~ Thursday, July 31, 2003
Here is a photo of Richard trying to be a flannel board and tell a story at the same time. Help! Anyway the story was good. We all went in the boat in the storm as Jesus slept. The thunder clapped, the lightening flashed we all huddled in fright. The boat went up and down and side to side, rain came down and got us all wet but no need to worry Jesus was near and he was not afraid. We all get real close to Jesus and woke him up and he told the storm to be still, and you know what, it became calm. we all shouted for joy. That was the gist of it anyway.
They all acted it out with great excitement. Then we lost them again. Attention span very short. We tried another story of the five loaves and two fishes but they wanted lunch... so that took care of that.
~ posted by mexikids at 6:13 AM
~ Friday, July 25, 2003
Mission Log 25th July 2003
Miss Kaye is in Africa! She arrived on Wednesday morning bright and early.
We have moved into an apartment and are settling in. I am directionally challenged and can hardly find my way out of a paper bag but she is doing well. We are 15 minutes walk from the center of the City and everything we need is right around the block. It is a nice bright apartment and the weather is warming up a bit in the daytime now so it is quite comfortable being outside.
On Saturday we will be traveling through the desert to Swacopmund on the coast for 5 days of ministry. Lon will be preaching at the Swacop River Community Church on Sunday and we will be working with the church's leadership on Church Growth and Small Group development.
I also hope we will get some time to visit the dunes. This is the second oldest desert in the world and has the highest dunes of all. It is also fantastic that the desert goes right into the sea. You can experience the change in vegetation until there is nothing but sand in the 200 mile drive through the Kalahari desert and the Namib desert until you come to Swacopmund. The last time we went there it was hot and windy. Now it is cold and misty. The weather patterns here are very unpredictable but interesting.
I have been doing a lot of reading on the history of Namibia... on the geological paradise that it is, and on it's business, legal and economic structures. I am finding it possible to minister in a great variety of ways here. Had another meeting today regarding the furniture factory and am looking forward to continuing the process of getting a Learning Center built in Okahandja. I have built a lot of factories and warehouse structures in my life but non as exciting as this.
As I have been talking about becoming a "journeymate" to those that "God puts in your way" among the church family, Dieter Morsbach brought me this song that he found about that concept. I wish you could hear the music but if you can’t at least you can read the words. The words say it all for me:
Brother let me be your servant
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I will have the Grace
To let you be my servant too.
We are pilgrims on a journey
We are brothers on a road
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load.
I will hold the Christ light for you
In the night time of your fear
I will hold my hand out to you
Speak the peace you long to hear.
I will weep when you are weeping
When you laugh, I'll laugh with you
I will share your joy and sorrow
I will see this journey through.
When we sing to God in heaven
We shall find such harmony
Born of all we've known together
Of Christ's love and agony.
God bless you all. Please keep praying for us as we continue to minister in Namibia. The prayer is still the same for hope for Namibia and for the wisdom to select wisely from the buffet of service opportunities that the Lord would have us cooperate with Him on.
~ posted by mexikids at 1:21 PM
~ Sunday, July 20, 2003
Mission Log July 20 2003
Well I did not make it to Etosha. There was not enough room for all the people who wanted to go plus Lon and myself. I have already been there and decided to wait until Kaye gets here to go again with Lon and Val. The team did tell me that they saw all the animals especially herds of elephants and lions which is unusual so good for them.
I used the time to reconnect with the furniture project and am glad I did. I really think this a possibility. I have all the background information I need now and we have worked out a plan to raise some capital from selling existing surplus equipment. It will be enough if it can all come in promptly so that it does not dwindle away in ongoing expenses. I need an accountant to work out the cash flow spread sheet so we can set some deadlines and make a plan to spend the money that comes in wisely and in a timely fashion. Timing is everything with this project. Anyone want to come over and help me?
We will start by beefing up the sawmill in the north on the Angolan border to increase the sales of raw saw cut timber. I would like to go and see that operation but somehow living in a tent in the jungle 9 hours drive away is a bit scary for me just now. It is tempting though. Nothing like seeing what you are talking about first hand.
