7/July/2007

Saturday morning. The team slept in today. That means many of them slept until 8 or so. We had a nice breakfast together, and some decided to head to Swakopmund for a few hours, while others decided to stay in Arandis and spend time with their new friends. I sit in this internet café (blazing connection rate of 20Mbps!) enjoying a coke… there is a God!

This afternoon many of us will be wandering the streets of Arandis with an evangelistic team from Windhoek. They dress up like clowns and walk the streets telling people Jesus loves them. Those who know me understand how ridiculous I think this is. I’ve already told my team to restrain me if one clown honks his nose and asks me if I love Jesus! I’ll be laying hands on him… in a ‘spiritual’ way. This isn’t a mandatory thing for my team. But, I will say that I am more than a little surprised at which members of my team have said they intend to go be a part of this. I’ll leave it at that. I suppose it could have something to do with the fact that the drummer in the Windhoek band, a certain young man named Marnus is part of the team. Hey, the Apostle Paul said, “Whatever works” (loose Darin paraphrase… but he said something like that).

Tonight is the big weekend performance that StephB, Jaime, StephL, Casey, Amanda and Pearl have been preparing their dancers for all week long. I have to tell you, this will be amazing. I’ve been watching the rehearsals all week, and still, I await this with great anticipation. Amanda and StephB danced their duet last night that they choreographed to Amazing Grace at the Friday night service. Amazing. It will be done again Sunday morning at church as Pastor Tresford asked them to do it again. The girls have a tap number and a couple of solos ready for tonight too, if they are needed. Pearl’s dancers have a few numbers ready, including one that our girls jumped into. We’re all excited to show off Pearl’s choreography before a large crowd. The final number is one MHDC parents will remember – Absolutely Everybody, and a stage that includes a couple of groups of the Namibian kids, totaling 60 at song’s end. Oh yea, mixed in there, Mike, Kevin and I will be playing a couple of songs… with our chorus of 18 singing alongside us.

I’m keenly aware of what the next 24 hours will mean for this team. You at home should pray for your loved ones. Saying goodbye as we head out after church tomorrow will be very hard. I am noticing the strain already on several of our team members. Erin had a visitor to our home this morning, a girl named Jennifer that she met at the school. Kat has a few friends she’s met, including one girl named Jesme who brought her a picture of herself. All the dance girls have been giving themselves away to the children in the dance classes and to Pearl. Amanda spoke last night with one of the boys in the class, Raymond, and his story broke her heart. He’s 15 and still in Primary School. He has no real relationship with his parents, and the dance group is his ‘family’. He wanted to know when the girls are leaving and if they will ever come back. Jaime has a handful of the pre-schoolers that adore her. I arrived yesterday to see Beauty and Precious each on a leg and Revival climbing on her like she was a jungle gym. Jaime’s face gave her away. Goodbye will be hard.

I’m off to spend some time with my team. There is a hamburger in our future. And more coke. Have I told you yet, there is a God! We head out to begin our debriefs and to prepare for reentry tomorrow. I am not sure what communication will look like these next few days. We will endeavor where and when we can to chime in here. Be patient, and as I’ve asked, pray for us.

By the way… to those who remember… God speaks out of the southern hemisphere night. And, He’s spoken volumes to members of this team. See you all in less than a week.

Travel Video

Hey all, sorry it's taken so long but we finally got our first video up from our travel over here, layover in Paris, and our first few days. It figures that it's not until we're leaving for Etosha that we get our travel video up but hey, sometimes that's how it works here. At least we found a cool internet cafe that lets us bring our laptops or else it may never have happened. Anyway, the girls worked on it tirelessly one evening this week so I hope you enjoy it. Get out the tissues...And now, for your FEATURE PRESENTATION...

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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Darin's Journal

6/July/2007

Another couple of days. Another couple hundred memories. First, the general report. Across the team everyone is healthy and pretty happy. There are 19 of us staying in a house that was built with maybe 6 or so in mind. It has meant for very close-quartered living. Everyone is coping well. There is only one shower in the house and a hot water tank built to handle the needs of that one shower being used maybe once or twice a day. Last night... it died. Ice cold showers the rest of the trip.

