Where He leads...: August 2010

Our annual conference was at the end of August. Each year, the entire AIM team in Namibia gathers together for worship, prayer, learning from the Word, and sharing about the ministries we are all currently involved in. Though I was a day late arriving to conference, I really enjoyed it and was challenged by the messages brought by Pastor Thijs. I also enjoyed hearing about what other missionaries are up to around the country. Though I know what everyone’s “assignment“ is, it is still encouraging to hear specific stories and to hear about all the other things each is involved in besides his or her general assignment. It is also good to share prayer requests for each other and we had a time of prayer for each individual and couple after their sharing time.

Another added bonus was the location of conference. We stayed at the Kalkfontein Guest House. I had been there once before. You may remember in a previous blog entry about a workshop in Rundu, I stayed at a guest house along the way and met a lion named Mufasa. Mufasa is the pet of the owners of Kalkfontein. He is one of many animals they have roaming around. He’s in a big fenced in area to himself, but many of the other animals, like warthogs and meerkats, roam free around the property. It’s always fun to walk around and have close encounters with animals you typically wouldn’t be able to interact with. The warthogs will come right up to you--they think you might have food. And the meerkats get over their shyness fairly easily. I sat down next to a family and the daddy meerkat rolled over on his back waiting for me to rub his belly. That was a first! :) They also have a momma and papa ostrich who have several baby ostriches running around. Papa doesn’t like you to get too close, but if you don’t mind his dinosaur-like shrieks and a bit of spit coming your way, you can get close enough to snap a few good pics. Mufasa steals the show though. They’ve raised him since he was a cub. He’ll come over to the fence and let you pet him. You can even put your hand near his mouth and he won’t do anything. At night while you’re in bed, you can hear his low growls and panting. Staying at Kalkfontein is quite the experience!

Granddaddy's condition is constantly changing. A brief update: He's had some good days and some bad days in the last week. The last report I got from my mom, rehab was able to get him out of bed for a bit and he is trying more and more to talk--still very difficult to understand. Currently Mom is waiting for him to be moved into a nursing home/rehab facility. Mom was hoping he would move earlier this week, but some complications delayed that. It may be end of this week before that happens, and she will stay in West TN until that time. She's off work until Monday and they have been very gracious and understanding giving her so much time off.

Due to his continued "roller coaster" journey with his health, I have made the decision to return to Tennessee for a couple of weeks. I feel it is important to spend time with him during this time and also to help out my exhausted family who has been constantly dealing with his medical care. I will be departing Namibia on Sept 2nd and leaving Knoxville Sept 20th to return. Please pray for safe travels and pray also for my health as I have been quite sick for about 12 hours now. (It's nearly 5am and I can't even sleep... not good with so much to prepare for my Thursday departure!) Also, two short-termers just arrived yesterday to live in the house with me for the next three months. Pray that their next few weeks without me here will go smoothly and they won't feel abandoned. Other missionaries in Windhoek have volunteered to help out a lot while I'm gone.

Thank you for your continued prayers for my Granddaddy and my family. And I apologize in advance for not being able to see many people during this short trip. Visiting with and helping my family will be priority. I will likely spend a lot of the time in West TN, though I do hope to visit my church at least once if my schedule allows.

(If you haven't already heard, I will be returning to the States in December for two months of Home Assignment, so I will be able to catch up with everyone during that time.)

I had the incredible opportunity to spend four nights with Nova and her family at her grandparents' village in Okombahe. Wow! What an experience! Aside from all of the mini-adventures I had there, I can sum up the trip simply by saying that I felt special and so honored to be invited into their home and treated like family. I was there for less than five days, but there is so much to tell. Bear with me as I tell you stories from my time in Okombahe as well as show you (a lot!) of photos...

Months ago, before Matthew was born, Nova mentioned she would be taking him to meet her grandparents near Omaruru. It was then she invited me to come along. I think she actually told me I would be going, there was no actual question involved. :) I've been looking forward to this visit and honestly, I had no idea what to expect. "Do I need to bring a tent?" and "What do your grandparents eat?" were some of my many questions. I didn't want her to think I was high-maintenance, I just wanted to be prepared. "No, we won't be sleeping in a tent," she laughed. And I think she may have told me they eat goat, but I don't remember "goat head" being part of that conversation... (more on that to come!). Ouma and Oupa are more like Nova's parents than grandparents. They raised her from three weeks old until Grade 2. After that she went to live with her father in Windhoek.

I loaded up some snacks, blanket, and a few skirts and off we went. We had to drive in the dark since we had to wait for her boyfriend to get off work. Driving in the dark in Namibia is not fun and not very safe. But God protected us and we arrived at her grandparents house a bit after 9pm. We had our happy greetings and sat in the living room and talked for a while. They live in an actual house. Many of the other homes around are pieced-together shacks or homes made from cow dung and other natural materials. We would be staying in the house with them. It was quiet homey and welcoming.

