piece. They were a big hit. One great way of getting to know the people who come, and beginning to build relationships with them is simply by gathering at a table in the coffeebar and playing a game together. I saw a few people sitting quietly, not interacting much and I decided to see if they wanted to learn how to play Phase 10. An hour later we were all joking and laughing and having a great time playing and getting to know one another. Here are some pictures from the coffeebar:
Clinton dancing to the music:
People playing games:
Hanging out at the coffeebar:
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
The new Preaching/Teaching Gathering...aka PTG
We have had two Preaching/Teaching gatherings so far. The PTG happens every Saturday night (the night after coffeebar). It’s great having it the following night, so we can simply invite people to whom we’ve been talking, back the next night. Many people we talk to are interested in what we are dong here in Okahandja and we’re able to say stuff along the lines of, “We are here to teach people about Jesus and the Bible. If you want to know more of what we do, come tomorrow night.” The first night there were about 15-20 people in attendance. The following week the numbers were about the same, but with some new faces again. The second Saturday there were several Hererros who came to check it out. In the second picture you can see two of the ladies in their traditional dresses.
Here is Todd teaching from the book of Jude:
Here is Todd teaching from the book of Jude:
Monday, June 12, 2006
Teen Rebellion is the Same Everywhere
The Coffeebar closes around 11pm, and clean-up begins. The first night Buddy, Maveja, and I got home around midnight after putting everything away, mopping the floor, and wiping down tables. Around 12:20, I heard my name being called from the street outside. I went to the door and I saw two of the girls who were at the coffeebar, and also attend the after school Bible study at OSS. “Can we come in?” Curious as to what in the world these two teenagers were doing out past midnight, when they left the coffeebar at 11:00, I went out to unlock the gate and let them in.
“We ran into kind of a problem at home.”
The girls told me they had arrived home after the coffeebar and found the house locked up and no one would let them in. They asked if they could stay the night at my place. I made up beds for them and gave the sleeping clothes, and they went to bed. The next morning, I woke the girls up early, since one of them had a netball game that morning. I asked one of the girls, “Were you supposed to be home at a certain time last night?”
“yes,” she answered.
“What time?”
“after the coffeebar.”
“and did you go straight home?”
“yes”.
I started thinking that I might need to go talk to their mother and find out what was going on. I gave them some breakfast and sent them on their way, assuming that they would head home. I heard nothing from them the rest of the day until around 5pm when I found a note slid under my front door:
“My mother doesn’t want us to stay at her place. So she kicked us out. We have nowhere else to go, but to come to you. We will be back later and tell you everything.”
I was on my way to the PTG when I found the note, so I left one of my own:
“Come to the MPMC and we can talk. I will be there tonight.”
They arrived around 8pm and after the gathering was over we started talking. I started to feel a bit apprehensive. There were tings that weren’t quite clear in their story. And apparently, when they left my house on Saturday morning, they hadn’t even gone home! I called jenny and asked that she meet up with us in the morning so we could talk all together, and so that she could hear their story in Afrikaans and perhaps make some more sense of it. By now it was late and so I let the girls stay a second night, until we could figure it out. On Sunday morning Jenny came and we all sat down to talk. It soon became apparent that I had not misheard – the girls had not yet been home since Friday! Then it began to come out, the girls had been lying – lying to their mother, lying to Jenny and I. They had not even told their mother they would be at the coffeebar on Friday. Their mother was at home, but instead they told their sister they were going, knowing that their mother would not let them go, because of their poor grades last term. When they arrived home after the coffeebar, they could not find the key they have been using to come in, when they arrive home late in the evening. They tried to get their sister to let them in, but she would not, stating they needed to get the key from mom. They asked mom to let them in and the mother was in bed and basically conveyed this thought to them, “I’m tired and if I have to get up and let you in, you’re going to get a hiding.” So, rather than face it and take responsibility for deceiving their mother, they left and came to me, leaving out very important details, of course.
Jenny and I explained what they needed to do. We told them they must go directly home and admit their lies to their mom. Not only had they lied to her, but also taken advantage of us, which ended up pitting their mother against us as well, because they have used our names before – saying they were with us, when they really were not. We gave them 20 minutes to talk walk hoe and told them we would call to make sure they got there. We prayed with them, they would be humble and tell the truth, admitting their lies and asking forgiveness. We prayed that their mother would listen and that she would not hurt them. We prayed that God would give the girls the strength to face up to their choices.
