Adding to the beauty

Wow--I can't believe I've been here in Arandis for a week now!  As I sit here typing this, I hear children laughing and playing next door and in the street, dogs barking outside my window, and music blaring from a shebeen (bar) a street over.  I've missed these sounds more than I realized (okay, maybe not the music blaring from the shebeen--it's been making it hard for me to fall asleep at night).  But the children and the dogs?  Yes:)  Memories of my time in Zambia have come flooding back:)  The Lord is so good to have allowed me to return to this beautiful continent.  As I expected, there are definitely similarities, but there are also differences between my time in Zambia and other countries in southern Africa and my time here in Namibia so far.  One of the most obvious ones would probably be that I am in the desert here in Arandis, and it is much colder than I expected it would be!  Apparently, temperatures right now are lower than they typically are this time of year, so even the locals are shivering:)

By God's grace, the adjustment to life here has been smooth.  I think the fact that I was able to call Zambia home for awhile back in 2010/2011 has helped, because I knew a bit better what to expect this time around.  Definitely am still no expert, and will never be.  I have loved getting to know the kids in the the ministry, as well as the foster mommies, other short-term volunteers, the long-term missionaries here, the Namibian teachers, those at the local church, and others around town.  There are lots of names and faces to remember, but I'm working on it!  Everything in Arandis is within a 15 minute walk, which I love, and I have enjoyed exploring:)

This past week, I helped out each morning in the second grade classroom at Talitha-Kumi Academy, the school that was founded and is run by the ministry I am serving with here, Children of Promise Ministries.  Some days I was on my own, and other days I was the helper.  The school is right down the road from where I am staying at the ministry center, so the 7:10 a.m. start time isn't quite as painful as it could be if I lived further from the school:)

                                          The road I live on

I have been tutoring a few of the older kids in the afternoons at the school, and had the opportunity last Monday evening to attend a weekly prayer meeting held by the pastor of the local church here in town, who is Zambian!  We did prayer a bit differently, all praying at one time!  I thought that was just a Korean church thing, but I guess not:)  On Wednesday, I was able to help out with a youth conference in town, and was able to pray with teen girls and encourage them and share with them from my own walk with Christ and life experience.  So thankful for that opportunity!

  

At the end of the youth conference with Estomitch and Annalisa

So far, the Lord has blessed me with a number of opportunities just to encourage and pray with various individuals.   It has been a privilege to co-labor with Him in His ministry here in Arandis, and the gift of His peace has been incredible this week.  The following words have been impressed upon my heart by the Lord this week:  encourage.  point them back to me.  point them to the truths in my word.  embrace humility.  let your gentleness be evident to all.  observe.  be prayful at all times.  take the posture of a learner.  let me infuse you with my joy and peace so that you can pour into those around you.  you are my vessel, making known the riches of my mercies to everyone you interact with.  give thanks at all times.  i am with you.  trust me.  be flexible.  laugh often.  add to the beauty of this place.

This coming week, I will be helping out in the first grade classroom in the mornings, and then will be visiting the homes of a couple different foster families to help the older kids with their homework in the afternoons.  I'm looking forward to the relationships the Lord will continue to allow me to form.  On Friday, I hope to begin teaching the 5th-7th grades the basics of volleyball during gym class, to be continued over the weekends:)

Starting next Saturday morning, I also plan to help facilitate a parenting series for the foster parents in the ministry using the book Shepherding a Child's Heart, as well as a series on finding identity in Christ with the teen girls in the ministry (using The Search for Significance student edition book).  I'm excited!  It is so awesome to see how the Lord has equipped me for these opportunities over the past year as I've worked through these books at CIU and at church.

I will leave you with a couple of pictures from last weekend, when I was able to visit Moonscape, a mountainous region not far from Arandis, as well as the huge sand dunes right outside Swakopmund, a coastal city about 30 minutes by car from Arandis.

You can see the rest of my Namibia photo album on Picasa  here:  https://picasaweb.google.com/100039614502435865127/NamibiaJuly2013

"Blessed be the (wo)man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is in the LORD.  He (she) is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit."  (Jeremiah 17:8).  May this be true of me, Father, and may I be found in you!

Love from Arandis,

Steph