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!