Michelle's visit

Today we say goodbye to Michelle which is very sad for us, but we will remember the precious times we shared together while she was here. She told us to "put her to work," and we sure did. She shared a devotion for the Youth Games day we hosted, and taught the "Girls talk" we held at our house for two days, she joined us for prayer and devotions, went out on the Care and Compassion visits, join in on the Discipleship clubs and had many opportunities to encourage and speak into individual lives. The fist pic is Pamela (from Uganda), myself and Michelle. The second Glen and Esther (from Belgium, training to be country directors in DRC), Pamela and Michelle. Thank you for the visit, Michelle. We had a great time touching lives together.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

We hosted a YOUTH GAME DAY. 32 young people and 7 staff gathered for a fun day at the MPMC (Multi-purpose center) in Okahandja, Saturday, August 9. These were students from the ARK (children’s home), and students from the local Choose to Wait club. They were allowed to bring one friend with them, and many of them did. We organized group games like dodge ball and dance freeze, as well as relay games like 3-legged race. The 3-leg race twist was that each team had to dribble a soccer ball while running.
Lunch and snack was served with cool drink, and as a special treat we dished up ice cream at the end of the day. They laughed and sang and danced together and we tried to capture the fun with these pictures to show you. Michelle Lenz, a youth speaker visiting from the USA, put the icing on the cake by sharing a moving devotional.

As partners you helped to sponsor this event and you should have been there to really appreciate the impact the day had on these teens. Maybe you can tell by the smiles on the faces. So thank you for helping us bring God’s love and just plain fun to these students!
We hope to host more of these types of events. This was just the beginning of a great youth outreach in this community. We will follow up this event with “Choose to Wait” classes and discipleship groups. Unlike in other parts of the world, these young people don’t have a youth group so these activities are embraced with all out enthusiasm. Please continue to pray for more youth workers and group leaders to join the fun.

August 7th 2008

One by one we serve those whom God bring us. It’s not something you can plan really. It just happens. Out of the blue someone asks, “Can we share a cup of tea?” Translated, that means, “I would like to talk, can you spare a few minutes?” It doesn’t matter if we drink coffee or tea or something else. We simply boil some water, grab a couple of cups, and set the stage. The important thing is that we take time to sit down eye to eye. So we sit, sip our drink and listen. Silently we’re praying for wisdom and discernment so that we are not giving from our own thoughts, but biblical answers and encouragement that comes by His Spirit. Many times we’ve asked ourselves, “What would Jesus do? What would He say to this person?”

One is a Choose to Wait teacher who is overwhelmed with his stressful schedule, another a Country Director who is having personnel issues, and another - is a mother with three young children who is having difficulty putting food on the table.

Each day there’s someone else, and each time there is challenge and reward. Sharing scripture or a prayer with someone is never hard. It’s always an absolute pleasure. We see the burden lifted off of weary shoulders, and tear-stained faces light up with a smile of relief. That’s the reward. But, the more we have these precious moments, we realize how much we need to be in the Word every day and bathing ourselves in prayer so that we have something to give when we are asked, “Can we share a cup of tea, please?”

While the team from the Netherlands was here there were opportunities to talk to and encourage them also. Some were interested in fulltime missions and we were able to share with them and others were searching for where God was calling them. We we able to pray with them as a group and Tony even had times where he was able to pray with individual members of the team.

We thank God for the opportunities that he gives us and will continue to look for those times where God allows us to work along side Him.

August 3rd 2008

THANK YOU!!!!
That is all we can say for those who took the time and the money to help get the items we asked Tom and Alice to bring to us. In the attached picture you will see a picture of Alice and Catherine showing all the items that were brought.
I can say that the tools were a blessing and will greatly help in the many projects that I will have to do while I am here. I have been amazed at how much work here is done by hand or with inferior equipment. I understand that you have to make do with what you have and with the money you have. You have helped make it a little easier to do some of the tasks that need to be done.
I am sharing the Starbuck’s coffee with those who come to our house and it is a blessing to see their faces light up to have a cup of freshly ground coffee. I even have shared my peanuts with our guests. The peanuts and the sunflower seeds have been a special treat from home that I will make last as long as possible.
There is a pastor that is working here that is from the United States and when I gave him a bag of Starbuck’s coffee he was overjoyed. He and his wife have missed the coffee from the states and I was happy that we were able to share what you all have given.The teaching aids will be a huge blessing in the schools and as we continue to develop relationships with the teachers we will have gifts to give them. The teachers are so happy to know that someone cares and that people would take the time to send them supplies. We will try to get pictures of the teachers with the supplies that have been sent.

