Our New Address: Ndama Village!

Mark and I wanted to share with you all some exciting news! If you haven't checked out our blog lately, reading our last entry below will explain a lot, but we've decided to move into Ndama village into Zeka and Anita's mud home! Zeka and Anita are close friends of ours and our AIM leaders Rob and Alisa. They will be in Windhoek finishing their schooling from today until June, so Mark and I are moving into their community this week! (We could move in tomorrow... but we figured moving into a mud hut wouldn't be an awesome way to spend my 30^th birthday, so we are moving early in the week!)

Mark and I have really felt a desire to become more part of a community here on a daily basis, and we are growing some good relationships in Ndama. So the 2^nd half of our time here won't be as “cushy” as it has been in Tutengeni, but we look forward to the change. In Ndama, we won't have running water, plumbing for a toilet, sink or shower, refrigeration, or a stove/oven for cooking. Which means many changes for us and we ask for much prayer as we make the transition! I will still be working in the hospital most days of the week, and am also starting up some community health outreach in February... so things like cooking over a fire, taking outdoor bucket showers, going to fetch water, doing laundry by hand, and going to the bathroom in the bush will be added changes that I hope go well.

Mark has been super supportive and an awesome husband preparing me for the move which comes with added responsibilities for me especially since most tasks are traditionally done by women in the village. We know we can do it and know that being in this setting will be much more of a blessing than a burden, however, we do ask for some prayer over the next few weeks as we settle into a new normal. :)

Mark is also meeting with Dr. Yuri on Monday in regards to beginning the process for the hospital computer system. He is also going to see about possibly tutoring in a local school or helping with computer classes too... so keep him in your thoughts as well! February comes with many changes for us, and we can imagine for you all too! We aren't missing the snow :) but we are getting tired of this heat! Africa is awesome, but sometimes the abundance of sand and heat mess with your mind because you expect to see the ocean and there is none around! :)

We hope everything is going great for you all. Please keep sending emails... we love receiving them!! We hope to have the same amount of internet time while in the village... and will be keeping you all updated too.

Our Home Stay with Zeka and Anitha

Kids playing in Ndama

Most of the people in Rundu do not live in “town” like Mark and I, they live out in the village. There are many villages within the town of Rundu including Sauyemwa (pronounced saw-yay-mwah), Ndama, Kaisosi, Kaisosi Taya Rodi (pronounced Tire Road).The villages consist of homes that are built made of mud, cement, or metal and have thatch or tin roofs. Zeka and Anitha (pronounced Anita) live in Ndama and most people living in their area of Ndama live in mud homes with tin roofs. Ndama village could be a town on its own it is so large. It is also the village closest to the center of town (near all the shops and businesses), so some people even refer to it as “town.” It also is one of the more diverse villages with people living there speaking Ru-kwangali, Lucazi, or Portuguese.

Girls always love playing with hair!

Mark and I began our homestay on Friday January 7^th... but it was short lived because Mark has his first 24-hour stomach bug that began earlier that day and didn't stop until Saturday. He was a trooper trying to muster up the strength to go on our home stay anyways... but he was vomiting and had a fever, and we both feared he would end up with diarrhea and running back and forth to the bush all night in the rain (something we both decided wouldn't be a great first memory of the village!) Zeka and Anita were so sweet getting us a taxi to go home, and we promised we'd return soon.

Mark playing with the kids, Judith, and Anitha

And we did, on Sunday morning the 9^th! Mark and I walked to Ndama EBC Church that morning to meet Zeka and Anitha and begin our home stay. Ndama Church was very welcoming and we enjoyed the service as well. It was great to meet a few of their friends and family too. On our way back to their home from church, we stopped at an open market to buy some fried fish and some Fanta for lunch. We spent most of the afternoon taking turns relaxing under a tree in the shade, playing with the children, or having conversation. Most afternoons during the most intense heat of the day, this is most common in the village. It is almost like a line you don't cross in the sand, an unspoken rule... stay in the shade, not in the sun!