"Hannah, you must come look." I heard Nova call from the kitchen. I came around the corner to see her holding a bowl in her hand. In it, a perfectly shaped goat head and two goat feet. "Yum," was my first thought... and I think something like, "Oh, boy!" was my second! This is going to be an interesting few days!

Getting ready for bed I asked Nova about the toilet, realizing that I hadn't seen a bathroom inside the small house. She pointed to a medium sized bowl on the floor and said, "That's why they brought you this." "Hmm... really?" I thought and said. "Yes, you can use this," she replied. That's when I decided that "can vs. have to" would be an important distinction to make. Thankfully, "can" was truly just that... I could if I wanted to. But I also learned there was a toilet right outside--in its own room--and I was also able to use that.

Ouma and Oupa's house

A good example of what many of the other homes look like

We slept in a bit on Saturday morning. We sat around, talked a bit, and sat some more. I remember thinking that the days might pass slowly--very slowly--perhaps too slowly?? That thought didn't last long. Nova and I drove into town and coming back, saw a donkey cart and driver zooming through the riverbed. Nova flagged him down. She knew I wanted a picture in a donkey cart before I left Namibia. She exchanged a few words with the driver and the next thing I knew he was off his cart and motioning for me to climb in. Then they were both telling me to start driving! Ha! So off I went. Nova snapped some pictures and then, "How do I stop these guys?!" I was remembering how fast they were running through the riverbed and wondering what I would do if they just shot off like that with me at the reins. Finally I pulled hard enough and they stopped. I gave the driver a tip for his time and we were off to our next adventure.

I found it quite exciting to watch the kiddos and their ingenuity. I mean, who really needs all the new, fancy-shmancy toys in America when you can just make your own?!

And I'm pretty sure I'm going to start some new fashion trends when I get home! :) Actually, this is traditional dress for Ouma's tribe. She is half Damara and half Herrero. Oupa saw these pictures and wasn't completely satisfied. I should be wearing at least three underdresses to give this look the proper poof! Ouma was really enjoying dress-up time though. So sweet!

I also spent a lot of time with Tsaura (pronounced kind of like Cho-ra). She followed me around just about everywhere I went. This photo was taken after a couple days helping Ouma take out her braids.

And there was always something to be done involving meat! I found the "meat sawing" a rather entertaining event.

WARNING: The following photo may disturb the faint at heart--or tummy.

Goat head, anyone?!

Actually, for me, the offer of goat head wasn't really optional. Here I am about to take a bite... I even cut this piece off myself. "Tastes like chicken!" I said. Nova responded that it was cooked with some chicken spice... not quite what I meant. :)

By Saturday night I was actually pretty hungry. Aside from the goat head and some other meaty treats, there hadn't been a real meal. Nova called me into the kitchen and I was delighted to find a pot filled with porridge and another filled with the juices left from the meat. It was a sit-down meal... as in... sit on the floor in the kitchen and help yourself. Which I gladly did. Porridge (what they call pap) with flavorful meat sauce is actually one of my favorite dishes here, typically eaten with your fingers. Take some thick and sticky pap and dip it in the sauce. Yum yum!

Sunday = church followed by a nice meal. I helped Ouma and Nova cook rice and veggies and a cabbage and carrot salad. Goat meat was also served, though I gave mine to Nova. I didn't want to be wasteful and they strip their meat to the bone when they eat it! I'm a bit too sissy with my meat and leave too much on the bone so I decided to give it to someone who would more thoroughly enjoy it.

Tudeski was so proud of his pap-making skills! Though when I first asked what he was doing he said, "I'm making poop!" He later corrected that he was making "pap". (He's still working on his English...)

Bath time... It was either this or a cold shower. I HATE cold showers!

I really enjoyed going to church on Sunday. Oupa is the pastor of a small--and I mean TINY--church in the village. There was even a translator. The message was about not having fear even though the world around us is in so much turmoil. Great reminder... And let me not forget to mention, Ouma is a woman of prayer! That woman loves to pray. We prayed together as a family every night, and she prays with them in the morning--and with neighbors who join--around 10am or so. She even prayed for my Granddaddy. Her life is the greatest sermon of all.

The small but lively congregation

Matthew's "please get that camera out of my face" look. This photo makes me laugh!

And of course, I find adorable kids wherever I go!

This little boy and I became fast friends. I was never able to pronounce his name--the Damara language has click sounds that my mouth and tongue apparently refuse to make--but he was adorable. He and I had our own language and communicated just fine. We would make sounds with our lips and stick our tongue out at each other. I'd go outside and he'd be across the fence and I would hear him making his greeting to which I would reply in the same manner. :)

Delilah is a disabled 16-year old who is being taken care of by the neighbor. Delilah's mother and father have both passed away. She is full of joy and loves to sing! The neighbor is desperate for help with Delilah and would even be happy for her to move elsewhere to a home where she can be better cared for. There is another girl, 15-year old Mercia, with a similar condition in the church congregation photo.

