Jenny

After two long travel days we finally made it back to Okahandja yesterday afternoon. We had some time to visit the woodcarvers market to do some souvenir shopping at the renown Okahandja Woodcarvers Markets. So while the team shopped, I stopped in to see my friend Jenny whose shop is her primary source of income.

Jenny was one of the members of Buddy’s Bible Study at Okahandja Secondary School back when she was in school. Her eleventh grade sister Mariam is part of our Bible Study now. When their parents divorced, their father left and their mother moved back to her family in Rundu. Being the oldest responsible sibling, Jenny is left to take care of her younger brothers and sisters as well as her own baby. They still live in their parents house, but between food, school fees, and everyday expenses, the woodcarving shop and a weekly housecleaning job is what helps them scrape by.

After exchanging pleasantries at the market, Jenny told me she was leaving for Rundu today. Her brother’s family was in a car accident and he and his wife both died; she didn’t know about the children. Visibly upset, she begged me to ask my American friends to come buy from her shop. Aside from regular expenses, a trip to Rundu (almost to the border of Angola in the north) for the funeral would be quite expensive. And on top of that, this brother helped pay for Mariam’s school.

It was one of those moments that kind of sucks your breath out. Jenny’s one of those good people who has taken initiative and responsibility, someone you want to cheer on and root for. Then just at the moment where it felt like she was doing well, when things were starting to look up, something like this comes out of the blue to knock her down again. Please keep Jenny and her baby, Queen, in your prayers as they travel up to Rundu for the funeral this weekend. Pray that Jenny will be a light to her family and know the peace of God during this emotionally trying time. And pray that God would continue to prove Himself faithful in providing for her and her siblings.

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Momentarily we will be heading out with the team to do some ministry at Okahandja Secondary School. Then it’s on to Windhoek this afternoon. We’ll do a school assembly at Windhoek High School tomorrow and hopefully visit a children’s home. Then the team flies out on Thursday. It’s been a blast getting to know them all and (hopefully) being used of God to minister to them as they minister to others. Sorry for the quick drive-by posting, but I wanted to get that prayer request out there before the weekend. I’ll fill you in on the rest of the trip when I get back on Friday.