Meeting a hero.

Andimba Herman Toivo ya Toivo visited our school today! His name is a mouthful, in fact his name is like the toy boat toy boat tongue twister, but when Namibians hear his name they cheer, gasp, and some ever dance! We were familiar with the name as there is a Andimba Herman Toivo ya Toivo street near our house. Mr. Toivo ya Toivo is a hero. He is one of the freedom fighters. One of those legendary men who stood up to racist regimes, for the basic rights of his own people. Mr. Toivo ya Toivo spent 16 years in jail, some of it on Robben Island with Mr. Nelson Mandela.
Read a short biography on his life here.

It was an honor to meet him. He is a humble, witty and funny man! When he heard I was from South Africa he demanded a labola from David. He said he did not want money or cattle, but giraffes, lions, elephants and other wild animals. The second grade class made cards for him he teased them as he accepted them. He also encouraged all the kids to stick to their studies, to work hard at school and to reach for their dreams.

It was such a great day.
Take time today to pray for the government of Namibia.

Critter of the week.

Update!

I have been a bad blogger, but I have been a very busy with all the things that go on here. It is a new week, and it is a new school year! The kids came to school bright eyed in their shiny new shoes, and ironed shirts. They sat down eagerly to breakfast and all huddled into their new classes to find their seats. We now have over a hundred students! The new grade one students looked so cute in their over sized pants and enormous backpacks!
The day was full of glitches,  we spent a lot of time working on the schedule and trying to figure out where to sit all the kids down for lunch. Things should run smoother tomorrow! I have also been working on Visa applications for two new teachers. There so much pressure to get it right, even one mistake could meant that they do not get their visas!
The new teachers seemed to do well in their classes, tomorrow will be my turn to take on teaching a whole bunch of subjects. It is amazing to see where we are right now! When we graduated from CCCB I never thought I would be trying out how to teach the Bible in grammar class.

I am also still taking part in Project 52, I just failed to get the picture uploaded for last week. The theme for last week was “Illustrate a song” I was inspired by the sunset here, and one of my friends, you know who you are! So here is my picture:

 

One eleven eleven.

It is international “Thank you” day today! So David and I and our local baboon spokesman would like to take this day to say “THANK YOU!!!” to all our prayer partners, supporters, friends, and family around the world. You are our legs and arms, we would not be able to be here without you.

New Year!

We are back at school! Classes have not resumed yet, but we are back in teacher training and class preparation. Adam and I spent some time today in the second grade class. The desks and chairs are empty ready to be filled with smiling faces, the walls are bare ready to be filled with art projects, and we are ready and eager to teach!
I am absolutely excited about the upcoming year. I have so many ideas! In art class we are doing a school wide rendition of Starry Starry Night, in Geography we will have passports that we stamp as we adventure through the seven continents, and in Science class we will learn to make our own soap!
Keep your eyes on this space!!

We still feel our hearts being drawn to church planting and the desperately under evangelized North. It has been quite a journey to get here, and to get to what God has in store for us. We are still not sure what that is, maybe a church is Windhoek? The area in Katutura is sorely underchurched and the churches that are there are… different. We visited one that charged for baptism, and one that took up an offering from a grieving family during the funeral. There are broken hearts, lives, and people all around us.
Keep praying!

Also it has been raining each day for about three or maybe four weeks now. Our plants are thriving! The rain smells wonderful, the world around us is green, and at night we get to fall asleep to the sound or distant rolling thunder and the sound of raining sifting onto the roof. God is good!

Project 52

The 365 (taking a picture every day of the year) project is very popular. I have been thinking of jumping on that bandwagon, but I think I already post way too many pictures on here 🙂 I recently learned about Project 52, this is only taking one picture a week. If you are interested in joining click here. Every week a new theme will be posted. This week it is “around the house.”
Join the fun, and show off your photography skills!

Whoosh!

That is the sound of the December break flying by! My parents are on their way back to South Africa, and preparation for the new year is in full swing. Our staff and teachers are making their pilgrimage back to Namibia after spending time in countries throughout Africa.
We are looking forward to our first January at the school. David is working hard on streamlining the way the school runs, and preparing for the classes he will be teaching. I am working on my Art and Health classes. There is always something that needs to be done! Our one year mark in Namibia is quickly approaching.

In the last week it has been raining almost non-stop here. It is an absolute blessing! The landscape around us has been transformed, who knew Namibia could be lush? We pray that in the same way it has been raining here God will pour His blessings on you in this new year. May 2011 be a time of joy and refreshing for you! Please prey the same for each one of our ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT students, especially pray for the 20 new students that will be joining CHS this year.

Things that go bump in the night.

These beauties can run up to 10mph and they like to follow you around to stay in your shadow to get out of the sun. I am not sure why it has a white fur coat, why it has so many legs, what on earth is protruding out of it’s mouth, why it’s creepy little eyes are staring,or why I got so close to it to take this picture.
Now excuse me while I run away screaming.

Voorspoedige Nuwe Jaar!

 

Jessica.

I just heard that one of our kid’s mothers passed away. Jessica is in grade one. Her mom tested positive for HIV in March of this year. She had been on the ARV drugs. She was doing great. The last time we saw her she seemed as healthy and happy as ever. Jodie had been dropping of fresh produce and other food at her house so she could get the food she needed in order to take her ARV. This is absolutely devastating.
Jessica lived with her mom and dad n a room they rent from Jessica’s grandfather. The grandfather is a selfish man, and treated them harshly. Her dad has a job but never brings any money home to the family. He does occasionally buy them food.
When we visited their house I was impressed by how clean she kept their room, and what a good mother she was. She had pictures of Jessica up on the wall along with some drawings she had made at school. I have not seen anything like that in any of our other kids homes. It was one of the cleanest homes I’ve been in. She was an example to the families around her.
I am not sure what will happen to Jessica now.
Please be praying for them as we try to figure out the best thing to do.