Cooking Pap

That evening was my first experience cooking pap, mutete (dried or fresh sour leaves that are cooked down), fish, and green chicken over the fire. (Green chicken are leaves from a tree in the village- not sure why the name, but Mark and I think it went something like this: “What's for dinner?” “Chicken. Green Chicken”). What is so refreshing in the village that you don't get to experience in town is community, and community to the fullest. Each village has areas where families and extended families live together within close proximity to eachother. Each family has their own mud home and sometimes own cooking hut within close distance to all of their family; meaning by standing at your home, you can see all of your relatives homes. 

It's dinner time!

And what is cool is that as you get to be an older teenager, most build their own one-room mud huts to live in too (likened to your own bedroom in the States). These families within the village care for eachothers children, care for eachother, and eat dinner together each night. Every woman within the family unit cooks what she will contribute for the night, it is all put together and then dished out to all the homes. The coolest thing is that it isn't discussed throughout the day, the fires just start burning... and each woman can see what the other is cooking and how much, and adjusts hers to contribute appropriately. It was awesome to see.

Mark & Zeka enjoying dinner

We then ate dinner together... Mark and I, Zeka and Anitha, and Judith (a relative of Zeka's). It was an awesome dinner- so full of flavor, and of course, fun to eat with our hands! Another thing to note about the village, is that these family members are blood relatives of Zeka. When married, the wife leaves her village and her family and moves in with her husband and his family. That is why there is a “labola.” A labola is a dowry of sorts that when explained here, just helps the wife's family with finances since the woman (not the man), does most work in the village and is significantly missed when she is gone. (By work meaning raising children, cooking all meals, cleaning, laundry, fetching water and firewood. When asked what the duty of a man was in a village – we were told it was to provide for and protect the family. However, sadly since unemployment is over 50% here, most of the men just sit around all day and “protect” their family! It is a very open thing to discuss... and with the younger generations some of these traditional views are slowly changing, but it is very much a respected part of village life).

Our room!

Mark and I then took bucket showers late at night outside under the stars. It's not as romantic as it sounds since Mark showered with Zeka and I showered with Anita! There are so many things you can learn from village life- showering is one of them. It amazed us how clean you can get using just one bucket of water, and how much water you can save doing it that way! We then said goodnight and went off to bed. Our first night sleep was much worse than the second! It was a HOT night and the mosquitoes were out in force! I got 48 bites that night and Mark and I barely slept due to the buzzing in our ears! Our second night sleep was like heaven though, because Zeka lent us their fan which was our protection since mosquitoes cannot fly well in a breeze and we didn't get any bites that night!

Monday was a great day of just hanging out in the village, meeting people, playing with the kids, and relaxing. Mark spent the with Zeka planning and discussing the Bible Study, pushing a dead car through the sand to the street for some guy, and playing with the kids. Anitha and I did the dishes, made an awesome porridge breakfast (tastes like cream of wheat), and relaxed and played with the kids. Of course, Mark and I found some little puppies to play with too...

In the early evening we took a walk with Zeka throughout Ndama and had a great conversation about America, our struggles as a nation and a culture, and how we can all learn from eachother. People in Africa talk about America like the promised land. It is hard to convey the stuggles we have as a nation too. Yes, Africa has severe poverty but America has a different kind of poverty; a spiritual and community poverty. People in America live very solitary lives, just trying to individually strive for the bigger and better, and sadly have fallen into such severe materialism that they don't experience community in the way it was meant to be. This is hard to convey to an Africa in which a sense of community practically runs through their blood. Mark and I are really starting to re-evaluate our lives when we return home. Leaving the African community will be difficult...and hopefully we can learn enough here to bring what we've learned home. :)

Julie & Anitha cooking dinner

Our dinner Monday night was more traditional; the men and women ate dinner separately in different homes. Mark and I were able to have great conversations that night and I was fortunate enough to eat outside in the dark under the stars. :) Mark had a pretty emotion provoking conversation with a few of the men about us being there. They explained that they are one of the “lowly” tribes in the area because not only are they refugees from Angola, they also speak Portuguese (not Lucazi). They couldn't believe that we, “white people,” would take time to come and stay with them and eat with them. They also told Mark that they saw the love of God in us and were happy to get to know us.