I realize that I need to say more about my decision to send Maderyna home. I still struggle for the right words to use. I’ve been talking with members of our team about the fact that this may well have been for our benefit –a chance to see the horrors of this setting up-close and in person. Maderyna’s story includes an upbringing that we cannot imagine. Her present reality is beyond our imagination as well. One of my last conversations with her this trip was a tear-filled admission that her mom has arranged ‘boyfriends’ for her – a means of securing money and alcohol. The sad truth is that there is nothing that can be done for Maderyna unless she decides she wants help. There is no system in place here that would advocate for her – at sixteen years (emotionally 12 or 13 if you ask me), she’s considered an adult. We are brokenhearted for her. I’ve decided I won’t go into the reasons that I removed her from our team here on the blog. I’ll ask you to understand – I wrestled over this. I’ll also ask you to trust me that this is only a small part of the whole story. We strategized everything we could imagine. In the end, the only solution was to send her home. This was one of the hardest leadership decisions I’ve ever had to make.

Since her departure, we’ve recovered a bit of a normal stride, I think. The dance team continues to impress me. On the second day the girls noticed that many of the children that came were dressing similarly to their American teachers – leggings and tank tops, or Capri pants and t-shirts. By day three we all realized they were picking up and copying some of the little mannerisms of the dancers – I watched as a couple of our girls stretched, and across the room some of the children were stretching in the same way; a couple of the girls came with water bottles like the dancers; as I watched the dancers ‘mark’ their moves before the music started, I noticed the children doing the same. It is quite a sight to see. Many people have told Steph, Steph, Amanda and Casey that they saw the 2005 team come and that this is the very reason there is a dance program today. Even Pearl, the 15 year old who, by herself, started and leads the dance team here, was present that day in 2005 at Kolin Foundation School, and has told the girls how God used that day in her life. I am thrilled for them to hear this with their own ears. There are 56 girls preparing for the performance Saturday night. Our dancers have done a marvelous job.

Our school teams, Pre-school and Primary are busy with children in one on one and classroom settings. This team is the group that will hurt the most when we pull out of here. You cannot spend any time with these children and not have them wrap your heart around their little finger. Each night I listen (read: eavesdrop) on the conversations here – mentioning the children by name and describing experiences they had. I know that this means a tearful separation in a couple of days. But, the rest of the story is that they are making a huge difference. The educators are getting a wealth of testing done that the schools have asked for. Our helpers are loving on these kids, more important our hosts will tell you than even the testing! God is at work in and thru this team.

Our high school team continues to hold forums in the afternoons after visiting classrooms in the mornings. Great discussions have taken place, including some real trust being built. Each member of this team will tell you that it is a stretching experience for them. They have shown a video entitled “Beat The Drum” about the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. There is an expectation that conversations today will move more that direction. So, sexual purity, rape, pornography, homosexuality, AIDS… how are these for ‘easy subjects’ to talk about in a high school setting? These folks are giving themselves away!

My late night walks and talks continue. Last night I actually spent some time walking and talking with StephB. No, that’s not a typo. Really. Many of us shared some cool walks late last night as the sky was unbelievably clear. I kept thinking about Hosea 2:14… go ahead, look it up. God pokes His face through the night and says, “I’m God. I love you.” Too cool.
And, I actually got 7 hours of sleep last night. That’s after three straight days of 3 hours a night… so I’m feeling much more human… a kinder, gentler Darin. More later.

Vark Plek!

