On Wednesday Emily and I were invited to join Thorsten and Kerstin (other missionaries with AIM) for a hike around Avis Dam. I always love any opportunity to be out in nature. It made me miss hiking through my beloved Smokies! We really enjoyed getting to know Thorsten and Kerstin and seeing all the other people (and dogs!) enjoy the beautiful day. I'll definitely have to make Avis Dam a regular place to visit when I just want to get away from the busyness of city life. ;)

The following information about Avis Dam is taken from http://www.avisdam.org.

The Avis dam was constructed in the South African colonial period and completed by the then SWA Administration for the Windhoek Municipality in 1933. The dam overflowed for the first time during the floods of April 1934, but has since exceeded 75% of its capacity during only four rainy seasons, the last one in March 1997. The Avis dam area is located in semi-arid savanna and is composed of three main landforms:
· slopes and ridges of the foothills of the Eros and Auas mountains,
· riverbeds and
· floodplain with dam, comprising an attractive setting of comparatively unspoilt nature.

At present the dam and surrounding area house a representative example of ‘Highland Savanna’ flora and fauna, and provide valuable habitat for birds, mammals and other species.

Let me take some time to introduce you to my role at Family of Hope Services (FHS). Currently, school is out for a brief holiday. Classes will resume on September 8th. In the meantime, I am preparing for my assigned duties for the new term. Upon arrival in Windhoek, I had a meeting with Mick (AIM's Unit Leader for Namibia) and Abigail (the Director of FHS). It was there that I learned that my assignment at FHS would be as a psychosocial counselor. As many of you know, I have a psychology degree, but after changing my major a number of times, psychology was simply my quickest route out of college. I don't have any specific experience within the field or as a counselor. Nonetheless, there is a great need at FHS in the psychosocial department. Many of the children have learning and/or behavioral issues that need to be addressed if they are going to succeed in formal schools and in their community. Through continued discussions with Abigail, my role is developing still within the psychosocial department, but more adapted to other strengths that I possess. I do love to learn and I enjoy a good challenge. I've ordered some books so I can better get a handle on cross-cultural education, counseling, and discipline. I have observed already that even if I had an extensive degree in psychology (with experience), translating that to the needs in Africa and specifically at FHS is another thing altogether.

Through my observations over the last couple of weeks at the center, I have proposed some ideas to Abigail in two main areas: discipline and moral lessons. In the area of discipline, I took a short online course on positive discipline/reinforcement. Using information and resources from this course, I am going to have a training session with the FHS teachers about positive discipline and how it can help address some of the learning and behavioral issues at the center. That training will be on September 7th, the day before school resumes. I would appreciate your prayers as I prepare for and deliver this training session. From this idea of positive discipline, I will assist the teachers in establishing classroom rules. The children will also play a part in generating this list of guidelines. In the coming week I will also be creating positive discipline charts for each class where teachers can keep a record using stickers of those students who are demonstrating positive behavior. These will be hung in the classrooms, and I will maintain a treasure box of rewards where children can choose something from the box after so many stickers are accumulated.

The second main role that I will have at the center will include teaching moral lessons to each class on a weekly basis. Once a week I will meet with each class and we will discuss issues such as respecting one another, bullying, character development, and eventually these lessons will even include topics such as HIV/AIDS awareness, peer pressure, and other family and community issues. I hope to find stories and possibly games to go along with these topics, leaving at least half the time for discussing these issues as a group. It is my prayer that this will be an enriching time for the students to consider issues that they might otherwise overlook. I believe that if they begin to understand why we don't hit each other, why we respect our teachers, why we should try to be more like Jesus, that they will want to practice these principles now and as they grow up in a society that does not always share these values. (If any of you have ideas for this time or know of resources I can use, please let me know. I remember having a similar once-a-week class in grade school. We had wonderful videos that we watched covering many of these issues. I haven't been able to find many resources of this nature online.)

One final role that I will have at FHS (although this list is not exhaustive as we all must pitch in wherever necessary) is observing the behavior of individual children in order to help the teachers deal with the learning and behavioral issues I mentioned. Teachers can refer a child to the psychosocial department, and from there I will observe the child directly in class, at play, and during mealtime. At the end of the week I will try to offer suggestions to the teacher as to how we can address these issues with each individual child in order to see positive transformation and growth.

