Twists and Turns

They are splashing in the pool. It’s blazing hot here right now! Left to right – Bonnie, Jan, and Bernard. All three boys are from the Okahandja Children’s home run by Christ’s Hope. We call it the ARK of Okahandja. The ARK in Noah’s day rescued Mister & Misses Bear, Mister & Misses Elephant, and all the other Mister & Misses animals. The ARK here rescues children at risk. We have 13 children that have come to us for various reasons. Some are not well cared for because they have a single parent who is struggling to care for them, or they are from an extended family who is unable to care for them on a full-time basis, or they are orphans. Some have struggles in school, they have learning disorders, or emotional problems, so caring for them becomes somewhat of a challenge.

Right now the ARK is run by a single young German woman (Julia) who has social services experience and expertise. She is assisted by 3 women who help with housekeeping, and a few volunteers (mostly from Holland at the moment.) The volunteers usually stay one year, but some only 3 months or 6 months. As you can imagine this makes keeping a regular routine rather tough with people coming and going all the time. The ARK has recently changed management, exchanging a set of house parents for Julia and because of that and the fact that there is no “Father” image in the homes - the boys especially are reacting to the change with some behaviors that warrant special attention.

Guess who the Namibia Country Director called upon to help? You guessed it: Tony the hammer. (Oh, that was his nickname in Kenya last summer, sorry, some of you don’t know that one) Hammer – get it? The builder. Me? Well I support where I can. We’ve stepped into the role of “Principal” just about 2 weeks ago, and it’s not anything we planned for or were really prepared for really. But, God is helping us as we get to know and love these kids.

Today the three oldest boys came over to help me with a sanding project. I’m re-painting two wooden chairs and my arms were screaming at me to stop torturing them with the repetitious and tedious work. So, I used my project as an excuse to borrow the boys. Julia gladly agreed to part with them, and in about one hour the four of us had the sanding done. I thanked them with glasses of orange Fanta and a swim in the pool, which they loved ! You can see from the pictures that it was a very fun and playful afternoon. It’s probably chilly winter weather where you live right now, but here – it’s around 95 degrees and a dip in the pool is a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Thanks for praying for these boys and others like them who need to know how much God loves them and how they can serve Him and live a life that puts a smile on the Father’s face. They need instruction on how to grow up to be a Godly father, since they’ve never had that role model in their own lives. Keep Tony in prayer too, he grew up without that Godly role model himself so he’s having to depend on his heavenly Father daily for instruction on how to do this. Uncle Tony is becoming more familiar to them and already I can see them relax and feel more secure around us. It seems quite clear that God has extra bonuses planned for our time here. Three of them played in our pool today.

Have a wonderful day filled with thanks-giving! We miss YOU!

What a Week

Last week was one of those weeks that after it is done and over you thank God because there is no way you could have made it on your own. Where do I start with how it was?

Okay let's start from the beginning and see how it goes. Monday was a good day and I felt that the rest of the week would be okay. Tuesday was not so bad; I had so many emails to respond to I felt like I was going to drown. I managed to get through them all and by the end of the day I felt good because I could see that I accomplished quite a bit.

Wednesday was when everything changed. Eric, coworker, asked me if I would be able to give the message at Manna church on Sunday because he could not find anyone else. I had already told him that if he could not find anyone else that I would gladly fill in for Sunday. I had really thought he would be able to find someone else. I completed my tasks for the morning and was heading home for lunch. I stopped by the store to buy a few things we needed at home. When I went out to the bakkie (truck) the key broke. It is the only key. God was watching over me though because when I looked up I saw Julius, coworker from Oshikuku, parked on the street. Julius ended up running me around for about three hours trying to get a new key. We eventually had success.

It had taken all afternoon to get a key so I could not do any more work that day. I went home exhausted and frazzled. I knew the enemy was trying to get to me. He almost did but God was always with me and I stayed calm and mangaged to begin working on my message for Sunday.

