Victoria Falls Trip

We know we are a bit behind in our blog posts, so we thought we should catch you up on our trip to Vic Falls which was a couple weeks ago! We had an amazing time on holiday at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe with our team. We really were able to see & do some awesome things and relax. 

From Rundu, we drove through the Caprizi strip in Namibia and into Botswana. The majority of our drive through Botswana was through Chobe Game Park which has the largest population of elephants in all of Africa. And guess what... we were able to stop and watch many elephants from the road and keep a lookout for ones crossing the road! Seeing elephants in their natural habitat is definitely an experience to be had. They are so huge that it is hard not to be awestruck. After passing through Botswana, we crossed into Zimbabwe where along the road we were actually able to see two lions! This is truly amazing, since lions are very hard to see in nature and also while driving 80 kph. :) By far, it was the highlight of our drive! (Although, since it was dark we couldn't get any pictures... sorry to dissapoint!)

While in Zim, we stayed in an awesome backpackers hostel named Victoria Falls Backpackers. We'd suggest this place to anyone going. All 7 of us stayed in The Attic which was literally an attic of a thatch roof building. It was awesome to all bunk together and giggle into the wee hours of the night while each laying in our mosquito-netted twin beds! :) I felt like I was in college again.

 Our first full day at Vic Falls, we decided to all go to the bridge that connects ZIM to Zambia to watch the bungi jumpers. I'm sure you can guess what happened next. :) Yup, Mark went bungi jumping and conquered the 3^rdhighest bungi in the world! He was exhilerated and I was a nervous wreck. It was awesome to see... I definitely married adventure! 

BUNGI!!

Loving our day at Vic Falls

 The same day we also went to see the falls. The park throughout Vic Falls was breathtaking. Walking through the park seems like you are walking through a rainforrest (a great change from the dessert of Rundu!) You can get views of the falls from every angle... even walking up to the edge of the canyon to see the falls. The falls themselves are phenomenal and almost unimaginable. It is a place we felt so fortunate to see. And by the time you are done, you are soaked from the mist of the falls...

The beauty of Vic Falls

At The Boma

 That night we all went to a resturaunt called The Boma. The Boma is a themed resturaunt which features traditional African clothing, food, and entertainment. It was an awesome night! We got to eat wharthog, croccodile, water buffalo, & impala. (Best by far is wharthog!) We danced and played drums and even got our faces painted. It was by far the best dinner experience we've ever had and it was fun to share it with our friends.

Us with our trainer Steven and our Elephant Masuwe!

The next day Mark and I went on an interactive elephant safari experience. This is secretly what I wanted to do all along, and it was nice to get away with Mark for a few hours to experience something new together. During the safari we rode on our elephant, named Masuwe, with her trainer for about an hour. Of course I took most of that hour to get all sorts of elephant facts from the trainer. For example, did you know that elephants get 6 sets of teeth throughout their life and a female elephant is pregnant for 22 months!?! It was so fun to ride an elephant, and the funniest part was feeling the rumble of its fart underneath you. Definitely memorable. :) Afterwards, we were able spend some time with Masuwe and feed her. Elephants are truly amazing creatures.

Adam, Hannah, Jules, Mark, Laura, McKenzie, & David

 That night we had a chance to go to a lodge and go swimming (thanks Adam and Hannah!) Getting a chance to swim in Africa is a major treat and we loved every minute of it. We ate an awesome buffet, and even had a chance to take our Christmas photo! Overall, it was sweet vacation... and gave us lots of time to relax and have some fun. We were so thankful for the opportunity, and will never forget it! It was also one of our last nights with Adam and Hannah before they returned home to Canada. Guys, you are very missed and we hope you had a great 1^st Christmas as husband and wife!

The OVC Project...

Kids playing at the OVC

The Orphan and Vulnerable Children Project is located in Kaisosi village, and over the past few months has become the highlight of our afternoons on Tuesday and Friday. On those days, we all pile into the project bakkie around 2 in the afternoon and make the 6 km drive to Kaisosi from our homes in Tutengeni (an area in Rundu). Some days when we get there we are waiting for the kids to arrive, and other days they are jumping and climbing all over the bakkie before we can even get out!