I can not tell you how amazing this trip has been... my focus has been entirely different this time around, and it hasn't entirely been all me. As you've noticed... I have not been able to post as much as We would like to. Connections have been tough, I've been trying to get the video we have up, but it's continually not allowing me to post it. I get about 2 megs into the 11 1/2 and the connection keeps getting lost. I haven't taken my camera out as much as I normally would've, but I have some really great pics. I have been taking a lot of time focusing on the girls at the high school. I have heard stories that break my heart, stories similar to mine. I have heard stories of abuse, rape, disrespect and heart break. I have heard hopes and dreams of becoming doctors, engineers, accountants and auto mechanics. I have heard stories of girls that have great relationships with their fathers and families that really care. I have learned that there is still arranged marriages in some tribes and it doesn't matter if the man is 20 or 72, the girls line up and if they are chosen by him they must then submit. I have met girls that love God and desire to trust in Him and that He gives her the courange to make the right decisions. I have sat in a home bible study cell and listened to a floor full of children of the participants sing Agnus Dei at the top of their lungs. All in all the trip has been amazing, indescibable and heart breaking.

Through the tears we have had many laughs. Toivo is always assisting with that and I couldn't imagine this trip without him. Last evening was the 4th of July and we celebrated by having a braai and marching over to Nan'a house singing the "Star Spangled Banner". She just had a team arrive so it was pretty funny. We also passed by the guards that are watching the movie set and they asked us what we were doing and when we explained that it was America's Independence Day and the we were sharing the celebration with another team of Americans they thought it was wonderful. Mike & Kevin had run back from Nan's and when we arrived back at the house they had set up a surprise rave in the garage, ummm... I mean Club Vark Plek... which is Jackie's nickname, but we can explain all that later... It appears that we are going to try and come back to Swakop tomorrow to see if we can get the video up.

Darin's Journal Entries

29/June/2007 pt. 1
My first journal entry for the trip finds the team having completed the fifth day of our trip, the second of our activities on the ground in Namibia.
The trip over to Namibia was okay. None of us were able to sleep on the flight to Paris, so our day-long layover that we were so excited about turned out to be more an exercise in physical exhaustion than a cheery day. Out fatigue perfectly matched what was rainy, cold, and dreary weather from start to finish. A couple of our team members had a particularly difficult day of ‘tourism’. A couple really shined, however. Kat and Dorothy turned out to be the gems. Kat with her understanding of Paris and a bit of French language, and Dorothy with her command of French, but also her tact in negotiating enabled us to drop all our gear in a hotel room… free of charge! We did manage to visit a few hot tourist spots. To be totally honest with you, I wasn’t really into it. I signed up for this trip to get to Namibia – Paris was simply a layover in which I was trying to constructively kill some time. I did have a great sandwich there. And, a coke. There’s hope for the place.
Our arrival in Namibia brought both wonder and woe. First, the wonder: Those of you who were praying with us about the bags, their weights, their contents and the beefy Customs chicks – God is good. While I got involved with the woes, Mike and team rolled all bags thru the ‘nothing to declare’ line without so much as a shuffle-step. Our sound system – this year cleverly disguised as underwear and socks and packed in suit cases instead of road cases – rolled right through the door.
The woes involved four missing bags – my and Kevin’s guitars, one HPOM donation bag and one personal bag, belonging to Steph B. Let me give Steph a shout here. The last thing you want to hear when you’ve been in the same clothing for three days is that you may face more days in the same threads. Steph was devastated, I could tell. But, she put on a game face and demonstrated what being flexible is all about for one of our teams. I’m very proud of her. I’m thankful also for a few of her many teammates who came to her aid until her bag finally arrived some 30 hours later, with the other missing items as well.
Toivo joined us as we arrived in Windhoek. I am thrilled to have our good friend with us again this year. Mike, Kevin and I are appreciative to have one more male on this team!
Our first day in Namibia began with an orientation with Dieter and Joan. Not one of us missed the fact that this past year has been hard for the Morsbachs, evidenced by their emotions during their sharing. We drove thru Vyf Rand and then split up a bit in the afternoon, some of our team working with Joan’s Pre-School materials room, others assisting with the assembly of a swing set at one of the Pre-School properties, while Dennise, Dorothy and Amanda L (our Special Ed task force, as I call them) spent the afternoon with our young friends Janus and Stephanus helping to evaluate their needs. By day’s end we were all playing with the children of the community of Nau-Aib.
Around the fire sharing was pretty meaningful. We’re all asking a lot of questions of each other, our hosts, and of our God over what we’re seeing and hearing. We broke out the instruments (now that we had them all – and yes, Denise & Gary, Steph’s bag arrived mid debrief while we were gathered around the fire). We began our set of tunes by request with that great spiritual standard from 2005 – Summer of ’69.


