Arandis, Namibia: NEWS FLASH

Friday, January 19, 2007

NEWS FLASH - PLANS CHANGED!

19 Jan 2007

Okay, so we didn't go to Rehoboth first. Brenda forgot to tell me until today. The Beads of Promise store will be opening towards the time we leave, so Rehoboth will be on the back end of this trip.

So yes, I am in Arandis. I've visited with Tresford and his family and saw all of the HPOM children at the three foster homes. There were a quite a few smiles and happy faces as they seemed to remember who I was. Chandre couldn't seem to wipe the smile off her face and after a 30 second "staring in disbelief" Elaine finally said hello. It was all pretty priceless - pretty much the Mastercard commercial type.

Everyone says hi to everyone. (Jackie, you were the first one Pearl asked about...) I even saw Toivo today. He was finishing up his holiday and we brought him back to the Ark. Drove through Nau-Aib, which brought back a few more memories from last July. He sends his best to everyone as well.

You'll have to excuse me as I try to catch up. Much of what you will read next, I wrote last night but could post until now.. (So some of the stuff about going to Rehoboth first obviously turned out to be a Namibianism.)

So far so good and I hope to try to recap my time since I left home. As most of you may now know, the Namibian influence struck early, even before I left on the 17th. If you read an earlier post, I talked about how my itinerary had all of a sudden changed and I was not going straight to Arandis, but we would be heading into Rehoboth first, to help out with the opening of the Beads of Promise store. Now, many of you also may know the story about Maderyna, the girl whose picture I had arbitrarily posted on the 2005 blog and whose life would soon intertwine with mine. I was hoping to get to meet her last summer but as plans turned out, I did not get to meet her. However, I did get to meet her younger sister, Chandre. As I was leaving Africa last summer, one of my thoughts was that I knew things weren't over yet with respect to Maderyna. And while I had a sense that I would get to meet her this trip, Brenda's email telling me our change in plans really got me wondering; would it be now, at this time. Then, just two hours before I was to leave to catch my flight, I received an email from Brenda telling me that Maderyna had come home, that she would be helping with the Beads of Promise program and that I would likely be meeting her in Rehoboth, when we arrived there. There were other things she mentioned to me and she also said we would talk more when she picked me up on Friday.

Check in at Logan - uneventful and smooth. Didn't have to pay for overweight luggage.

Check in at JFK - got me on the overweight luggage AND after I had dropped the two checked bags off to send through the x-ray, I realized I either lost, or had not pulled off the connector strap that I was using to piggy-back two suitcases so I could manage pulling three suitcases wherever I had to pull them from. I guess I could have gotten a cart...but that would have meant I had to find one. Anyway, I'll find out tomorrow if that connector strap is dangling from one of those suitcases or if I did lose it.

Check in at JFK at the security gate also went without a hitch, despite the fact I had three laptops with me.

Is I mentioned, in a previous post, my seat partner for the next 15-16 hours was a mortgage broker from Portland, Oregon. She was nice to talk with, personable, about 45-46 years old and I doubt if she had ever been married or had children. She had only been home for a couple of days after having been in Hawaii for two weeks. Oh, her girlfriend had also recently returned from two-weeks in Tahiti. I even heard about the pedicures they got at JFK. Now she and her girlfriend were heading to Zimbabwe to catch up with other friends who had rented a house boat for 3-days on some lake. Then they were going to go to Victoria Falls, a few other places, and then Cape Town. I guess my main reason for bringing all of this up is because, after asking what she was doing, where she was going, etc she filled me in on everything she had planned. Some 25 minutes before we were about to land in Johannesburg, and after applying her make-up right there in the seat, she asked, "I never did ask you what you were going to be doing in Namibia or if this was business or pleasure." I told her I was going to work at an orphanage for two weeks. Oh, that is quite noble she replied. I guess that was all she wanted to know since she didn't ask any more questions. Somehow I got the sense she felt her next two weeks would be better than mine.

I thought about that as we were landing and I know one thing for sure, I don't know whose two weeks will be better, but I would rather be going to were I'm going and doing what I will be doing instead of what she and her girlfriend had planned. But hey, different strokes for different folks. I wished her well as we parted.

Africa, it's amazing to compare my perception and someone else's who comes here for vacation. As we flew over Namibia on our way to Joburg, I looked down at the landscape and started to become anxious to return. To rejoin friends I had left, to uncover new challenges that might await me. Vacation? No, I don't look at it that way. There is too much work to do for it to be called a vacation.

Other highlights:

Flying over Etosha and the Pan.

Maybe actually catching a few winks on a plane...a rare occurrence in deed.

Dove's Nest Guest House...not a 5-star establishment but certainly a homey place and one that I would certainly come back to. The home-cooked dinner was great!

posted by Don @ 4:04 PM

5 Comments:

At 10:58 PM, Anonymous said…

:-) So I kept going back between a big grin on my face and my eyes filing up at the same time. So many familiar places and names that I find my heart misses so much. I am so excited for you teammate! The story of the woman on the plane was a really awesome thing to share because its so true. I'm praying for you and glad to hear all the luggage and stuff came through smoothly. I'm praying hard for Maderyna as well that God will be able to use you in her life. Praise God for bringing her back!!!
I know you will but seize every moment! I'm pretty sure I will be glued to the blog, so I can't wait to hear the updates!
praying for you,
<3, amanda
At 11:35 PM, Anonymous said…

Glad that you have arrived at your destination safely. I hope that you were able to collect ALL of your luggage upon arrival at the airport.
I know you are anxious to get started with your projects. We wish you well and hope that you are able to accomplish all that you want to.
Tomorrow we are off to competition in Lowell. I'm sure Adria will bring you up-to-date with the results.
Thinking of you and wishing you well.
Love and Best Wishes,
Mom Blicker
At 11:39 PM, Jackie said…

We are all glued! No surprise! I hope that when you get the chance you will ask about Veronica and Theresia and find out if they are well and safe. Teach some more Crowder tunes to Pearl! She will love that. I have a prayer request.......every night when the sun goes down and you look up at the stars, would you say a prayer for me on the Southern Cross?
At 8:51 AM, Darin said…

Somebody told you they wouldn't charge you for the overweight luggage. Hmmm.
At 1:08 PM, Anonymous said…

Hey there!!
Give Toivo a big hug for me!!!!!! I miss that boy!! isn't Namibia beautiful in their summer??? it's beautiful in their winter also, but I love the contrast!!!

Still praying... :-)

Love ~G