Over the past month we've really tried to encourage the volunteers with bringing some structure to the project days. We have some awesome volunteers that are between 15-18 years old. Some of them just live in Kaisosi, and others were part of the project themselves at one point. They have a real passion to see the children of the project grow spiritually, educationally, mentally, and physically and we (the missionaries) are supporting and encouraging the ideas and gifts of these volunteers. The awesome part is that these volunteers have become some of our closest friends here in Namibia and we are so happy to have met them. Mark, especially, has grown fond of these guys and often goes down to Kaisosi during the week days to teach them computers, help them haul mud for their huts, play soccer, ride bikes, or just hang out.

Daniel teaching a bible lesson

The past few weeks at project have been real fun. The volunteers decided to have 3 different stations for the kids to rotate through during each project day. The first is sports. We have a soccer field that most times we play soccer on (this is Africa!) but other times we change it up and play some other games too. :) The second station is held under a big tree where the kids are taught a bible lesson. They teach it in both English and Lucazi. The last station is arts and crafts and is held in the project school room. Watching the kids color is inspiring... nothing like back home in the States! The kids are more than eager to color (because coloring is a luxury, not a daily event). It is a privilege to see their creativity and raw talent drawn out on paper...

After all the fun :) the kids line up and get ready for their meal. There are usually about 200 children at project each day and the volunteer cooks have to start cooking hours and hours before the children arrive. These women cook pap (maize meal) and usually fish for the children and are truly dedicated to their task. Right now there is a cap of children accepted at the OVC project due to funds available, so before each meal the children that are registered with the project get a mark on their hands which shows they can get a meal. Many children come to project just to play that are not registered, and therefore must be turned away when it is meal time. We all stand in a line and hand out their plates of food and usually have to help the little children find a spot on the floor away from the door to begin eating. If you don't, the little kids when handed their plate will just plop right now and begin eating among the crowd of children.

Mark leading the kids to get their meal

This past Tuesday was the last project day until the new year since the children are done with school and on their holiday. Most times these children are busy helping their families in their farms preparing and seeding their land, or visiting other family in other villages. We had a small Christmas celebration and the kids got to eat rice, cabbage, and potatoes – a treat! This project day we had 50 additional children come that were not registered, and we were going to feed them but didn't have enough food. It was so horrible looking into their eyes and trying to find the words to say sorry. Some of the volunteers stood by the doors because the children were trying to run in to eat off of the other kids plates. We could only hold them back for so long before they pushed through the doors to come in. I had to run up and rescue 3 little toddlers who had gotten pushed to the floor and were getting run over. Watching these children scramble for food was something I cannot describe and will never forget.

Mark and I have really grown to love this project and the children here. This Wednesday, Mark took 24 guys from Kaisosi in the bakkie to Mavanze village to play soccer with another OVC Project. They wanted to gain some insight and ideas from another project nearby. This project, unlike Kaisosi which is supported by the local church, is funded by a Namibian diamond mine. Mark said you could see the difference because the Mavanze team was playing in uniforms and all had soccer shoes. Our team was playing in regular clothes, some barefoot, and some even playing in their boxers because they didn't have shorts. Even though the Kaisosi team lost 4-2, Mark said they had the better team :) and Mark even scored the only Kaisosi goal in the first half! Mark said on the drive back all the guys were yelling 'hey hey hey' and Mark felt like he was in college again. :)

Berta and Maki

The same day, I had two girls from the project over our house to celebrate their passing of their grade this year. Their names are Maki (13) and Berta (12) and they are some of the cutest girls I have ever met. I met them after work at the local grocery store. They came to our house and we made PB&J for lunch- their first time ever eating it! The girls taught Laura and I how to make pap, and we taught them how to make brownies. It was so fun to have innocent, curious, and giggly girls running around our house! We sang songs and danced and even taught them how to do jumping jacks – yes, it was a random day. :) The girls even took showers (a major treat for them since they live in the village). You could tell it was not a daily activity for them because our bathroom looked like a whale was splashing around in there! I told the girls that and they couldn't stop giggling. It was a great day all around. It got Laura and I thinking about maybe starting up a bible study/hang out time with girls from Kaisosi that are around that age. There is a huge need for mentoring that age of girls and we'd love some prayers for that as we see how it might play out.

Tomorrow our team is heading to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe! We are all so excited to have a few days to relax and have some fun. Please pray for our safety during our travels. We look forward to sharing our experiences when we return!

Throwing Mud!

