It Keeps Getting Better!

Continued from previous post

Fri. Jan 30th: On Friday morning we headed out for some street evangelism. We began in the market and shopping areas however it was the last day of the month which meant pay day and it was crazy. The missionary couple said that they would spend their money on alcohol all weekend any by Monday they would not have money to eat for the rest of the month. We saw it with our own eyes. It was sad but good for us to see because it made the need to share Jesus even more real.

This is the typical market scene. This is dried worms, fish, etc! Gross! At least YOU can't smell it. I was OK until we got to the hanging meat and that was about more than I could take. Of course the smell of home brew was mixed in. How could I forget the body odor? I was all thrown off! Because the people in the shopping areas were just too busy because they had money (or too drunk!) we decided to go into the housing areas where the people were more focused. Good move!

This is Gershon. A led him to Christ! He was so broken! He believed he was a Christian but when A pointed him to scripture he knew he was not. He was Lutheran and had been baptized as an infant and been through confirmation. Many of the people will tell you they are Christians based on this. He said something while we were talking to him that hit me really hard. He said, "people talk about being born again, but I don't see any difference in them." He could not be more right. Are we really "born again"? Do we show the rest of the world we are "born again"? I am afraid the answer too often is no...

There were 2 more guys at this same house and one of the other men spoke with them but they were not interested. As Gershon headed back into that house with tears streaming down his face all I could think was what would they say to him. The natives told us they were often made fun of for becoming Christians. When we become Christians we have others to rejoice with us and tell us how happy they are. However, completely changing our old ways and living completely for Him is not easy. Can you imagine the challenges that are presented for these people who have little to no support in their walk. All the more reason for us to spend time discipling the ones there who have accepted Christ so they can provide that support system.

As we moved down the street, this lady came out of her house to talk to us. She was wearing a nighty which was completely see thru. She did come out tying a dishtowel around her waist. She also claimed to be a Christian yet had not followed the Biblical way to salvation. She told us that she was Lutheran but had switched to the Universal Church because the Lutheran church could not help her with her problems. She said she needed someone to solve her problems. So sad! She needs Jesus! We just felt she was too confused to go any further with. She got me thinking though, how often do we go to church to make us feel good or to have our problems solved? As we explained to Gershon, a Christian life is certainly not problem free, but our hope lies in Him!

Fri nt we had Bible Study again. The group from our town who had been there just a few weeks before us wanted to get Erastus a guitar. One of them had taken one when they went and they discovered that Erastus could play and that they all enjoyed having it for their worship. So, we took him the guitar and he was THRILLED!!!

A talking to Erastus. I think he was thinking, "please let me try out the guitar!"

Mrs. Melba helping him check it out! Mrs. Melba is one of our church members and just a delight! Spunky but a delight!!! This was her second trip to Namibia and she has such a love for the people and it wonderful with them!

Listening to Erastus play. Brought tears to my eyes!

Mrs. Melba having a wonderful time with some of the ladies and children she had met on her first trip.

The lady in blue is Maria and she works at the hotel where we stay and was led to Christ by a previous team member.

Some of the group. Erastus taught from "A Call to Joy" which is the discipleship material our church uses and they are using in their group in Africa as well. The topic talked about guess what, being BORN AGAIN!!! We talked about how we should ALWAYS he His witnesses. In everything we do, others should know we are BORN AGAIN! What do we fill our minds with? We have to be filling our minds with Him or we will shine through over Him! We talked about the importance of scripture memory so that we can adequately be His witnesses.

We took Erastus home after Bible Study. Their house was one of the very small tin houses. Of course no electricity. We want to feel sorry for them BUT they are filled with JOY! Once again, why do we not have that JOY? If we have Jesus, he gives us JOY! I am afraid we have too many "things" that provide us "happiness" and the more we have the more we want. We fill our time with these "things" when we should be filling them with Him and then we are left with no JOY! CONVICTING!!! Maybe we are not as "fortunate" as we think we are. As Bible Study, David told us that before he became a Christian he strived to be like Americans and he and wanted that for his children but that after Christ he wants to know more about Him, not Americans and he wants to teach his children more about Him, not Americans. Maybe we should strive to be more like HIM and less like Americans! Not maybe, we SHOULD! As Americans we tend to give our children more and more material possessions which is making them less and less thankful and more and more arrogant. Our generation of children is walking around unhappy because they want more "things" and trying to manipulate how they can get more "things". We have done this! We should want more of HIM for them not THINGS! First, I guess we have to be that example for them... I am not saying do not provide for your children or never give them "things" they desire BUT I do feel really strongly that our priorities are way out of order and it is stealing true JOY which only comes from HIM!

