Arandis, Namibia: 2007-01-14

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Armando has a new doo!

20 Jan 2007

The beginnings of a busy two weeks seem to be taking shape.

As we were working on Tresford's computer, I had the opportunity to spend 3-4 hours with him and also had a lunch prepared by Fabiola; and we talked more. Keep them in your prayers for their ministry here. Both Tresford and Fabiola feel that in the three years they have been here, much progress has been made, doors have been opened and even the town officials seem more receptive to their requests and plans.

One of Tresford's new endeavors is to offer a men's group and he sees that to be the inroads to helping turn around what life is like for many families. He is optimistic that these meetings will continue to grow in participants and that many of the men in Arandis will start to take responsibility for their family and children as a Christian.

Fabiola and the new Talitha-Kumi Christian Academy has been extremely well received in the town and she has a waiting list. Limited space and qualified teachers are her roadblocks. They recently converted the Ministry Center (Brenda's Office) into the 1st and 2nd grade classes. Another building a block or two away is being used for the daycare and pre-k activities.

However, an uncertain stream of income and not enough of it have been a tremendous burden to the ministry and the family itself. Despite the financial difficulties, they are strengthened by prayer and the evidence that they are making a difference in this town.

Around 4:00 PM I gathered up my camera and video camera and set out to pick up some of the children and stroll around the town, taking pictures, videos, and catching up on these last 7 months. We also had a chance to catch up with Justine & Armando, Chriszelda and Pearl. I must say, it was quite an afternoon. After my first full day here, for the children, it is almost like I never left. What I find interesting is that they are more receptive, talkative, and...loving...since last July. I truly believe that coming back soon, and the children knowing that one of the reasons I came back was to see them, has been a big difference. We walked around until sometime between 6 and 7. I brought them back home and sat down to watch a segment of "America's Funniest Videos" with them. I left sometime after 8 thankful for such a good first day.

Hopefully I can take an hour or two tomorrow for some quiet time, take a deep breath, catch up on this blog and get some pictures uploaded. I would do it tonight, but logging in at 49kbps has its disadvantages; especially when down here, we pay for the Internet by the minute!

posted by Don @ 5:41 PM 2 comments

Smuggling Mule rules

20 Jan 2007

Smuggling Mule

Yes, my luggage did all arrive. In fact, my two checked bags which I was looking for in Johannesburg were the 2nd and 3rd one out. Shortly after, the smaller one I also had to check in came around the corner. So, for this part the score was

Smuggling Mule & Hound of Heaven - 1
Lost Luggage & Nasty Customs Inquisitions - 0

Today I've included photos of the myriad of stuff that was packed, in the gallery. After viewing them myself, I'll have to resize them at a better setting. But you’ll get the idea.

Speaking of gallery, today I hope to start taking pictures of some of the people some of you have been waiting to see. Brenda and I took a few pictures and video on the way out to Arandis; the intent of which is to create a presentation of Namibia that she and Sylvia can use to help raise more funds for HPOM as they go out on each of their speaking circuits. So you'll be able to look for some of those soon.

This morning a few of the children are being evaluated to see exactly what grade level they should be in. Given their age and "natural" progression in the Arandis public school, they would be in 3rd & 4th grade. However, HPOM's concern is that they still lack the skills of they should have at that point and might be better off taking a step or two back, and going to the new Arandis Christian Academy, to get back on track.

Okay, I need to work on a computer before I get fired! Oh, for those of you who may not know and might want to, there is a 7 hour time difference between Namibia and the East Coast. The time you see on the posts is East Coast time. Just add 7 hours and that would have been the time I posted from here in Namibia.

posted by Don @ 1:11 AM 1 comments

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

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Almost there

18 Jan 2007

I am currently Johannesburg at the lovely Dove's Nest Guest House. Just had a nice chicken & rice dinner and everything is great. I tried getting on from NY but could not get the wireless to work. I remember we had that problem from the gate last summer and that is where I was trying from. Flights over were uneventful and fine. For you involved in real estate, I sat next to a mortgage broker who deals only with non-conforming loans! What a hoot! The stories we exchanged....

I am not using my laptop at the moment, but rather the hotel's system so this post will likely not include as much as I would like to tell about. However, yes, the news about Maderyna was very good to get just prior to leaving. Brenda had emailed me and informed me she was back. Incredible timing....wouldn't you say? So Jackie, now you know. I must say that I've had this feeling for a while now that this would happen.

Thanks to Karen's quick thinking, what could have been a nightmare worked out well with her idea to redirect my departure to Boston...thanks honey! You're so smart. I also want to thank her for really cramming 4,325 pounds of stuff into two bags so that it looks and weighs only 70 pounds each. As luck would have it (luck?) after all the baggage had been unloaded from the plane, my two were not to be found. But...they tell me that the two bags will meet up with me in Windhoek.

Thanks for all who have posted. This is and will shape up to be an interesting solo trip. Yes, Darin, there have been all sorts of sightings, even before I left home.