We called 20 minutes later and the girls had indeed arrived, but their mom had not listened, or the girls had not fully explained, probably both. Their mother was furious and her anger was coming out at us for “letting them stay” with us. jenny was on the phone with her, trying to explain that she had not even been at home when the girls had come by, but the mom could talk to me. I was handed the phone and it became very clear she didn’t want to talk to me. It was like I was back in Dayton at my old job as a mental health case manager dealing with irrational and angry people. Since she wouldn’t speak to me on the phone, I decided to go to her. I called Todd and asked him to accompany me, for safety and witness sake, just in case. As we walked we prayed. The talk with the mother went very well. She had calmed down by the time we got there, and she listened to what I had to say. I explained that the girls had lied to her and to us. Their mom seems like she is at a loss. She can’t handle the girls and says they just come and go as they please and come in very late at night and she doesn’t know where they have been. It came out that they often use Youth Club, Bible study, and spending time with us, as their excuse. “Jesus” became their alibi, which in turn had made mom angry at “Jesus”. I made sure that their mom has both Jenny’s and my cell number and asked her what boundaries she has set for the girls so that I am clear as to what they can attend and when they need to be at home. Praise the Lord for opening this kind of conversation between their mom and me. If we have seen one thing here in Namibia, it is that lying is SO commonplace. The overall impression is that lying is simply a means to an end, and if you can get away with it, “than good for you!” Pray that I know how to deal with the girls from here on out – with forgiveness and grace, yet setting clear boundaries and challenging them to honesty.
“We ran into kind of a problem at home.”
The girls told me they had arrived home after the coffeebar and found the house locked up and no one would let them in. They asked if they could stay the night at my place. I made up beds for them and gave the sleeping clothes, and they went to bed. The next morning, I woke the girls up early, since one of them had a netball game that morning. I asked one of the girls, “Were you supposed to be home at a certain time last night?”
“yes,” she answered.
“What time?”
“after the coffeebar.”
“and did you go straight home?”
“yes”.
I started thinking that I might need to go talk to their mother and find out what was going on. I gave them some breakfast and sent them on their way, assuming that they would head home. I heard nothing from them the rest of the day until around 5pm when I found a note slid under my front door:
“My mother doesn’t want us to stay at her place. So she kicked us out. We have nowhere else to go, but to come to you. We will be back later and tell you everything.”
I was on my way to the PTG when I found the note, so I left one of my own:
“Come to the MPMC and we can talk. I will be there tonight.”
They arrived around 8pm and after the gathering was over we started talking. I started to feel a bit apprehensive. There were tings that weren’t quite clear in their story. And apparently, when they left my house on Saturday morning, they hadn’t even gone home! I called jenny and asked that she meet up with us in the morning so we could talk all together, and so that she could hear their story in Afrikaans and perhaps make some more sense of it. By now it was late and so I let the girls stay a second night, until we could figure it out. On Sunday morning Jenny came and we all sat down to talk. It soon became apparent that I had not misheard – the girls had not yet been home since Friday! Then it began to come out, the girls had been lying – lying to their mother, lying to Jenny and I. They had not even told their mother they would be at the coffeebar on Friday. Their mother was at home, but instead they told their sister they were going, knowing that their mother would not let them go, because of their poor grades last term. When they arrived home after the coffeebar, they could not find the key they have been using to come in, when they arrive home late in the evening. They tried to get their sister to let them in, but she would not, stating they needed to get the key from mom. They asked mom to let them in and the mother was in bed and basically conveyed this thought to them, “I’m tired and if I have to get up and let you in, you’re going to get a hiding.” So, rather than face it and take responsibility for deceiving their mother, they left and came to me, leaving out very important details, of course.
Jenny and I explained what they needed to do. We told them they must go directly home and admit their lies to their mom. Not only had they lied to her, but also taken advantage of us, which ended up pitting their mother against us as well, because they have used our names before – saying they were with us, when they really were not. We gave them 20 minutes to talk walk hoe and told them we would call to make sure they got there. We prayed with them, they would be humble and tell the truth, admitting their lies and asking forgiveness. We prayed that their mother would listen and that she would not hurt them. We prayed that God would give the girls the strength to face up to their choices.
