“Aacckk!”

“Aacckk! That’s not a lizard — it’s an alligator!!”

I have had a grand adventure discovering the different types of wildlife found here in Namibia. Being here in this wonderful country I have learned that there are many snakes that can cause death, that giraffes and flamingos roam free and that warthogs gather together to go to the watering hole.

God’s wonderful creation is just one of the many blessings that I have experienced here. The Lord continues to show His faithfulness and how He transcends all cultures, tongues, and people. Jesus has been doing a great work through Three Measures’ Thrive group and through the Echols. He is revealing Himself to these young adults in powerful ways. I have just been with them for about two weeks and I have seen them show the love of Christ to each other and really be a community of believers. They welcomed me in without hesitation and allowed me to become a part of that community.

Tennis has been a huge part of this community. It recently started up again, which has given me the ability to build relationships in a sport that I love. I am excited to see what the Lord will do through us in this season and how He will move to bring transformation.

Melissa Faraci

Rango.

Fievel goes west.

Today during my bedresting I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked up and guess what I saw?! A field mouse sitting in my sock drawer watching me. Just sitting there. Without a care in the world. I stayed on the bed. There was no way I was going to lumber/waddle over to it and chase it around the room. It’s way too hot here for that. David came home about 15 minutes later, the whole time the mouse just sat there hanging out. So anyway he caught the mouse with an empty ice cream dish. And tomorrow we will go set it free near someone else’s underwear drawer!

Scorpion on the Dune.

We spotted this critter while we were on Dune 7, (a few weeks ago) David and Marye were sand boarding and I was walking up the dune I saw this little guy digging a hole. Later we found out that they are extremely poisonous! When I looked at the pictures later I saw some venom dripping out of the stinger, yikes! He kept making clicking noises too. I took the pictures of him under the rock, and then David took the ones of him up close. It kept running up to the camera! I am happy we have not found any of these in our yard, and most of the ones we have found on the YWAM base are brown and not poisonous. So don’t let this scare you off!

Found on my SD card.

My SD card is full again, so I was going through the pictures and found some interesting ones from the last few  months. So how about another picture journey, it’s been a while!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is that?!

Golden Orb Weaver

We took Mark out to the YWAM base. After showing him around a bit we went for a short hike in the hills around the base. We planned on going all the way to the top, but the rain has caused the lake to overflow and the plants to grow like nobody’s business. It was tricky navigating between the weeds, and the SPIDERS!
David and I nicknamed this part of the base the “spider forest” a while back. They have Golden Orb Weavers all over the place. The spiders are huge, they like to make their webs between two trees so that they can hang out at face level all day. So the hike consists of looking up for spiders and down for snakes. I am not sure if Mark really enjoyed being stuck up there with us and all the Namibian “wild life.”

We brought a spider home so that I could take some pictures of it to share with you. These creatures are as terrifying as they are beautiful From what I have read it seems like their bite is not too bad for humans, but still I think the sheer size of their fangs would cause enough damage!!

They now wait in the sink.

Just hanging out in the kitchen to startle me as I prepare my morning oatmeal was not enough for these critters. No. The creepy crawlies of Namibia got together and decided that it would be WAAAAYYYYYYYYYY funnier to hang out in the sink. This way only when my hand is reaching into the sink will I spot them. The ensuing screaming and dancing is hilarious I’m sure.

For those who wonder, this beauty was about 2.5 inches from leg tip to leg tip.

Shudder.

Ever see that movie District 9?

 

 It seems the aliens have invaded my kitchen. And guess what? This little guy can FLY! Whopeee!

Critter of the week…