Watch out for that rhino! Monday, 11/8. Home-going 11/9-11/10

Front entrance of Okapuka Ranch

 Monday was our last day in Namibia and so a game drive was scheduled.  Okapuka Ranch was a beautiful place not far from Windhoek.  We saw giraffes along the road leading up to Okapuka, so we were pretty excited.  We had several hours to relax or do something before the actual game drive, so we decided to start out on a 2-hour hike.  Of course, some of us were wearing flip flops, not expecting to hike while there.

Thorn bushes were everywhere-- we couldn't avoid thorns
strewn throughout the pathways.

And obviously, flip flops are NOT the preferred footwear for hiking in the African bush.  We actually completed the whole hike without injury, even though we had to stop frequently to remove thorns from our soles.  We saw baboons, a giraffe, oryx, sprinkbok, etc. in the distance while we hiked.  After 2 1/2 hours walking through the noonday heat, we were ready for lots of liquids and some lunch.  There was even a pool (with very cold water) that was available for our use.  We were surprised to see a group of warthogs wander up very close to us around the pool.  They were very tame and used to people.  We were quite amused by them: by  how they kneel down and walk on their knees as they graze, and by the way their tails stick straight up in the air when they run.

Praying warthogs?  Probably not.  They are just grazing.

 Later in the afternoon, it was time for the actual game drive.  We loaded into the truck.  It was great that the seats were tiered so we all had a good view.  Our driver and guide's name was Isaac.  He did a great job, stopping frequently to explain what we were looking at, and moving the truck so we could get the best photographic angles.  (Note that other people had cameras with a lot better capabilities than mine, but I don't yet have access to their pictures.  You have to get the gist of what we saw from these).

Ours was the "zebra" truck

 As we drove around, we saw lots of different kinds of animals:  springbok (which leap when they run, making them look a bit like kangaroos, hence the "spring" in their name), oryx, gazelles, crocodiles, wildebeests, jackals, kudus, giraffes, sable antelopes, elands, rhinoceros, warthogs, baboons (they are pests around people's houses-- we saw some inside a fenced-in yard, and one was sitting in a basketball hoop), and probably more that I can't think of right now.

A male sable antelope

Mike, Betty and a rhino

 They actually put out food for the rhinos right beside our truck.  Those people along the outside edges of the seats were a bit disconcerted by how close they were:  especially Mike.  He was taking pictures to his left, while a rhino came up on his right side.  Someone said, "Mike, you better turn around!" and their was a rhino horn inches away from him.  I especially enjoyed seeing how the various species would just roam around each other, unconcerned.  The zebras stay up in the nearby hills, so we didn't get to see them.  There are cheetahs and leopards, although they didn't show themselves while we were around.

A rhino along with warthogs and a sable antelope.

We saw lots of giraffes, usually in groups of 2 to 4.

 We also got to see a "Lion Feed".  This was great to be able to watch this huge beast and his powerful teeth.

 We returned to the beautiful lodge for our last dinner together.  Most of the group dined on tender Oryx steak.  The dining room looked out on a grassy area (very hard to maintain in Namibia-- irrigation is necessary) with a small pond.  While we were eating, we could watch springboks springing, wildebeests milling around, and those amusing warthogs cavorting with each other on the grass.  What a great day to end our Namibia experience!  We were so thankful for being able to see and experience such a variety of things during our stay.

This is where the warthogs and antelopes play.

Tuesday morning, we said our goodbyes to Calvin and Bob B., who are staying in Namibia for a couple more weeks.  They both have work to do for the ministries they are involved with in and around Windhoek.  Please keep them in prayer for effectiveness while they are there and for them and their families as they are apart for this extended time.  We so appreciated both Calvin and Bob during our trip.  They were so patient to answer all our questions.  And Calvin in particular taxied us all constantly as well.  I can't say enough in appreciation for all he did for us before and during our stay.  His grace and patience were a godly example to each of us.

And we thank God for expanding our vision of what He's doing in the world.  Calvin told us before we came to Africa that we wouldn't be able to "change Namibia" in two weeks.  But he said that God would surely change us through the experience of these two weeks.  How right he was.  Most people reading this blog probably have a personal friend or relative who was on the trip.  Please ask us about it.  Each of us was blessed and enriched in so many different ways.  Let us share with you.