Mark shoveling mud with Kahilu

 Our friend Ernest, who lives out in Kaisosi village, has been working hard building his own mud hut. When we heard, we all eagerly volunteered our services to help in any way possible!! So, one day this past week Mark took the project bakkie out to Kaisosi and helped Ernest load the truck with dry mud to use for his hut.

Laura and I stomping mud!

 Then a few days later, we all made the trip out to Kaisosi to help mud his last wall! First we unloaded all the dry mud onto the floor of the hut in a pile. Then Ernest added a whole bunch of water to it and then...us girls jumped in and began mixing it with our feet! (I felt like I Love Lucy in the episode when she stomps grapes!) Then, when it was the perfect consistency, we all grabbed piles of it and molded it into nice snowball sized mud balls. Then, we pushed them down inbetween the sticks and molded them into place. The best part was at the end when you have to “fill in the gaps” of where air and light were getting through. 

Mark and Laura working away! :)

 Ernest made a thinner mud and we just grabbed piles of it and threw it onto the walls! Ernst, Kahilu, Dockie, Maki, Laura, Hannah, Adam, Mark and myself were all inside at the same time throwing mud – it was somewhat chaotic and of course messy, but an absolute awesome time! It was so refreshing to be involved in doing something important, but knowing that you couldn't do it wrong... if there was a hole or a big gap... just throw mud at it! :)

Ernst's finished hut

The entire afternoon was so fun. We've really grown to love these guys and are enjoying our friendships with them too. While standing in Kaisosi village covered in mud, I couldn't help thinking that it's a great feeling knowing you might not totally fit in and you stick out like a sore thumb, but you do belong and are 100% welcomed.

Ernst, Mark, Julie, Kahilu, Adam, Hannah, and Laura

Cluck Cluck & Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Our photo with the rooster!

Much has happened in Rundu since our last blog entry, Thanksgiving being one of them! We definitely missed our family and friends on Thanksgiving and had many thoughts of being home wearing a cozy sweater and eating warm pumpkin pie but no worries!! -- we probably had one of our most memorable Thanksgivings yet! Any guesses? Well, our entire missionary team decided since we are in Africa we might as well eat like Africans and kill our own chicken and rooster for Thanksgiving dinner. 

We realize that our current environment is much more like how God intended it to be, and if you would eat meat it would not be as frequent or as simply accessible as how it is in the western world. Living in the States makes you so detached from where your food comes from, and it was so refreshing to know exactly where it came from this Thanksgiving!! (The makers of the doctumentary Food, Inc. would be so proud!)

McKenzie and I plucking the rooster

Our Thanksgiving celebration began Saturday morning when our rooster and chicken arrived on bicycle. :) McKenzie and our Namibian friend Earnest showed up from the village with our dinner gracefully hung off the handlebars... and Kado, McKenzie and David's dog, was wrapped on McKenzie's back like a baby! It definitely was worth a few pictures! Soon after we began our preparations. First we made a fire and boiled two big pots of water. Then, bravely our culinary expert McKenzie killed our rooster. She tried to mimic to the best of her ability the method shown in Food Inc. by hanging it upside down from a tree and slitting its throat/neck. I give her a lot of credit because I couldn't have done it. After seeing that method, we thought it took too long and didn't actually seem as humane as chopping its head off with an ax (which is more common). So, Adam killed the chicken next using that method. All I can say is seeing a chicken running and jumping around the yard with its head chopped off is something we all will never forget... and we have the video to prove it (with our screams and all!)  

Ernst, Alysse, Mark, & David plucking away!

After all the excitement, we dunked the chickens in the pot of boiled water and then right after de-feathered them. This was the process Mark and I did and I have to say, it was not as bad as I envisioned. After the de-feathering, gutting, and cleaning, our chickens looked just like they do in the store! (Which reminds me of something funny a kid here told me a few weeks back. We were talking about skin color... and he looked at me and said “You look like a raw chicken you buy at the store.” --I took it as a compliment!)

I cooked the chicken in our oven while the rooster was being cooked next door, and we all made our favorite Thanskgiving fixings... including homemade pumpkin pie made from a blue pumpkin! It was a great day and one we will never forget. Mark and I are truly grateful to be here and Saturday was no exception! :) 

McKenzie and I with our squeaky clean chicken!