The team returned on Saturday afternoon and we all went to a farewell Braai (African Bar-B-Que) for them out on a farm in Okahandja. I hope Kaye and I can find a few days to go out there and stay, as country life is far different than city life. There is Namibian national who is a missionary to Israel who returns to Israel on the 8th of August. Her flat could be a possible place to stay at for a few days. Sad to see the team leave because they have really had a tremendous impact. They leave for home right after church on Sunday.
I will be busy the next two days moving to an apartment to get it ready for Kaye's arrival on Wednesday. She will have two days to revive after the long trip before being on the go again. The plan is for Lon, Val, Kaye and I to drive to Swacopmund on Saturday afternoon for a few days. She will get to see both the Kalahari desert and the Namib desert on the drive there.
Swacopmund is a lovely German resort town on the coast. Hope the east wind has stopped blowing, as it is very hot and dusty in the morning when it is. Otherwise it is cool, shorts, sandals and T-shirt weather. The blowing sand from these winds can strip the paint off your car and completely sand blast the windshield if you get caught driving in a sandstorm. I am looking forward to the ministry in Swacopmund. Small group ministry is right up my street. It is a very pleasant town to walk around in so it will be a nice introduction to Namibia for Kaye.
Have to go and prepare for a talk this afternoon to some full time volunteers at a local church. We had a great time last week and now that I have gotten to know them a bit I have a better idea of what to explore with them. I am trying to get them to see if they describe what they know and why they know it without using Christianese language. It has been quite a lot of fun doing this as they search for words to replace words like sin and revelation, salvation, sanctification, glorification, justification, conviction etc. All the "Asian" ("-ation") religious words, as Edward Jon puts it. Communication is the foundation of relationship so if you want to communicate with people outside your circle you need to be able to do this by finding common ground and talking in their language. Not as easy as it sounds.
More later so I must run for now.
By the way don't keep the faith share it.
~ posted by mexikids at 9:17 AM
~ Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Mission Log July 16 2003
These past few days have come and gone with much emotional upheaval and activities. I think that it has made it clear to me that ministry here is very special. I come from a culture that says that we can fix anything but here it is very evident that you cannot do anything but be available to go along with God and what He is doing and with whom He is doing it with. Everything is truly a "God thing" and you learn dependence on Him like nowhere else.
We have been running with two teams from Northland. They have been at both ends of the scale. One team has been working in the poorest of the poor places and the other has been working with the business community. The disparity is very great. Dress down on one-day dress up on the next. Living with the have nots one moment and living with the haves the next.
The Business leadership team has been presenting a course on doing Business by the Book. It is really a very enlightening course to present the fact that anything we can think of about business God has already thought about and given very clear instructions about it. More is mentioned about money in the bible than many things we things we may think would be subjects that God would be more concerned about. The first course was presented in Windhoek and the second in Swakopmund on the coast. The Windhoek course was well received but like any good presentation of anything done well.
In Swakopmund, a God thing happened. There was no facility available but our man, Manus, in Swakopmund has been working on a place that was once a very nasty nightclub. He was planning to convert it into a place to train leadership for the growing church there and a place for young people to come to and to read and enjoy. It would be a place that is safe and attractive. It is located in a basement and is air-conditioned space. It was "a hole in the ground" in ever sense of the word but he has transformed it into a fabulous facility for the purpose. On Saturday Manus only had 3 people signed up so we were going to cancel but decided to go ahead if only one person showed up. On Monday morning 27 people came and this course was very interactive and the participants were very motivated by it. You never know here what will happen when you are just faithful.
Manus has asked us to return with our families on the 26th of this month and to spend some time with them to help them with ideas for the emerging church that is growing there.
