Today it is dusty…

I am sitting in an I-cafe in one of the dustiest places on earth. Opuwo is a small town in the North of Namibia, that is known for all the dust here. In fact they say that they have dust storms instead of rain storms. This is the town where David and Kyle lived while they ministered here eigth years ago. Right now the schools of Namibia are closed, so we had our last day of class last Friday. Our first semester at CHS ended well, we acomplished much!
In the last semester we have made strong relationships with the teachers and other volunteers at the school, and we have been to almost every student’s home. It was a busy time, with Adam and Sara coming to Namibia (they have already been here for over a month!), teaching classes and the home visits. Adam and Sara recieved their 3 month work visas, and they seem to be adjusting to Namibia well. Pray for Adam as he has been struggling with head aches due to dehydration. It takes a while to get used to the dry climate here. We have been here since the 1st of May, and it has not rained at all. We are told to expect rain in December!!!
Next term David is teaching on what it means to be a Christian to the discipleship class, and I will be tackling Aids and sex education with the 5th and 6th grade class. Please keep us in your prayers! We are also praying about the possibility of some adult classes in the new year.
Don Stoll, one of our dear friends and supporters from Columbia, MO, is visiting with us now. He arrived in Namibia a week ago and he has been keeping us busy! He spoke at school to the older students on Friday, spent a few days in Windhoek, and then decided that he would love to see more of the country. On Tuesday we drove to Etosha national park, about 5hrs from our home, and we spent the night night in the park. Yesterday we left Etosha and came to Opuwo, so Don could meet Asser, the leader of the church that David and Kyle planted in 2003. Tomorrow we will head back to Windhoek, and then Don would love to see the ocean, so we are going to the coast on Monday. The Wrights will be joining us on that trip.
On the more boring side of things, I think we are all moved into our home now. We bought salt and pepper shakers this past week, so the only thing we still need is a trash can 🙂 We finally have health insurance, car insurance, and we are now working on getting internet access at our house.
There have been quite a few hickups in the last four months, but we are so happy and blessed to be here. We are optimistic about the future, and we are left breathless when we catch glimplses of  the plans that God has for Katutura, and us.
Thanks to all for the continued prayer and support.
Please say a special prayer today for the other teachers at school as they are travelling and dealing with visa issues this school break!
Much Love!!!

The biggest reason to stick to the speed limit.

Like a tent without poles….

A few weeks ago we went up to the North of the country. It is about an eight hour drive to get up to Opuwo from Windhoek. We decided to camp half way there as we only left at 3 pm, and in order to camp we had to buy a tent. It is extremely dangerous to drive at night as the animal activity peaks after dark. As the sun was setting we saw kudu (we almost hit a kudu, it ran out in front of us and then tripped), giraffes, Oryx, hundreds of warthogs and some klipspringers. Anyways, we bought a brand new seven man tent, it cost us $100, it was the cheapest one we could find. We finally got to the camping spot, we were exhausted and irritated, and hot, and hungry. So we pulled our tent out and as we are trying to set it up we realize that there were no tent poles in the bag. None. Not one. So there we were standing in the dust with a fancy piece of useless canvas. We ended up sleeping in the back of our truck, it has a short bed so we left the tail-gate open. Our feet stuck out into the Namibian night. While I was laying in the truck, wedged between the wheel well and the $10 Chinese store mattresses we bought, I was struck by something. If we were to attempt anything here without God, it would be like trying to pitch a tent with no poles. Even if things work out for a while, in the end it would be a miserable failure. We’ve been reminded of that over and over. Most of the kids we work with come out of such horrible home situations, that only God can make a difference and bring a real change in their lives.
Keep God in the center!