 

Farming in Africa

 It is just before the rainy season here in Rundu and that means it is planting time for many people. There are only a few amount of people that participate in the planting even though this part of Namibia, the Kavango Region, has some of the most fertile farmland in all of Namibia. The people that are fortunate enough to have land must travel very far out of the village to get to their farmland and then they live on the farmland until the planting is finished which can be a number of weeks.

The traditional way of farming in this area has been to “slash and burn” weeds to clear the farmland and then plow the land. Often the people have to hire someone that owns oxen or a tractor to come and plow the land. This is an expense that takes much of their profit from the last years season.

This past week AIM brought an expert to hold farming workshops that show farming techniques and practices that are geared for low income people in this type of environment. Carl traveled from Capetown, South Africa to join us here in Rundu and talk to the people of the Kaisosi village about farming.

Carl is part of a ministry called “Farming God's Way”, www.farming-Gods-way.org. “Farming God's Way” is a workshop based ministry that comes along side people and shows them the proper techniques to farm in a Christ centered way. As I said earlier the traditional methods of farming in this area is to “slash and burn”. In the minds of the people the burning is to rid the land of weeds and termites. However, the Farming God's Way method says that termites are not the enemy of the land and in fact termites and insects are good as long as they are not eating your crops. The best way to get the termites to not eat the crops is to provide the termites something else to eat...“God's blanket”. God's blanket is dead organic brush that is placed on top of the field after the field is planted. The blanket provides a land covering that will greatly reduce erosion, hold moisture in the ground, and also provides the insects something to eat. Another big part of farming God's way is to respect the land and give thanks to God for providing the land and praying over your crops. As Carl said during the workshop there is no way to know the type of injustices that have been done on the land and the sins that were committed on the the land especially in the area we are in because in the past there was a great amount of fighting and bloodshed between Angola and Namibia in this area.

 

There were two sessions of the workshop put on, the first was Friday and Saturday and the second was Monday and Tuesday mornings. The group on Friday and Saturday was a younger group that really embraced the Farming God's Way methods. It is very exciting to see the group eagerly anticipate the upcoming planting season so they can plant using Farming God's Way methods. Even though it will be hard for many of them to negotiate with their families and community to switch to this method of planting they are excited to try the methods on a small portion of land and hopefully show the difference in the crop yield. Where so many times new methods are not received well in Africa it was encouraging to see them get so excited about the teachings. Please pray for the people that attended the workshops as they go into their growing season. We pray that the methods that were taught can be attempted and that the crop yield will be greater this year.

During the second session when we were out in the field demonstrating to the people how to plant all of a sudden someone yelled snake! Everyone dropped what they were doing and ran to where the yelling came from. We all saw the snake in the weeds and the two guys with hoes started swinging at the snake. The snake was going moving around all over the place and finally found a tree that it began to climb up. The tree wasn't very tall so the snake did not have anywhere to go to get over. Once the snake got in the tree everyone started picking up rocks and throwing them at the snake in the tree. There were some direct hits but it is more amazing no one got hit by a rock because there were people on both sides of the trees throwing rocks in either direction. The snake was finally hit enough to make it fall from the tree and one of the guys with the hoe was able to kill the snake. It was interesting to see all the men instantly drop what they were doing to kill the snake. Even some of the mamas got in there to pitch a rock at the snake. I guess in a region where most of the snakes are poisonous it is better to take a snake out then chance the snake biting a child from the nearby playground. 

Julie and I kind of forgot that this week is Thanksgiving!  It really doesn't feel like the holidays when the weather is so warm.  However I must say it has been very nice here lately and not as hot.  Well it is either not that hot or we are actually getting used to the temperatures.

Julie and I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!  We miss you all and are SO thankful for the support and prayers of our family and friends!  Eat some turkey for us!  We are thinking about having a Thanksgiving celebration this weekend with some of the other missionaries and some of our friends from the village.  Those plans are still in the works.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Rundu State Hospital!