We called 20 minutes later and the girls had indeed arrived, but their mom had not listened, or the girls had not fully explained, probably both. Their mother was furious and her anger was coming out at us for “letting them stay” with us. jenny was on the phone with her, trying to explain that she had not even been at home when the girls had come by, but the mom could talk to me. I was handed the phone and it became very clear she didn’t want to talk to me. It was like I was back in Dayton at my old job as a mental health case manager dealing with irrational and angry people. Since she wouldn’t speak to me on the phone, I decided to go to her. I called Todd and asked him to accompany me, for safety and witness sake, just in case. As we walked we prayed. The talk with the mother went very well. She had calmed down by the time we got there, and she listened to what I had to say. I explained that the girls had lied to her and to us. Their mom seems like she is at a loss. She can’t handle the girls and says they just come and go as they please and come in very late at night and she doesn’t know where they have been. It came out that they often use Youth Club, Bible study, and spending time with us, as their excuse. “Jesus” became their alibi, which in turn had made mom angry at “Jesus”. I made sure that their mom has both Jenny’s and my cell number and asked her what boundaries she has set for the girls so that I am clear as to what they can attend and when they need to be at home. Praise the Lord for opening this kind of conversation between their mom and me. If we have seen one thing here in Namibia, it is that lying is SO commonplace. The overall impression is that lying is simply a means to an end, and if you can get away with it, “than good for you!” Pray that I know how to deal with the girls from here on out – with forgiveness and grace, yet setting clear boundaries and challenging them to honesty.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Random snapshots from my life
A few of the neighborhood kids that come to my house daily and ask, “is it come today?” which means, “can we come play today?”
A hang-out we had at the house for the Youth Club kids
Netball practice
Me INSIDE my house. BRRRRR!
Sylvia and Deborah at the Woodcarver’s market
Jaxx, spending a few days at my house
He’s huge now! (but still pretty goofy)
A hang-out we had at the house for the Youth Club kids
Netball practice
Me INSIDE my house. BRRRRR!
Sylvia and Deborah at the Woodcarver’s market
Jaxx, spending a few days at my house
He’s huge now! (but still pretty goofy)
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Etc, whatever
my laptop power cord got a short and my now dead-battery laptop has rendered me computerless for more or less the last week and a half. a replacement should arrive from America with Todd's folks in about another 10 days along with other goodies from my wonderful friends and family. Whoo-hoo!
been learning more Otjiherrero, even though our class was cancelled twice last week. =( its amazing how much you're bummed when its a class that you're taking just because you want to learn, not because you HAVE to for a grad or something. I've been learning from Maveja mostly, and practicing with the neighborhood children. (Otjiherrero is a language - a cross between the Otjiwambo language and the Herrero language - in case you're wondering)
VERY FEW people in Nau-Aib have a washing machine, so I have learned to wash clothes by hand the African way - big plastic tub full of cold water in the front yard + Omo washing powder + lots of hand friction. and i'm pretty good, even if i do say so myself. I spent the morning on Sunday learning from Carina. We washed the clothes of her little sister, Deborah. Of course there was much laughing and disbelief that I actually wanted to do it - and for FREE! (here you usually pay someone to do the washing) I was telling two of the other girls from the OSS study - Elmarie and Victoria - about my new hand-washing expertise and I offered to come by their place to do the same, which they jumped on right away! So, i'll be over there this week sometime. It will be a great opportunity to spend some more one-on-one time with them, meet their family, and be a servant.
i made some salsa and it was really good. its a combination of tomato puree, the canned tomato/onion mix, plus fresh peppers, fresh tomatoes, and some garlic and spices and sugar. not bad. and i have this great recipe for flour tortillas, which although its time-consuming, it makes a lot of them. so, i can quench my longing for mexican food. tortilla chips are the missing piece of the puzzle. maybe if i can find a good corn tortilla recipe and i use someone's oven...
its a little warmer now than it was the beginning of last week. for several days it was seriously freezing. literally. it got down to -4C. (which is just below freezing, for all of you Farenheit people.) and below freezing when you don't have heat in your house is COLD! I was wearing a hat and gloves in the house, and Jennie and I both were wrapped up in blankets just to sit and chat together in our living room.
Jennie has been accepted to the Au Pair American program. she will begin hearing from prospective families, and once she chooses one, she'll be heading to America!
the World Cup starts next month, which is a HUGE deal here. Maveja said that last year she actually got up at 3:00 in the morning because thats when one of the games was on. so, people are getting excited for that to start soon.
also, June 4th is the Global Day of Prayer.
looking forward to:
coffeebar and the Biblical teaching gathering starting this friday and saturday
watching the girls first netball game of the season
june 16th...2:20pm...Sammy's flight arives in Whk.