Guess that will be in for now. I'll try to post more tomorrow from Rehoboth.

posted by Don @ 1:31 PM 5 comments

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Am I all packed? What kind of question is that?

16 Jan 2007

Here is it, after 10:30 PM and if I said I "was all packed" I would be lying.

I have sitting in front of me three CDs provided by choreographer extraordinaire, Sandi Duncan. Thank you Sandi! Thank you everyone who has donated money, supplies, and/or prayerful support.

Karen thinks she might be able to squeeze these last minute items into the luggage without tipping the scales any further than I already am. Gosh, I hope so.

In less than 24 hours, I'll be lifting off from JFK and beginning my journey. I was surprised today to find out that many people didn't realize that I was going to Namibia alone, and not as part of a larger group as I did last July, and as my daughters did in 2005. Although I say that I am going alone, my friend Darin reminded me tonight that I will be far from alone. It is reassuring to know that I have family and friends who will be accompanying me in spirit and prayer. I received more calls today and tonight, wishing me well. Thank you everyone. In thanks, it is my hope that I can keep this blog as updated as I hope to. To help lessen the distance and time between us.

I hope to chime in at least one more time before I leave the U.S. and I figure it will be from JFK. For those of you who might be interested, here is what I know of my itinerary at this point:

Leave Manchester sometime after 11 AM, Jan 17 and arrive at JFK sometime after 12:30 PM.

Leave JFK sometime around 5:30 PM and touch down in Dakar, Senagal around 6:00 AM, Jan 18 (I think there is a 5-hour time difference). Reported flight time is 7 hours and 40 minutes. We are in Senegal for an hour (I'm assuming to change crew and drain the port-o-pottie.)

We leave Senegal around 7 AM and arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa around 5:30 PM. Flight time is reported as 8 hours and 20 minutes.

I need to gather all of my 5,245.5 pounds of luggage at this point and go take a nap at the Dove's Nest Guest House. My flight from Johannesburg to Windhoek, Namibia is around 11 AM, Jan 19. The flight to Windhoek is shown as two hours but I think there is another hour time difference in there some where. Anyway, I land in Windhoek, Namibia around 1 PM, Friday, Jan 19th. For those of you back home, I think that would be around 6 AM on Friday (EST). Flight time is reported as 2 hours.

What happens once I hit Namibian soil is anyone's guess. Some of you may notice my use of "sometime" and not an exact time. Such is life with regard to airline travel and much of how time is perceived in Namibia. I'm just preparing myself.

posted by Don @ 10:17 PM 18 comments

Monday, January 15, 2007

Have I forgotten anything?

15 Jan 2007

I've been getting a few telephone calls and Instant Messages these last few days from well-wishers. Thank you! As far as being all packed, let's just say I'm 99% there. I think tomorrow night I'll have to set a deadline as to when I will unzip and zip the suitcases one last time. I've emailed the place I will be staying at Thursday night and have emailed Brenda to make sure nothing has changed on her end.

According to one of the online newspapers, it was 40 degrees celcius last weekend in Windhoek. If my handy dandy converter is correct, that equates to about 104 degrees fahrenheit. Hmmm....

People have been asking me if it will be hot there. I had asked Brenda that question a while back and she said I would probably find it to be about the same extremes as last July. Can't remember it getting that warm back then. I better unpack and make sure I've got my sunblock somewhere :-). The lastest weather watch has it ranging from 60 degrees to 95 degrees. That is more like the "range" we had last July, with the exception that the range may have been 40 degrees to 75 degrees. It did get cold!

I'll keep you posted...

posted by Don @ 10:59 PM 0 comments

Sunday, January 14, 2007

T-minus 3 days and counting

14 Jan 2007

Running around.

That is what I feel I will be doing these next couple of days. I have continued to add to my original list of things to do for a while now. And, as I do each one, I highlight it. But as I wind down these last few days before I leave, the bottom of my list now has things to do for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

I have unpacked my carry on once again, to try to lighten the load and not bring more than I really have to. I am told I will have a washing machine available to me at Nan's house. So I have removed yet more stuff from my carry on.

Once again I ask for your prayers that I can:

Get through with all the overweight baggage that I have - without any issues

Have all the baggage arrive in Namibia when I do

Successfully distribute the contents of my baggage; to those in need and for whom it was intended and transported across the world for.

While I pray for no luggage surprises, I do hope to have a few surprises of my own. For those of you who know me well, you'll not be surprised to know that only four people (in Arandis) are aware that I am heading back. None of the children know. I am hoping to surprise them; especially the ones I have been in contact with since last July, via email ( Chandre, Elaine, & Pearl). I am looking forward to tapping on the door to their home or simply showing up someplace where they will be.

posted by Don @ 11:06 PM 0 comments

About Me

Name:Don (& Chandre)
Home:Nashua, NH (Arandis, Namibia)