Sat. July 31st: The missionary couple leaves. They were wonderful insight and encouragement for us. David and Erastus had expressed that at some point they would like to paint the inside of the former disco to get rid of the black. We thought the outside of that side needed to be painted so that the people of the city were not confused by the space since it was now being used for Bible study twice a week as well as church on Sun morning. So, we picked them up and took them to buy the supplies to paint. We bought the supplies but we wanted them to pick it all out. The plan was to get the items needed, help them get started, and then allow them to finish so it felt like theirs not ours.

A couple of David's employees sanding down the outside

After picking out the supplies we went out doing evangelism with Erastus and David. We felt it would be good to go along side them helping them and encouraging them to share. Ended up they didn't need much help. It was amazing to see them in action!

LOVE this picture of A with David and Erastus "going out!"

We went into the neighborhood behind the former disco which is an extremely poor area. The whole city is poor but this was realllllly poor. It was a good thing we had Erastus and David with us because they were not as impressed with us "Americans" as most are.

This is a shot inside the neighborhood

Hearing David share Christ in his heart language was very moving

We gave this little girl one of the dolls and her mother is reading the letter that was sent with the doll

David sharing Scripture with her

She accepted Christ!!! Of course, I cried...

I got this shot of her after we had walked off. She is reading her Bible!

Notice the lady with the baby on her back is doing laundry. She would not talk to us but we are talking to her sister and the one with the baby on the back is listening intently.

This is the little girl. The children drew me in. I have to admit though, I thought I would only be drawn in by the children and that was not the case. I fell in love with all the people...

A sharing again. Melba and I went to visit Monica. She was led to Christ on a previous trip and Melba met her on her last trip and wanted to spend some time discipling her. She had no chairs so we all we sat on the floor. It was a wonderful experience. I just sat there and took it all in. These 2 women who had only met each other once before talking like old friends about our Saviour!

Melba and I returned to the meeting place where the others were working.

The new outside of the former disco!

Working on the inside
Removing the disco ball!

Melba and I headed back to the hotel. The rest of the group came in shortly after with an amazing story. While A and the others were working at the meeting place David told A that he would like to talk to him. They went into the bar area and sat down and talked. David shared with A that he had a hard time sharing Christ and owning a bar. He told him that he had thought a lot about closing the bar but he was scared because that was the way he provided for his family but that he felt convicted about it. A asked him if he (A) had said anything to him about having a bar and he said no. A asked if anyone on our team had said anything to him about it and he said no. So, A said so who do you think is saying something to you about this and his response was, "God" He told A that he would like to see it become a family entertainment center-a place for families in the city to come and have a good time without alcohol. A had not shared this with anyone up to this point but the night before during Bible Study the Lord revealed that same thing to him! WOW! That's all I could say and that is all I can still say to that!!! HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD? One of the ladies in the Bible Study has also had a vision of that same thing. David decided right then and there to close the bar!!!

This is a picture of him painting over the Bar sign on the outside!
What a testimony! Even for us! Would we be willing to give up our livelyhood if the Lord told us to??? PLEASE pray for David and his family as he has taken this huge leap of faith!
When we got back for Bible Study they were still busy taking down all the alcohol signage and painting the outside

We got to meet Erastus' son and wife. Wonderful people! This is his son. We could not get his name right so they told us it means "trust in the Lord" and we could just call him Trust!ADORABLE!!! He is 4 and very smart and it was obvious he is being taught spiritual things at home. He got this book and told me this was Jesus Christ preaching!

We had 16 at Bible Study on that Sat nt. Would we have 16 gather for Bible Study on a Sat nt in the states? They are THIRSTY for the word and we should always be thirsty for the word no matter how long we have been Christians.

I absolutely loved seeing people on another continent worshipping the same Lord and Saviour who died for ALL!!!

