More Shout Outs!

Hey mom and dad. We miss you. Say HI to Bis for us :-)
Love steph and Jaime.

Hey everybody,
I miss you guys so much, hope you are all doing well. How was July 4th? We had some fun times... alright well see you all soon, love you!!!!
–Amanda S

Mom, Dad – I miss you both so much! I know you would both enjoy it here, although mom I think you’ve got far too soft (albeit big) of a heart for it. Dad, thanks for expressing your desire for the high school talks to not be “how-to’s”, very funny. Nicole, I miss you tons and I know you will love it here next year! Tee, Serge, Princess Ruby – miss you guys, glad to hear of her progress and can’t wait to be bitten by those tiny teeth! Renee, Mike, Justin & Jacob – love and miss you all dearly! Grandma & Grandpa – Love you both, thanks for all of your support. Ape, my biff, love you bunches and can’t wait to see you! Jama, love you to the ends of the earth, miss you even more, happy birthday and I cannot wait to see you!
<3333 Kat


Hey Doug, friends, family and supporters,
Well we have been in the community of Arandis all week. It is much warmer here than when we first arrived. We are also all living in a three bedroom house, all 19 of us with no hot water now. We blew out the coil of the heating element so cold showers since Friday morning. Well, Dorothy and I have been getting up around 6 every morning to leave for the preschool at 7:30. There are about 30 kids and we have assessed about half of them. Several of the kids have helped which has been great. Still we did not finish them all. Report writing tomorrow before the big dance show tomorrow night. You would be so proud of Casey. I am so glad that we are here despite the not so comfy accommodations. The people are quite friendly. The other afternoon after preschool, around 12:30 pm Dorothy and I were walking back home to the house (about a 10 minute walk) and as we walked by many of the houses, the kids and some adults would wave and said hello. The kids are so loving and caring. They always want a hug each morning when we come to the preschool. Gosh I have not given that many hugs in ages. I’m sure I’ll be doing it more when I get back. Then I said to Dorothy as we walked, “ who would ever believe two middle aged women (teachers) had been walking down a street in Namibia, Africa on a Tuesday afternoon on July 3rd, 2007”. Of course we had just passed a “shebeen” (local pool hall in the garage of a person’s house) where people come, hang out, play pool and drink libations. I said gee this could be like a Friday afternoon at Country Spirit. Anyway it was a good laugh. After daily preschool we go back for lunch (peanut butter and jelly) just about everyday, then I go to the hall where the girls rehearse with the young Namibian girls. They have taught them the Absolutely Everybody dance. They picked up so quickly and it looks great. Casey has been at the preschool rehearsing, participating in forums at the high school and attending church and nightly walks with the group. They were filming an HBO movie about 100 feet from our house called Generation Kill about a journalist point of view regarding Iraq. No big stars but we actually met a young actor from New Hampshire, living in Hillsboro no less. Can you stand it. Small World. Doug I can’t believe you said you wished you were here because I know I would definitely come back. We should make a date. I know John and Anne, especially Anne would love to come and share her faith, love and nursing skills. Well that’s it for now. Pat, Brenda loved your quilt. She said she never really gets personal gifts and said Thanks. She is an awesome person and appreciates our help. A few of us are considering supporting a severely impaired young boy to go to a special school. It will cost about 80.00 per month. I’ll give up coffee at DD and Casey said she could live without some clothes. Anyway hope you are enjoying the blog. Have some people send messages while you are up North this week. This message will go out tomorrow Sat the 7th so enjoy the week up North and will see you all soon. Casey has taken lots of pics, Jackie and G too. Bye for now. Love to all, Dennise and Casey


Hey everyone!
Sooo, how’s it going? Things are pretty good here, you know, just chillin’ in Arandis. It’s kind of weird to believe that this time next week I will be home and life will go on as usual. I can’t wait to be home and see everyone but at the same time I really don’t want to leave. A warm, long shower would really nice though. To my family: it’s weird not being up at the lake for the 4th of July, but I have some stories to tell you when I get back. The my friends: I miss you all, I hope you’re all staying out of too much trouble, and don’t completely forget about me because I’ll be home soon enough. Thanks Mike for commenting so much, definitely feeling the love. Oh, and Toivo says hi, and Kevin and G are upset with you for some reason because you don’t know that they’re here, or you haven’t given them a shout out or something. So I miss you all, I can’t wait to see you all when I get back but for now I’m going to try to enjoy the time I have left here in Namibia. Love you all, very much.
<3 Erin


HELLO EVERYBODY!
I’m making this one quick because I’m about to go on a walk to look at the stars. HAH be jealous – it’s the prettiest thing I’ve seen. I can’t believe we only have four days left before the painfully long journey home… spending way too much time in the Paris Airport (not really happy about that). Anyway, everything is going fine. I’ve been going to the preschool with a few other people every morning. Needless to say, all the kids LOVE me (haha). The afternoons vary, sometimes I go to the dance classes to do crowd control, one day Toivo and I walked around town with a soccer ball and gathered up kids to play a soccer game. I’ve taken like 450 pictures so far, so be ready for the slideshow of a lifetime when I get back. Mike – make Christina read this part. CHRISTINA – You better be at the airport, and force Matt to go if he’s not working. By the way, you should bring me some Dunks because I’ve been craving it like nothing else. And some fries would be nice. MUCH LOVE!
--Molly


