Another picture journey.

I love to take pictures (in case you haven’t noticed :). Here are some recent pictures from my camera. Enjoy the look into our week!

The first one is of the sunset view at “The Tug.” The Tug is a restaurant near the pier in Swakopmund. Swakop, is the coastal getaway for many of the more affluent people in Namibia. John and Suzanne know a couple who own a beach house down there, and they let us missionaries use it free of charge! We spent three nights there with the rest of the leadership team. I love hos the sunset is caught in the water of the ocean, and in the water in our glasses. It was a good night. We were able to just relax with John and Suzanne, and share some hilarious stories. It was a great time of refreshing!

Marye and I keep showing up in the same outfits. We keep joking that we pre-plan to dress the same, but we don’t. Marye is a great friend, and an absolute encouragement to us out here. She also has a fantastic dress sense:) The first picture is of us standing in the Namib desert, right after we climbed to the top of Dune 7. The second is on the deck on the outside of the beach house that we were staying at.

This picture shows the results of a day running around on the sand dunes on a windy day. (The line is from David’s Bronco hat). We had sand pouring out of our ears, eyes, pockets, and noses. It was worth it! David and Marye sandy boarded down the dune, and John and Suzanne got to experience dune 7 for the first time ever. Next time we know to go in the morning before the wind picks up.

This is a snapshot of our Thanksgiving table. I made the Turkey, it was pretty good! I used lemons and oranges this year, along with the olive oil and some other super secret ingredients. In this picture you can see John giving us a history lesson about the pilgrims. We had some guest there who experienced their very first Thanksgiving. We have a lot to be thankful for this year!

This last picture is of a rain storm in the desert area of Namibia. Namibia is known as the driest country in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is amazing when it rains, I am always reminded of that “grace like rain” song. Grace is an undeserved gift freely given. Just like the rain here will bring life and wash the earth clean, the Grace of God does the same in our lives. I pray this week you will experience the grace and presence of God like rain in the desert.

It is December.

In the last week the school closed, the Christmas play was performed, we had a leadership retreat at the coast, and now we are preparing classes for the new year. Phew!
 The last week of school was a mad rush, teachers worked on grades and finishing up grades, and the students were getting antsy. David had, and still has, loads to do in the admin department. The last day of school was a celebration complete with gifts for each child, and a hearty delicious lunch.
The Christmas play was a great success! The kids completely enjoyed themselves, the audience was enthralled. It was great to see people completely enjoy themselves. The play ended with the kids declaring to their community that more than anything else on earth they need Jesus Christ. This is why we are here.
There were tears too as some kids were forgotten by their caregivers, one mother showed up so drunk she spent the evening walking up and down the aisle making a fool of herself. Thanks for the prayers, and I hope that next year some of you will be here to see the play first hand!
This past weekend David and I went to Swakopmund with the Hunters, Marye, and Archie and Rome. It was a much needed retreat. We prayed for the next school year, spent some time on the beach, and got to know each other better. The highlight of the weekend was a Thanksgiving feast on Sunday night. I made the turkey, it was a hit. I used lemons and oranges this year, and I think I found my new favorite turkey recipe!
We have been sitting in class for two days now, and will be until the end of the week, preparing for next year. I will be teaching health, science, geography, grammar, and art. David will be teaching discipleship, and P.E.
If you made it this far thanks for reading this boring update 🙂

Please continue to pray for us, and especially for each and every student at CHS.

A little taste of our Thanksgiving…

Thanksgiving.

On Thursday night our school will have it’s annual Christmas play, I can’t think of a better way to spend thanksgiving. The kids are so excited, the costumes are ready, the lines are memorized, and the dance steps are ready to dazzle! For one night the residents of Katutura will forget the heartache outside.

Have a blessed thanksgiving this year, remember that Christ has come, and say a prayer for each and every student at Community Hope School

The view…

Julia.

One of the hardest things about missions is being so far away from family. It is especially difficult during the holidays or on their birthdays. Today is such a day.
Our beautiful niece Julia is celebrating her eleventh birthday today.

Dear Julia
We love you so very much. We are sorry that we only get to see you every now and then, and that we live so very far away. We are very proud of the smart and pretty cool girl you are growing up to be. Have a great birthday this year, say hi to you mom, dad, grandma, grandma Shirley, and of course to Andi and Daisy. We hope you get to come visit us out here some day, you can meet some crazy African eleven year olds that we are working with.
Love you so much!
David and Sandy

An anthem of sorts.

I found this old blog post in the draft folder,

This blog post is dates back to May. I just found it today in a draft folder. We thought it was pretty funny. Enjoy.

New look.

We have a permit to be here now. So a new look seemed in order. This blog is now about our life here in Namibia. Let us know what you think. If you are viewing this in Facebook click here to see the blog.

Thanks for all for helped us to get here, the future is bright!

Love!

Aliens in our yard.