August 1st 2008

August 1
We’ve come to the end of a very busy week. The Care and Compassion Consultation went very well and resulted in compiling a document of recommendations for the International Board to review and approve. It was insightful for us to sit in on the meetings to hear from the various national care and compassion workers. We had representatives from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Namibia, America, the UK and the DRC. Can you imagine the different perspectives, personal and professional perspectives? Each one displayed a true desire to serve people in need, specifically those infected with HIV/AIDS, and especially those who have no one else to speak for them.

Tony led the devotions on Tuesday, and I led worship all three days, which was a sweet spot for us. It’s humbling for us to lead this group of compassionate servants of the Lord, many of whom have been sacrificing and working for years in their various countries. We are still the new kids on the block, and yet feel so welcome and well received by everyone we’ve met. Our spiritual family has grown and become even more precious to us. I guess you might say that you have spiritual cousins all over the world. That sounds quite amazing doesn’t it?
The next three days we attended and participated in the International board meeting. I was part of a small worship team which led worship each of the three mornings, another bonus for me. Tony gave a devotional on Friday morning. Now, those of you who know him well know that he has never felt qualified to be a speaker, especially in the Church setting. But, we serve a God that uses willing vessels and qualifies us according to His standards. We are offering ourselves to serve however, wherever and whenever the Lord directs. It’s His work, these are His children, and we have the privilege of joining our Father as He builds His kingdom.

Sunday July 27th 2008

Watch Out For The COW!!!
On Sunday, July 27, 2008, Christ’s Hope officially opened the Ark in Oshikuku. There was a big dedication and there were around two hundred people in attendance to see the building officially opened. There were many people who spoke and said some wonderful things but there was one statement that really stood out to me. The National Director for Christ’s Hope Namibia said that he wanted to thank the children because it was in honor of them that the building was even built. It did not matter to me what everyone else said. That statement said it all and I believe that God smiled when He heard that. It reminded me of the verse where Jesus says that what we do for the least of these we do for Him.
After all the celebrating was completed several of us had to return to Okahandja that same day because we had to attend the Care and Compassion Consultation that was beginning at 8:00 AM the next morning. It is an eight hour drive during the day but at night you must drive much slower because there are animals that are often on the roads.
We left Oshikuku at around 5:30 PM and began our long journey home. At about midnight we were driving and a vehicle was coming from the other direction so we turned off our high beams. After the car passed us we turned on our high beams again. Just as we turned on our high beams we saw some dark figures on the road ahead of us. Apparently after the car passed going the other way a herd of cows began crossing the road. We hit the brakes and watched as we drew closer to the cows. It became apparent that we were not going to be able to stop in time. We ended up hitting one of the cows pretty hard and came to an abrupt stop.
Now you have to understand that the engine was in the back of the vehicle so there was nothing between us and the cows but the bumper and the windshield. I was in the passenger seat and had a very close view of the cows when we hit. The Lord had His angels working overtime because we had slowed down enough that we did not hurt the vehicle or the cow. We and the cow were pretty shook up but we were all OK.
Needless to say we drove even slower the rest of the way home. We saw many more animals on the road and because we were driving slowly we were able to avoid them all. We finally arrived home at 3:00 AM in the morning and had time to sleep for a few hours before we had to attend our first meetings. We thank God for his hand of protection that was on us. Had we been driving the normal speed limit we would have been seriously hurt and the cow would have probably been killed.
Thank you for your prayers. I am sure it is all the prayer coverage we have that also protected us.