So from all that I have mentioned, my weekly schedule will look something like this:

Monday & Tuesday: Devoted largely to observation of individual children who have been referred to me by the teachers.
Tuesday & Thursday: I will meet with 2-3 classes (one at a time) in the mornings for the moral lessons.
Wednesday: My "day off" at the center. I am sure Wednesdays will be filled with other ministry options, language learning, and/or much needed personal time.
Friday: Friday mornings are time for celebration. The children sing songs, play games, and go over in front of all the students what they have learned throughout the week. Friday afternoons we will have staff meetings, a portion of that time will be spent on hearing from the teachers how the positive discipline is going as well as learning about children with particular issues and discussing ways to address them.

I hope this has given you a better understanding of what my specific role is with my ministry at FHS. I trust that over the course of two years it will evolve and change as necessary. I am already getting quite attached to the children, and feel even that two years is such a short time to get to know them. I am thankful that God has called me here for longer than just a few weeks or months, as I do hope to use this extended time to establish meaningful relationships with the children and teach them the love of God through His Word and by my own example. At this point I don't even want to think of leaving Windhoek! There is so much work to be done and so many children to love, and although my two hands may only make a small dent, it is a dent that God has called me to make and I'm determined to pour my heart and soul into it until God calls me elsewhere. As always, I need and appreciate your prayers for this journey as I could not accomplish any of this without God's mercy in giving me the strength and ability to do so.

While I am living in Africa, it is my desire to portray through stories, pictures, and videos what it is really like to live in this country. I hope and pray that even a portion of what I am seeing and experiencing will be translated to you in a way that allows you to really process these realities as if you were seeing and experiencing them firsthand. I know that nothing compares to being an eyewitness at any scene, but I wouldn't share these stories with you if I didn't think they also had the power to impact your lives as they are impacting mine.

The article below is from today's newspaper. "Baby dumping" seems as common here as taking out the trash. I drove by this very dam today on my way to work, thinking about how I wish I could have a few moments with my camera to snap some beautiful shots I saw of the reflections coming off the water. Little did I know of the tragedy that was resting in that very spot. Stories like these are the realities that will break your heart. As my sister remarked tonight, my role here in helping a handful of kids seems like such a small drop in an ocean of problems that exist everywhere I turn in this city. I just have to remind myself that God can multiply the work of my hands. Even if I play a part in transforming the life of only one child, that child could grow up to transform the life of another, who transforms the life of another... and another... and another...

Many of you have asked for tangible ways you can help the children I have been sharing stories about. I am thankful and encouraged by such a tremendous response of care and concern. I have shared some ideas on my blog, and I will include those again now and any others that have come to my attention since.

Here is a brief list of the top 5 needs the children have. Below this list is a more detailed description of each need. I tried to be thorough, but please let me know if you have any questions. If you are one of those wanting to help, I hope that something in this list will strike you as the perfect opportunity.

Material needs for each child
Shoes, backpacks, blankets, hygiene products, educational materials
Sponsorship
Assists with school and uniform fees for an individual child
Feeding program
Pays for one child’s meals at FHS for an entire year
Land & buildings
Contributing to the building fund as FHS is in desperate need to relocate
Hospital project
Provides hygiene products for each child admitted at Katutura Hospital


Material needs for each child
There are several constant needs the children have at FHS. The need for new shoes and backpacks each term is a critical need I have observed. Blankets, hygiene products, clothes, and educational materials are also constant. Some of you have asked if you can mail certain items. You can, but a more economical way to help is to provide the funds for items to be purchased here. Because I live in the capital city, I have access to buy things such as these. It is also better for us to purchase culturally appropriate books here as opposed to having books sent over from the States.

Sponsorship
The 450 registered orphans and vulnerable children at FHS are dependent on donations from individuals and organizations. FHS receives no funding from the government. There are still 150 children who need to be sponsored. Sponsoring a child for one year costs N$1,700 (approx. $224 US at the current exchange rate). This amount covers school fees, uniform costs, school supplies, after-school program fees and personal care items. If you would like more information I can email you the FHS sponsorship flier.

Feeding program
One way to contribute to the feeding program is to commit to covering the cost for one child’s meals at the center for one year for N$1,700 (approx. $224 US). Another option is to contribute to the feeding program as a whole. Recently, FHS lost a significant amount of funding from an outside source. The feeding program is critical to the service of FHS. In addition to the regular feedings, FHS has an end-of-the-year celebration. At this time especially, they try to provide a good selection of meat—increases the cost compared to typical meals of rice or porridge.

