Post-trip hibernation

After dropping Nate and Germaine off at the airport this afternoon I enjoyed my first alone time in almost a month. Not that I haven’t enjoyed having the team here. I enjoyed it immensely. I have laughed more, cried more, and learned more in the last month then I ever would’ve thought. But I recharge in my alone time. Fortunately for me, I woke up earlier than most on the team so I could squeeze in enough alone time in the mornings to keep my sanity. But I think I’m going to spend the next few days in as much hibernation as possible; recharge the tanks that are feeling pretty drained.

I’ll probably spend much of that time sorting through the over 2,000 photos that I’ve taken over the past month. I’m making good progress already and getting them posted up on Flickr but there’s still a long way to go, so make sure to check back frequently as I get more uploaded.

American entertainment

Everyone was giggling as they set the food down in front of us. Originally they had invited us for dinner, but Saara has to travel this afternoon so they served us lunch. I’m becoming more convinced that it was solely for entertainment purposes to see our reactions to their traditional food, and to be sure, Nate delivered.

The meal was a plate of mahangu and a vegetable dip with a side of mopane worms. We would grab up a portion of mahangu with our fingers, ball it up in our hands and dip it in the vegetable mixture. The dip added a bit of flavor to the otherwise plain mahangu, but the worms were quite savory compared to others I’ve had. We all had some fun chatting about interesting foods from other cultures and watching Nate examine a worm before setting it back in the dish.

During the morning classes I taught about Jacob and Esau and God’s sovereign love in choosing. Nate gave some tips on public speaking, then gave each class member a chance to practice while the rest of the class critiqued. Then Germaine taught about Mary Magdalene and how God desires a heart for Him more than service. Afterwards the students in turn stood and offered us Scriptures of encouragement. It was quite a blessing to be accepted and loved by them.

Tonight we’ll go back for the Wednesday evening service where it appears I’ll be preaching. I’d better catch a quick nap before I need to prepare my message!

Ondangwa

I’m afraid we might have been caught sleeping in class this morning because we just got a text from Boniface that said, ‘come at 5:30, take your rest.’ Boniface and his wife Saara started a Bible college in Ondangwa back in 2003. Both in 2004 and 2006 we sent teams up north to visit with them and see how we could help. Nate was on the 2006 team and is fondly remembered by many we’ve seen already during our short time here.

This morning Boniface showed us around to see all the improvements on the school, the dorms, the garden, the toilet. He showed us their solar powered electricity and a new water spigot on their plot. It’s the first time I’ve been here myself, but from pictures I’ve seen from those past trips the place looks great. After the tour we sat in on a class about spiritual warfare. Apparently tomorrow morning we’ll be the adjunct professors. We were also invited to dinner tomorrow for a traditional African meal of mohangu (mo-han-goo) and mopane worms. Overall, it seems like a great place and I’m excited to see Namibians training Namibians to share the gospel to their own people.

Photo of the Day

Boniface took us out to the field where the ladies
were cutting the grass for a new thatched roof.

Photo of the Day

Then there were three

After waiting seven months for the team to be here it’s hard to believe they’ve already come and gone. It was harder than I expected to say goodbye to them at the airport yesterday. Being on the other side has been an awesome learning experience and has given me plenty of ideas and reforms for the future, but that’s a whole nother conversation.

To catch you up, last Wednesday I traveled out to Arandis to join that half of the team. I visited the high school and the Hope’s Promise families, helped as a bouncer for the dance program, served brunch to some seniors citizens, hung out with some of Pearl’s dance team in Swakop and at the dunes, played guitar with Pearl at the Saturday night performance, and had some awesome conversations and many laughs with the team. And that’s just the Reader’s Digest version.

Monday we reconnected with the Okahandja team in Etosha for debrief. It was my first time there with a camera which adds a whole new dimension to it that I never realized before. The very first morning we were incredibly blessed to see this leopard not 30 yards away, my favorite of the big cats. You’ll have to check out the other pics when I get a chance to put them up on Flickr.