This is a no contest thing for me as Swakopmund is a beautiful German Sea side resort. The drive over was spectacular. It is about 2½ hours from Windhoek and every 20 miles or so the topography completely changes. It becomes more and more arid desert until finally you reach the dunes where there is no vegetation at all and then the sea. This is one, of if not the only desert, that goes right to the sea. It is a geologist's heaven. The sand dunes are also the highest in the world. As you go you can feel the change in climate by sticking your hand outside the car window. It can change 10 degrees in a flash just like going through a curtain. God is so fantastic how He has made things. City people, it is time to come to Africa and see Creation at it was meant to be seen. It will change how you think for sure and forever.
We returned to Hodygos last night to attend a concert with the young people gathered from 5 churches that the other team in Okahandja have been ministering to in preschool and with kids games. Now if you have never heard Africans sing you haven’t heard anything. They can sing with just a drum and have all the parts and harmony that your ear can handle included in the way they sing their music. It usually is in more than one language often at the same time but it all seems to bled together and not sound at all at ends with itself. This is the true miracle. These five churches have never done anything together and here the most diverse group of Americans and Africans have come together as family for the time in history. A God thing? Absolutely.
Tomorrow we will be leaving for Etosha Park to see what is truly NOTAZU. We were only able to get reservations to be inside the protected area at night as this is the high season but not to be inside the cabins so we will be camping in tents on the grounds of the park. The resort compounds are designed to accommodate this and the facilities there are very nice. Bathrooms and showers here are VERY clean. I am looking forward to it as the moon comes up late now so the night sky is a thing to behold. It will be warmer in Etosha as it is 8 hours north of Windhoek and nearer the equator so it should be very pleasant to be sleeping under the stars. The question always comes to me when I see sights like this; "Where were you when I...? Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you and you instruct Me! Tell Me if you have understanding." The questions God asked of Job really come to life here. Please, please read Job chapters 38-42 to get a real feel of this discourse between Job and God.
Right now I think we have covered the territory of projects that can be worked on. I have two projects to follow up on and the teaching schedule is full. I hope that Kaye can come by the 24th of this month so we will be able to share all this together. I have delayed my return to the States until the 15th of September to get it all in. Now comes the time to focus and to be mindful to not overload. Leave something to do for another time.
I will sign off on this note. There is an abundance of unemployment in Namibia but the more I become involved I am finding that there is no unemployment in the Kingdom of Heaven. If you are a willing body God will find all the work you can handle and you will find that you are uniquely created for what He will give you to do. He will train you, He will support you, and He will guide you, He will house you, He will clothe you and feed you.
~ posted by mexikids at 5:59 AM
~ Thursday, July 10, 2003
Mission Log July 10th 2003.
This week started with a challenge from Pastor Franko at the church that Lon and Val have been attending:
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THAT YOU DID SOMETHING FOR THE FIRST TIME?
All week has been first time events for me. I went to Roy Wallace's church for the first time to hear a prophetess for the first time. It is a term used a lot here. I was skeptical about it as you can imagine so went to the last meeting Sunday night. In her ministry time she called me out of the audience to prophesy over me. This woman told me things about future ministry that I have only shared with very few people. She told me things with specific details she could never have known. In short it has to do with being a roving missionary to the world for at least 6 months per year. That my family would be joining me in it and that it will be primarily to poor Christians around the globe but particularly to people here in Namibia and Angola and Zimbabwe. I have not given the details to spare you the reading time but they were not generalities and she could never have known the details of those that are already in progress. Very scary but confirming and exciting non-the less.
I will be teaching at Roy Wallace's Outreach Namibia on Sunday nights for the first time. The group is his full time volunteers. They want to hear all about becoming Journeymates. Can't wait to get into it.
I have been out to other towns that Val has been teaching craft and meeting her folks for the first time. She is well received by them and a growing ministry around once a week visits is coming along just fine.
The team from America has been visiting the Fyv Rand (Five Rand) Settlement in Okahandja. We moved on Tuesday to Hodygos the camp site belonging to Youth for Christ that I came to the first time to Namibia and all kinds of flash backs were going on. The people remember me like I never left and I was able to take up my place in the kitchen with no problem. We have been visiting Fyv Rand daily to build relationships with the leaders there.
