Yep, it was kinda warm today

No. The temperature shown was not doctored in this photo. (In case you can't read the pic, it says 128.5 degrees Fahrenheit.)

This is the Talitha Kumi Pre-primary school in Arandis, which is run by Hopes Promise. It’s sooooo cute watching the little ones line up outside the door as school is starting around 7:45am. My heart just melts when they come running up to me as I approach the fence in the morning. I’m such a sucker for little ones anyhow…

Ministry Focus

So, in my last post I promised that I would write a bit about how we will be focused here in ministry. While there were certain goals established quite some time ago, it was important for us to reevaluate the situation upon arrival in Arandis. You see, the needs are so widespread that the door was pretty much wide open for us. The previous plan involved us working to establish a boarding program for the school here. While that may still be in the mix, Hopes Promise Orphan Ministry has expressed a desire to see my experience in youth ministry and my background in youth counseling/psychology come into play. This is for two main reasons:

(1) There are several Hopes kids that are rapidly approaching adolescence, and they and their “foster parents” will benefit from support. Most of the kids in their care have experienced great trauma and loss in their lives. Up to this point, Hopes Promise in Arandis has been primarily focused at pre-primary and primary aged kids. This is an opportunity to be part of expanding the scope to be ready to answer the physical, spiritual, emotional, and social needs of older children who have experienced some unbelievably difficult tragedy and trauma.

(2) This community is DESPERATELY in need of a structured outreach to the youth (pre-adolescent to adolescent/teenaged years). There are literally hundreds of kids/youth roaming the streets here on any given day without parents watching over them. In most of those cases it is simply because they have very little or no adult involvement in their lives. You can cruise the streets of Arandis and see tons of faces that look lost and without hope. They are completely without direction and are in desperate need to have Jesus’ love and compassion made real to them.

The good news on this point is that I won’t have to start completely from scratch. There is a young man from Burundi (another African country) who was called here by God a year or so ago who has already started a couple outreaches to the youth in the schools and community. I have helped out on a handful of occasions already, primarily in leading some music for the youth groups (BTW – the teens LOVE to sing worship songs here… they don’t seem hindered by the spirit of “I’m too cool for that”). I am getting to know some of the young people here and starting to gain insight into how they live and what they do.

As far as Karrie goes, there is talk already by Hopes Promise of starting a Crisis Pregnancy center/counseling outreach here in Arandis. Currently, there is nothing like that here though there is a huge need. Over 70% of all kids in Namibia are born out of wedlock, and the majority of those to teenaged girls. Many of those have had poor modeling for pre-natal and infant care, and really are in need of mothers (i.e., grandmothers in many cases here) to help them. Sometimes they are ostracized and forgotten in their position, and so they are frequently without help or hope. They often can’t find jobs or places to go. Can you imagine that being the launching-pad for a brand new life?

Anyhow, this is right up Karrie’s alley. She has had training and experience with pre-natal care. She also has worked with young unmarried mothers and adolescent girls in difficult circumstances. She has helped at births (well, come to think of it so have I, since two of our kids were born at home – on purpose I might add – with just Karrie, a midwife, and me). We believe that Karrie will be well suited to be involved in starting a ministry of that sort here in Arandis (under the umbrella of Hopes Promise). In this capacity, she will literally help save lives and preserve futures, while also helping brand new lives get a much better direction. Like everything we do here, this ministry will be about seeing the situation be redeemed through the power and design of God. Redemption – that word is at the heart of the Father-heart of God.

So, enough explaining for now. We hope to get beyond just “getting our feet wet” soon – but we are also trying to be patient. Much of what we do will depend on relationships, and those take time to develop. Before arriving in Arandis we only knew one person here – and that was through a 2 hour meet and greet time in Chantilly. We have a lot of roots to grow here. The great thing is that’s happening even better and faster than we expected. In fact, in my next post I’ll plan to share some pics that represent some of the cool things we’ve done in getting to know the folks here.

Dry and Weary Land

Psalm 63:1

“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

I can see what David meant when he wrote this verse. My bible notes that he wrote this while in the Desert of Judah. As I look around us here in the Namib Desert I can somewhat identify. When you are left without food or water you cannot help but hunger and thirst. When you are in a desert the shear desolate nature of the land makes you long for water. It’s like looking at a picture of an icy and snowy landscape and feeling a chill in your spine. Or perhaps when perusing a picture of a white sandy beach you feel like cool breeze through your toes. When you stare out at the vast amounts of sand, and the mirages in the distant horizon teasing your senses to believe its fresh water…when you spend any time in a place without refuge and resource, you immediately start to feel the choke of panic in your bones.