29/June/2007 pt. 2
Day two saw 6 of us hit the road early for Rehoboth. Our mission was to gather Maderyna and Memory from Maderyna’s mother’s home so that they too could be a part of our team for the duration of our stay. As a part of the trip we spent an hour with Rickie seeing the Beads of Promise store. What an amazing place! God is doing great things in and thru these ladies. Maderyna and Memory were aboard and we were off for Dieters – with a quick pit stop to pick up an extra Kombi from a friend of mine. (Note: this is not a typo… see the photo.)
We made a second visit to the Ark for our Spec-Ed Ops to have more time with Janus and Stephanus. Before they were finished, Mike and the rest of the team joined us at the Ark – playtime erupted all over the property with members of our team and the sixteen children who call the Ark home. What a great time. I spent most of my time holding Memory and watching Maderyna playing with the other children. Who is this girl? A child? A parent? In what kind of world would she be both?
The reality set in for many of our team members tonight. Many of these children face very uncertain futures. Our time around the fire and our walkabout conversations tonight all revolved around these facts. So, before you go to bed tonight will you join us in praying for a few of our friends? Francina is a 16 year old. If she cannot pass her 10th grade exams, she will be tossed from school (a fact of life for 10th graders here) leaving her inelligible for 11th and 12th grade, vocational training or further education. At that point she would also ‘age out’ of the Ark – with nowhere to go and no one to turn to. Francina’s learning disabilities almost assure she will not be able to continue her education. Janus and Stephanus have a laundry list of needs connected with disabilities the result of fetal alcohol syndrome. The reality here is that there are no specialists to work with them, and even if there were money would make it an impossibility. And for Maderyna and Memory. I honestly don’t have the heart to type the details of what we’ve observed in just these first few hours of our being together. To sad. I’m too sad to type it.
So what’s it all about? Toivo? Maderyna? The 18 of us from such varied backgrounds? Dancers? Teachers? Bar Tenders? Preachers? Namibia? Stars? I don’t know. He does.
Absolutely awesome night for me in conversations with a few of my teammates. Real answers to prayer, each one. I’m proud of this team. Dorothy and Dennise – they’re on the front lines of discovery, and it’s an emotionally draining work. Amanda L just caught the brunt of ministry to Maderyna. She has shoulders (more, a heart) equal to the task, though she doesn’t believe it. I do. Christine is queen – just ask Stephanus. StephL, great looking left to see her, even if it was walking the property instead of in the kombie. Melissa and Jackie (aka Thelma and Louise), they earned their own set of keys today. Load ‘em up. Amanda, StephB, Jaime & Case – did you see that? Prayer healed the blown amplifier! Amen.
Administrative minutia in the morning. Driving to Arandis in the afternoon. One of my friends often uses an away message that confesses while his body is in his office in America, his heart is in Arandis. Well, here I sit in Okahandja, my heart turned towards our friends there in Arandis, and the opportunities there to see God show up.