Land & buildings
Currently FHS is operating out of a small, one-room center. You can easily imagine how difficult it is to gain and keep the children’s attention when 100 children want to talk at the same time. We have dividers to separate the five classrooms (with a need to expand into six or seven classes). It is a regular occurrence that these heavy dividers come crashing down, often on the children’s small bodies! I hope we can move out of this building soon as it is a major obstacle to all we are trying to accomplish.

Hospital project
When the children are admitted to the hospital, they must provide their own toiletries. Most of the families cannot afford them. If you would like to help with this significant and ongoing need, pack ziploc bags and in each one put a new washcloth, bar of soap (regular or guest-size), toothbrush, and toothpaste. If you want to include a Bible verse, encouraging note, or something you can do that as well. You can put these bags in a box to mail to my address: Hannah Sterling, PO Box 40267, Windhoek, Namibia, AIRMAIL. On the customs form fill out a value of less than $50 and simply write "toilet items". Dr. Steve Brown is the missionary in charge of this project. His blog (and his wife’s) can be found here: http://www.road2namibia.com.

Again, if you have questions about any of these needs, let me know. If you wish to donate money towards any of these needs, please mail a check (made out to me) to my permanent address in Maryville--email me if you don't have that address. (My mom will handle the details for me.) Include a note with how you would like your gift to be used. I will happily keep you updated on that particular project. Because the money is coming directly to me, it will not be tax-deductible. If you wish for your gifts to be tax-deductible, it’s best to send a general donation to my AIM account. Any gifts above my monthly support can eventually be used toward projects such as these.

I hope this helps those of you who asked how you could assist with the needs of the children here. As I come across more needs in the future I will be sure to share them. There are so many stories I encounter each day and I will continue to share as many as I can so you can pray specifically for these children. Thanks also for your prayers for me as I meet these children and try to love them as Christ loves all of us.

I went with Linda to her church this morning. The speaker was a missionary from Texas. He is also a talented potter. He spoke about God as the potter, using pressure to form and shape our lives, while also demonstrating the process using his potter's wheel. It was fascinating watching him as he skillfully worked the clay, all the while referring to God's similar process in our lives.

I'll use some photos I found on the internet to illustrate some of his points.
As the potter must pound the clay to prepare it for the potter's wheel, God uses pressure in our lives to teach us and mold us. Becoming a Christian does not guarantee a life without troubles. On the contrary God says that in this world we will have trouble, but praise God--He has overcome the world! (John 16:33)
The clay pot even now has a form, but it cannot yet be used for anything. If you put it in the kiln now to be fired, it is too dense and would explode. It is the same with us. God cannot use us when we are too full of ourselves. We must make room for Him and in doing so, our purpose will begin to be carved out.
As we grow, we learn to make more and more room for Him. This is just as John the Baptist declared, "He must become greater; I must become less." Eventually this clay pot will have more room on the inside than there is clay on the outside. When pressure comes from the outside, God is there inside us to keep us from caving in.
Throughout our lives, God trims things away. He doesn't want us to become dependent on the things of this world. Instead we must learn to rely on Him.
God has the ability to change us very quickly. He is constantly stretching us as He fulfills His purpose in and through us. (I really feel that now as I am settling into my assignment here with FHS!)

Below is one of the bowls I bought from the speaker. The proceeds benefit Community Hope School in Katutura, a ministry of YWAM Africa Teachers for Africa. (Click the link for more info.) I have always wanted clay bowls like these! The price was excellent, especially considering that it goes towards a great cause. I just couldn't pass them up. ;)

I have been here in Windhoek for over three weeks now. I feel already that it is a different world here than when I first arrived--and that world is still evolving. Each day my eyes are opened to something new. My first week here was geared toward orientation and the beginnings of language learning. I was driven wherever I needed to go by a schedule that had already been set for me. This week I felt I finally began to carve out my unique place here, stepping out on my own personal journey.

One of the milestones of this past week was in purchasing a vehicle. Some of you may be surprised to hear that--almost as surprised as I was when I found out I would need one. I hadn't planned nor budgeted for a vehicle because I did not know until I arrived that one would be necessary during my time here. Nonetheless, as I've learned throughout the years, God knows what we need before we even ask Him. There was enough extra funds in my Outgoing account to cover the expense of the vehicle. Instead of having to ask for help from people back home, God had multiplied gifts already given to cover the amount without me even realizing it. God is good!