The Start

My mind wanted to start blogging our trip as soon as we got back but my schedule and my body just wouldn't allow me! If I sat down, I fell asleep and we have had a lot going on this week but I think we are getting a little more back to "normal". I have so much to share and of course lots of pics so I am going to break this up into sections of time. So, this post will cover the first few days of our trip. I journaled every day so I want to document (at least most of that) here.

Monday, July 26th: Leaving the girls was MUCH harder than I had anticipated. I had dreaded it but I did not know I would feel quite like I was feeling. I felt like I had made the wrong decision to go. I felt like a terrible mother. A and I always enjoy our time alone but even that was really strange. I wouldn't talk. It was just strange! I had prayed and had asked for prayers that I would not allow missing the girls to consume me but it was consuming me at this point. We flew from Birmingham to Atlanta. We were to meet the rest of our team in Atlanta. As soon as we landed in Atlanta we received a call that our team was unable to leave Dallas due to weather and would not be there. 1st realization of the trip that we are not in control! A and I had to catch our flight so we head to Joburg. The flight was around 17 hours and we moved forward 7 hours. Of course we had no idea when the others would join us and we were prepared to start changing their travel arrangements as soon as we arrived in Joburg.

Tuesday, July 27th: LONG FLIGHT!!! I have to admit this was the most challenging part. I was still down over leaving the girls and that is a long time to fly. We arrived on Tues nt and discovered that our team could not fly out until that night so they should join on Thurs nt. There was a lot of confusion in changing all their arrangements but we had LOTS of people praying for us and it all worked out (eventually!) We spent the night in a hotel in Joburg. There is just something about first being in another country that makes you uneasy (well me at least!) The driver called someone on the way to the hotel and said "we will be there in about 10 min" as he heads into what appears to be a residential area. I thought, great, where is he taking us? What are "they" going to do to us!? I was tired and apparently losing it!!! We make it to our hotel safely and crash (for a little while).

Wed, July 28th: Wake up at 1 AM (their time) and there is no going back to sleep. By 4 AM A and I were sitting in bed dipping Milanos in coffee. That was a first for us! It was also our first bonding time on this trip because I had been so out of it from missing the girls. We head to the airport shortly. I was still down and missing the girls like crazy and extremely tired.

A in the airport in Joburg with 2 phones in his hands! Bless him he was still trying to take care of revising travel arrangements.

We arrive in Windhoek and have no driver. I just sit down and think we are never all going to make it there (ye of little faith!) We tried all the #s we had and could not get in touch with anyone. Thankfully we had a phone # for a missionary couple who lives in Windhoek and we got in touch with them. They sent someone to get us and bring us to their home. We had a good visit with them and she prepared a quick lunch for us before they took us to another airport. Being in their home was the turn of our trip for me. We were able to spend some time talking with the wife about what God is doing in their area and it was very encouraging. We were now off to our next destination by plane.

This is the plane we took! 16 seater and I did not like it but I slept and that made it easier!

We arrived in Odangwu and this is the airport there! Our guides Richard and Skip were there to pick us up for our drive to Outapi.

As we made the 1.5 hour drive and I saw the many donkeys and cows and everything else roaming everywhere and the children roaming everywhere it was a very surreal time for me and reality really set in. Once again, I began to think I can not do this! There is no way I can minister here. There are no missionaries in the area of Outapi but there is a missionary couple who is responsible for that area so they came to spend a few days with us to see what was going on with our ministry there. They were at the hotel when we arrived. We had dinner with them and we discussed our goals for the trip, etc. We had a great nights sleep (despite the mosquito nets!)

Thursday, July 29th: After breakfast we were able to talk some with the some of the ladies who work at the hotel. Our teams have been staying here for over a year now and have developed a relationship with some of the staff and have led some of them to Christ. You quickly learn that some want to know more about what you are about and some just want what we have (even if it is a Bible). We met with Erastus who is a Christian man who lives in Outapi and has really taken a lead with the Bible Study that they are currently having in the city. We had a wonderful meeting and were very encouraged by him and all that the group there is doing. Our goal is to have a church there who can be there every day to reach their people and what they have is a great start. After our meeting Erastus took us to the site where the group has been meeting.

This is the location... A is meeting David for the first time who owns the building.

The left end WAS a disco but they disco was closed and they use that space to meet. The right end is a bar. I can not begin to tell you how many bars there are in this city. I have NEVER seen anything like it. They are everywhere. Obviousely for us, a bible study in a building with a bar is not ideal but we knew they were meeting where they could.