Sadly, there are many situations from the past that have caused Namibians to harbor poor self images. There are many refugees from the Angolan war that have struggled to survive in even getting to Namibia, and they are sadly “looked down upon” by many Namibians. Also, Namibia has struggled to overcome a marred self image from many years of being oppressed first by the Germans (it is argued that Namibia had the first ever genocide), and then during the apartheid. Many do not realize that Namibia too was forced into apartheid because at the time of the South African apartheid, Namibia was a territory of South Africa and was affected in the same away South Africa was. Sadly, Namibia didn't have a social hero like the great Nelson Mandella to bring them out of the dark world they were living in... so even today, some Namibians have distorted views of themselves and whites. Mark and I can see how our ministry here for some is simply to tell them that we are all created in the image of our God, and we were all created for a purpose. We are all loved by God, and we are all his children- black and white, and God doesn't favor whites over blacks.

Welcome to the bush!

Tuesday morning was started by taking a trip to the bush. :) Yes, otherwise known as the bathroom! I am only adding this to the blog because questions like where is the bathroom, how do you bathe, how do you cook, etc. are quite common. The bush is across the tar road from the village... and it is just that, the bush. It is a huge area, and designated for only bathroom needs. I must say, it is a great way to keep sanitation needs in check since it is across the road from the village. It was also another “ministry” opportunity for Mark and I, because to be honest... white people don't go to the bush around here. So, for that reason only... we went to the bush. :)

We had an amazing time... and really were able to build our relationships with Zeka and Anitha. We see the value of spending more time in the village and hope to return soon...

The Beginning of Our Youth Bible Study!

It has been very encouraging to see our friends Zeka and Anitha show a great interest and concern for the youth of the Rundu area. We met Zeka and Anitha when we arrived in the capital of Namibia before we came to Rundu. They are in Winheok attending NETS, which is an evangelical theolgical college in Nambia. During their summer break from school in December they returned to their home in Ndama, and Julie and I had a chance to meet with them and discuss their vision for a mulitple village youth Bible study. Julie and I are very interested in seeing a spiritual growth in all the youth of Rundu which coinsides with Zeka and Anitha's vision as well.

The plan we came up with is to start a youth Bible study in Rundu. We are hoping to have a group of youth that will be eager to learn about the Bible in such a way that one day they will be able to teach others. Julie and I invited the youth from 3 different villages to attend the Bible study; Ndama, Kaisosi Mission, and Kaisosi Teya Rodi. Reaching out to different villages and joining them together is a newer concept here, as most times villages stick together and don't branch out much. It is exciting for us to see friendships already occuring, and we are hoping these friendships grow outside the Bible study as well.

Our first weekly study was Saturday, January 8th and we had 17 youth show up! Zeka lead the discussion and did a good job of encouraging and going over the introduction to the bible. We had a mixed group of knowledge about the bible. Some know the bible pretty well and enjoy reading it on their own and others were not as familiar with the bible so it is going to be good to have a bible study that starts at the basics and builds up from there.

The second bible study was yesterday and I lead the discussion on the basic sections of the old testament and a summary of the first 5 books of the bible. This was the first time Julie and I lead a Bible study, and it was challenging for us. We've been saying that it's funny that leading our first Bible study has started here in Africa, where we are still struggling to even understand the culture! Overall, it was a great day and a great beginning for us. We are excited to see how God uses us here over the next few months through this study and are already looking forward to this coming Saturday!

We are even practicing our French!

It is amazing that it is already mid-January! We, again, have a bit of catching up to do on our blog. We started off 2011 with our first house guests! Jeremy, his wife Isalyne, and their 16-month boy Celestin were visiting Rundu for their holiday and we were able to host them for 4 nights. Jeremy was a missionary here in 2005 and used to stay in our home. He since has gotten married to Isalyne and they even spent their honeymoon here! This is their 3^rd trip to Namibia to vacation and visit friends, and it was so great to meet them. They are from Switzerland, and speak French... so Mark and I were able to brush up on our French a bit too! (Another thing we weren't expecting to do in Namibia!) We truly loved their visit with us... they were an awesomely relaxed couple, and their little guy Celestin was so fun and entertaining! We wished they could have stayed longer... especially after experiencing Jeremy's homemade pizza and Isalyne's “camping” dessert of melted chocolate inside a banana. YUM!