One of the roads on a walk into town

Well, I've now worked one week in Casualty at the hospital. The nurses I've worked with have been very welcoming and funny too! Mainly, I've worked with Aina, Rebecca, Junius and Justin. Currently, I'm working Monday to Friday 8am - 1pm. Seems like a short shift- but I am very thankful for it since it is taking lots of adjusting to the heat, the 30 minute walk in sand there and back :), the language barrier, and the different diseases/treatments/medications etc.
I'm slowly learning the daily routines and have become more able to jump in and help even though most of the patients I cannot talk to! The nurses have been great translating for me, but I am eager to continue to learn the language so I can be more efficient. It is amazing though how far a gentle smile and a loving touch can go even with the communication barrier. :)
Right now, I am still waiting for my official papers to come from the Namibia government so I can practice as a nurse. Currently, I am able to assist the nurses and do "non-invasive" procedures - but would love to become more hands on when possible. If you can, please pray for my papers to come though without a hitch, and soon!
There have been some differences here in Namibia from home in the States in regards to medical and nursing care, but I am trying to have an open mind and a learning heart- because this is Africa!! Even though I was a nurse in Zimbabwe, it is easy once returning home to lose sight of our blessings in regards to advancements in medical care and start complaining about the "little things." I am once again reminded of how fortunate we are back home.
One amazing thing is that Casualty nurses in Namibia have much more freedom in thinking with a "medical" mind. Basically, Casualty is broken down into many different areas all with long queues. :) Each patient waits in line to see a doctor and then have a determined treatment. Patients can go from seeing the doctor to getting X-ray and then back to the doctor for re-evaluation and then home (for example) without seeing a nurse or laying in a bed. If however, a patient is too ill to sit and wait in a queue for a doctor they come straight to Casualty ward (where I work). There the nurses can assess, make a diagnosis, treat, and then wait for re-evaluation of a doctor when he makes rounds or if a patient is sick enough, they will call the doctor straight away. I am learning so much here, and am excited to share more as time goes on.

Daylight Saving in Namibia

Many of you in the US are enjoying an extra hour of sleep this week due to the "fall back" of daylight saving time! An interesting fact is that Namibia is the only African country that has daylight savings time, however, the time of the year is different from the US.  In Namibia, daylight savings time starts in the first week of September and ends in the first week of April.  That means until April 3rd, 2011 we will be 7 hours ahead of those of you in the eastern time zone!

This Week, so far...

This week has been great! We started out the week on Monday by going on a Safari at Mahango Game Reserve located in the Caprizi strip. It was Blair's last chance to go on a safari before he leaves Namibia so Alysee, Laura, Julie and I went along. Rob drove in the 2-wheel drive van that we have been doing the majority of our traveling in, and he did an awesome job driving it all around the sometimes deep sandy roads! We only had to get out and push once! The park was very big and filled with many animals. During the morning drive through the trails we saw a lot of deer-like animals such as: impala, kudo, and sabre. We also saw some brilliantly colored birds, wharthog, zebra, and hippo!

Afterwards, we stopped at a beautiful and relaxing lodge named Nunda for lunch and a short dip in their pool, which felt great because it was 41 Celsius in the shade. After lunch we went to a different nearby reserve named Buffalo Park and drove around a bit more. At this place we saw a large amount of water buffalo, hippo, a monitor lizard, and then a dead elephant. A dead elephant is pretty uncommon to see from what Rob told us and it was probably killed by disease. Just when we thought that the dead elephant was going to be the only elephant we saw we went around a corner and came up on a large herd of elephants at a watering hole. I have to say, it was the best part of the trip by far. Seeing elephant in the wild is well, WILD!

Also this week we started our language training orientation. We are learning some skills from a technic called LAMP which is basically learning a language by hearing it and speaking it and not writing it or reading it. This technique forces us to get out in the community and learn the language from the people we are building relationships with.

Wednesday, was the first day at the Rundu State Hospital for all of us. Yes, even me! I had a meeting with Dr. Yuri who is the supervisor/director of the hospital to discuss the plan for computerizing the hospital. Julie started in Casualty, which is like the ER but with a name that really doesn't make you want to be a patient there. I am sure she will write about her experiences soon.

My meeting with Dr. Yuri went well. We began by walking around the entire hospital while he counted the locations he wants to put a computer. After that we went back to his office to discuss what steps to take in implementing the system. We talked about some specifics with the system and I focused on the importance to have the staff ready for the system with some general computer training classes. My main concern is to make the system sustainable and that means that there will need to be staff working along side me.

Julie and I are excited to go to the OVC project today. The OVC gatherings occur formally on Tuesdays and Fridays. This is a time that I get to play soccer or rugby (Blair's sport) with the kids and try to learn some Lucazi.

Please remember us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to settle in and step out of our comfort zone to meet people and embrace the community.

First meal on an open fire...