Thursday was crazy because I had to catch-up from Wednesday and I also had to fix some plumbing problems at the childrens ARK. We have had a lot of rain so there are leaks in the roof. Well we had to chip out the concrete wall to get to the pipes. The walls are solid concrete here so it takes much longer to find the leak let alone fix it. We managed to get to the pipes by the end of the day.

Friday we had to go back and continue working on the plumbing issue. We cut out all the old pipes and installed new pipes. We tested the water and there were no leaks but there was still water leaking somewhere because water was still leaking through to the first floor, which they call the ground floor. So we began chipping up the floor to get to the drain. Yes the floor is solid concrete also. We were able to get to the drain by the afternoon and fix the leaks there. We felt confindent that we got all the leaks.

Okay I have not worked on my message since Wednesday but I am so tired that we decide to just take the night off and watch a movie. Later that night Catherine was checking her emails and read an email from some friends who said that God had blessed them and that they wanted to help us buy a car. PRAISE THE LORD!!! What an answer to prayer!!! It was a good thing were both sitting down when she read it.

Saturday I went into Windhoek to look at vehicles. I took the bakkie and was excited to be looking for a vehicle for us. I met Berdian, coworker, and he took me around to at least 12 different used car dealerships. We finally found a good bakkie (truck). We went back to his house so I could drop him off and so I could head home. The new key I had made broke in the ignition.

This was about 11:00 am. It took until about 6:00pm to finally get the piece out of the ignition and to get a new key made. I finally got home about 8:00 pm.

Okay I am tired, exhausted, but I still have to finish my message for Sunday. As I reflected on the week I realized that the enemy had tried to take me out but God had been with me the whole week and had given me a piece that helped me endure everything that the enemy threw at me.

I was up till midnight but I got my message done and I did okay on Sunday. I had a few people come up to me afterwards and tell me how right on the message was for them. I told them I was only sharing what God placed on my heart. Needless to say I have preached twice now and led devotions several times. I even led a chapel service. God is streching me beyond anything I had ever imagined.

Okay I better wrap this up. But one final story. Today, Monday the 24th, I went to get some tools out of our garage to finish working on the plumbing problem. When I moved a box I saw something move on the floor. It was a scorpion!!! Okay that is the first time I ever saw one in the wild and he was mad. I killed him and attached is the picture. Oh the fun we have here. Talk to you all soon.

Someone is watching

2 Timothy 2:1 “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”

Do you remember hearing the words of Jesus, “…go and make disciples?” That command was given to all of us, not just pastors and missionaries. The test of a true believer. Those who know HIM live to make HIM known. Where do we start? It's simple - wherever you are. We are here in Okahandja and every where we turn there are those who have a knowledge of Jesus Christ, but don’t really understand what it means to “follow” Him. That’s where discipleship steps into the picture. We begin with building relationships with those who are willing and desire to know what living the life of a Christ follower looks like in practice. Once we establish a relationship by getting to know each other, a trust begins to form, and we then have an avenue to gently instill biblical principles and demonstrate Godly character.

Yes, this takes patience, time and energy to even begin to fulfill the command. But, we don’t really have a choice. It’s our Christ-given assignment. Of course, this also requires that we, ourselves are living a God-honoring life. We are called to a high standard. Knowing that others are watching can discourage anyone from fulfilling the assignment of a Discipler. But, we must not let that or anything else deter us from the path.

This past weekend, we invited several of the older boys to come and swim at our house. These are all boys that I’ve had in my Choose to Wait seminar and they also attended our youth event, but Tony didn’t know them and they didn’t know him. Well, now the foundation has been laid for the beginnings of a discipleship group. They horse-played in the pool, kicked the soccer ball around, played Bocce ball, and we laughed and played all afternoon. Sensing that they didn’t want to leave, we invited them to stay for supper. They had never tasted Italian food before. Spaghetti and meatballs disappeared from the table as expressions of gratitude filled the room. Without me asking, several of the boys cleared the table and began washing the dishes. In no time the kitchen was clean. We asked if they wanted to watch a movie. Without hesitation smiles and nods confirmed what I already knew. They watched “Robin Hood Prince of Thieves” and emptied the bowl of M&M’s and peanuts I set out on the table.