Hey all, thanks for your concern. The margarine lasted long enough for me to remember that I had some aloe. So now a layer of skin just peeled off and it looks all gross. I know everybody really wanted to know that.
~mike


Hey Everyone! I am having an AMAZING time as usual. I really don’t want to come home, but don’t worry mom I will. The creation is beautiful, and God is stretching me a lot, and teaching me a lot about myself. I love you mommy! Thanks for the comments, I’m glad you finally figured it out, thank you for the prayers. Lyssy- it made my night to hear from you. Your wedding is only like a month away!  tell Gordy I say hi. Jimmy- GOSHHHH!!! waiting for some comments! “I’ve been sitting in my pee pants for two weeks waiting” hehe. Daddy, Andrew, and SJ- hi, I miss you and love you guys. I will see you in a week, until then I am having a blast and mom there is no need to worry. Don- hey teammate! We miss you and think of you often, wish you were here. God always looks out for me and He uses these amazing trips to make me more like Him.
<3, Amanda


Hi everyone! I’m having a great time here. I can’t believe we come home in less than a week! I love teaching dance to the kids here, they learn SO fast and they are doing an amazing job… I wish some of the other girls from ’05 were here to experience it too! Erika, I hope I’m invited to the barbeque you talk about, I’m really craving a cheeseburger! Hi Mike, I hope you’re having a good time in Namibia too… sorry to hear about your skin problems, haha! Hi dad, write me a comment, let me know you’re alive! See you all next week!
– Steph L


Hey everyone!
Want to give a shout out to my BFF! Thanks for writing… I giggled when I heard BFF over here in Africa  So good to hear from you babe. I miss you a ton… I can’t wait to see you!

Hey Fam!
Ma thanks for writing me your comments. I love em. I hope you got the email I sent. I had some trouble sending it for some reason. I am having such an amazing experience. Some days harder than others, but I wouldn’t trade anything for the world. I am totally bummed about my pics, but between everyone here I should have a selection of over 2000 pics lol I can’t believe the trip is almost over. These two weeks have flown by. We are heading up to Etosha soon to see some wildlife. I hear there is a lion roaring less than a mile from where we will be sleeping. Freaky! Love ya and miss you!

Hey friends… Ladies I was thinking about Lifetime movie night last night! I don’t miss t.v. but I do miss Lifetime movies lol I hope there were some good ones the past two weeks! Mandy, hopefully you have been recording army wives for me hehe I have a lot to catch up on! I miss you tons!

Xoxo
Melissa


Hi! Everyone,

It has been an amazing trip…just as I expected! The time is going by quickly now. One more day in Arandis! I have been a “floater” here, spending my time going where I am needed. I’ve been to the pre-school and the primary school, and have spent some time cataloging the books in the primary library. I have spent some time with the mommies from HPOM and went to a ladies group the other night with women from the community and the Zebra team from Florida! I have been giving out lots of hugs, Don! The families and children all love you and miss you so much. I am missing you on the team here too!
Mike T….I made a new friend in Okahandja.....some girl named Jen from Florida? LOL.
I have been sharing lots of laughter with my friend, Cynthia-Pearl, and am learning a few more Afrikaan phrases. Justine and Armando came over for a visit from Swakopmund and will be spending the weekend here in Arandis, so we will get to visit with them more! Shari, everyone is missing you here, too! PD is behaving most of the time. On our visit to the coast the other day, I met up with my friend, Veronica, coming across the street! God is good. What about coincidences? Looking forward to camping in Etosha and sleeping with the lions! Love to all my family and friends! See you next week. Hope Jake, Casey, and Seth are doing well and still love us!

Vark Plek,
Jackie


Hello friends and family if anyone is reading this! We are having a glorious time here in Arandis. I have been floating around doing a variety of things such as working at the preschool and the high school. There is a big show tonight for the dancers to perform with the girls they have been working with all week. I’m guessing it will turn into a concert too. It will be a good last night here since we are leaving tomorrow to go see some wildlife! See you all Thursday! Hi Dad, Jake, Casey, Colleen, Michaela, Alyssa, Kara, Pat, Paul and Ryan!

Love, Christine


Hi all!
This has been an amazing trip!!!
Rather than go on and on – it is probably very safe to say “DITTO-DITTO-DITTO……” to the above mentioned information about the trip.
All is well! – Mike and Emily it was great hearing from you! Em – based on previous celebrations, I’m certain that you had a wonderful B-Day on the 4th at the lake!!!!!.....and Mike Happy B-Day to you on the eighth!!!! - ….and how OLD will you be?!?!?!?(LOL)
I did have the opportunity to e-mail yesterday – hope you got them – will try again today!
Love to everyone,
Dorothy and Mom
XXXXXXXXXXOOOOOOOOOOOOxxxxxxxxxooooooooo


Hola my wife! Getting ready to come home in a few days, missing you terribly and can’t wait to see you. Love to the Fam, Chico, Rosalita, Tyrone, and any new pets that may have been acquired in my absence . I played bass in a band that came from Windhoek last night. Last thing I expected to be doing on this trip! (put a big smile on my face though) I LOVE YOU XOXOXOOO. Mike T.- You have given me no comment love… but I love you anyway. –Kevin-
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