What a wonderful weekend we have had! Sunday we were able to experience church in the village of Kaisosi after all 14 of us piled into the van and made the trek there. The church at Kaisosi was much different from churches back home, even the churches in Windhoek! Besides the fellowship, worship, singing, and sermon- church was also a time for distributing mail to the congregation, announcements on the happenings of town, and even going through what the itinerary would be for the following week. Most of the service was in Lucazi, the main language of Kaisosi. Kaisosi is a village of mainly Angolan refugees that crossed the border during the Angolan war. Their mother-tongue language (Lucazi) is different than the language of Rundu, which is Ru-kwangali. Fortunately for us, most of the service was also translated into English! Church was long (4 ½ hours) and hot, but it was also a great time of rejoicing. The singing was amazing! There were three choirs: the women's, youth, and children's choir. The youth choir was phenomenal and the children's choir was so full of noise! I was thinking about back at home, when to hear the children's choir we need 5 microphones and a listening ear. Here, their harmonizing voices were echoing throughout the church and could probably be heard from a mile away. Mark and I both couldn't stop from smiling.

Blowing on the coals to heat up dinner!

That evening, Mark got his first chance to drive the bakkie (aka, pickup truck) out to Blair's place. Blair (the Aussie mentioned in our previous blog), lives out in Kaisosi at the OVC. The five of us (Laura, Alysse, Blair, Mark, and myself), cooked dinner over a campfire. We spent some of the time with some national kids named Foxy and Dokie. They were so fun to kid around with, and also very patient with us asking probably ridiculous questions about Namibia and trying to repeat just a few phrases of Ru-kwangali over and over! We had a great night by the fire making an awesome stew and makeshift s'mores. :) It was so nice to take the time to cook over the fire...

On our drive home we parked the bakkie on the side of the road and got in the back of the truck to stargaze. Seeing the African night sky can take your breath away. The sky is so vast and abundant with stars. Sitting there in the silence and still of the night... makes you truly feel the vastness and beauty of God's creation.

Our First Week in Rundu!

Hello from Rundu! It has been a very busy week getting adjusted and settling into the lifestyle of Rundu. We arrived in Rundu this past Monday after an 8 hour drive from the capital city of Namibia, Windhoek.

Before we left Windhoek we spent some time with a very humble and inspiring man named Naf. His full name is Ngurimuje-Kahepako-Nangapeningo-Nojandero. Through Naf we learned of Namibia's overwhelmingly sad history from the time it was overtaken by Germany in 1884. From Germany's control Namibians suffered racism, genocide, and concentration camps. When South Africa gained control in 1948 the apartheid was also enforced. Namibia gained its independence in 1994 and much has changed since however, there still are many challenges seen here. Much injustice has occurred over the past 100+ years which expectedly and sadly still remain imprinted in the minds and hearts of most of Namibia.

This past Monday was our big drive day, as our last blog had said we piled into the van and trailer with all our luggage, 7 kids, 6 adults, and a puppy. The drive was great. The scenery was beautiful along the way. After we crossed the “red line” the scenery became much more like the Africa we expected; villages with mostly huts with straw roofs. The “red line” is a check point that has been set up between the northern part and the southern part of Namibia to originally regulate the transportation of cattle, but has also separated the more tribal regions from the more modern regions of Namibia as a result.

Mufasa, the lion at the lodge

Along our travels we saw some wildlife! We saw a group of baboons right along the road on either side just hanging out. A little while later we passed a single warthog digging in the sand not to far from the road and then later there was a giraffe off in the distance eating from a tree. It was a little giraffe but still it was a giraffe in the wild! One of our pit stops was at a lodge that had raised a rescued lion! Day 4 in Namibia and we already saw a lion!!

Mostly this week we have been setting up our home and going through our orientation of Rundu, its culture, and people. We've spent time going to the local food stores, bought our cell phones and home electricity, and even ate dinner at a lodge overlooking the Kavango River that separates Namibia from Angola. Mark has played doubles tennis with Rob, Blair (an awesome Aussie missionary that has been here for 6 weeks spending time with the OVC), & Dr. Yuri (the head of the hospital). Julie has walked into town to see the open market and get a feel for the area – it was a very dusty and hot 3 hour trip!

We've been fortunate to have a tour of the hospital and spend time playing with the children at the Kaisosi Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project (OVC). The children have been so welcoming! We are excited to get to know them better as we spend time there.