I was in the home yesterday of the man that was bailed out of jail for the first time. No white man has ever been into his home. I have been all through the camp and have seen things that I have only imagined and my imagination has fallen short. There is no real electrical supply and that which is there is fed all around the camp by wires in the sand. No water near by and no toilets at all. Every second place or so is a bar and they make their own liquor and are going at it from 10 AM in the morning. The big kick comes from adding battery acid to the home made brew. Children loose everywhere. Pastor Thomas has moved into this camp with his family and slowly but surely the Lord has been working at it. 5 Rand will live.
Today I was a preschool teacher for the first time. No fun. The pastors wife Christalene manages 60 children single handily with no materials in a tin shed. She manages to do a better job than we did. Lost them three times but told stories and used my flannel jacket to post the flannel characters as I told the story, sound effects and all.
Afterwards we spent time in prayer in the big blue and white tent of meeting as they call it. They really don't want money hand outs but would love for people in the community not only to give money but also to give helping hands as well. One project I have been thinking about is a Learning Center for this place. They desperately want to learn English and to have skills that they can use to earn a living. The older ones missed learning English at school and have at least 5 languages that they have to translate from their own language into Afrikaans and then to English. It wastes a lot of time. I have looked at various ways to build one and have come up with the idea from all I have seen that a steel structure with the people making the bricks for the walls would be best. All through the prayer time I felt that this was it and that December was a date. I held back and met with the local missionary and pastor Thomas afterwards and told them I thought the steel building would be best and that as we were all praying some words and a date had come to me. I wrote in the sand Learning Center December. They about fell over. A local builder of steel buildings had recently promised to build such a structure for them for this purpose and to open an account to start the money coming in with $12,000 Namibian dollars. I have learned that there are more people who would like to participate so we will see them in the coming weeks. I bet you all the money is there waiting already. They now call me the man with the big vision and they want to be the hands that will make it happen.
Sunday they will experience music for the first time at their service. Pastor Tony on the American team that just arrived is an accomplished musician and he will be leading worship at 5 Rand this Sunday. The people of Africa sing in harmony without music beautifully but musical instruments bring a lot of people to the services. They have been praying for a keyboard for a year. Someone dropped off a fabulous keyboard for Pastor Tony to bring and leave in Namibia the day before they left. Guess what happens on Sunday for the first time.
I have become very aware this trip that the only thing that joins us together is Jesus. Jesus manages to cut through all the stuff that separates people and people from God. Jesus is the only reason to be doing any of this and the only reason that it can survive. Jesus is the only person that can bring any hope for now and for eternity. This is a completely hopeless situation humanly speaking and you know what He is doing it one step at a time one person at a time. Hope is a reality now in 5 Rand, something that is there for the first time. It is worth every moment of my life to see this through.
Martin Luther once said, "God creates out of nothing, until man becomes nothing, God cannot create anything out of him."
~ posted by mexikids at 2:48 PM
~ Saturday, July 05, 2003
Mission log July 1-4 2003
Monday started with a training time in Communication Skills with Campus Crusade teams that travel the country presenting the Jesus film. In the evening we had a training time at the Komas Community Church with their elders on Effective Counseling. I cannot tell you how happy I am to be team teaching again and especially with Lon Garber.
Today we spent the morning getting acquainted with city of Windhoek and trying to get oriented to driving on the left again. This afternoon we drove through one of the Industrial areas to see what kind of industry is here. I will still have to do this on foot but now I now know where one of these areas is located. There are two more I understand I have yet to see. This is a small city comparatively speaking but there is a lot available here and some of it is very nice stuff.
I cannot help notice that there are a lot of men sitting on the side of the road hoping to be collected by someone to have some work for the day. It is very sad to see this. As I go for my morning walk I cannot help but to notice the electric fences and sharp objects on top of the walls which surround the houses. Bars on windows and countless barking dogs. I feel like I am waking up the entire neighborhood by walking along the road with al the barking dogs early in the morning early. The homes are well kept and the gardens very unusual and attractive but the signs are everywhere that your stuff is not safe. I have never felt personally threatened in any way but I know it is prudent to keep your eyes open and not to leave things lying around unattended.
