Visual Reveiw

Oshetu on Sunday night






Erin's joy at seeing her parents arrive




Todd and Keano



OSS Bible Study kids Performing "Jump Jump Jump" at the Independance Day assembly



Mavea and I (with Keano peeking through)

The road less-travelled…and it’s a good thing

My wonderful friend and housemate, Jennie, invited me to go to Carasburg with her to visit her parents, spend some time with the family, and also for a little side trip to Fish River Canyon (the second largest Canyon in the world), and the nearby Ai Ais hot springs. We were both pretty excited to have a little road-trip together and do some visiting and exploring. Carasburg is a small town in the south of Namibia – about a 7 hour drive from Okahandja where we live. (It’s a bit south of Keetmanshoop, if you’r looking at a map, or if you have a surprising knowledge of Namibian geography.)

So as we planned to embark on our trip, we made plans to stay one night at Ai Ais hot spring after being told on the phone there no reservations were available at Fish River Canyon Lodge (our original accommodation plan). The idea was to take the train from Windhoek to Keetmans, then take the bus from Keetmans to Carasburg. We would stay Saturday night and Sunday with her family in their “sinkhuis” (tin house)



have some visiting time, then head out on Monday towards Fish River Canyon. We would spend the day there, then drive to Ai Ais, have the evening there and spend the night and part the next day. We would leave from there, return the truck we were going to borrow from her dad, then head to Keetmans, spend one night at the Ark Children’s home, visit with Juliet and Berdian (our friends there), then catch a ride back with the Dutch volunteers who were returning from Keetmans to Okahandja on Wednesday. It was a great plan.

The reality turned out a lot more like this:
Friday we couldn’t find a ride to Windhoek to catch the train. We finally found a kind friend who offered to drive us, however their only form of transportation was an opn bakkie…did I mention it was absolutely POURING down rain Friday evening when we needed to leave? We kindly declined so as to not be drown rats sitting on the train all night to the south. We eventually found a ride to the taxi depot in town with Gert. He dropped us and we took a taxi to Windhoek - $35 Namibian Dollars. We arrived at the train station in time after the life-threatening experience of riding with a Namibian taxi driver whose windshield is fogged to the point of blindness and is riding the tail of the car in front of him so much I thought we were being towed by them or something.

We got tickets, grabbed dinner and got on the train around 7:45pm ready for the all-night trip to Keetmans. (By train it takes about 10+ hours, because the train tops out at about 30mph) There we sat, on the tracks for the next 3 and a half hours waiting for an engine. Oh yes, they were kind enough to play movies for our “enjoyment” while we were sitting there. “Daredevil” with Ben Affleck…did ANYONE see that movie? No. and there’s a good reason. Its ridiculous. As the suffering through that film ended I hoped for reprieve…and I got “Taxi” with Queen Latifah. That torture lasted until I finally succeeding in willing myself to fall asleep. Did I mention that the speakers were blown and they decided to turn the volume up louder in the hopes that sheer volume would make the words understandable through the garbled static?

So around 10am the next morning we arrived in Keetmans with Jennie vowing never to take the train again. Ever. As we sat on the steps of the train station trying to figure out how best to get to the bus station, Jennie asked someone about times for the bus departure, and we discovered that no busses were running that day. Which left us….taking the train. Round Two of the Namibian train experience yielded such classy film titles as “Pooty Tang” and yet again “Taxi”. (they love their Queen Latifah in the African transportation industry) About 4-5 hours later we arrived in Carasburg.

Pics from the train on our way to Carasburg





Jennie and her Oma





(I love her face! Isn't she beautiful?)


To Be Continued…

“For YOU do great things. Your Name shall be praised.”