Our home in Rundu

A few things we have become accustomed to since arriving are: heat (35-40 C), dust/sand, thunderstorms, lizards, and ants! :) It is a change, but a great one.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We will be beginning our time at the hospital this week and are sure we will have lots to become accustomed to. Mark will be beginning his work on the hospital computers and Julie will be beginning her time as a nurse in Casualty (otherwise known in the States as Emergency).

We Arrived Safely in Namibia!

Hi family and friends!  Just wanted to send out a quick note to let everyone know we arrived safely in Namibia after 2 days of traveling.  All of our luggage arrived and we were able to travel through immigration and customs without a hitch! The only problem Julie had was that after traveling that long, her ankles and feet looked like tree trunks! By this morning, the swelling has gone down and her feet are almost back to normal! :)

On Thursday, we were able to do some sightseeing in London during our 12 hour layover. It was a surprisingly cold day- 32 degrees! We all decided while we were looking at the frost and being able to see our breath, that we'd embrace it because it will be our only day of "winter" until next year! London was so awesome. We took the tube into the city during rush hour and then took the entire morning to walk all around the city. We saw Big Ben, the houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, a few parks, and even the British Museum. We finished off our day in London with fish and chips and then took the overnight flight into South Africa.

Just before our flight to South Africa, we had to say goodbye to half of our AIM team from orientation. From left to right in the pic above: Jules & Mark (lets hope you know us!), Sarah, Meredith, Heather, Alysse, and Laura. Sarah, Meredith, and Heather were continuing on to Uganda and Alysse and Laura were continuing on to Namibia with us!

Currently we are in the capital of Namibia, Windhoek (pronounced: Vint-hook) for a few days and then on Monday we will be driving to Rundu which is about 9 hours away. Our team leaders Rob and Alissa picked us up at the airport, and will be giving us an orientation until Monday. They drove down from Rundu with their 7 children and a puppy! We were able to get a whole night sleep and an awesome dinner at Linda and Cindy's home (2 missionaries through AIM here in Windhoek.) They both were so accommodating and Linda even gave us her room to sleep in! We don't feel the jet-lag too badly, and are excited for today to begin. We will write again soon.

Away We Go!

Can you believe it, we are only a few days away from leaving for Africa?  Julie and I have been preparing for what seems like a long time and we can't believe the time has come to begin our journey. This past month has been full of excitement, anticipation, prayer, lots of visits with family and friends, and TONS of packing! As of today, Julie and I have all of our worldly possessions in our new storage unit!  We actually have some walking room in there. All I have to say is thank you craigslist for slimming down our amount of stuff! 

As of tonight, we will pretty much be spending our weekend with our air mattress, some food, and suitcases. Now, all we have to do is pack our suitcases! We are hoping to go for a hike tomorrow after we are all set for our journey. One last day to reflect on the months ahead. On Sunday, we will be going to Riverbend Church in the morning and then driving out towards my hometown to have lunch with my family to celebrate our departure and my 30th birthday! From there we will be saying goodbye to my family, and making our way to northern Jersey to spend the night with Julie's family. Monday morning we will be spending with our awesome friends (and chauffeurs to our orientation) Kara and Bryan! And finally, by Monday afternoon we will begin our orientation at AIM's headquarters in New York. We will be flying out Wednesday night and will be arriving in Namibia on Friday. 

From Monday on we will no longer have our cell phones and we are saying goodbye to our Verizon contract and the bill too! If you would like to keep in touch with us other than our blog, you can email us at either mmoyer80@gmail.com or juliepurkiss@gmail.com. We hope to have some sort of phone capabilities in Namibia but are unsure of how that will work. We will keep you posted.

Some of you have been asking if you can still make a donation for our mission trip. YES you can! To make a donation you can make a check out to Africa Inland Mission and mail it to AIM's headquarters at:

Africa Inland Mission

Attn: Receipting

PO Box 178 

Pearl River, NY 10965

Please just enclose a post-it or note stating that your donation is for us, Mark and Julie Moyer. We do have amazing news! Julie and I have received enough support to be financially cleared for our trip! We want to thank everyone again for your desire to partner with us financially. Thank you also for your continual encouragement, concerns, questions, and prayers. God has truly blessed us during this time of preparation. We are so excited to begin and cannot wait to share more.

Stay tunned... 

Cue Inspirational Video...