As you look at the pictures, please remember to pray for these boys. They are all Christians, but desire to know more and they have the potential to encourage and disciple younger students. They only lack the knowledge and training. Pray for Tony as he leads these boys and for me as I do the same with a group of girls. It’s a a pleasure to work with these students. They are well-mannered and respectful to us, but they have a tough life and are challenged everyday with issues of morality and integrity. They are the future generation and God has His hand on their lives to bring healing to a lost and hurting Africa. Christ working through them is the hope that motivates our work here. (Ephesians 1:15-17)

Gabriel: During a small group session, Gabriel opened up and shared thoughts that I believe were stirring for some time in his heart. “Miss, you don’t know how hard it is for a boy to grow up here in Africa. He tries to study and do his work at school, but all day he knows that soon he will have to go back home. And what does he find there? His mother and father fighting, his father drunk and beating his mother. Who will give him food? He must go to bed hungry and alone and afraid.” Then, he turned to me and spoke these words that I will never forget. “Miss, I want to be the father that you teach us about in Choose to Wait; I want to be the husband that you teach us about.” Those words inspire me every day to keep teaching, keep encouraging and keep loving these young people. We prayed in our small group for all the young children in similar situations and for each other as we commit ourselves to following Christ’s teaching and His example of sacrificial love.

Group picture from left to right: Gabriel, Clinton, Mattheus, Simon, and Dieudonne (one of our CTW teachers. He’s a refugee from Burundi).

More Pictures of the North Outreach

More pictures...

Outreach to the North

How far north? Someone asked. About seven hours north of Okahandja, Namibia. Now, try to capture this picture. We are now enjoying summer here. The temperature is hovering around 90 F. Nice, dry, heat, but closer to 98 in the north. You might feel a slight breeze - around 10 p.m. on a good day. Ugh! But we rented a vehicle with Air conditioning since there wasn't a Center vehicle that could make the trip safely. We packed up ourselves and our new puppy and arrived safe and sound.

The reason for the trip was for me (Catherine) to conduct a Choose to Wait teacher training in a town about 3 hours away from Oshikuku, called Omutele. Contact had been made with a pastor there and he was interested in knowing more about the program. So arrangements were made and preparations made for the Oshikuku Choose to Wait team to accompany me, while Tony stayed back at the Oshikuku center with Bella.

The training was to begin at 6 p.m. Friday evening, but when we arrived at 5 - no one seemed to know we were coming, except the pastor who was not to be found. After contacting the pastor by phone and making a few adjustments to our plans, we realized that what we had planned isn't going to fly. The community that we had entered was extremely poor and the church reflected that state. No one really knew who we were or what our program was about, only that we were christians and teaching a program about sexual abstinence. When we began to sing and dance, the young people showed up, then the children, then the older folks (out of curiosity, I'm sure). By then it was around 8 p.m. and the church was beginning to fill up.

So much for the training. The group was too varied in age and backgrounds, we needed to adjust, again. Quick! We turned the event into a mini youth conference. At one point two of our team took a group of children to the back of the church for a kids club activity. We ended up Saturday afternoon having been very well received and reaching about 80 people in that community, sharing the message of God's plan for the world through His Son, Jesus. The theme became - You have a Maker, and He has a plan for your life. The pastor walked us to our vehicle and made us all but promise that we would return to continue the teaching on Choose to Wait, stating over and over again that there are schools all around the region that need to have this teaching. We felt honored that God chose us to bring the Good News to these brothers and sisters in Christ.

They did not prepare a meal for us (we packed a lunch), they didn't provide tea or coffee, or even water for that matter - but they showed us love and open hearts. We came away full!

What a lesson that was. My plan was thwarted - but God's was so much better! Another lesson on humility to add to the list. Pictures of some of our team wearing Choose to Wait t-shirts, of some of the youth dancing, and me too. One of pastor Adam, Fillippe (one of our team) who was a translator, and Julius (the Ministry Coordinator in Oshikuku). There's a couple of me teaching, and several of the participants. You can see the various ages of those who attended.