unworthy am i: Village Life

Basic life in the village consists mostly of milking, corraling, watering the cows, cooking, cleaning up and preparing the next meal, sitting around talking, sleeping, and watching the kids play. Wake up is anywhere from 6am to 8am, depending on if you are the one in charge of making the fire for coffee and breakfast in the morning, and how well you can block out the noise of everyone else who is already up. I usualy got up sometime around 7 or 7:30, except when Maveja and I had to make coffee and get breakfast ready. O the days were were “on duty” Maveja and I would get up early to sweep the area, then start the fire for coffee. We would make the coffee and pour it into cups and serve the elders first, then the younger adults and teenagers, and last the small kids. Everyone drinks coffee here – small kids included - instant coffee, with TONS of sugar. Maveja and I would usually make our own cup of coffee separately from the batch for everyone else, so as to avoid the entire cup of sugar added to the teapot of coffee. Along with the coffee there was usually bread spread with animal fat or jam. Then later omaire around 9:00 or so whenever it was finished cooking over the fire. As soon as we finished washing the dishes from breakfast, it was time to figure out what to make for lunch and begin preparing it. Lunch usually consisted of rice or pasta with brisket and some type of sauce. Then around 7:00 for dinner there was more omaire. I made one lunch this week that ended up being a real hit with everyone. With few ingredients at my disposal, it was time for creative cooking. I cooked borewors in a sauce that I made out of mayonaise, curry, a little bit of chutney, sugar and a can of tomato oninion mix. I topped macaroni noodles with the borewors and sauce and got lots of compliments.

Once the sun went down we would often sit around the fire talking, even on nights when it was raining, which numbered about 3 nights. One night was a particularly good night for fireside chatting, as one of Maveja’s friends whom she hasn’t seen in a long time came to visit. His name is Mbatjiwa, and speaks fluent english. He began talking with me and asked questions about what I am doing here in Namibia, and as soon as he heard that I was a missionary, God used the conversation for His glory. He began with the question, “If someone wants to repent, do they have to do it in a church or is it something they can do on their own?” This exemplifies the caliber of questions he continued to ask, and he was quite engaged in the answers. We actually ended up with a number of others joining us as we talked. Please pray for Mbatjiwa, because he is, as he puts it, ‘wanting to have all the facts to know what he is getting into’. The Bible calls it “counting the cost”. He is seeking answers to many God-inspired questions, and I pray that God opens his eyes to the Truth he is looking for, but as of yet unable to see or grasp.

I got to know many more members of Maveja’s extended family and I was immediately welcomed as family too. Many of them also live in Okahandja, so its not really goodbye, but ‘see you when you come back.’ But soon it was time to leave the village and head back home. Maveja will be staying on at the village until the next run to Okahandja which will not be until January 17th. Please keep her your prayers.

This is most of everyone who stayed at Maveja's place