I took this picture while we were standing outside of the meeting area/former disco/bar. This is seen everywhere. The women carry A LOT on their heads.

This is inside the meeting area/former disco. David is talking to A and The Lynch's (missionary couple) about his decision to use this area as a meeting place for their group and the changes in his life. This was very touching. Standing in this former disco seeing this city change, even if in a small way it is all a step in the right direction. David and Erastus

This was taken at the Bao bab tree. It is massive!
We spent the afternoon doing some surveying of the city. There has been a lot of growth there. This is a typical housing area. Can you imagine how hot these houses become in the summer?
and again... As I watched my husband observe everything and come up with what he thought was the best plan for doing evangelism in the city, I have never loved him more.

While we were driving around we discovered these tents just outside the hospital. These are pregnant ladies from the bush who have come into the city to stay until they deliver. We went up to them and tried to talk to them but we could not find anyone in the group who spoke English. There were also what appeared to be some sick children there. Not sure if they were there for treatment or if they just happened to be there with their mothers. I think this might have been the most humbling experience of my life up to this point. I am very thankful of all we have as Americans BUT we have way too much. That night we met with the Bible Study group (which was smaller than normal this night). As we talked with them before we began, David said, "Like you have come to us, we must go to tell others" YES! That's it! We all must go to tell others! Whether that means next door or on another continent! Also, we learned that they think all Americans are rich and live like what they see on TV. We assured them we were not rich and that we did not live like people in Hollywood. This was sad to me. It breaks my heart that as Christians we do not have more of an impact on the way we are viewed as Americans. What can we do to portray a different side of America? I want others to see Jesus NOT worldly celebrities. However, we often strive to be like celebrities instead of Jesus... As Christians, we need to look different! A taught from Phil. 3 "Rejoice in the Lord". I immediately thought of the women in the tents. They seemed content and most of them probably did not know our Lord in a personal way. I am HIS yet am I content? Do I rejoice in the Lord? I should be completely content in the fact that I belong to Him yet I always seem to find something to complain about. Very convicting! We spent some time talking with them about being careful to not be swayed by others with beliefs that were not Biblical and to study God's word to ensure they could stand firm. What about us? Do we study God's word adequately in order to stand firm? Erastus gave the example of a baby first having to start out on baby milk and then progressing toward solids. As baby Christians we have to start with the basics and then progress as we can absorb it. However, we always need to be nourished! ALWAYS! There is always more for us to learn...

This picture of Christian brothers and sisters from different parts of the world with very different lives gathering together in the name of the ONE who died for us ALL makes me very happy!!!

After getting back to the hotel the rest of our team joined us! Praise the Lord that all the travel confusion was over and we were all together and ready to work! I was psyched! The prayers for me to not be consumed with missing the girls were working! I missed them but I was not consumed and I knew I would return as a different person (including a different mother)!!!

MUCH MORE TO COME!!!

REMEMBER

I have tons to do over the next 2 days to get us ready to go so I wanted to take a minute tonight to do a quick post before we leave.

I admit the closer this gets the more nervous I get! I am really having to fight Satan right now!

As I have said before, I know God has told me to go on this trip but that doesn't make it easy. I have to be honest and say this is way out of my comfort zone but I know HE wants us to be uncomfortable. I know that I have to do what He tells me to do, no matter what! SO, I go and I fight all that Satan throws at me!

I took this picture of the girls for several reasons. The dolls are the dolls that the ladies in our church make and we take to the kids in Africa. We have these 2 at our house to pray for the children who will receive them. So, I wanted a picture of these dolls with our girls for memory purposes but I also wanted to put it on here so that while we are gone you can look at the blog and REMEMBER to pray. REMEMBER to pray for our sweet girls. Pray specifically that the days will pass quickly for them and that they will be at peace that we will be home soon.

REMEMBER to pray for us as we prepare to leave them. Pray that we will say all that we need to say to them and they will be well prepared for us to leave them.

REMEMBER to pray for us as we are away from them. I have never been a way from Lizzie and Millie longer than 1 night so I know it is not going to be easy. After I knew that I was supposed to go to Africa I did a lot of wrestling with God about how I just "could not" leave the girls for that long but as I said before I finally knew I just had to do what He told me to do and He would take care of the rest. So, I ask that you pray that I continue to remember that while I am away. I know we will miss them but I do not want that to consume us and get in the way of doing what we are supposed to do. Pray that we are able to get good internet connections so that we can talk to them at least a few times.