my care packages from home - 1 coming via todd's parents and 1 coming in the post - someday. we hope. =)
been learning more Otjiherrero, even though our class was cancelled twice last week. =( its amazing how much you're bummed when its a class that you're taking just because you want to learn, not because you HAVE to for a grad or something. I've been learning from Maveja mostly, and practicing with the neighborhood children. (Otjiherrero is a language - a cross between the Otjiwambo language and the Herrero language - in case you're wondering)
VERY FEW people in Nau-Aib have a washing machine, so I have learned to wash clothes by hand the African way - big plastic tub full of cold water in the front yard + Omo washing powder + lots of hand friction. and i'm pretty good, even if i do say so myself. I spent the morning on Sunday learning from Carina. We washed the clothes of her little sister, Deborah. Of course there was much laughing and disbelief that I actually wanted to do it - and for FREE! (here you usually pay someone to do the washing) I was telling two of the other girls from the OSS study - Elmarie and Victoria - about my new hand-washing expertise and I offered to come by their place to do the same, which they jumped on right away! So, i'll be over there this week sometime. It will be a great opportunity to spend some more one-on-one time with them, meet their family, and be a servant.
i made some salsa and it was really good. its a combination of tomato puree, the canned tomato/onion mix, plus fresh peppers, fresh tomatoes, and some garlic and spices and sugar. not bad. and i have this great recipe for flour tortillas, which although its time-consuming, it makes a lot of them. so, i can quench my longing for mexican food. tortilla chips are the missing piece of the puzzle. maybe if i can find a good corn tortilla recipe and i use someone's oven...
its a little warmer now than it was the beginning of last week. for several days it was seriously freezing. literally. it got down to -4C. (which is just below freezing, for all of you Farenheit people.) and below freezing when you don't have heat in your house is COLD! I was wearing a hat and gloves in the house, and Jennie and I both were wrapped up in blankets just to sit and chat together in our living room.
Jennie has been accepted to the Au Pair American program. she will begin hearing from prospective families, and once she chooses one, she'll be heading to America!
the World Cup starts next month, which is a HUGE deal here. Maveja said that last year she actually got up at 3:00 in the morning because thats when one of the games was on. so, people are getting excited for that to start soon.
also, June 4th is the Global Day of Prayer.
looking forward to:
coffeebar and the Biblical teaching gathering starting this friday and saturday
watching the girls first netball game of the season
june 16th...2:20pm...Sammy's flight arives in Whk.
my care packages from home - 1 coming via todd's parents and 1 coming in the post - someday. we hope. =)
Thursday, May 18, 2006
a taste of Namibia
for anyone who wants to feel a little bit more like they are living in Namibia:
www.nammusic.com
might i recommend "Best of Both Worlds" by Faizel MC featuring The Dogg and Sunny Boy
other factoids from today:
twisted my ankle
attended my first class at Namcol - Introductory Otjiherero
i think there is a major dogfight going on outside right now
my feet are freeeeeeeezing!
hoping and praying that my parents care package arrives
4 weeks till June 16th
realized that I talk to the roaches in my kitchen
www.nammusic.com
might i recommend "Best of Both Worlds" by Faizel MC featuring The Dogg and Sunny Boy
other factoids from today:
twisted my ankle
attended my first class at Namcol - Introductory Otjiherero
i think there is a major dogfight going on outside right now
my feet are freeeeeeeezing!
hoping and praying that my parents care package arrives
4 weeks till June 16th
realized that I talk to the roaches in my kitchen
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Nelda
Tonight was such a sweet time. Wednesday is usually the women’s Bible study at my house; tonight was different and yet, I think exactly what the Lord had in mind. Erin has been very sick since Saturday with tonsillitis, and although we had hopes that my chicken soup and a rousing game of Phase10 last night had cured her, unfortunately this was not the case and today brought continuing rounds of Erin vs. Tonsillitis. So, needless to say she was unable to join us for the Women’s Bible Study (which lately has looked more like what we can call “Nelda’s Bible Study” since she is really the only woman in attendance with any regularity). I love Nelda. She is UNcharacteristically African in her punctuality – always on time, and usually early! She has such a sweet spirit and personality, often shy, but one-on-one once you push past that initial shyness wall, she can carry on a great conversation. Such was the case tonight. She arrived as usual a few minutes before 5:00 and joined me in the living room with about 5 neighborhood kids who were enjoying the new toys, games, and puzzles I got from the German container. She shyly said hello and I made coffee and began the process of enticing Nelda into conversation. It continued like that for about 30 minutes, me asking questions with her answering in quiet, short responses, kids playing amongst us, more kids and a dog coming in…pretty much normal Africa visiting. Then I asked her what she has been reading in the Word, and asked if she and Christaan are still reading in Philippians, which is what they had been