And P.S.  We made it back home safe and sound.  I do wish I had named the blog something more like "30 Hours to Namibia" because the 17 hours is only flying time.  The whole travel time takes more than a day.  We will all enjoy sleeping in our beds tonight rather than cramped up in an airplane seat, you can be sure!  Goodnight.

Coming Home

I don't have much time this morning as we are getting ready to leave.  Just wanted to let you all know that we had a great time yesterday at Okapuka Ranch.  Got to see LOTS of amazing animals and just enjoyed our last day together.  God has blessed us in so many ways throughout this trip that we hate to see it end.  But we are very excited about sharing it with our family and friends back home, so it's about time to jump on that plane and fly and fly and fly and... you get the idea.  We will be leaving for the airport this morning and our flight out is around 12:40 p.m. here I think.  That means it will be about 5:40 a.m. on daylight savings time back home.  So, we appreciate your prayers for our travel, jet lag, and our re-adjustment and catching up with work, school, etc. when we arrive back home.  I think everyone will be pretty stressed out with the pile-up of work and activities.  Hopefully, we will remember how to be a little more laid back and we can still live by what we call Äfrica Time"  Thank you all so much for all your prayers.  Everything went better than we could have asked or imagined.  God is faithful!

When I get home, I will add pictures from yesterday... so, check back with the blog later in week.  God bless you!

Beginning Goodbyes; Saturday 11/6 – Sunday 11/7

Saturday morning was spent shopping or collating or putting hooks in curtains or cooking.  There was a potluck lunch at NETS (the seminary) so that we could see everyone one more time and share some fellowship.  It was great being able to talk to people there again.  They sang some beautiful songs for us as a thank you for the work we did there.  Their voices are so fabulous, I only wish we had a CD to listen to them at home.  A lot of us exchanged email addresses and facebook information so we can stay in touch.

Bekah, Zeka and Anita trying to find each other on facebook.

The dining hall at NETS:  fresh paint & clean curtains!

The front of the sanctuary at NETS

In the evening, some of us went to Khomas Community Church (it was actually air conditioned!) where a NETS students was hosting a concert to raise money for his tuition.  Most of these students need sponsors or some kind of help with tuition and living expenses.  It was admirable that he would take it upon himself to raise funds.  We really enjoyed the concert, with quite a variety of worship music—in English, Afrikaans and Portuguese; 4-part harmony, rap, ballads, you name it.  There was even a dance troupe from South Africa.

Back at the guest house, Bob E. led devotions.

On Sunday morning, Calvin made his usual two trips to take us all to church.  We went to the Evangelical Bible Church in Katatura.  This is the same church where we did the after school program, so we knew some of the people there.  It’s easy to feel at home in Namibia, because all the people we’ve met have been so friendly.  Everyone introduces themselves to us, and many like to ask us questions about the U.S. or find out what we think of Namibia.

The choir.  This church did a lot of congregational
singing, and it was all a capella.  The harmony
is fantastic again!

Our Team

Even though there are fences around every property, and security guards in every grocery store, drug store and convenience store, we have felt very safe walking around the neighborhood and downtown.  We attract a certain amount of attention, but people only seem curious, not threatening.

Tomorrow (Monday) is our last full day here.   We will be going to Okapuka Ranch to go on a wildlife drive.  So, I am not sure when I will have time to blog after that… we will depart Tuesday morning (Namibia time) for the airport here and arrive at Dulles early Wednesday morning (U. S. time—whatever that is.  Did the time change to Daylight Savings yesterday?)

Fun Day at the Coast; Fri. 11/6/10

Baboons near the road.

“How many are your works, Lord!  In wisdom You made them all.”  Psalm 100:3

We were up and on the road at 6 a.m.  We were headed to Swakopmund to the dunes and beach.  It is a 4 hour drive.  We really enjoyed the scenery.  We saw tall termaite hills, baboons, a meerkat, kudu, warthogs, cows and even giraffes.  The road to the coast is almost completely straight and well-maintained.  We passed various construction crews for large areas that are being resurfaced.

