All in a days work

It’s funny how a deadline makes you so much more productive. Now that I’m leaving for Arandis next Wednesday I have a week to finish up all my landscaping plans in the garden. Between winter and teams being here it’s been a while since I’ve done anything, but today made up for it all.

As Darin always says the trick to looking good is to surround yourself with people who are good. Well, if you’re trying to build a garden pond, Festus is definitely the guy you want working with you. He works here on the plot for Dieter and Joan so I recruited him to help. I pretty much just mixed cement all day and he did all the work making it look good. Hopefully we’ll finish up by the end of the week so I can see it with water in it before I go.

Shadows over Chinatown

After hearing Buddy and Julia talk up Chinatown for so long I was pretty excited to go, but little did we know how it would shape the rest of our day. The shopping part was actually pretty cool, sketchy little shops crammed full of mass produces knick-knacks. I found myself a can opener for less than half of what I would normally pay and Buddy found a cool Airsoft gun to shoot the annoying birds that always wake him up early in the morning. On our way out a woman walked up to us with the dreaded news. Buddy ran ahead to see if she was right. I walked with Julia praying the whole way that she was mistaken.

As I came around the corner, Buddy was in the midst of a small crowd looking astonished at the two smashed out windows on the passenger side of the car. They had taken Julia's bag out of the front seat and Buddy's laptop bag out of the back, but by the grace of God there lay mine on the floor underneath my sweatshirt. Fortunately Buddy was on his way to pick up their laptop from the service department so it wasn't in the bag at the time, but still that's no consolation. They lost their camera with all of July's pictures, both their Bibles, Julia's ID and bank cards, and all their computer cables among other things. We spent the rest of what was suppose to be a relaxing day running around to the police station, insurance company, and other stores collecting quotes for what had been stolen. We finally slowed down over some KFC at Todd and Erin's house, some other missionary friends in Windhoek. Then they helped us bag up the windows for the long ride home.

It definitely was not quite the day we had in mind, but it all goes back to what I've said before about the sovereignty of God. If we really believe God is sovereign, we must believe that He's in control of these circumstances. And if I believe God loves and cares for His children then I must believe there's more to this than broken windows and stolen bags. Afterall, who knows where those Bibles will end up. Please keep Buddy and Julia in your prayers, that their insurance company will cover everything, that they can get the car windows fixed promptly, and that this trying of their faith will produce perseverance.

And thanks to all for the birthday wishes.

Photo of the Day

Twilight

Another happy landing

It’s been a quiet week around here. Schools are in the middle of exams as the term ends so kids are busy studying and taking extra study classes. We moved the Bible study at Okahandja Secondary to Fridays and the one at J.G. was canceled until next term. Meanwhile I’ve been spending most of the week out at the Ark. After helping Bernhard study for his social studies exam, the next day he was excited to tell me he got second in his class by just 1 point. Evenings I’ve spent hanging out with the Canadian scouts finding constellations and playing this game that’s kinda like Mafia except with werewolves instead. It’s a lot of fun even though I haven’t won a game yet.

Looking ahead, next week will be my last full week in Okahandja. For the next three months I’ll be moving out to Arandis to work with Boniface and his youth ministries at the school and the church. I’ll be staying with my friend Mike Dunne, a missionary from Florida, who has an extra room in his place. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in this small mining community already, but never for such an extended stay, so I’m pretty excited to get a better handle on what life and ministry is like there. I’m excited to spend more time getting to know the many people I’ve spent only weekends with. And I’m excited to answer the question ‘how long are you here’ with ‘oh, 3 months or so.’

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.