reading together last week. She totally blessed me when she said, “no, but I’ve been reading on my own in Matthew…Matthew 6:25, that’s what I read last night.” I asked her what it was about and she, with her Bible still closed next to her said, “don’t worry about what you will eat or what you’ll wear” And from then on it was as if the floodgates were open. Back and forth the Lord began a sharing of scripture, encouraging, words of practical application, and a flow and ease of conversation that was based completely on Him. The kids packed everything up and went home, she and I continued to talk and talk and talk – Nelda sharing scripture and quoting verses she had read, tying them into how they are applying to her life now, telling me about how she has even been sharing the scriptures she is reading with neighbors and friends when she sees how what she’s read applies to their situation. I could just see so plainly tonight - Nelda gets it. The Lord has opened her eyes and she is growing right before our eyes! We talked for over 2 and half hours, sharing scripture and talking about life and God. We spend some time in prayer together and around 7:45 she headed home for the night. I closed the door after she left, so very joyful over what God is doing, and thankful that I got to be encouraged by seeing it tonight, through Nelda.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Happy Birthday, Carina
Today was Carina’s 16th birthday. I got to enjoy the blessing of taking her out to dinner to celebrate. I made a turn by her house this morning to confirm plans and tell her, “we’re dressing nice tonight”. She didn’t know what we were going to do, just that I was stealing her for the evening. I had gotten permission to borrow the bakkie from CHI and went to pick it up around 5:30. I picked up Carina at 6:00 and we were on our way. After a very short drive we arrived at the Okahandja Lodge. As we were pulling in, I asked Carina if she’d ever been there before. “No,” she said, “I was just about to say, this is my first time coming here.” As we drove down the dirt path to the lodge, she shifted forward on the edge of her seat, anticipating. It was so great. It gave me such joy just to see her so excited. The lodge came into view and I parked the bakkie. As we climbed out Carina said, “I have butterflies in my stomach!” Carina chose our seats inside, near the fireplace, since it was a cool night. And we began to peruse the menus. The one stipulation I gave her was, “I want you to get whatever you want!” After seriously MUCH debating, she chose the spare ribs. We had lovely conversation, lots of laughter, and I got to learn even more about this great young lady. I wish I would have snapped a picture just as our meals came, because Carina’s eyes about popped out of her head when she saw hers….
She ended up eating the chips and veggies and what seemed like the smallest bit of her ribs. They were seriously pretty huge. She was really glad to hear that she could take home what she wasn’t able to eat. Her response definitely showed her heart when she said, “Oh, good! I can take some home and share with my family!”
Please pray for Carina as the second trimester of school starts up tomorrow. She is a very intelligent girl and a great student (for those of you who know anything about the grading system here, she got a 35 for the first term. Yeah!). Netball also begins this term, (she and two of the other girls in our bible study are netball players) so very soon I get to go to my first netball match.
And to finish off for tonight, here are just a few random pictures…
The view from my office/teen lounge/homework room at the MPMC
the sunset-lit mountains as we drove home from Sossusvlei
me.
She ended up eating the chips and veggies and what seemed like the smallest bit of her ribs. They were seriously pretty huge. She was really glad to hear that she could take home what she wasn’t able to eat. Her response definitely showed her heart when she said, “Oh, good! I can take some home and share with my family!”
Please pray for Carina as the second trimester of school starts up tomorrow. She is a very intelligent girl and a great student (for those of you who know anything about the grading system here, she got a 35 for the first term. Yeah!). Netball also begins this term, (she and two of the other girls in our bible study are netball players) so very soon I get to go to my first netball match.
And to finish off for tonight, here are just a few random pictures…
The view from my office/teen lounge/homework room at the MPMC
the sunset-lit mountains as we drove home from Sossusvlei
me.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
joys
things I love right now:
only 1 week till school starts again and i get to begin studying the Word again regularly with my girls.
cold nights with warm days in Nau-Aib.
the phrase, "i am come tomorrow"
living in okahandja's "samaria"
only 5 weeks left till June 16th
phase 10
my former random roomie K Glease, will be Kristi Demeter in a matter of two days
having a toaster. finally!
little faces peering in my door, "amanda! mahk oop!" telling them, "not right now, i'm busy. but come back later." 5 minutes pass and it begins again.
seeing pictures of spring in Ohio
My Jesus, who is always faithful
only 1 week till school starts again and i get to begin studying the Word again regularly with my girls.
cold nights with warm days in Nau-Aib.
the phrase, "i am come tomorrow"
living in okahandja's "samaria"
only 5 weeks left till June 16th
phase 10
my former random roomie K Glease, will be Kristi Demeter in a matter of two days
having a toaster. finally!