My head is swimming in the goodness of God!! Today has been a long very busy day, full of emotions and thoughts. Quite frankly, it was a bit hectic and by the time 4:30 came around (the time for our Women’s Bible Study) both Erin and I were feeling the effects of a full day. I felt scattered and even a bit discouraged. I felt rushed and somewhat uncertain, especially since Nadine couldn’t make it tonight, and she usually helps us with translation, since the women who come regularly are Afrikaans speakers who aren’t too confident in their English. Erin and I took a minute in my room to pray for the study and ask the Lord to speak, and translate Himself as needed. We are going through the book of Colossians, and are walking through a question sheet we compiled that takes it verse by verse. Tonight as we talked with the women and as they took turns reading the Word and we discussed what the scripture was saying, I could totally sense God working. We had no translation, yet honestly, tonight the women were the most talkative and interactive that I have ever seen them yet. It was certainly the Lord. As we finished with the study for tonight, Erin asked if there were things we could be praying for; specific requests from the women. There were a few that were shared, and then this from Nelda: “You could please pray for me, because I want to repent.” This is HUGE. God has drawn her to Himself. Nelda’s husband, Christaan is a new believer, having placed his trust in Christ in June, and he has continued steadfastly praying for his wife, along with us, that she would also hear God, and that He would draw her through hope in Christ. In the last months, especially since the birth and death of her infant daughter, Nelda has been attending the Thursday gathering here and the Wednesday Women’s study. She often comes on Thursday on her own, even when Christaan is unable to. I have seen her beginning to open up to us, beginning to read and follow along in her Bible, beginning to be interested in and respond to the things of God. And tonight, He called to her. How exciting that we got to see it!!! Erin said, with a huge excited smile, “Have you talked to Christaan yet? Does he know?” and Nelda said, “No, it happened just now.” Wow. And to top that off, she immediately said, “and I want to be baptized.” I wish I could be a fly on the wall for when Christaan comes home tonight to witness the rejoicing that will happen when husband and wife pray together for the first time as a couple united in Christ - born again. Our Father is very very good. Ons Vader es baie baie lekker! (and please excuse my poor Afrikaans!) Please pray for Christaan and Nelda!

Who's Your Daddy?

At the Bible study at OSS, we asked the question, "Are we all God's children?" And that one small question tipped off a heated debate for the next 15-20 minutes, wherein i don't think Buddy, Kendall or I got a word in edgewise. And that was perfectly fine with me. I was just overjoyed to see those students so engaged in the discussion. and they had great arguments too. At one point the discussion was so intense that debating in english just got too difficult to speak the words as vehemently and quickly as desired and it went completely Afrikaans on us. Elamarie was kind enough to translate for the those of us whose knowledge of Afrikaans still consists mainly of words from the picture book on long-term loan from Nikka. I was so happy to see them drawing on the Word of God and what they have learned so far in the study. absolutely awesome.

Ek es baie trots op hulle.

mmmm….protein

Today I ate a Mopani worm. Not too bad, but the legs get stuck in your teeth.

Assimilation

Today I stepped off the curb and it was completely natural to look first to my right, THEN to my left. And I smiled to myself.

this week (give or take) in the life of Schmanda

cookie baking. Colossians. thunder. lightning. the mountain. again. this time with 22 teenagers. poisonous spiders. "i'm afraid of heights" and "i want my momma" talk. success. fun. lots of fun. "Baby Don't Go" on MILLION TIMES. windhoek. goodbye sara. death by mosquito. bird-like moths. Sudoku. asparagus crepes and coffee. rain. rain. more rain. track and field. discus-into-foot injury. forgotten sunscreen = even worse Teva tan. jenniebobennie blog support. #3 peeing cricket ousting. ruben samuel. runny tummy talk. tuna. newsies. jax: killer dog in training. sunset everlasting.

it would be easy to make this a sunset blog...

