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.