The Omaruru River separates Ouma's side of the village from the other side--where the shops, school, and churches are. For three weeks out of the year, during the rainy season, this riverbed is inpassable. Nova told stories of how schools would announce "The river is coming!" so the learners could run home before the waters became too deep if they lived on the other side.

Belly is Ouma and Oupa's dog. I didn't even know the puppies were around until Tudeski showed me inside a shed on Sunday. So cute!

But unfortunately the puppies don't have much of a life to look forward too. Most dogs in Namibia struggle to find food or water. The dogs in Okombahe were in the worst shape I've seen so far. I saw a couple even skinnier than these too. It breaks my heart, but there is nothing I can really do. And my focus here is on people, not animals. I tried to give all of the dogs around the house water and leftovers when I could. Especially Belly, so she could feed her pups!

I enjoyed walking around the village. I like the shack houses, more for their artistic quality than as a place fit for living. And I loved seeing all of the Oumas sitting around. Many of these ladies watched Nova grow up.

This is the first time I've ever seen or needed one of these!! You have to have an official permit if you're driving around with meat in your car... which I did. Thankfully, they boxed it up well so it wouldn't leak. And luckily, it didn't smell or anything. It was quite frozen so I guess that helped. Nova offered for me to take some home, but I declined. I'd eat it if I had to, but I'd rather it go to better use. I'll stick with my chicken and beef for now...

I couldn't have imagined a better time spent with this precious family! I'll get to see Ouma and Oupa again in Windhoek at the end of September. I told them they'll have to come over so I can cook them a nice meal. :) I am so blessed by all of these relationships and I pray they will continue even after I am gone.

If you remember, WOTH (Women of the Harvest) is the organization that hosted the fabulous conference in Ghana that my missionary friends and I attended in March. They are busy with a number of projects and one of their weekly online publications includes "Picture Praise". Female missionaries all over the world submit their photos with Bible verses and WOTH selects one each week to send out to email subscribers. They also post "Story Behind the Photo" entries on their blog. Three of my photos were selected and have ran the last three weeks, including a "Story Behind the Photo" for each one. I'll post them here and have also provided links to view the blog directly and explore more of the great work that WOTH is doing all over the globe.

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 8/09/10

I work with orphans and vulnerable children in the township outside the capital city of Namibia. This little girl came to our center one day with her big brother. She would watch him as he played with the other kids and I could tell she wanted to join in the fun. When I look at all of these precious children, I hope for them a very bright future. Often, the first step in that direction is getting them to also have that hope within themselves.

View directly at: http://coffeegirlconfessions.blogspot.com/2010/08/you-who-hunger.html

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 8/16/10

After an incredible Transformational Development workshop, our minds and hearts were filled with new ideas and challenges. The group concluded our time together by taking a boat ride along the Okavango River. All was quiet and still as the sun set and we began to process what we had learned. My prayer: God, teach me how to give in such a way that positively transforms, without hindering, the Namibian people.

View directly at: http://coffeegirlconfessions.blogspot.com/2010/08/story-behind-photo-picture-praise-81610.html

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 8/23/10

Meet Bredi. I found this adorable little boy joyfully running around in a village without a speck of clothing. This village has been created to teach about one of the many tribes in Namibia. While there are many real villages like this one scattered about the country, this was a unique opportunity to walk through the life and history of the Damara people. They welcomed us with song and dance and tried to teach us some of their craft making and hunting skills.

View directly at: http://coffeegirlconfessions.blogspot.com/2010/08/no-eye-has-seen.html

Friday was the last day of the third school term. To celebrate, we had a Fun Day at FHS for all the kids. It was a lot of work but a great success!! I think the photos can speak for themselves...

We were able to rent a jumping castle. I think it was called a Gladiator Pit. It was an obstacle course of sorts. The kids LOVED it... to say the least!

Beautiful Justina... There are some days where it takes all of my energy to make her smile. It seems to me there is a deep sadness within her that breaks my heart. Her smile on Fun Day was no struggle at all! And it brought me great joy to see her so sincerely happy.

I think Kaita may have been the most determined bobber for apples we had that day! He did finally get his apple and ate it with great satisfaction. :)

Lunch time!

All the kids in the area quickly got word of the Fun Day. I think some non-FHS kids did sneak in for some games and treats, but we wouldn't be able to accomodate the hundreds (and hundreds!) of kids in the community.

For this game, kids had to dig through the custard to dig out the jelly treat hidden inside.

Face painting is always a kid-pleaser!

I was in charge of the "Treat Walk". Think "Cake Walk"--on steroids!

Our Fun Day even made the local paper!!

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