surprise servanthood

On Tuesdays Kendall and I have invited the girls we are building relationships with to come to our house for a time of fellowship. Last week was our first one, and there were 19 girls piled into our tiny living room. We prepared a meal for them and spent time talking and sharing stories with each other. As Kendall and I discussed what we would do with the girls tonight, we talked about our desire for these young ladies to begin learning about being a servant. Many of them know the Lord and are excited about learning His Word. Our hope is that we can see these young ladies not only hear and learn the Word, but practice obedience to it. At 5 o’clock when the girls arrived (a smaller group than last week b/c many didn’t realize that this was to be an every week invitation) we gave them an assignment. We told them that we were taking a trip somewhere and they were responsible for putting together a short program consisting of a few games, songs and a Bible story. We told them not to worry about doing it in English, because where we were going English wouldn’t be understood anyway, and encouraged them to be creative with how they did their story. We gave them scripture from Luke 10:29-37 (the story of the Good Samaritain). They put together a short skit depicting the actions of the Good Samaritan and chose someone to explain the significance of the story. 30 minutes later we piled them into the bakkie (truck for all of you non-Namibians) and we drove them to our destination: Victory Camp. For those of you who don’t know, Victory Camp is the name we have given to the Okahandja trash dump. Many people live there collecting clothing, housing material, food, and all other essentials from the trash. It smells, the place and people are dirty, the ground is littered with broken glass and rotten food, and this is home for a great number of people. When we arrived, I looked at the faces of the girls. They were apprehensive, but willing. We prayed together and everyone got out of the bakkie. We sent them to go gather the people and ask them to come and listen to a story. Several girls walked along with me as I approached a group of men who called us over to them. We introduced ourselves and I began to invite them to come and listen. It was evident that although these men knew introductions and basic formalities in English, they did not understand my invitation. Praise the Lord: one of the girls jumped right in there and started speaking their language and told him what we were doing and asked them to join us. Then several of the girls began to talk with them. Another man called us over to his “house” and invited us to look inside. The girls again took initiative to ask him to come listen to the story. He followed us, as did one of them men in the first group. The men joined a small group of children that has also gathered and we gave the time over to our girls. They began by singing some songs, then they shared their skit about the Good Samaritan and explained that Jesus was saying through the parable. I was so proud of them! They did a great job, and they seemed to truly enjoy themselves. We talked t the girls afterward about how they felt about the night and their responses brought joy to my heart and a hope that God just might be stirring a heart of compassion for other in these young girls. I hope so. That is something sorely needed here. There are so many needs. Many of the girls who served tonight may not have much more then those we visited tonight in Victory Camp, but my hope is the God is showing them no matter how much or how little we have, we are all called to give out of the abundance of God’s love in each of us. He calls us to love each other just as we love ourselves. “Who then is my neighbor?” I pray that there are several girls in Okahandja who understand the Luke passage they acted out in a much more tangible way.


The girls leading some songs




The Good Samaritain helping the man who was robbed


The audience at Victory Camp

It was late and I was in Africa; I stand corrected

I had a very nice birthday. We celebrated by climbing the mountain, and saw about 15 baboons hanging out at the top. As we were getting closer to the top, one of them decided he wanted to come down, and fast, in my general direction, all the while squawking about something. (Perhaps he wasn’t too thrilled that we were interrupting his morning laziness on top of the rocks.) I’m thankful for a God that even hears prayers about baboons remaining happy and unaware of my close proximity. We did nearly experience calamity when a large rock Kendall was standing on came out from under her and began careening down the mountain towards Todd, Erin, and me. Erin was in the immediate path, but thanks be to God and a husband who both protected her! I jumped to my right and avoided collision. After descending we had to walk the river to get back to the road. I sank into the river mud up past my knee and got stuck. Severely STUCK. Todd had to pull me out, and it wasn’t easy! Refer to visual aids below:

Exhibit A:



Exhibit B:



Exhibit C:



Exhibit D:



(Yes, Buddy documented the whole episode) We were all very tired and we stopped in town at Café Spitz for lunch. Then there was a big rainstorm, we all got soaked and frozen. One we made it home, I got a shower and took a nap. After that we all went over to Todd and Erin’s house and made homemade pizzas. Erin also baked a cake and they sang happy birthday. I blew out imaginary candles, b/c we didn’t have any candles. I also got a small battery powered lantern from Jenny and Kendall, and Sammy had Jenny give me a banana (Team A might possibly understand the significance). Also, Buddy bought me lunch at Café Spitz after our mountain climbing excursion. Suffice it to say that when I play “2 Truths and a Lie”I have good ammunition. Who else can say, “On my 29th birthday I climbed a mountain in Africa, narrowly avoided an angry baboon, was nearly smashed by a tumbling boulder, got stuck in thigh-deep river mud and lived to tell about it.” Eat your heart out, Mike McSwegin. It starts with this.

more reasons to love Africa...

'nuff said.

in the eye of the storm

Today I went to the funeral of a little girl, just a week old. She did not have a name, and her tiny casket is something I will not soon be able to take out of my mind. I am reminded of this world we live in, where the wages of sin is death. Death is no respecter of persons, age, race, color, status. Our friends, Cristaan and Nelda, have been trying to have children for quite some time. They have been through several previous miscarriages and still births. This conception was going well, until two weeks ago. Nelda was due in April, but was admitted to the hospital due to complications. There was an emergency C-Section and the baby was delivered last Tuesday, January 24th. I was blessed to be present at the hospital just after the birth, where we talked and prayed with and for Christaan, Nelda, the baby and family, and we worshipped God through scripture and song. It was a beautiful time of being the Body of Christ. Here is a picture of Nelda's mother, friends (both named Melody), and Christaan and Nelda at the hospital after Nelda's surgery:



Nelda remained at the hospital with their baby. The baby was having some difficulty with rapid breathing, the next day she appeared to be doing better, but was battling jaundice. Later this yesterday, she passed away. Christaan called this morning with the news. My heart was so sad. Yet I know God is even in this time of sorrow. We prepared a meal for the family and joined them at Christaan and Nelda’s house to pray and sing. They brought the baby and there was a short “viewing” at the home, then we walked to the cemetery for the burial. Todd (one from our team) shared some scripture from Isaiah 40, and a short message explaining how this world we live in will always bring death, but Jesus offers life beyond death, through His payment on the cross. He exhorted those there to recognize our need for Christ’s payment for our sin. We worshipped. It has been so humbling and joyful to see Christaan’s heart through all of this. The cry of his heart is that God’s Name be glorified in whatever happens. Even while experiencing the complications last week, during a Bible study he began leading at his house, he presented the gospel to a young man there who put his trust in Jesus for salvation. Hearing Christaan’s joy over a brother being saved, even while feeling the uncertainty of his own situation, was such beautiful evidence of the work of God in his life.

This week has been full of ups and downs and I covet your prayers for the team. There is great evidence that the team itself is under attack and we need prayer that we stay steadfast and strong under His protection.

The Ascent

The Acsent Camp follow-up weekend happened this weekend. We planned a short weekend get-a-way held at Joan and Deiter’s farm for the students who attended camp and those who have been coming to the after-school Bible studies at both secondary schools. It was a time to connect with the students more outside of school time, and to review the teachings from Camp in December. One thing everyone enjoyed was seeing pictures from the December camp at Swakopomund. Another big hit was the tire swing.




Two highlights from the weekend: 1: The “question panel” we did on Saturday afternoon. The leaders sat in front of the students and explained that this was a time to ask any of the questions they wanted to ask us – anything from general questions about us, to questions about God and the Bible. From the very first question it was clear that these young people are hungry to know the things of God. Questions from, “Why do some churches heal people?” to “What is a false prophet and how can I tell the difference?” There were so many questions, so many honestly seeking answers. We searched through scripture and shared at every possible chance to show the students that the answers we gave were not of ourselves, but straight out of God’s mouth, through His Word. After over an hour of questions and answers, God discussion and the Word of God being shared, we were already running very late on our schedule, (even for African time!) and we told the students we would have time for only a few more, to which they replied, “Can’t we keep going??” It brought joy to my heart.
2: Later that day we watched the movie, “The Passion of the Christ”. For many students it was their first time seeing the movie. We planned time following the film for everyone to go off on their own to reflect, pray and be alone with God, then we came together in small groups to discuss the emotions, thoughts, and questions that everyone had. This was the second highlight of the weekend for me, seeing the girls in my group ask questions, and come to new realizations about Jesus and His sacrifice for us. One girl, Natalia, said, “I just…I feel like I don’t deserve what He did for me.” What a plain statement of the truth of GRACE.

january from my perspective

the Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood (aka the sight where Sam became famous. we're not sure why)



Nevsky at night (complete with furry Russian hats...yes, everyone really does wear them)



(Sam contemplating: "Can I walk on it yet?")



Veiw from the Hermitage window



(what we affectionately called, "The Fake Starbucks")



(I believe this is before I clobbered him at Dominos...for the third time)



The landing of the floor in the hostel where Sam lives (yes, I'm serious)



Sam's hall (or what I will forever be entitling, "Would You Want To Live Here For 6 Years?")



My new playground



The Heavens letting loose (yep, that's rain!)



Buddy disappearing into the riverbed (knee-deep and sinking fast)

more to come...

quit russian around

day five of the Russia experience and i thought i'd give a quick recap to get you up to speed. here's the update so far...

bags stolen on wednesday: 2
hours spent on thursday at St. Petersburg police station trying to file a police report: 5
miles walked on Nevsky Prospekt on friday: 10
russian words added to my vocabulary: 12
different countries from which i have met people thus far: 11
children hugged during our time at the orphanage on saturday: 15
unexpected free meals provided so far: 2
times sam's skin color attracted enough attention to warrant schoolchildren asking him to pose for photographs: 4
inches of ice permanently plastered to the sidewalks in St. Petersburg: 2
days of winter i have left to experience: 3

from russia with love,
amanda

a homecoming

in my mind's eye: "Hometown Boy" by Over the Rhine...









