Saturday was such a great day! I headed to Rehoboth, about an hour away from Windhoek, to spend the day with Heidi, a fellow AIM missionary. We had been trying to get together in Rehoboth for sometime, but due to busy schedules, illnesses, and so on... we're just now getting around to it.

She took me to Oanob Dam. Wow! What a beautiful place! It reminded me of some of the lakes at home. They have a resort there, campsites, a pool, and barbeque ("braai)" areas where you can spend the day. People bring their boats and jetskis so they can wakeboard, tube, or swim. Heidi and I found a nice, but rocky spot, and spent several hours just enjoying the sound of the water, the nice breeze, and the wonderful Namibian sunshine. And after about 30 minutes of talking ourselves into it, we even went for a swim! To the touch, the water felt quite cold. We probably woke some afternoon nappers as we jumped in with our screams and shouts. But we were soon used to the water and enjoyed swimming around a bit. This is only the second time I've went swimming during my time here. And after living for so long in a pretty hot country, it was quite a treat! Before we left I told Heidi, "I know this sounds shallow... but had I known this place was this amazing I would have been down here to visit you more often!" Something like "gee thanks" was her reply. :) The day also made me long for an East Tennessee summer. Unfortunately, I'll have several months now until the next one! Going from summer to winter overnight will be a tad strange...

We cooked some delicious pizza for dinner, she looked through my photos from the Himba village (she's also been there), and we watched an episode of "Crusoe", a show I downloaded and had told her about. It was just a great day of enjoying the summer weather and each other's company. No greater encouragement can be found than by those who are experiencing similar life events and challenges. Spending the day with another single missionary brought encouragement that we both needed and appreciated. Please pray for Heidi as she continues her ministry in Rehoboth. Pray for others to come and join her in the work as it is extra challenging to be the only AIM missionary there... and there really aren't any others like her from any organization working there.