REMEMBER to pray for us as we travel. Pray that we have smooth travels and that despite the long hours of being on a plane we are ready to work when we get there.

REMEMBER to pray for us as we minister to the people of Namibia. We will be doing some street evangelism, we will be doing Bible studies each night (pray for me as I lead 2 of those and that makes me really nervous-have no idea why but it does not make me that way here but the thought of doing that there once again is out of my comfort zone), we hope to go into the schools, working with a couple of natives there who have shown potential as leaders for a congregation there and training them for future leadership, and possibly working on negotiations to purchase land there for a future church.

REMEMBER to pray that we are sensitive to His spirit while we are there and that we do what He has us to do even if it is not what we have planned.

REMEMBER to pray that our hearts are broken for these people and that we want them to know Jesus so badly that we allow Him to work through us and accomplish things we could never accomplish on our own.

REMEMBER to pray that the people we share our Saviour with are never the same because of HIM!

REMEMBER to pray that we are never the same...

Never Underestimate

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE...

Sallie Hall!

This is a short video of a few of the things Sallie has learned. We are currently doing a mixture of signs along with encouraging her to be vocal along with the signs. The main goal is not only to get her to do the signs but to understand the meaning of them and to use them at the appropriate times. This takes a lot of work and concentration on our part. It is easy for us to get busy and not take the time to incorporate these signs along with words. It is true as we have always thought that she would rely on signs once she was introduced to them. So we have to be adimant that she use "words" along with the signs. The words may not pronounced correctly (because she does not hear all of the sounds) and/or have the ability to pronounce them we would but one huge step is that she is able to hear the number of sounds and repeat. You will notice in the video when we say thank you she repeats 2 "words" over and over. The you does sound similar to you but just the fact that she is hearing what we want her to say/sign and is attempting to say 2 words is big for us! Because listening does not come natural to her we have to constantly prompt her to listen. You will notice in the video when I change to more it takes a minute for her to process that I have changed words and then she changes signs and you will hear her say more which she says pretty well. Last week she took Elleigh some clothes to her and she looked at Elleigh and told her (signed) you tell me thank you! That was great! Making that connection is just what we are wanting! She LOVES her therapist and LOVES to go. The BAHA has been the best thing we have had so far so we are anxious to see where we go with it.

On Thursday she will have and ultrasound and VCUG of her kidney and urinary tract. The test is not a big deal but it is for her. They do a cathetar and then fill the bladder which they say is a little uncomfortable but the big thing with her is she is just so scared of what they are going to do to her. I would rather taking a beating than have to put her through it. The sensitive side of this mama just wants to say no, we aren't going to do it but the take care of business side of this mama knows that this is just part of maintanence with her and that we do have to keep a check on things. So, please pray for her comfort and peace on Thursday morning. I pray for a peace that can only come from God.

(please overlook her not having pants on-I thought you couldn't see!)

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE...

Gravel on the face:

Poor Millie took a spill face first into gravel and then slid. It busted her lip and then you can see her nose. It got her on her forehead at her hair line as well but you can't see that too well in this pic. We were at a couple's in the church and Millie is so shy and she had just opened up and was playing with the kids and she had her little accident. Before this, Sallie touched a glass door that had been cracked by a rock (we did not do that!) and it shaddered when she touched it. Thankfully, it did not cut her. It could have been bad! Always something when we are around!!!

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE...

How quickly children grow up!

Elleigh is in OK this week on a mission trip with our old church. She went a day early to spend the night with a friend. Her friend took these great pics of her! I love them! However, I find myself just looking at them and wondering WHERE DID MY LITTLE GIRL GO??? I just can't explain it. I mean I have always thought they grew up too fast but there is just something about your little girl suddenly becoming a woman that is humbling...

One thing hasn't changed-when she was a little girl I would look at her and think she is precious and now I still look at her and think wow, what a beautiful young woman!

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE...

The power of prayer!

Many of you have prayed for our friends the Thomas'. This is a link to a feature on Jeramy:

http://www.rmhdallas.org/our-families/a-long-journey-of-hope/