Sitting in Cafe Chocolate in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Santa Baby, Chocolate Fountain and a steaming hot Mocha, snow on the ground and small-town Christmas cheer. Life is good. This is the time to cherish, to enjoy that hometownishness that is Lititz, where i spent the first 18 years of my life. To relish and remember every bit of family and old friends and keep it fresh in my memory - the one thing i can take with me to Namibia that i don't have to find a space in my bags for. which reminds me...I BOUGHT LUGGAGE! its so real now i can feel it. Coffee with a dear from from high school last night was priceless - meeting her two little ones and reminiscing, sharing the years of life which we have spent miles from one another, and rekindling a kinship that seems never to have ended. joy is mixed with sadness, knowing that this week at home (the home that will always be referred to as home, even though it's not - it somehow still is) will be the last for quite some time. and the joyful moments sharing time and space with moments that don't hold much joy, like spending yesterday in the hospital with my grandpa. so small, in pain and bewildered, eyes that for the moment they were open, searced my face looking for the tiniest bit he could recognize. i left with a touch of melancholy traced with hope, the kind that is stirred up by seeing a marriage full of endurance, grace and love that is so rarely witnessed in this age and culture of divorce - the American equivalent of polygamy. but the legacy i see in my family is a dear gift. i hope that no matter where you are as you read this, you are enjoying every bit of this time of year, when the air fills with Christmas, and we actually recognize it. So thankful for the birth of my Savior today...and the song that i hear right now reinforces the joy of His world...

"the colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by. i see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do, they're really saying, 'i love you'..."

so often you hear this song in conjunction with images of destruction and devastation, to somehow forcefeed sarcasm and irony. but now today, as i sit here in hometown, USA, a child of the King Jesus, saved by His gift of grace, i don't think saracasm.

i think to myself, what a wonderful world.

Rejoice! Rejoice!

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
and ransom Captive Israel
that mourns in lowly exile here
until the Son of God appears...

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel!

independance day

t minus 3 and counting...

independance day is coming. lots of thoughts come to mind:
embarking on a new journey of faith. joining rank with my Church and becoming unemployed. having some things in my life finally off "hold". sleep. glorious sleep. packing and lots of it. Word of God engulf me. family Holiday time. amberpants wedding galore...black and white and smoochiemonkeyface. frequent flier miles and getting very aquainted with the skies. bring it.
sweet freedom.

coincidence...?

Your color personality is: Yellow

Like yellow's strongest symbol, the sun, you radiate warmth. Others love to be around you because you have a gift for always looking on the bright side, and your ready smile can be infectious. Chances are your calendar is packed -- yellow lovers tend to be always on the go!
Your signature color indicates someone imaginative and creative, so don't be afraid to express yourself through the way you dress and the way you decorate your home. Cheerful yellow is the ideal hue for a kitchen, laundry room, or any room that needs some extra brightness.

Autumnween 2005

i think i broke my bum...

don't laugh. ok, you can laugh, i would if it had happened to you. ok, for real i won't say that i broke my bum, but let's just say that i can't really sit right now...i'm like leaning to the side as i type and icing the other side. i think i'm gonna have the biggest bruise ever! are you intrigued or what? ok, so i was drving up my street this morning and as i was getting close to my house i saw two dogs wandering around the road and through the yards of the houses. now they looked like dogs that somebody owns and takes care of b/c the looked clean and well groomed and they both had collars with tags. so i decided that i was would be the conscientious neighbor and animal-lover that i am, and try to get these little guys back home where they belonged. so i get home, fill a bowl with some dog food and set off down the street. after a few attempts, one of the dogs (the younger one) sees that i have food and comes right up to me, and wolfs down the food. as he was eating i got the chance to read his registration tags. i called the animal shelter and gave them the registration number and they told me the phone number and address of the dog's owner, which ended up being just two houses down and on the other side of the street from me. so i start walking down the steps with the little dog tagging behind me...then all of the sudden the dog decided he wanted to bound down the steps right in front of me and directly under my foot as it was accelerating down towards the next step. needless to say, my foot did not connect with the next step (i didn't step on the dog either, and i'm not sure how he escaped that). the next thing i do know is that i was careening down the flight of stairs, narrowly missing a fresh pile of doggy doo right next to the last step. i got up and brushed my self off, wondering just how many early-risers in the neighborhood got the pleasure of seeing that stunt. i limped accross the street, delivered the pups back home, and limped back accross the street; along with: #1) the knowledge that i had fulfilled my neighborly duty, and #2) a freaking huge bruise on my bum.