1/July/2007
The trip from Okahandja to Arandis was almost uneventful. We passed a giraffe. Then on eof our teammates got car-sick and vomited all over the back of my kombi. No need to worry, once all the action stopped, she felt much better. My kombi on the other hand took some work. I decided to be a great team leader and take care of it all myself. All I can say is thank the Lord for Dennise, who dove in hip deep with me – something about a mom and dealing with puke.
We enjoyed a wonderful first night in Arandis. Most of our team went on a walk about town. It was the last day of the month – pay day for Namibians, and prime time at the local Shebeens (bars). We met many ‘spirited’ neighbors as we walked. They are filming a movie here called ‘Generation Kill’. As such, we walked by many sets, including a Palm Tree they added into the Namib Desert. Lots of great conversations as we settled into our new digs. For that I am very thankful.
We enjoyed a great service this morning at Arandis Christian Church. Cool story: I had a pretty trying day yesterday for lots of reasons I don’t want to get into here – amounts to whining on my part! I don’t want to read it in print. So, I woke up this morning and prayed a bit as I usually start my days here, this time asking the Lord to refresh my faith in His being here with me. As I prayed, I decided to read thru a few Bible texts just in case Pastor Tresford were to call on me to ‘bring a message from the word’ at church. I decided to read thru three familiar texts that I could feel somewhat comfortable talking about if I was called upon. I chose three that were also easy to segue into this situation – my American team here to partner with our Namibian friends. I read thru Ephesians 2 (the two peoples becoming one in Christ), Psalm 139 (each of us ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’), and Acts 17 (He chose the dates and places of our habitation). We got to church and saw lots of friends. Awesome times! Here’s the real cool part – not only did Tresford not ask me to preach, he opened his bible to Ephesians 2. Half way thru his message he referenced Psalm 139. He wound up his message with a quote from Acts 17. All I could do was laugh out loud.
The afternoon included time with Boniface and Brenda concerning our schedule for the coming week. We will be very busy. Steph B., Steph L., Amanda, Casey and Jaime will be heading up an afterschool dance program in the community with Pearl (Pastor Tresford’s daughter). They will meet and plan in the mornings and their dance program will run 3-5 each afternoon. Jackie is going to spend time each day with HPOM families in their homes. Dennise, Dorothy, Amanda L., Christine, Molly & Toivo will be working at the HPOM school, beginning tomorrow working on evaluating the students. Mike, Kevin, G, Erin, Melissa, and Kat will be going to the High School each day this week in the morning to lead discussions in the classrooms over topics like dating, sex, homosexuality, pornography and self esteem – all topics the principal of the school has asked us to address from a Christ-centered perspective. As a team, we’re cramming tonight!
We wound our day up with a beach and sand dune visit, catching sundown from the top of a huge dune. As I finish this entry we are headed out to spend some time around the fire as a team. Looks like a big week ahead. Pray for us.

4/July/2007
For sure, an eventful first few days in Arandis. Each of our teams is engaged and doing well in their particular areas of ministry. The high school team has been spending time each morning with students in classrooms at Kolin Foundation Secondary School – a miracle in itself where I am concerned. When we first visited that school with the 2005 team, the principal was very concerned about what we would share, so much so that she stood by my side in case she needed to pull the plug. In 2006, she met me before the morning assembly and told me that she was needing to leave for the morning, but whatever I wanted to do was fine. This year, she’s asked our teams to come and given us the aforementioned topics to cover as a favor to her. Is that not tremendous?
The pre-school and primary school team is enjoying time with the children. Dorothy and Dennise continue to evaluate students and spend many hours each day huddled with their materials and conferring over their findings for HPOM. The children are capturing the hearts of our team members, as I am noting a rising number of stories about their interactions with the children. You know what that means? Yep, a difficult separation when we head out of here,
The dancers started their dance classes. The target was girls in grades 5-8. There are two boys who were allowed in, because they are a part of Pearl’s dance team. The first day 37 girls showed up. Yesterday it more than doubled – to 76 girls. Brenda advised that we limit it to grades 5-8, as they had a special program for younger kids last week. Once again, as we’ve experienced before, we need to follow the lead of our hosts who understand far better than we do the dynamics of this community and the ways in which they are making inroads. “Pleeeeeeeaaassse Oma!” the children say as I walk in the door. They press themselves against the windows to watch the class inside. Our girls have worked a couple of days now teaching some choreography to the students – each of whom has had to commit to being here each day this week and bring a permission slip to participate (another direction from HPOM). To see these girls enjoying this so much overwhelms me. At the end of each day’s two hour class the kids shout, “One more time!”
I’ve had a tough couple of days. I will endeavor to write more detail for you in the near future. The short version is that I made a very difficult decision yesterday to send Maderyna and her baby home to Rehoboth. We had planned for her to be with us our entire trip. There were problems from the very start, and I had put this team and its cohesiveness in jeopardy with Maderyna here. Again, I’m still trying to unpackage it all myself so that I can put it into words for you. The only thing I can leave you with now is that while this was a very difficult decision for me to make, I believe that I made the right decision for the circumstances we’re in. There are a few members of our team who are very hurt right now, but they do all agree that the decision had to be made. It wasn’t until after I had packed Maderyna up and sent her off with Nan Parker (who was to take her home), that we saw that Don had written a comment here on the blog for her in Afrikaans. Quite a somber moment for us all. Don, I’ll have that printed and read to her in Rehoboth… and I’m sorry.
It is a strange mix for me this morning. I am sad about the Maderyna developments, but also very excited at what is happening across the team. Parents, family members and friends at home – you can be very, very proud of your loved ones here – they are doing an awesome job of giving themselves away. This will once again be a team that lives up to the mantra, ‘Sleep when you get home’.
Last but not least, the movie that is being filmed here is an HBO mini-series called Generation Kill. There are no stars associated with it, and rumors of Vin Diesel were just that, rumors. It is funny how many people see our white faces in town and think we’re here to make the movie.
Oh yea, one more thing – and this really is the last word… Clowns are coming – and there are two members of my team who are terrified of clowns. More to come.