Arriving at Dune 7

We went through Swakopmund (it’s a coastal city that looks similar to many other beach towns—lots of condos by the shore, etc.)  and continued on to Walvis Bay so we could climb Dune 7. 

That's Lisa & Nicole in foreground, toiling up the dune.

It took some doing to climb up because it was very steep and the sand was quite hot—especially for those who were climbing in flip flops rather than sneakers. 

View from the top

After making it to the top (many on all-fours), there was a cool, refreshing breeze and a gorgeous view with huge dunes in every direction.  The blend of sand, ocean and sky was magnificent.  God’s creation is so varied and beautiful and this is part of it most of us never thought we would experience. 

On top of the world: Calvin, Myron, Chad, Bob E.

After relishing our dune-top experience, we were able to giant-step our way back down.  It was so much fun to come down slide-leaping/running the whole way.  It was definitely worth the climb up and the fact that we had sand everywhere on us by the time we were done.

Another amazing dune

As we drove back toward Swakopmund, some fog rolled in and the air turned quite cool.  I was glad for the fleece jacket I had with me.  Some of our group went 4-wheeling on the dunes, while the rest of us went to see the beach.  Those who 4-wheeled said it was fantastic.  Some of us dipped our toes into a very cold Atlantic Ocean.  A couple of people even got to see a seal close up.

Most of the guys then visited a Go Cart track.  They had a great time with that, although they were rather disappointed that the computer wasn’t working to assess their time  so they could determine their standings.  Even so, I heard lots of reports of who lapped who! 

By this time, it was mid-afternoon and time to begin the 4-hour drive back to Windhoek.  We were using two minivans for this excursion, with Brian behind the wheel of the second one.  He didn’t seem to have any trouble remembering to drive on the left!  It seemed a long way “home” but the scenery was absolutely breath-taking as the sun was sinking behind the mountains as we neared Windhoek.  The light on the hills was amazing. 

Sunset on the way back

We made it back in time for our 8:00 reservations at Joe's Beer House in Windhoek.  The place was packed!  We enjoyed how this restaurant was decorated.  It was a lot of fun.  They had lots of game meat to choose from and we all shared around bites of this and that so people could taste everything.  Among us we had zebra, kudu, ostrich, gembok, crocodile, oryx... Most people liked ostrich best, with zebra as a close second.  It sure was a great "Fun Day"!

Finishing Projects; Thurs. 11/4

 

Namibian sunrise from the guest house in Windhoek

 

“Know that the Lord is God.  It is He who made us and we are His; we are His people and the sheep  of His pasture.”  Psalm 100:3

In the morning a small crew went to finish the painting at NETS, a small crew worked on printing and the rest of us went shopping at the Craft Centre.  There were shops full of jewelry, carvings, baskets and other African treasures for tourists, made by Namibians.  Prices here are non-negotiable, but reasonable.  The only thing we had to do was try to figure out the U.S. dollar equivalent to have an idea what something really cost. 
 



Calvin- our taxi driver.  He should put a number on the back
window like all the taxis have here!



Nicole in front of the Craft Centre

  















Calvin & Chad at recreation



Julie teaching the kids

Everyone in the group went to the after school program for the final day.  It was a very windy day, so when we got there we all got an immediate coating of gritty dust on our skin.  But the kids didn’t seem to mind.  They were excited to see all of us again.  At the end of the time, we had a closing in which the kids sang some songs, Julie gave them each a bag containing some silly bands, lollipops and a toothbrush.  She also presented them with soccer balls which her Sunday School at home had bought.  These kids were so excited.  After lots of hugs and more pictures, the kids went home and we stayed for a little birthday party for Lazarus.  He helps at the after school program and was turning 21.  He was very surprised!

Bekah & some kids

 The evening was spent with dinner (sausage, potatoes and rice), devotions by Bob B. and more collating.

Try everything… do everything. Wed., 11/3

Let’s see…  another sunny day began with a lot of us doing laundry and hanging it out on the communal 

Bob & Chad

clothes line (for the whole guest house—there’s more people than just us staying here).  Clothes are dry in an hour or so; even jeans.  Then we were off to hang curtains, paint, collate, and print as usual.  Our projects at the seminary are coming to an end.  The place looks so much better than it did!  Pretty soon, I’ll have some “after” pictures to post here.

