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.

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!