Finally!!

I am combining these two because the computer is so slow… Currently the only access to the internet is at the Ministry Centre and it’s dial up… now I see why Don didn’t post that often… :-) It has taken 10 minutes just to open the blogger home page so that I can log in. which is good, because I had nothing written since Darin gave me 3 posts, but they are from Word 2007 and save differently. Brenda’s computer will not open the files. I will have to have him resave them and come back. :-/ So first a message from mike…


July 1, 2007
Hey all, You haven’t heard much from me yet this trip so I figured I was due to chime in. Our first few days at Dieter’s were a great orientation to Namibia for everyone. It was great for all of us, but the time came to move on, and now we find ourselves in Arandis. We took a walk around town last night to experience the scene when everyone gets their paychecks at the end of the month. Smashed beer bottles were everywhere and all the shabeens were hopping with drunken party-goers. When we went to church this morning we began by helping clean bottles and cans off the stage. Brenda says it’ll go on until Monday morning when some of them will sober up for work. That’s so wild to me.

We got to head into Swakop this afternoon. It was cool hanging at the beach and hiking the sand dunes. I made sure to grab Germaine’s camera to play photographer for a while. Fun times. I’m sure you’ll get to see some of them when she gets a chance to put some up. Molly stubbed her toe at the dunes and is convinced she has a rock stuck in it, but I told her it’s only a blood blister. (She also wanted to make sure I put that in my post.) I’ve quite enjoyed having Toivo around. He’s never at a loss for something to say and always knows how to make us laugh. I’m trying to teach him an American accent since he makes fun of my African one so much. :-)

Well, I’ll have to chime in more later because if I keep typing I’m gonna miss dinner. Spaghetti tonight! A’ight, until next time. Peace

mike



This has been an amazing trip so far… I had a bit of an emotional time during our transition to Arandis, but God is faithful and I am so happy to be here doing EXACTLY what God has called me here to do. Currently Erin, Kat, Melissa, Kevin, Mike & myself are going into the High School in the mornings and afternoons to speak with the kids about dating and sex. What amazes me is that this is what I have been studying up on this year with the girls back in the States… Jodi… it’s too cool!!! Dorothy, Dennise, Christine, Molly & Toivo have been working with evaluating the children to find out where their levels are and if they are special needs. Jackie is a floater… doing whatever Brenda thinks needs to be done. Amanda is working in the preschool… I can hear her teaching in the other room right now. The dance girls are working with Pearl and teaching in the afternoons… I hear that it’s an amazing time.

I need to spend some more time getting in depth with all that is going on… there have been some rough patches, and lots of amazing times.

BTW Laura… they are filming a movie here in Arandis… rumor has it that Vin Diesel is the star… It’s a wicked small town… told you that you should’ve come!! :-)

Love ~G

And I’ve been asked to give a special message:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY!!!! Love mom!!!