Namibian Notes

June 24

I set out with Roy Wallace Pastor of Outreach Namibia to Osire to speak to the mission leaders at a refugee camp for refugees from the Congo. The language here is French. It was quite a long drive and we got to the camp in the dark so I was not able to see much. There was not a lot of electricity here but I am told the camp hold thousands of refuges. No one dosed off for two hours of speaking so I guess the encouragement was good for them to hear.

We then drove to a nearby Bible College called Imkerhof and spent the night. I started a 6 hour series in two parts on World View and changing the mindset of the culture the next morning with the students. The best part was the 1 1/2 hour discussion at the end of the second session out under the trees in the garden IN THE SUN!! Man it is cold this year to be indoors.

We returned to Windhoek on Thursday morning to get some washing done dry it on the line in the dry air and get ready to go to the north with Immanuel Church to an outreach in Oshakati starting out at 5AM Friday morning. It is a 10-hour bus ride and further north than I have ever been in Namibia. It is called Ovamboland where the majority tribe of Namibia lives. It is quite a different territory than any I have seen before. The sand is pure white like salt and homes are built in a circle comprising small huts called rooms encircled by a fence in the middle of enough land for that family to farm for their food.

There are not many modern structures in this area but the road side once you get there is just lined with bars called Shabeens. Witchcraft, alcohol and Islamic infiltration is very high here. There are now 5 mosques in this area and all kinds of speculation given for numbers of converts between 30 to 50,000.

We arrived just before sundown so we had a short time of light to set up the tents and the kitchen. Guess where I was assigned. We got the fire going for coals for the braai for 64 people and set up for tea and coffee and bread etc. That was sooo nice because it is even more cold here. However when the idea of a nice hot shower came up I got these strange looks like "didn't anyone tell you?" O well, three days no shower to look forward to at least not one with hot water and lucky you if there was even water.

The outreach was held in the local stadium in the evenings and football and net ball clinics were offered to the youngsters in the surrounding villages all day at the stadium. We walked a large area inviting people from door to door and in the open marketplace. Shabeen after Shabeen with people with very slurred words exclaiming how Christian they were and how we should go to those who were foolish not to be.

The stadium was about 1/3 filled on both nights and for the wind up on Sunday morning. Let me tell you people, I have seen some stuff I would never have thought I would ever have been exposed to in this life. The enemy is well and fighting back. Let your imagination run wild right here and I mean wild.

The trip was great even if there was little sleep and no hot water. There was a dance session on the campsite until 3 AM the first night and a wedding until the same time the next night. The two roosters started at 4 AM and the Mosques at 4.30 AM. Then time to get up to start heating a big pot of water on the fire for the coffee at 5 AM. One more night and the roosters would have been in Poitjie pot with the stew. This is a large three-legged pot you could cook at least two missionaries in which we slow cooked meat all day for the dinner hour.

We set out for home on Sunday after lunch and had a much better time on the bus. By now I have met all the people who went on the outreach trip and we had the best time riding home sharing stories of praises, challenges and victories over the devil. If God was only an idea and the devil an imaginary little guy in a red suit with a fork to stick you with that is all gone. Evil is real and personified and God is good and he is all powerful. Trust me, I have seen it all now up front and personal.

[CLICK HERE for the full story with more photos]

~ posted by mexikids at 11:18 PM

June 19

Getting started has been slow but steady. Catching up is always a good thing to do. Dieter Moresbach a long time friend came to visit and I went in the afternoon to the Red Plot with Lon to visit with Pastor Thomas, Matias his son and another pastor Peter for a training meeting. I made a small presentation to the leadership at red Plot and went to sit under the stars for a braai (BBQ) and have dinner with Dieter and his wife Joan at their home.

Wash day and try to figure out new computers and why the blogs are not reaching Tim in America to post them - files too big, wrong addresses, etc - all of the above. One day I will be a computer person. I live in hope. The internet is dial up out here so it... is... very.... slow.

On Friday evening I attended the start of a lecture series on Islam given by Dr Daniel Sheyesteh. His book, The Difference is the Son, is a must read. Dr. Daniel was an activist for Islam but managed to leave the service of the Ayatollah alive and now tells his story. If you still think it is a religion of love, buy the book and read it carefully.