After dropping the team off at the airport yesterday things suddenly got very quiet - a long ride home with an empty kombi, my first meal alone. I spent a large part of today catching up on my journaling and wrapping up loose ends from the trip. Tonight we dropped Toivo off at the Ark after coffeebar, so now it’s just Nate and Germaine who are staying through next Saturday. Since I’ve been running on adrenaline and activity for the past two weeks, one day still hasn’t been enough to catch up. Tomorrow we’ll head out again, back to Arandis for the weekend, then up to Ondangwa to visit with Boniface and Saara, a couple running a Bible school who we’ve sent teams to in the past. So it seems like sleep is in sight…but not this week.

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I got my first package today! (Thanks Meegan) It was a 2008 Patriots Day-by-Day calendar, a little late, but I can still get 7 months of good use out of it. Out of curiosity I checked the postmark date…Feb 22. So basically, if anybody’s sent anything after June 19th, I probably won’t get it, but thanks for thinking of me!

Photo of the Day

Saw this little fellow on the dunes today.
Richard would've caught him if he had a bottle.

Photo of the Day

Precious

Photo of the Day

Ok, so I had to get a pic of me up here while I had the chance.

Matt snapped this shot of me and Grace while we were hanging

out at the Ark this afternoon. Grace is Toivo's youngest sister.

Sleep when you get home

We picked the team up at the airport last Thursday and they hit the ground running. Friday morning we were up before the sun to take them over to the secondary schools. Six members of the team are dancers who’ll be teaching a dance camp in Arandis, but since we had them for the day I set up some assemblies for them at both J.G. and Okahandja Secondary. For our part they went well, but the teachers weren’t around so the kids were somewhat unfocused.

In the afternoon I took them over to the Ark. Some of the team has been there before and we always wonder if the kids recognize them when they come back. So it was really special for Darin when Jannis first saw him and exclaimed, “I know you!” Then Saturday morning we sent that half of the team off to Arandis while the rest of us got settled in and finished prepping for the Canadian team to arrive on the plot.

It’s been easy enough for me to meld into the group since I know so many of them already. I’ve already had some great encouraging talks helping people work through some of their experiences. But I’ve been most impressed by how the team’s been so awesome to Buddy & Julia. We invited them over for dinner and a little ‘Namibian’ Apples to Apples last night. They shared a bit of their stories of how they met and about their 4 different weddings. I’m more convinced than ever that one of the primary purposes of any short-term team needs to be encouraging and loving on the long-termers.

My plans for the week are to hang here with the Okahandja team helping them get acquainted with ministry leaders. Then on Wednesday afternoon I’ll head with the group of teachers out to Arandis for the weekend. Next Monday we head to Etosha for debrief and the trip’s all but over. Too short a time to have such great company, so I guess I’d better get off the computer and go see if anybody’s awake yet. The weekend and late night campfires must’ve worn them all out!

Photo of the Day

Stephanie playing with a Koringkrik

Photo of the Day

Bonnie dancing at J.G. Secondary School

The Race is on

Branches are being cut, lights installed, windows replaced, floors swept, dorms cleaned, all in preparation for the flood of teams coming in the end of this week. We got some extra people to help and the place is buzzing like a campus before freshman orientation. It’s funny how it always takes visitors to get places cleaned up!

The team from my home church, Christ’s Church of Amherst in NH, boards their bus to NYC in just a few hours. We go to pick them up from the airport Thursday afternoon. Part of the team will be staying here helping paint the hall on the plot and getting involved in ministries around Okahandja. Part of the group will be going out to Arandis to lead a dance camp and get involved with the school and church ministries. And the last few are some teachers who will be helping in some preschools around here and a special ed school in Windhoek. You can follow along with the team at their blogsite, http://goteamnamibia.blogspot.com.

Then on Saturday a group from Canada will be moving in for the month. They are a scout group coming to install toilets at some of the preschools. It’s a pre-fab unit that uses evaporation to keep a dry, sanitary, virtually odorless system. It really is a great idea in a place where there’s plenty of sun, but not so much water.

So lots will be happening over the next month, which usually leads to infrequent blogging (my apologies in advance) but lots of opportunities for photos. Hope you can keep up! Hope I can keep up.