Last Saturday, as we were on our way to explore more of the surrounding area, I stopped to take this picture

I thought I had safely parked on the edge of the road. Well, I pulled off further than I had realized, and the rear wheels of our vehicle began to sink in the sand. As I tried to pull out the wheels just dug deeper down. Now, here we were a family of 6, stuck in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, in the hot desert sun, with little to no cell phone reception. Man, I gotta say – I felt hot, thirsty, and tired all of a sudden. But more so, I felt lonely. There was no way I could have pushed that van out of the sand by myself, and there was no way to get it to drive anywhere. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing. Nothing. I wasn’t going anywhere.

There’s no better way to feel a desperate need for God than to be in that sort of position. Why do I mention this? Because, in that experience I learned – don’t complain about the dry and weary times in life, when you feel alone, tired, and completely without hope. There’s no better way to spark a deeper passion and dependence upon God. My faith grew in that instance. I had no choice. It was either God’s provisions, or nothing. I began praying in the Spirit… and there, over the hill, came a bus load of tourists. The bus stopped, the driver got out, and so did an “army” of men who pushed us out of the sand and back onto the road. Amazingly, that whole ordeal lasted maybe 20 minutes.

Later that morning we reached our destination - the seaside town of Walvis Bay. And there we saw some incredible scenes… and tons of water. Of course, it was saltwater – no way were we going to cure our thirst with it – but it was a refreshing scene.

(above: this is Walvis Bay. No other comment really needed)

(above: apparently a bird had a little trouble. Interesting thing is, this was in the sand during low tide that would normally have been covered up by the water.)

(above: this is our minivan. As you can see, we're ready to haul a ton of kids. Of course, don't miss the fact that Jessa is looking kinda cool here.)
(BTW - you'll note the nice background. There are certainly parts of the coast that are attractive to tourists and vacationers. Don't be fooled, as you literally cross the tracks in this area and you realize that most of the population here could never afford to enjoy this area.)

[Next entry I plan to share a bit more about what God is doing to position us for long-term ministry here.]

Some pictures from our move out to Arandis...

above: the drive out to Arandis was scenic for sure. The plant life became more sparse the closer we got, and eventually it seemed we were in a ginormous sandbox.

above: we certainly feel "welcome" - even though we are a site to see here, as we are an extreme minority - well, except for Josiah

above: the children here love to play soccer (no surprise there). But, there are no pristine grass fields to play on here... just a big bare area of sand. And rock.

above: as much as Karrie wants me to say that this is a snake we found in our backyard, it was really at a snake park in Swakopmund (town on the coast where we have to do any major shopping).

above: we celebrated our first birthday in Africa when Ashlan turned 11. Actually, we had to do it about a week late since I (Steve) had flight delays on my way back to Namibia. We decided to head to the coast to try and make the best of things. The kids had fun at the beach in Swakopmund. Yep, this missionary life is difficult! :-) BTW - that cake cost us about $4 (US). Karrie wants me to give her credit for the cake... so I'll just say that she bought it.

Sorry about the media blackout

Well, it wasn't really a media blackout. It's just been a while since we've last posted. Here's what has happened (in a nutshell) in the meantime...

As most of you may know already my (Steve's) dad passed away on Feb 18th after a very long battle with a rare disorder called MDS. To honor my dad's wishes I returned to the U.S. to lead the funeral service and to be with my family for a short while. I have since returned and we have (finally) moved to Arandis where we will live and call home.

So, now that we're in Arandis, we should have reams and reams of updates for you, right? Soon enough, trust me. We are taking in the surroundings, meeting people, formulating plans, and engaging in adventures that we could only dream of a year ago when we first told our congregation in Chantilly, Virginia that we were moving to Africa.

The first adventure, though, came as I struggled to get internet access. I had to drive about 60 Kilometers to Swakopmund two times to get the equipment and work out various bugs so I can access the web and post this post. That, of course, is after spending a bazillion dollars to do it. Ah well... as you can see, this eventually worked and I now have blazing fast speeds of about 156Kbs. :-)

Anyhow, we've got a ton of great pics to share, but now we need to go through them, downsize them (because we pay for every Megabyte we send or receive) and upload them. Stay tuned, that should come soon.

But, for the time being, you'll just have to picture us in your minds. Just place us in a scorching hot place (been about 110 to 115 F) with the brightest sunshine you've ever seen, and rolling hills of sand and rock for as far as the eye can see. Yep, that's us you see right now.

Sobering History Lesson

Two days ago (Monday) we had our first history lesson taught by Namibians about Namibia. It was interesting hearing the perspectives of those who had been without freedom, and had personally experienced their country's fight for freedom and independence (which happened only 18 years ago). As part of the lesson we took a tour through Windhoek and the area to learn of the significance of certain areas in the fight for freedom.