Points to Ponder:

Wherever a mosque is built that country is claimed for Islam.
Never confuse the hospitable culture of these people with Islam.
Whenever Muslims are in the minority they are doves.
When Muslims are in the majority they rule by the sword.
The practice of Taghiyya is the process of deception to conquer - lie - deceive at any cost to ensure the expansion of Islam.

Uneducated Muslims in Islam are not aware until it is too late that the only way out is death. Hmm I heard something like this on the Sopranos only they called it the family business.

Saturday afternoon I visited the ministries of Immanuel Church by bus. They feel that it is not satisfactory just to give money for ministry opportunities to the poor but for the congregation to also visit them and have hands on experiences with those who are being ministered to. They have a bus service to take the congregation to these locations on a regular basis. What a great idea!!!!

I attended Sunday service at Gospel Outreach Namibia and listened to many testimonies of their congregation who went out on their first ministry outreach on Saturday with food and blankets into the Katatura area where thousands of people live in shacks as well. I am convinced that if you once go out and touch the mission field even if it is in your back yard you will never be the same. The service lasted 3 hours as everyone wanted to tell their stories.

Comments:

The food ran out so next time we will bring some from our home.
The Church needs to go to those who cannot come to the Church building.
I have never seen such an expression of gratitude and surprise like the one I saw on the face of the old man I gave the blanket to at the hospital.
A lady told me that she is too week to come to church and no one comes to even pray with her.

The lady that said the above started a prayer group that would meet at least once per week and get others started as well in the area. She said that she got the idea from something I had said to the group before they went out about the church becoming missional and going to the people rather than being attractional for them to come to the church building.

[Click here to read full version with more photos]

~ posted by mexikids at 11:13 PM

June 14

I am sorry but somehow the copy for entry to the blog from the 14th June did not reach Tim and I made it from another computer so I cannot send him a copy. My sincere apologies to those of you who have been looking and looking as I have been to see the entry and it has not been there.

I will try to just write again but it is never the same the second time around and bring you all the way up to date as we have now arrived in Namibia. So let us go back to London for a bit.

[note: click photos for larger version]

We had a wonderful time reconnecting with friends who I call my English family. We stayed at the home of Robin and Carol and really enjoyed our time with them.

They have a beautiful English garden and it is such a delight to relax after a long flight to London.

Our friend Bernice had us to lunch the next day at her new home.

On Friday I was able to finish my business in the city of London with the rare book dealer and on Saturday we were able to secure tickets for the new show Lord of the Rings. This is a "yes you should see this performance". If you have never understood the story as the books have been daunting to you this is the way to be introduced to this wonderful story.

Somehow we all seem to be getting older and our discussions surround all kinds of problems especially health ones and the way things are changing in our world with all the things that are emerging so the time spent in encouraging one another was very welcome and even refreshing. Cancer that Robin is faced with the challenge of and the losses of the integrity of the System in our countries are out front in so many minds these days. It has been such a wonderful thing to remind people that in the last chapter of the Book of Books it tells how the story ends and that God and good does win in the end no matter how things seems around us now.

We visited a very old church St Mary's Anglican Church built in the 16 hundreds. Rebekah has the photos in her camera and she is far away in Arandis at this time. Something bout it rang some bells for me. It has survived two wars and two bouts of arson and for an Anglican main line Church it is now surviving the exodus of people from most established main line churches in England. It has been recently remodeled after the last fire and the entry and exit to the main street is through a very nice cafe where good books and good food and good conversation are offered the public. There is always someone there to talk to you even if it is the very eclectic lady who runs the place.

She has a dynamite personality and if I was there longer I would take up her job offer to work there for sure. The church serves the community well and is full of young families and children. I suspect there is a connection with the fact that there is a connection between entry to the best school run by the church in the area and being a member of the congregation but they are very conscious in reaching the families as whole families and for those families to be in connection with each other and the values of the kingdom of God.

The battle of St Mary's, as I call it has been from the olden days until now and has always been for the expansion of the kingdom of God in England. Its notable prominence dates back to the debates during the civil war in England where Cromwell was defending England against the absolute rule of the King. Army officers and the radical representatives of the rank and file met around the communion table in Putney at this church to consider the country's future government.

Ideas such as "that a man is not bound to a system of government which he hath not had a hand in setting over him" were hotly debated but unfortunately that idea did not carry the day. Consequences of these ideas have reverberated through the centuries since.

