"Ouvalelo" means dinner in Oshiwambo, one of the main languages in Namibia. Sadly, I'm 8,000 miles away from Namibia, but on Wednesday night I had the opportunity to revisit it through my taste buds. Part of my role at Candidate Week included hosting an African meal. With the help of the cooks, Ellen and Paul Brown, I was able to offer a true Namibian experience to the AIM candidates and staff. I chose a dish that I had on several occasions... pap. Typically, missionaries in Namibia either love or hate the stuff. I'm in the love category. Pap, or oshifima as its traditional name, is a thick, almost sticky porridge that is usually served with meat or a meat sauce and/or spinach or other greens. We had it with beef and spinach. While it didn't turn out exactly like the pap I had in Namibia, it was close enough and gave all of us in Pearl River a good feel for what it's like to eat a meal like this in Namibia. The kicker... no utensils. You take the pap with your fingers and then dip it in the meat or spinach. The pap has relatively no taste on its own, but combined with the meat or spinach I find it very satisfying. It's also common that you share a communal plate or bowl of the pap and meat. We demonstrated that by sharing among 6 people at each table. For dessert... fat cakes!! These were often sold on the side of the road. The FHS kids would run and get them during break time. Sometimes I'd send them with extra money to get me one for a snack as well! They are basically fried balls of dough. Sometimes they have sugar sprinkled on them. They're often bought wrapped in newspaper. Ellen and Paul's fat cakes were delicious! I truly believe my Namibian friends would be proud! :)

After the meal, I had the opportunity to share about my time in Namibia. I always jump at the chance to talk about Namibia and what God is doing there. I could talk for hours! I shared the video I made along with a slideshow of photos to further explain what it was like to be a missionary there... since I was largely talking to a group of future missionaries. The final slides all had the theme "If you are a missionary in Africa..." with captions like "you will try new things" and a photo of me driving a donkey cart. I mixed in both funny and serious slides. That part of my presentation was a big hit!

Here are a few pictures from the evening...

We had a hand washing ritual which is common in many African cultures

The communal pap and meat

The kids fearlessly dug in!

Fat cakes with extra sugar... yum!!

This week has brought me back to Pearl River, NY to participate in Africa Inland Mission's Candidate Week. Only this time, I have a new title. Instead of participating as a candidate, I'm here as a volunteer staff member. I'm looking forward to meeting the new candidates as they arrive tomorrow. I'll be leading the morning devotions Tuesday through Friday, hosting a Namibian meal Wednesday night, and being around to assist the full-time staffers with the logistics of this week. I remember my week here as a candidate in November 2008 (I can't believe it was so long ago!) and what an exciting time it was! After your initial interview with AIM, Candidate Week is the first major step in the process of getting appointed as a missionary with AIM. For many, serving in Africa has been a lifelong desire. So finally getting to this step of that journey is a huge deal! I'm looking forward to sharing in all of that excitement as I get to hear stories and testimonies of how each of these individuals got to this point.

I'd appreciate your prayers for myself, the AIM staff, and the candidates as we share this week together. Like I said, I'm excited to be here... and even more so because the plane I was on met a terrible storm in New York and even got struck by lightning! (That was a first for me!) I know it will be a great week, and I'm blessed by the opportunity to get to serve with AIM once again. :)

I'm happy to report that the calendar fundraiser was a huge success!! With your help, we raised over $2,600 for Family of Hope Services in Namibia. That converts to nearly $19,000 Namibian Dollars. Thank you to all of the sponsors for this project, to those who purchased a calendar and those who helped sell them. They are hanging on walls and refrigerators across the U.S., in Canada, Namibia, the UK and Australia! I'm always in awe of the creative ways God provides for those in need. The idea for the calendar came to me randomly a couple months before I left Namibia. By the end of that week, I had over half of the sponsors needed for the project. It was amazing to see it all come together. And I'm greeted every day by the beautiful faces of my precious friends at FHS hanging on my refrigerator door. :) I also want to thank all of you on behalf of Abigail Bachopi, the FHS director, and the staff, children and families of FHS.

Also, FHS has launched their new website. The web address is now different than the one printed on the back of the calendar. The website looks great and I know you will be blessed to spend some time reading about the children and various projects they've got going. Check it out at http://familyofhopeservices.org.
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