The Coast

Vicky, one of the girls on our team, is from Swakopmund. Those of us still in Namibia for an extra week got the chance go out there together. We were glad to be able to hang out with our new Namibian friends a little bit longer before leaving.

Nursing thoughts (for those interested)...

I was very impressed with Hope Village (we visited several orphanages). It provides not only care for orphans, but also hospice for women, counseling, and assistance for single mothers with special-needs children. The kids and adults who receive from Hope Village also take part in keeping it running. There were several mothers living there (or in the programs provided) with HIV or AIDS who had their kids well adjusted for when these mothers can no longer care for thier children. Hope is always taking on a new project to make the facilities better; however, there is very little money and always need for more help!

Hope Village

Some very belated updates... now that I am 2 weeks from coming home!

(August)
This is Charmaine, a little girl from Hope Village orphanage in Windhoek, Namibia. She clearly stole my heart. Lori and I got the opportunity to visit Hope Village again during our extra days in Namibia, and meet with the RN there to learn more about what her days are like.

Belated update/Randomness

(Written on 28 June)
Johannesburg
Half of our team is in Johannesburg staying in a rest house overnight en route to Namibia. The other half is flying through London. It is kind of nice to have the extra day to adjust to the time change before we arrive to our destination. The weekend in D.C. with the team was a very good time for us to get to know each other a little bit, pray, and learn more about what the plans are from our Namibian team leaders. It is humbling that our Namibian team is so eager to have us come.

Choose to Wait
Choose to Wait is a curriculum we will be using, which was written by a Namibian woman who is now traveling frequently in Namibia, to the U.S., and perhaps other places to train others. Compassion International has now adopted this curriculum, so if you haven't heard of it, you may be hearing more about it soon. We used this material last time I went (it is excellent), and many of the students had not heard such a message (God's plan for marriage and sex). I hope that this is something we see soon in the States--it is such a universal curriculum, and everyone everywhere should have the opportunity to hear it.

AIDS
I am hearing that the AIDS situation in Namibia has not been improving. Last time I came to Namibia I would ask a classroom full of kids how many of them had lost someone they loved to AIDS. Every kid would raise their hand. This is still beyond my comprehension. About 1/10 of the population is orphaned. 1/10. God tells us many times how much he cares about these orphans…

On my way...

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragements this past week! I have been so encouraged and felt your prayers. I was especially blessed in church last Sunday by a song we sang, "Because of Who You Are." Some of the lyrics... "Jehovah Jireh, my provider. Jehovah Nissi, Lord you reign in victory. Jehovah Shalom, my Prince of Peace. Lord I worship You because of who You are!" I am so grateful that the God I serve is all these things and more.

I leave for D.C. this morning to meet my U.S. teammates. We will be together there for the weekend and then Sunday we leave for Namibia, where I will be for 7 weeks. Plans are to get there Tuesday and meet our Namibian teammates, which I am really looking forward to. Plans are still kind of vague in my mind, but I believe we will be renting a house in the city somewhere and then splitting into 3 smaller teams. We will see.

Prayer item:
Team unity from the get-go (in D.C. and then when we are with our Namibian teammates)

Hope to be in touch soon!

118 days in Africa

Today I was emailing with some of the folks helping me with plans, and I had to count how many days I will be out of the country. 118. 118?! Sounds like a lot (to me anyway). But what really gives me the butterflies is that I have started responding to the question of "when I leave" with "next week." Woah, ready or not, here we go.

Some other items...
-For those of you wondering, my visa (along with my passport) arrived TODAY!!
-I am also in the process of moving out of the "vera cruz" house (of 4 years!) and moving back home with mom and dad. :)