So hooray--a car was purchased... but that's not really the end of the story. Quite the contrary! In case you hadn't already guessed, Namibians drive on the left side of the road. Another fun fact: the majority of cars are 5-speeds. Needless to say, I was a bit anxious to get out on the roads, remembering to stay on the left side, learning how to shift with my left hand, and so forth. Surprisingly, the shifting came more naturally than I anticipated. After less than a week of driving, I don't even think about it. Staying on the left side of the road hasn't been a problem either (except for one minor, but comical incident today). I do, however, check myself often as I'm approaching a car (on foot) either as driver or passenger because my mind is often leading me to the opposite side. I've entertained more than one seasoned missionary as I've walked mindlessly to the driver's side to get in their car.

I don't take this blessing lightly... not the purchase of the vehicle or even simply being able to drive it comfortably. Often as I am driving down the road I am simply amazed that God has so freely given me this gift of independence here in this city. Obviously I'm totally dependent on God for all things, but in that dependence on Him I can truly say, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." I am amazed by the abilities that God has given me to step out of my comfort zone, move halfway around the world, relate to and love on both children and adults who are from a completely different culture than my own, drive a car around a new town armed with only a map and a decent sense of direction, and really I could go on and on bragging on God who has worked so miraculously in my life. I never dreamed this would be my life, yet here I am... and the journey has just begun.

It's never fun being sick. It's even worst being sick while living halfway around the world from mom's comfy couch and Kelly's chicken and noodle soup. I will survive. I always survive. Thriving is the challenge of the moment.

To entertain myself in my misery, I decided to blog about my ailments. More than anything, I could use your prayers. I'm too stubborn to stay home being sick, and that's what I'm pretty much forced to do right now. I'd like to get back to the kiddos at the center... probably the source of my illness to begin with. Nonetheless, there is much work to be done and I'd rather be there doing it than be stuck at home.

This is the conglomeration of medicines I have been taking, mostly all from the advice of others who have tried this or that. I hate menthol, so I haven't even made it through a whole cough drop without spitting it out. The Broncol stuff tastes like licorice, which I think I hate more than menthol. (Holding my nose today while chugging it down really helped!) The ibuprofen is for the body aches, the ACC-200 tablets dissolve in water and supposedly work similarly to Mucinex DM (Mucinex DM works WAY better, but they don't have that here). Med Lemon is a hot tea drink full of all kinds of special treats. Not sure how well it works, but sipping hot tea always has a soothing affect for any ailment. Otrivin I picked up today to help "nose drip". As you can see from the next photo, I've got a fair amount of that! I think the stuff helped a bit, though it stings... probably because my nose is beyond raw!

This is not even the HALF of it! I added one to the pile before I could even snap the photo. I've got... (wait, let me count them)... a pile of 8 used tissues beside me I've accumulated since I sat back down to load the photos and type up this blog.

I've easily sneezed at least 120 times today. They usually comes in pairs or in threes. Once today I had about 10 in a row. Please hold while I look up a synonym for how miserable that 20-second event was... tormenting, intense, extreme, irritating, torturous.

To recap: I will survive. I very much would appreciate your prayers. And although I'm not exaggerating about my symptoms, etc... I am always careful not too complain too much. I threw out any kind of "woe is me" card when God called me to this line of work. Yes, this is not fun and yes, it is uncomfortable--but I can only empathize all the more with people who are suffering daily from much more serious ailments and diseases.

Saturday I was invited to travel with some of the Rineers to Arandis. The main purpose of the trip was to visit with Steve and Karrie Graham. They have been serving in Arandis for about a year and a half. The town is quite a stark contrast to Windhoek! Thankfully, the weather was mild during our visit, but temperatures there can reach into the 130s! Steve and Karrie minister to youth and children. Hope's Promise is an orphan ministry working towards providing foster homes for children in desperate need of a family. Steve and Karrie have a great passion for youth and I pray God continues to bless their important ministry in Arandis. To read more about what the Grahams are up to, check out their blog: http://reachnamibia.blogspot.com.