little faces peering in my door, "amanda! mahk oop!" telling them, "not right now, i'm busy. but come back later." 5 minutes pass and it begins again.
seeing pictures of spring in Ohio
My Jesus, who is always faithful
Sunday, May 07, 2006
respite
sorry for my quietness recently. Not a lot of exciting news to report. However, since it is holiday, the students don't start back to school till mid May, and lots of people are still gone, and Bible studies have been hit-or-miss; we took the opportunity to have a mini-holiday of our own. the plan was that there would be 6 of us: the fourfrom our team plus jennie and maveja, but jennie's plans changed and at the last minute Todd got really sick and therefore Erin and he had to stay behind. So....Buddy, Maveja and I headed out E-A-R-L-Y monday morning and started on our way to the first destination - Swakopmund. we spent a day and a half there, then continued on the the red dunes of Sossusvlei, farther south in the Namib-Naukluft park. For more of the pictures, go visit my Flickr site. But here are some of my all-time favorites from the trip:
Trees at Dead Vlei
Dead Vlei trees against the red dunes
Dry
Self portait
The red dunes of Sossusvlei
Gemsbok grazing at Sossusvlei
Sunset over the plains as we drove home
Trees at Dead Vlei
Dead Vlei trees against the red dunes
Dry
Self portait
The red dunes of Sossusvlei
Gemsbok grazing at Sossusvlei
Sunset over the plains as we drove home
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
The Storm
Last evening we had a huge storm - heavy winds, thunder, lightning, horizontal rain and hail slamming against the windows and tin roof. It was so loud. So loud that Buddy and I, even thought standing only a few feet apart, had to yell just to hear each other over the noise. That’s when the power went out. Jenny, Buddy and I found our torches (aka flashlights) and lit candles. We made our way into the kitchen to find it quickly filling with water coming in under the back door. Buddy held the dim light while Jenny and I armed ourselves with towels to mop up what we could and barricade the bottom of the door to limit any continuing water flow. Outside, the wind howled whipped around and Buddy exclaimed, “It feels like maybe we should be bracing ourselves in a doorway or something! This is crazy!” About a half an hour went by and the height of the storm was past us. I couldn’t help but think about our friends in Oshetu, braving this storm in their tin houses of scrap metal and wooden crates. After the worst had passed, the three of us here headed over to Todd and Erin’s house for the rest of the evening to play Phase 10 by candlelight. Its 1pm now, the day after and we are still without power. No idea when it might come back. I’m hoping I can finish writing and post this and check emails before the battery power on my laptop runs down. We went to Oshetu this morning to see if there was anyone who needed help rebuilding and cleaning up. All over, people were out clearing the fallen tree limbs and leaves and talking about the storm.
Oshetu actually fared ok actually. Its really amazing how much those small tin shacks can take. We did find some help needed at Keano’s grandma’s house, where part of the wall had given way and left a big hole. We listened to the stories of the children. They were scared, but as the rain poured in the wall, grandma pulled them all into the bathroom and they huddled there together. Buddy got to work helping repair the hole, while Todd, Erin and I played with the girls and boys outside. Praise the Lord for His Church and how we get to be the body to each other.
Here is a picture of Todd and Erin’s backyard this morning. The papaya tree didn’t do so well.
Oshetu actually fared ok actually. Its really amazing how much those small tin shacks can take. We did find some help needed at Keano’s grandma’s house, where part of the wall had given way and left a big hole. We listened to the stories of the children. They were scared, but as the rain poured in the wall, grandma pulled them all into the bathroom and they huddled there together. Buddy got to work helping repair the hole, while Todd, Erin and I played with the girls and boys outside. Praise the Lord for His Church and how we get to be the body to each other.
Here is a picture of Todd and Erin’s backyard this morning. The papaya tree didn’t do so well.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
mavenga otjikuthinga
I’ve discovered that the lowest point in my kitchen is in front of the refrigerator…How do I know this? Simply put, that is where the water is the deepest.
MENTAL NOTE: If you are ever living at my house in Nau-Aib and you decide to take a shower shortly after finishing washing the dishes, it might be a good idea to first check to make sure that the hot water tap on the kitchen sink is closed. If you fail to do this, you may notice a big drop in water pressure and it won’t be a very warm shower. I doubt, however, that you will put two and two together until you decide to return a cup to the kitchen without turning on the light and you end up standing in about an inch of water (the deepest of which will happen to be in front of the refrigerator, by the way). At this point you may realize that while you were trying to have a shower, you have inadvertently given your kitchen a bath.
TIP: It is possible to use a broom to sweep water out the back door.