There is an inscription in the wall of the church that was a bit puzzling until I had learned the heart of this church and it reads for all to see for today to remind us of the political and religious struggle that will always exist. Colonel Thomas Rainbrough, one of the radicals of the debate made the famous observation that "the poorest he that is in England, hath a life to live as the greatest he" and therefore, should be by consent. He was killed during a kidnapping attempt by royalists in 1648. This battle continues in that church. I wish we could have attended a worship service there as the description of worship experience at St Mary's in Putney has all the right ingredients for me from what I gathered speaking to folks in the cafe. I really felt at home talking with them for sure. However, it was a toss up between that service and going to St Paul's and just sitting there and absorbing the full choir on Sunday morning in the Cathedral before we went off to the airport. Guess who won? Another good choice. That grand service in that grand place did remind me of who is really in charge and the importance of prayer and connection to him before setting foot in Namibia.

The start of the journey to Namibia through Dubai and Johannesburg South Africa began with a bang. We were in a state as to how many bags and how much carry ons and how much this that and the other we would be allowed to stow and carry on since we made a stop over in England and that changed the rules of one continuous journey to Namibia. It took a lot of prayer and a lot of sweet talk at the ticket counter but God won that battle for us. We had to do some real repacking at the airport and somehow Rebekah let her camera be checked in the baggage. One carry on is one carry on. A hand bag is the carry on. A lot of prayer all the way to Namibia went up during the almost 20 hour journey through Dubai and South Africa with three changes of planes and one change of airline. The bags arrived with us in Namibia and everything was in them. Yes!!!

The welcoming committee was there with smiles and hugs as always in arriving in Namibia and we made the long drive home to a nice shower and a long night sleep.

Today I am refreshed but my back is really hurting. I am not sure that the alternative accommodation (see photo) would be fun just now. Aleve has not even made a dent so I hope that after another night of rest it will settle down. I don't think that sitting in a plane for 17 hours was any good for it. Your continued prayers would be appreciated.

I made all my calls today and my calendar is packed with all kinds of exciting meetings and engagements. I will have lots to tell you soon as you come along with me. Your prayers are even more coveted right now for this.

~ posted by mexikids at 4:03 PM

The day is finally here to leave once again for Namibia. Many of you have asked me if I will be doing a blog so that you may follow the journey and my friend Tim has come to the rescue... again. We have set up the blog to continue from the last time there so that you can follow along in the ongoing story as I am able to make a posting to it from time to time. This time with some photos too.

I covet your prayers and am deeply grateful to all those who have supported me on this mission. My back has really been causing me problems, so I guess that the first prayer request would be that all goes well as I travel to Africa. Tonight we leave for London and then Sunday we're off to Dubai where we have a 7 hour in transit stop in the middle of the night before continuing on to Johannesburg and finally to Namibia. We will arrive in Namibia on Monday June 18th.

If you subscribe to this blog (where it says "Subscribe Me!" at right, below my photo) each time I publish a new story and/or photo, you will receive it directly in your email inbox (instead of having to come to this web page). Please feel free to share any of this with others. My desire is that it will be a blessing to you as you read all that the Lord has done and is doing in Namibia.

It was only just 2001 when I first went there and yet it is truly amazement looking back at all that has happened in Namibia since then. None of us could have expected or directed any of the wonderful things that have happened there over the last 6 years.

It has been a dream come true: animal husbandry, gardening, chicken farming, brick making, store keeping, pre-schooling, nutritional supplements for children, teacher assistance, exchange student program for surveyors, business development, a residence purchase for HUGS housing in Arandis, partnering with other organizations connected to Orphanages for Aids affected children and teaching and sharing life on a deep spiritual level to help build up and encourage both the men and women of Namibia to learn to think biblically. We have come to love and appreciate and partner with so many of them.

The greatest spiritual development is often our own as we realize what God can do if we will let him into our lives and be open to his leading. As someone has said "Faith is not a statement, it is a step". We see it most when we let go of the controls and just be the servant of God's mercy and observe what is possible when we allow God's kingdom to prevail. It is truly amazing.

At least 11 worshiping communities are involved in this journey and that number is steadily growing. I have a sort of mantra that I have been reciting recently "If you can't imagine it you can't do it." So were asking people to dream and set aside all agendas to see how the Lord fills in the details. It is then our job to follow his lead and stand back and worship him as he brings hope and dreams to life before our eyes. Maybe one day all of you who may read this will decide to take a journey with us to see for yourself that God is good all the time.

Thank you once again for your support and prayers.

~ posted by mexikids at 11:35 AM