The Rineer gals stayed and played with the Graham children while us adults headed off for Swakomund, a popular coastal town. The terrain along the drive was just so unlike anything I'd ever seen. From Swakomund we went to Walvis Bay for lunch. (Random fact: This is the town that Brad & Angelina had their baby.) The sand dunes along the drive were amazing! The day was overcast, but it was still a fabulous landscape to behold! After lunch, we had time to climb up one of the dunes. We were all full from lunch and I was feeling a bit under the weather, but the thought of an adventure perked us up and off we went. Of course they had done it before, but I was super excited! I even started running for a bit. Next thing I knew I was huffing and puffing like I haven't done in a long time. It was really tough! My feet were sinking into the sand and the incline got steeper and steeper... or at least felt that way!! I began to wonder if the view was going to be worth the misery.

Indeed it was!

Name: Cathleen K.

Cathleen is a precious six year old girl who is currently enrolled in the Early Childhood Development Program at FHS. The formal schools have not been required to offer Kindergarten, so FHS offers this program to give orphans and vulnerable children a jump start into their first year of school. Her favorite activities at FHS are singing and eating lunch. Cathleen is one of 450 children who are registered at FHS and benefit from the educational programs, feeding program, and the sponsorship program which assists with school and uniform fees for an individual child.

I am introducing Cathleen to you because I want you to look into the eyes of one of many children who could use your help. I wish that I could bring you into the center for a day. That you could hear the excited voices as they compete to be heard in a tiny building that has no separation for classrooms. I wish you could see the faces of some of the small children that rarely ever smile. (One of my goals is to find ways to light up the faces of those particular children.) I wish that you could look into their eyes, not just in a photo, but directly into their eyes as they plead for attention and for love. I wish that you could be brought to tears when you see a child limping with his shoe in his pocket because he has a giant boil on the bottom of his foot (a symptom of HIV).

Cathleen responded that one of the things she dislikes the most about her home environment is eating only porridge. Many of the children that come to the center are malnourished. I am thankful for the feeding program that FHS offers to feed the children one meal Monday through Friday. FHS is totally dependent on donations and receives no funding from the government. They do what they can with what they have, and I pray that God multiplies their efforts through each of the programs they offer. I pray furthermore that the dreams of these children will be realized. Cathleen's dream? She wants to be a teacher when she grows up. Through programs like FHS, and through help from people like you, these children are given hope to complete their education and hopefully even to pursue a university degree.

The cost to sponsor a child like Cathleen for one year is 1,700 Namibian dollars (approx $224 US at the current exchange rate). This amount covers school fees and uniform costs. An additional N$1,700 will cover food supplies for one child for one year (one meal per day, 6 days a week). If you would like to receive more information, including a copy of the Sponsorship Agreement, let me know and I can forward along your request. Thank you for your continued prayers for FHS and for Cathleen and others just like her.

I am finally getting settled into my assignment here with Family of Hope Services (FHS), a non-profit, faith-based organization that cares for orphans and vulnerable children. As I have mentioned before, it is quite overwhelming to observe all of the needs in this city. I find it especially difficult to process the enormous and seemingly unending needs of the children here. I am so thankful for organizations like FHS that are seeking to provide hope for children who live in such desperate conditions. FHS operates in Katutura, an area of Windhoek that I have spoken of before. The mission of FHS is stated on one of its fliers: "to restore hope, joy, and dignity and bring socio-economic stability to families affected and infected by HIV/AIDS through empowerment and capacity building programs." One of the primary ways this is done is through the education programs provided at FHS such as the After School Program, the Early Childhood Development Program (kindergarten), and the Remedial Program. The Remedial Program seeks to help youth that are not enrolled in school for various reasons. This is such an important program, as children who grow up without an education will face even more hardships than those that are common to all here in Windhoek.

I am very excited to team up with FHS to meet these challenges head on. I appreciate your prayers as I observe the work of FHS and as God leads me towards areas that I can best serve the community through this great organization. There are many continuous needs that the center has, and so I ask you to pray also that these needs will be met through the teachers and workers, the volunteers, donations, and so on. Specifically, I will be helping in the "counseling department". The children and youth have many needs that stem from situations at home, behavioral issues, etc. I will need God's wisdom in order to make a positive difference in the lives on these children through observing, assessing, and addressing the many needs that each one of them has.

I finally have a mailing address! Look under my polaroid pic on the right for the address and details.