Christmas in the Village & New Years at the Beach!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Unlike most of the towns in the United States there are very few decorations for Christmas in Rundu. There are not Christmas tree stands on every corner or Christmas lights on display. The only way you would know it is Christmas in Rundu is to go to the Shoprite grocery store to hear Christmas music over the intercom and the staff wearing Christmas hats or to catch a glimpse of a taxis with tinsel in the rear window. This Christmas was refreshing to not have to fight Christmas shopping crowds and really be able to reflect on the simple and real reason for Christmas.

Outside the hospital with the Gredanius family & Earnest and Kahilu

Our Christmas activities began on Christmas Eve with a visit to the hospital. We went to the Rundu State Hospital (where Julie volunteers in causality) along with Rob's family to hand out clothes, toys, and sweets to the children and their families that unfortunately spent Christmas in the hospital. We also had a chance to sing some Christmas carols! It was very nice to give the children gifts and help cheer them up. After that we went to Rob and Alissa's house for some snacks, including Christmas cookies, and to watch a Christmas movie.

Christmas came after a week of very hot weather and no rain, which during rainy season is uncommon. God gave us a very generous gift on Christmas morning...rain! We began imaging a new version of a Christmas song entitled 'I'm Dreaming of a Rainy Christmas.' The rain came very early in the morning and allowed the heat to subside for the day.

The angel bringing news to Mary & Joseph!

Christmas morning we went to Kaisosi Church for a drama of the Christmas story and singing. It was such a great morning. The stage for the drama was outside the church under a large tree. The drama was in the Lucazi language but we were able to pick up on the story and the humor that they worked into the story. There was a lot of very creative and talented people involved in the drama. It was so refreshing to see how Africans view the birth of Jesus. Some of the highlights of the drama were the angel that appeared to Mary under a white sheet, the star that the wisemen followed to Jesus actually moved across the stage with some help of string and people pulling the star between two trees, the very animated marching of the soldiers of King Herod, and the baby Jesus who was the youngest newborn baby in the village named Ricky.

 

Julie cooking over a fire for the Christmas meal!

After the drama we went to Maria's home and had a meal. Julie and the girls in our group cooked pasta, potato salad, and popcorn over the fire while us guys socialized sitting under a tree. (Africa is very traditional when it comes to cooking and household chores, I get varying looks from our neighbors when I hang the laundry without Julie!) The highlight for families in the village is a good meal for Christmas. The family we ate with even had a case of Coke and Fanta Orange, which is a nice and rare treat for many families. We were very welcomed and had a great time getting to know them a little better.

Rundu Beach for New Years!

For New Years, we decided to go to Rundu beach and celebrate the end of 2010 with the locals. The event was organized by the town council and had a number of local artist and dancers performing all night until sunrise. I invited my good friend Mashingo to go with us. Mashingo is a guy I have been getting to know very well over the past few months. I met him at the hospital through Laura. He has a dramatic story of how he ended up in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down, after getting shot in the side. After that experience he has not lost hope and has turned his life over to God and is excited about learning about the Bible. Mashingo is a very inspirational guy and it is great to be building a friendship with him. It was great to be able to take him to the New Years event with us because so often here in Africa people with handicaps are forgotten about even if they are great people. It was also nice because Mashingo knew a majority of the performers from his childhood and we got to meet them. The night was filled with artists performing along with crazy talented backup dancers. The

Celebrating New Years with Mashingo!

dancers moved their feet in sync with one another at mach5 speeds and never seemed to wear out. We found everyone to be very friendly and glad we chose to come to the event. During the countdown they even had a couple fireworks to ring in the new year! All in all it was a lot of fun even if we were the only white people there and part of the few not drinking alcohol :)

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!