This is AIM's newest video that helps describe why we chose to go to Africa:


Identity from AIM On-Field Media on Vimeo.

Three Weeks to Go...

It seems surreal to think we leave for Africa in 3 weeks! Much has happened over the past two weeks. Mark and I resigned from our jobs, we sold my car, and we've begun prioritizing our "stuff" and our lives to maximize what time we have left with family and friends before the big day we leave for Africa! :) Next week we will begin renting our storage unit so I am sure things will begin to move along quickly from there!

We've also begun communicating with our team leaders in Rundu, Namibia. Rob and his wife, Alissa (and their 7 kids!) have been wonderful in easing our hearts and giving us much needed peace in the preparations for our journey. Since speaking with them we've been able to see God working and molding our opportunities for our time in Africa! Since speaking with Rob, we've seen Mark's ministry opportunities blossom from mentoring children through soccer to possibly teaching computer classes in the schools and setting up computers at the hospital for medical and administrative purposes! This is a real need in Rundu since they have had trouble finding anyone locally with the expertise to do the set up and training. The hospital is a 350 bed hospital and it will be a great blessing and a lasting impact to bring the gift and knowledge of computers to the staff. As far as myself, I have been daydreaming about my times in Zimbabwe 5 years ago remembering the nursing, the people, the food, and the memories. :) I am more than excited to begin my time as a nurse in the hospital in Namibia! I also have learned in talking with Rob that I will have an opportunity to spend time in the village clinics - hopefully providing medical care and teaching - something I am very passionate about! And as far as everything else goes, we will play it by ear!!

This weekend Mark and I were able to go to a conference in Jersey called Thirst. It was an amazing opportunity to hear from many Christian speakers and rock out to the best band I've heard recently - Gungor. It was a great day to spend with friends and be able to reflect on the journey ahead of us. Mark and I are continually remembering to embrace a servant's heart and are praying that God will use us in Namibia any way He sees fit. 

Music Video Link for Gungor: Beautiful Things

Today after church at Riverbend, our friends planned a surprise lunch for us! What a great time to relax and laugh together. On the ride home, Mark and I were saying how we really feel our Riverbend friends are now our family... family that we are going to miss dearly while in Africa. 

We have felt truly blessed with the outpouring of financial support friends and family have given us over the past few weeks. Thank you! Thank you for desiring to partner with us on this mission trip. It has been very humbling and uplifting to us. As of now, we are a little more than half way there! :)  Please continue to pray for this need.

As for the week ahead? I am presently smiling ear to ear because I get to spend a few more days with my sister and her boyfriend Jeremiah! They used up most of the vacation time to come see us before we depart, and because of that they won't be coming home to NJ for the holidays. I feel it was such a sacrifice for them, and of course they don't see it that way, but I do want to say THANK YOU! I've been blessed to have the most amazing sister and friend in my life and will be cherishing the last few days I have with her before she flies back to her home in Key West (I know, Key West!!)

As We Prepare...

It is amazing to us that we are leaving for Africa in 5 weeks to begin our 8-month mission trip through the Africa Inland Mission!  As each day passes we are one day closer to experiencing a dream of ours - a dream that began almost 5 years ago. We met soon after Julie returned from a mission trip at a rural hospital in Zimbabwe. Her passion for Africa became our passion as our relationship grew, and we felt God was guiding us towards missions. We feel taking this trip together early on in our marriage will be a great stepping stone for our faith and our lives.

We created this blog to be able to share our thoughts and experiences with you while we are in Namibia. We can only image how God will use us to help the lives of those in Rundu! We are excited with what information we do have on our trip and our preparing our hearts for the many opportunities and different circumstances  that may come our way.

We graciously and humbly want to thank those who have already felt led to support us financially. Please know that because of your prayers and financial support you are part of this trip. Thank you! Your donations have begun to make our journey possible, and we kindly ask for your continued support.

All donations are tax deductible; all checks should be made out to Africa Inland Mission. Please do not place our names anywhere on the check as the organization is non-profit. All checks should be sent directly to us, so that we may record them. You will receive a receipt from AIM for your donation. You can mail your one time donation to the following address:

Mark and Julie Moyer

919 Eden Terrace

Easton, PA 18042

If you would prefer to pledge support monthly, please click on the page named "Monthly Pledge Instructions" on the right.  Thank you in advance for all of your love, support, and encouragement. We are excited to share more as October 18th approaches!