And so, of course, he became our mascot for the day...
But, we had to let him (or her) go (how does one know which with a chameleon??). In case you're wondering, chameleons really do change colors. We tried it on Jessa's pink shirt, though, and I think it's abilities were a little stretched then.
Anyhow, I know we owe you an update on our ministry efforts, but we've been so busy with the children lately and also with trying to get the house updated/renovated so we can move in that we have had very little time to spare. Coming soon though...
5 comments:
um. looking at the pictures below, i notice a couple of young guys that appear to be from the far east and possibly the middle east or mexico...is there a mix of different nationalities there?
David,
You picked up on an interesting part of Namibia - the mixing of ethnicities that happened a while ago. But - no - the kids aren't from the Middle East, Mexico, or close. You have 4 primary backgrounds that mixed in a mid-southern part of Namibia: Black, the original inhabitants that were Nama-Bushmen (think lighter skin with eyes that seem asian), Indian (descendants of slaves brought from India who came up from the Cape Town area of South Africa), and German (from the German soldiers that fought in the area - this country was once Deutsch Suide-West Afrika). The intermingling of these 4 different backgrounds produced some very interesting varieties of features in the ensuing generations. So... you have a strong part of the population - known as the "coloureds" or "basters" (not my words, but in fact their own words to describe themselves) - that are from many different backgrounds. None of which are Latino or Arab that I know of. :-)
thanks for the information. i had no idea of the mixing of the cultures however...i didn't really think anyone in namibia was from mexico, i just threw that in there for laughs...btw, i saw Man Vs. Wild last week and Bear Grhyls was in Namibia with the sand bushmen(?)...what a harsh environment to live in...
Yeah, you say you were joking with the Mexico comment, but you should see how some of the mixed people look. There are some that I have really wanted to walk up to and say "hola, como esta?". It's unbelievable.
And re: Namibia being a harsh climate... there's a reason why there are only 2 million people in this country! The Kalahari (where the bushmen primarily live) is pretty harsh, but the Namib desert (where WE live) is just about as desolate as you can imagine. It looks like the pictures of the surface of Mars... and I'm not joking about that. Just sand and rock as far as the eye can see (outside the town). In the town there are plants and stuff but not where they haven't been planted by mankind and maintained.
A good book to read on all the development of races in southern Africa...COVENANT by James Michener. It's very long book, but really good and explains so much. Fiction but well researched. When Steve and I visited Rehoboth last June we were amazed at the similarities in appearance between the Baster people and Mexican (non-Mayan Indian).
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