Early in the tour we went to the "Heroes Acre" on a hill outside of Windhoek where many of the heroes from the struggle for independence are buried. Of course, in spite of the respect we had for those being honored there, we quickly surrendered any personal respect for ourselves... :-)

(that's a real sign. We didn't see baboons that day, but we had our eyes out for them)

After our time at the memorial, we drove over to an area nearby known as Katutura. Katutura plays a role in the history of Namibia because it's an area that all the blacks in the Windhoek area were relocated to in order to keep them separate from the whites. Though the fact that the name "Katutura" has a meaning is nothing special, since most towns have names of significance here. The actual meaning, though, speaks volumes about how the black Namibians felt about where they were forced to live. The name means "not my home" or literally translated means "we do not have a home". After hearing about their struggles I found myself actually feeling some of the hopelessness in my heart that was associated with that name.
Here are some sobering pictures from Katutura and an area nearby Katutura that I took during our tour that I think speak for themselves...



We are continuing to learn quite a bit about Namibia. Please pray for us - that we would have or develop the sensitivity and understanding that is needed to minister and work with a people that have current or recent experiences with tragedy and trauma. Please also pray that God will lift these people from their despair and redeem their lives in a genuine way.

We arrived in Namibia on Wednesday

We arrived in Namibia Wednesday. We flew into Windhoek's international airport joining the other plane there (literally). It took us about 45 minutes to go through customs and get our baggage. Because we sat in the last row on the plane, we were last in the customs line- otherwise we would've made it out much quicker. The airport was immaculate- even the restrooms! It was definitely the best airport experience I have ever had!

We were met there by our country director, Mick who drove us 40 minutes to his house in Windhoek where we will be staying for a couple of weeks. The scenery on the way was quite fascinating with mountains all around. As we'd heard, Namibia is indeed quite dry. It looks very brown and rocky with spots of green here and there and scattered with small trees. Windhoek is a little greener than most of the rest of Namibia apparently. I am looking forward to seeing all of the wildlife we've heard about- the desert elephants, sea lions, penguins , etc!

Tomorrow begins our two-week orientation to Namibia and language learning. Then, hopefully, we will be able to move out to Arandis. Today and yesterday we went vehicle shopping. We need a "people-mover" as we are calling it. So far it looks like we will have another white van! Only this one will seat 11 (plus a few extra if need be!). Pray I will be able to drive it. It is stick and the driver's side is on the right. Will I be able to shift with my left hand? I guess I could still use my right if I really wanted to!! It is so hard to get used to the cars driving on the other side. I'm glad Arandis is not very populated so I can learn to drive this monster vehicle on the correct side of the road and hopefully not hurt anyone. But I can do ALL things through Christ, right? There is so much we must learn.

-Karrie

Treasure Hunt in Machakos

We’re coming to the end of orientation now and will soon be heading down to Namibia. The orientation time has been good, but certainly a bit overwhelming at times. Our heads are full of knowledge now about everything from Traditional African Beliefs, to language acquisition, to how to ride a Boda-Boda (a bicycle with a passenger seat on the back, operated like a cab). I sort of feel like I did when I was coming to the end of my undergraduate courses – where I felt full of knowledge and empty of everything else.

We have gained a good bit of relational experience during this time as well. This week we were invited to have dinner with an African family who lives and works on campus. We gained good insight into some local customs as we also gleaned wisdom from the family about what it means to be a Mzungu (see entry below) working in Africa.

We also had a relational “treasure hunt” in downtown Machakos where, instead of finding items, we had to find out information about things such as the history of Machakos, the local customs, and how to greet one another in the local language (which is Kikamba). We all did this as a family, and so we all gained from this adventure.

Pray for Jessa. The poor girl lost a bit of innocence on the issue of preparation of animals for eating when we went to a restaurant to eat where you could hear the chickens being slaughtered in a back room area. She sat stone-faced for about a half hour after that. She’s okay now, but there will be more lessons for her to learn soon enough.

Josiah was thoroughly confused during this trip through town as we walked through a market area where almost ALL of the older women there kept trying to speak to him in Swahili (aka Kiswahili) since they saw he was Kenyan and just assumed… Of course, even more fun was trying to communicate to the ladies (who spoke broken English at best) why this Kenyan boy doesn’t know but about 2 words in Swahili. That was actually pretty funny.

Anyhow, I’m sorry we don’t have any pictures from this time in town. I have hesitated to bring our camera to the town – partially because of not wanting to be waving expensive electronic items around in a crowded area, but more so because I didn’t want to look too much like a tourist.

Visit to the children's home

We paid a visit today to a children's home in the area where we are staying for now. This was our second visit there, and we are hoping for at least one more before we leave the area. I just wanted to share a couple pictures for you...

Above: Josiah enjoyed playing with the younger children

Above: Kailey helps out with feeding time (If it were up to Kailey & Ashlan, we'd now have about 36 kids in our family...)

Above: Jessa played with some of the older children outside their home (we finally found children with more energy than Jessa)

Above: Our focus was primarily on just spending time with the children, giving love and affection where we could (BTW - Rob, thanks again for the really cool safari-looking hat!)