MENTAL NOTE: If you are ever living at my house in Nau-Aib and you decide to take a shower shortly after finishing washing the dishes, it might be a good idea to first check to make sure that the hot water tap on the kitchen sink is closed. If you fail to do this, you may notice a big drop in water pressure and it won’t be a very warm shower. I doubt, however, that you will put two and two together until you decide to return a cup to the kitchen without turning on the light and you end up standing in about an inch of water (the deepest of which will happen to be in front of the refrigerator, by the way). At this point you may realize that while you were trying to have a shower, you have inadvertently given your kitchen a bath.
TIP: It is possible to use a broom to sweep water out the back door.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Shorn
So if you have noticed in my recent pictures, my hair has been getting a bit shaggy, but not being familiar with what kind of a cut I might experience here in Namibia (and since my roomate/hairstylist for the first month or so has returned to the States) I was a bit hesitant....apprehensive even, but I braved it today and had my first haircut here at one of the places in town. Praise the Lord for my friend, Joy, who warned me about what to expect. And thankful I am for that warning because, seriously I think she cuts hair faster than any human alive. She was completely just cutting random snips of hair all over the place in crazy haphazard angles, and hair was flying without any apparent rhyme or reason. Had I not been warned, this might have been disturbing, but I trusted Joy's word that, indeed as crazy as it seemed, the end result would be a good one. And, indeed, it was. Me = Very happy.
This is me smiling because I won't need to be wearing a headscarf for the next 4 weeks.
This is me smiling because I won't need to be wearing a headscarf for the next 4 weeks.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Enjoying the Grace of His Creation
As I mentioned, Howard and Rhonda took us to Okapuka Lodge for a day of respit and enjoying our God through what He has made. Such a joy it was! Here are the photos from our day of being spoiled missonaries:
Definitely my favorite shot of the day:
can you believe I actually live somewhere where I can take shots like this and it's only a 30 minute drive from my house? (And we're NOT talking at the zoo....)
Two White Rhinos enjoying their breakfast
Me with my new friend, Starfire, getting ready for the horseback safari at Okapuka Lodge
Riding through the bush on horseback. I think there's a wildebeast in the distance, but he blends in pretty well.
OK, just felt the need to satisfy those visual learners back home. Enjoy!
Definitely my favorite shot of the day:
can you believe I actually live somewhere where I can take shots like this and it's only a 30 minute drive from my house? (And we're NOT talking at the zoo....)
Two White Rhinos enjoying their breakfast
Me with my new friend, Starfire, getting ready for the horseback safari at Okapuka Lodge
Riding through the bush on horseback. I think there's a wildebeast in the distance, but he blends in pretty well.
OK, just felt the need to satisfy those visual learners back home. Enjoy!
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Ministry Recap
Ok, time for the much awaited Ministry Recap/Update I promised to write up once I gathered my thoughts. I decided to split it up into several entries because there’s a lot to recap. And remember, this is only a few highlighted things from the last two weeks! God is doing much more here than I could ever write enough to describe. And so much more than I know or even recognize.
We have attended a church here that may actually be teaching the Truth to people. There wasn’t any, “give-us-money-to-receive-your-blessing-from-God” teaching. In fact, the first Sunday we attended there was teaching on humility. It is a church that meets in a big tent not far from my house. The service was in Kavango but also translated into English. There was such a family atmosphere, to the point that they actually waited to begin the program until everyone had arrived – which in Africa takes quite a while. Until everyone got there we sang more songs, praising God through music. There were no instruments (which if you’ve been to many African churches usually means 1980’s synthesized keyboard) just voices with great harmonies, songs in different languages, and of course, dancing. And, as it turns out, the guy who did the preaching on Sunday (one of the men being discipled by the pastor of the church and training under him) was Tiago, a man from the Woodcarvers Bible study that Buddy and I have been leading. And he actually taught from Matthew Chapter 3, which is the chapter that we had most recently studied together. It’s just cool how God brings certain people into the path of numerous people that, if obedient, can be used greatly in shaping someone’s growth in the Lord. I say this because Bona, Kendall’s mom, formed a friendship with Tiago on a past trip here and he carries a book that she gave him about the Lord. Isn’t it amazing how God’s puzzle is put together?