Some of us walked down to some shops and an outdoor “barbeque” place to get lunch.  Because we want to try everything, we got some pastries, the special at the café, and meat from the barbeque place.  We weren’t wild about any of it, but we tried it!  The meat was pretty tough, but the flavor was good.  The special—with a long, German (I think) name, turned out to be chicken and rice.  The pastries were—weird.  We decided that’s why people don’t go out of their way to find “African pastries” at home!  But it was fun tasting it all.

The after school program went very well for us craft people today.  The kids were quiet and cooperative for crafts and Julie’s lesson, and they liked the bracelets with the beads wi

Myron & friends

th 5 colors.  But they were a little harder to contain when they got to Chad & Myron, who had a challenge teaching them Capture the Flag.  Betty picked up a dress she had made here… I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m looking forward to it!



Kids at the after school program



Julie & one of "her" babies.

Chad handing out lollipops, or suckies as they say

The day before, Julie had mentioned to our new friend, Hannah, that she loves holding babies.  Hannah said that she could take her to see some families where she could hold some babies.  So, Hannah came to meet us at the after school program to get Julie hooked up with some babies.  Chad and I (Lisa) decided to tag along.  Hannah took us back some crazy, rocky, rutted, dirt roads up into another tin-hut area called Hakahana.  We visited with two different families and Julie got to hold babies.  She was in heaven.  Chad passed out lollipops, and the children even sang some songs for us (in English).  We then left Hakahana and stopped in to see Hannah’s friend, Nova, and her baby, Matthew.  Hannah met Nova at a restaurant where Nova is a waitress.  They became such good friends that Hannah was there for Matthew’s birth and Nova asked her to name him!  (I love background stories!)

Nicole & Brian made pork chops for dinner and Hannah joined us as our guest.  Wayne did our evening devotions.  We are all usually wiped out, and head off to our own flats or up to the office computer to send emails after devotions.

By the way, I may not have time to do a post tomorrow.  We are going to see "the Dunes"tomorrow, which is about 4 hours from here.  But I'll catch up on Saturday!

 

Progress: Tuesday, 11/2



Chapel service in the freshly painted chapel.



This morning we all went over to the seminary to go to their “morning devotions” in the chapel.  We sang a couple of familiar choruses, in English, a capella.  The harmony of their singing was just beautiful.  A gentleman from the seminary spoke on Judges 17 & 18, making a little-understand, and perhaps obscure, Old Testament story come alive with meaning for us.  After that, we split up into groups to paint or go back to the guest house to “push paper.”

After lunch, most of our ladies met with a group of ladies from the seminary who meet regularly for a Bible study.  They had asked one of our group to lead this week, so Lisa did that.  The group from the seminary included women students and staff members.  Everyone participated in discussion, and we Americans learned a lot from the insights of these godly African women. 

The after school program was “crazy” as usual.  Julie & I thought there were more kids than yesterday, but who has time to count?  They love getting hugs and attention.  On the way home, we saw a “dust tornado”.   It wasn’t violent like a regular tornado… but you could watch a column of dust move across the landscape.  People caught in it had to try to cover their faces.  Fortunately, we were in a van with the windows shut, so we didn’t have a problem.

Dining Hall at the seminary

Nicole washing out brushes & rollers



Crazy dust storm



In the evening, we got to go to Simon & Margie’s home for an Australian Braai (pronounce bry).  Simon is the principal for the seminary, and he & his family live in a diplomat’s house, babysitting it for them while they are out of the country.  It’s a beautiful home with a covered patio, built in outdoor fireplace and a pool.  It actually was kind of cloudy and unusually cool (probably below 90 degrees, haha), so most of us didn’t even go swimming.  They treated us to a wonderful meal of boerewors (sausage) and chicken (of the guinea hen variety), cole slaw, pasta salad, spinach salad and even chocolate ice cream cones.  They are a wonderful and hospitable family and so gracious to invite all these Americans into their home.  Also attending this dinner was a missionary with African Inland Mission named Hannah Sterling from Tennessee.  It was a treat to get to know her—we hope she’ll come visit us at home sometime.  You can see her blog at www.hannahsterling.blogspot.com.



Madelyn, Simon, Margie & Noah



Hannah & Bekah