Finally tracked down a suitable electrical adapter so I can make the lap top I brought work. It now does, yea! I feel like I am all settled at a home within walking distance from a supermarket, post office and a bank and ready to go for it fully.
Tuesday
Tonight is the bible school study of the church we attended on Sunday. I am looking forward to a time of seeing how this happens in Africa. The evening bible school, is at the home where I am living.
I am glad chose to do this. I wasn't too impressed with the study on gifts because it always ends in confusion re the gift rather than the focus being on the Giver of the gifts. At the end of the evening it got into a discussion re racial barriers in Namibia. We got on to a discussion of unity and how it can only be found when God's family see themselves as that. Africa is well aware of the extended family and how it works s that is a concept that can be received well. We went on about that until near 11 PM. Good time was had by all.
Wednesday
Had a quiet day. Sent some post cards and did some washing. Had a meeting with Pastor Roy Wallace and set some dates and appointments to see some of his operations for caring for aids patients and for meet some of his people who he thinks I can help especially a man who has furniture factory. We set a date for Friday.
In the evening George and I took some friends I had met last time here out for a get together. It really was like I had never left here. I was glad to hear they were still walking with the Lord and some even were attending bible school now.
Thursday
Today we went to Okahandja to the Five Rand settlement and to Hodygos the Youth for Christ Camp were I first spent time in Namibia two years ago. At the settlement we met the pastor and his wife who is living there. He called a meeting in a tent set up there as the worship center with the lady who will be a sort of the crafts manager at the camp that Val will train in crafts to help the ladies there. She has designed some pretty nice things for them to make. She is really talented but many of these ladies are pretty unskilled and so paper mache seems to be the starting point. The group from the States arriving on Monday and will go to the camp teach vacation bible school to the children and make paper mache tables and chairs for the preschool children. We have been collecting cardboard and empty fabric tubes all over town. We will probably move to Hodygos to help the team for the 10 days they will be there.
Then we had one of those unforgettable Namibian times where everyone tells their story and it dissolves in a pool of tears and embraces. Don't know why this happens but it does.
We discovered that one of the women whose husband was a church leader there was in prison and that the authorities were thinking of deporting him to Angola where he came from. All very sad because he was in the jail out of a spite situation. Both he and his wife have aids. If he would be deported only God knows what would become of that family. It would cost about US $35.00 to get him out on bail which is a massive sum of money for anyone to raise at the camp. After we left we raised the money and sent it back anonymously. He was out by that evening. We got a call to say that there was a great rejoicing in the Camp that night. Amazing what US $35.00 can do here. Thank you everyone for your support.
Home for dinner and meeting Uncle Phil. Uncle Phil is the last great patriarch. He has fallen on bad times it seems but holding on. His last situation was that he was a caterer. Soooooo more later as this relationship develops.
Friday
Today I was introduced to the fury of HIV AIDS. I set out with Roy Wallace and met Agnes, a really well informed case-worker, at the Baby Haven. She described for me what aids is doing in this country in great detail. She took us t see the cemetery and she showed me how fast the cemetery had filled in the last year and all the unmarked graves of babies with no names. We then visited the site where Roy's church is building a hospice.
At lunch I met the man Ben Siyambango who had the furniture factory that was described to me as a little shop in the bush with a few machines. Surprise! The shop is out in the bush but if you know what you are looking at this was no hunk of junk. Everything was there for a real factory and the beauty of it all is that he also owns a timber mill and a kiln. Nothing like it in these parts. I think I have found the project. We spent the afternoon looking at a lot of options and I think with a little concentration and good planning this may be a winner for many jobs and some real spiritual input into the workers. I saw many faces today shine with hope.
Today was a great day!
Tomorrow is the 5th of July and we plan to celebrate it at the American Embassy. More later.
~ posted by mexikids at 7:34 AM