We have attended a church here that may actually be teaching the Truth to people. There wasn’t any, “give-us-money-to-receive-your-blessing-from-God” teaching. In fact, the first Sunday we attended there was teaching on humility. It is a church that meets in a big tent not far from my house. The service was in Kavango but also translated into English. There was such a family atmosphere, to the point that they actually waited to begin the program until everyone had arrived – which in Africa takes quite a while. Until everyone got there we sang more songs, praising God through music. There were no instruments (which if you’ve been to many African churches usually means 1980’s synthesized keyboard) just voices with great harmonies, songs in different languages, and of course, dancing. And, as it turns out, the guy who did the preaching on Sunday (one of the men being discipled by the pastor of the church and training under him) was Tiago, a man from the Woodcarvers Bible study that Buddy and I have been leading. And he actually taught from Matthew Chapter 3, which is the chapter that we had most recently studied together. It’s just cool how God brings certain people into the path of numerous people that, if obedient, can be used greatly in shaping someone’s growth in the Lord. I say this because Bona, Kendall’s mom, formed a friendship with Tiago on a past trip here and he carries a book that she gave him about the Lord. Isn’t it amazing how God’s puzzle is put together?
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
OSS Bible Study
Its been very hit-or-miss lately since the students have been in exams for the past 2-3 weeks. They often have afternoon classes beginning at 2:30pm, which means only 1hr and a half in between getting out of school and beginning afternoon classes. Which for our Bible study means either not having the bible study or having a shortened lesson, so the kids can have 30 mins to run home and eat lunch. What is cool is that many of the students actually prefer the latter to not having the Bible study at all. A number of the students come no matter what and they sacrifice eating lunch, sacrifice their 1hr 30 min. break in the school day, to come join us in studying God’s Word. I am blown away. I appreciate the hearts of those kids so much! What a challenge to so many mature adults who ditch God’s Word when it comes to having to sacrifice something.
In General
We’ve seen how our individual ministries and lives are beginning to come together and how one thing is lending itself to the other:
* The mother of one of our students from the OSS Bible study, Sylvia, is part of the Woodcarver’s Bible study, and has expressed an interest in being a part of Erin’s ministry to the women of Oshetu.
* Mavea, a young woman who is Todd and Erin’s neighbor, whom they initially invited to house church a few months ago, has been devouring the Word of God and growing. She has become a good friend of mine and we often get together to watch movies and have coffee. Just last week she helped out with serving the food for Kids Club, which Jenny, Erin and Todd and I are a part of.
* Buddy and I attended the Sunday Night Bible study in Oshetu, and the women from Oshetu came to the Women’s Bible study here last week.
Its just really artistic of God to begin things in our lives individually only to bring many of those things together for a bigger impact – His greatest glory
* The mother of one of our students from the OSS Bible study, Sylvia, is part of the Woodcarver’s Bible study, and has expressed an interest in being a part of Erin’s ministry to the women of Oshetu.
* Mavea, a young woman who is Todd and Erin’s neighbor, whom they initially invited to house church a few months ago, has been devouring the Word of God and growing. She has become a good friend of mine and we often get together to watch movies and have coffee. Just last week she helped out with serving the food for Kids Club, which Jenny, Erin and Todd and I are a part of.
* Buddy and I attended the Sunday Night Bible study in Oshetu, and the women from Oshetu came to the Women’s Bible study here last week.
Its just really artistic of God to begin things in our lives individually only to bring many of those things together for a bigger impact – His greatest glory
Team
Howard and Rhonda Sheets spent the last two weeks with us, encouraging us, living with us, spoiling us (aka taking us out to dinner and allowing us to play hard at things we wouldn’t have been able to afford to do without them) and being a part of God’s work here in Okahandja. On Tuesday we went to Okapuka Lodge (about 30 mins drive away) for the day. We went on a game drive, had lunch, went on a horse safari (going out amidst the game on horseback), then watched the lion feeding and had a lovely dinner. The day was amazing! They have been very generous and helpful and will be missed.
Women's Bible Study - Colssians
Tonight was great and although it was only me, Sylvia and Nelda, we had a very nice time. I decided that we would just spend some time talking and then pray together, so that we didn’t get too far ahead of the others who weren’t here tonight. In our talking we somehow ended up on the topic of relationships, marriage, humility and submission and the role of the husband and wife. It was pretty cool how even just our “chatting” came around to focusing on God and His Word. Then I asked if we could pray together, said I would begin and then leave time for either of them to pray if they wanted to, but that they didn’t have to if they preferred not to aloud. It was such a sweet time. I began to pray and then after me, Sylvia, and then Nedla. (It is so cool just to hear her pray, especially because she seems so timid so speak up most of the time.) She prays in Afrikaans and I can only understand half of what she is praying, but it is so encouraging to hear her. God is drawing her nearer to Himself. Pray that she continues to listen to Him calling her.
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