Unwelcome houseguests and fast friends

Somehow the natives must think they can get free room and board with me, but for the most part they are quite unwelcome. At 11:30 last night when I got back all I wanted to do was go to bed, but no, this fellow had other plans. After taking a few snapshots for Lauren, the battle for supremacy of the domain ensued. It looked dire for a moment, but in the end it was man that prevailed. (Basically that means I trapped him under a bowl, took him outside and squashed him with my shoe. I tried to find a big soldier ant to fight him against like Richard suggested, but I couldn’t.) I searched my entire room to make sure he didn’t have any cohorts before finally settling down to a nice sleep.

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Buddy picked me up early today to help Todd and Erin, fellow missionary friends of his from his church in Ohio, move down to Windhoek. I’d heard of them since Germaine had been corresponding over email but had never met them. Before even introducing himself, Todd asked, ‘What do you think about the sovereignty of God and the free will of man? Do you believe God is sovereign? Sovereign like the Queen of England? What do you mean by orchestrated?’ And on and on for a good 10 minutes before we went inside to a giggling Buddy and Erin. Apparently that’s normal for him. After the oral exam he did give me a welcoming hug so apparently I passed. I was considering throwing something in there about the deity of Mary, but I decided against it not really knowing his sense of humor yet.

Todd is very well read and knowledgeable about his theology. He’s also protective against false teaching and not afraid to be confrontational about it, as evident in our first encounter. But he’s definitely passionate for God’s glory and grace and sharing it with the people here. (His daughter is named Gloria Grace.) Erin, on the other hand, is very much his complement, quite friendly and caring. We talked a lot about their story of getting here and my story of getting here. I shared quite a bit about Christ’s Church and how we’ve learned missions from our trips to Namibia. Both he and Buddy seemed pleased about the way that we’ve gone about doing things. (For example, they’d never heard of a church sending a survey team before.) After spending the day with them I’m really disappointed they’re moving to Windhoek. I’m quite selfish and want them to stay in Okahandja! :) Before coming here I was anxious about finding people my own age I could relate to, but these two couples, Todd and Erin, and Buddy and Julia, definitely seem to fit the bill. God must’ve been shaking his head thinking, ‘My child, why to you worry.’ He knew well in advance and indeed had it planned before the foundations of the earth.

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Just a quick word on Bible study yesterday, it went pretty well overall. There were 6 other people there besides Buddy, Julia, and I. Age ranges varied from grade 10 to adults. Buddy went through the lesson on the Tower of Babel and mostly people were quiet and didn’t ask questions. I think I’ll enjoy the studies in the school more. He says they’re more interactive, but we’ll see.

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And last but not least, I’m desperately searching for someone in Okahandja with DS TV (the satellite network here) that will let me watch the Patriots this weekend. ESPN is rebroadcasting the game at 1:30pm on Sunday afternoon for those who don’t stay up until 3:00am to watch it live.