"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!!