Holiday R & R

We had a few days off and decided to explore the countryside around Okahandja. Several people told us that there are hiking trails and a local camp area where people fish and water ski. Finally we had a chance to scout around the day after Christmas. So we packed up Bella, some snacks, water, and camera and headed out of the city limits. The pictures tell the rest of the story. The Dam is a beautiful, peaceful location overlooking the city. We took a nap under a tree, watched amused as Bella explored new smells (like crabfish), read a little, snacked a little and came home refreshed. When you come to visit - we'll take you there.

Youth Camp

You all have seen the pictures that Catherine posted about the youth camp. In the second picture there are four boys. These are the four boys that were in my small group. I have to say that this camp strengthened my relationship with God.

These four guys were hungry and had many questions about God and the Bible. I was challenged to find answers to their questions and spent a lot of time in my Bible finding the answers they needed. Each one asked good questions and were happy to have someone who took the time to give them honest answers.

The camp leader taught on Romans chapters seven and eight. During each session the kids were taking notes and paying close attention. During our small group discussions we asked and answered questions about what was taught during each session. I was impressed with the questions and the discussions we had.

God worked in many of the kids lives that attended the camp. In reading their comment cards at the end of the camp we saw how many of them had a deeper understanding of the Bible and of God. Several said the camp helped get their lives back on track with God.

I have taken one of the boys, Simon, under my wing and have begun working with him. He works in our yard each week and I am teaching him how to use power tools. We are building some bookcases for our house and he is excited because he is learning how to work with wood. He is a quick learner and I am excited to be able to work with him. Simon has asked me to teach him how to drive. I have flashbacks to teaching a couple of our kids how to drive and am a little apprehensive. We will see if I will actually teach him to drive.

I am thankful that God allowed me to speak into the lives of the four boys at the camp. I pray that what they were taught and what we talked about will help them grow closer to God. Pray that I will have more opportunities to work with these boys in the future.

Merry Christmas

How do we even begin to describe how happy we are. The truck you see pictured above is a Christmas present from some wonderful friends. We received an email from our friends in response to an email Catherine had sent out about us needing our own vehicle and asking for prayer.

The email said that they had been blessed and that they wanted to buy us a vehicle for Christmas. It was a good thing we were sitting down when we read that email. In fact we read it a couple more times to make sure we were actually reading what we thought we read.

It took a while to find a good vehicle and we were finally able to pick up our truck on December 12th. It is a 2003 Isuzu double cab. I know there are some of you in shock that I did not get a Toyota but in Namibia Toyota's are very expensive and the Isuzu is very good.

We are in awe at how God has provided for us over this past year. He has taken very good care of us and we are humbled to be able to serve Him here in Africa. Looking back we see how God has used us to reach so many people and as much as we give out we are never able to out give God.

We are also thankful for all of our family and friends who are helping us by praying for us. The prayers are the most valuable gift you can give us. We also are thankful for the emails and Skype conversations we have with some of you. Hearing from you is the second greatest gift you give us. Being so far from home it is nice to hear from you all so please keep in touch. Lastly we are extremely thankful for the financial support that we have received. The money we have been entrusted with has reached and touched so many lives. We have tried to share some of the stories here on our blog.

Take the open door

The first morning at camp, we woke up to neighbors. A small white car and 2-man tent was just a few feet away from ours. While in the restroom, I met the young woman and later was introduced to her boyfriend. Sarah and Gram are from South Carolina, but are taking a few months off to tour around Africa. They had just come from Etosha (Game park). He’s a South African so he’s guiding the tour and commented that they are enjoying Namibia.

It didn’t take long for them to ask me why we were there. Come on, you see a white lady and all these black kids camping out – you can imagine their curiosity. So naturally I took the open door and shared about our mission here, including a brief message of the “Choose to Wait” program. I boldly stated that God has a design for His children to have healthy bodies and healthy marriages, but our selfish nature has taken over and wreaked havoc causing disease and death, pain and suffering. “God’s design is that sex is for marriage and marriage is for love, but these kids don’t know what love is. They mistake sex for love and that has caused a great deal of damage.” I spoke without compromise. (Even though I knew that they are camping out together and obviously sleeping together.)

Much to my surprise, they continued to ask me questions and stretched out the conversation for nearly an hour. Just as it was getting dark, Tony walked up and I introduced them to him. We chatted a few more minutes and then, Gram stated, “Well, we were going to just dump the tent and camping stuff tomorrow on our way to the Airport, but maybe you could use it.” Of course we agreed. It was settled that they would leave the tent set up for us since they were leaving very early the next morning. Tony handed Sarah one of our cards and we said our goodbyes, inviting them to come to Okahandja and visit sometime.

The next morning, Tony pulled a few things out of the little tent including a soft cooler, a lantern, a sleeping bag, two beach towels and a kitchen knife. The rest of our camp staff looked puzzled as Tony loaded the items into our tent. “Did you steal that stuff from those people? What are you doing?” After we had a good laugh, we had a chance to remind them that you never know who you will meet and what God has in store – if you just obey and walk through the open door.

We pray for Sarah and Gram that they will seek to know the God of creation and make Him their Lord and Savior. It’s apparent to us that God was reaching out to them through us. I love this job!

Tony will write more about the camp..... soon..... but here are a few pics to get you started.

Youth Camp

We're putting on a small youth camp by invitation only since we are limited on space for transport and accomodations, but we're excited about it. You should always appreciate that small may be better in some ministry cases. We'll write more about how the camp went, but first I wanted to post a couple of pictures of our fundraiser for the camp. We sold used clothes and food that we prepared just outside of our Center. The guys fired up the BBQ and grilled lamb, sausage and beef and they sold like hot cakes. We made enough money to sponsor all the campers to go to a local acquarium during the camp. That will be a fun outing! The pic with me and Julia (her and her husband are local pastors and hosting the camp). The pic with me and blonde Rachel (her and her husband are from Belgium and here for training until they head to the DRC to head up the Christ's Hope ministry there.)

Let's be FAIR

My mother always says, "what you do for one, you must do for all." Anyone that has more than one child knows that you must remember this principle. We had the boys over to swim and of course we had to make time for the girls to come also. Only two earned the privilege of coming to swim. You can see that they enjoyed themselves and I had fun taking pictures.