Greetings From Namibia

Mornings Mornings! (as they say here)

We finally arrived in Windhoek (pronounced vinhook) yesterday around noon...and with all our luggage! We were greeted with a blast of cool desert air and some friendly Namibians named James, Martha, Siku, Veronica, and Living. Our accomodations are quite nice and my fears of this place have been taken away now that I've seen it. Windhoek is different from a typical American city, of course, but at the same time, it feels very similar. We just walked through a mall in downtown and are all sending e-mails back in an internet cafe right now.

It's kind of funny, because I think we are quite the spectacle. It's not everyday you see 9 white people walking around together in Windhoek!! Haha. But God has really blessed us so far. The plane ride was quite a trip in itself. 20 hours!! We took off in the afternoon, flew through the night and into the morning, and finally landed in Johannesburg at sunset. Some friends doing missions in South Africa picked us up and packed us into their cars (it was quite tight, we all pretty much fell out when the doors opened!!) and took us to their house for some warm soup and hot chocolate...and of course a local treat called milk tart! We stayed in a guest house later on.

In Namibia, we are renting a two story house in a nice, safe neighborhood. All the houses in Namibia and South Africa are gated and fenced in. It's weird to get used to. The house is a really nice place which a family down here is letting us rent for really cheap! It's actually cheaper than it would be to camp out! One thing, though, about southern Africa in the winter, is that it gets quite cold here! It was nearly freezing last night (literally) and there is no heat in the house. So we just bundle up and get under the covers!! It feels quite nice during the day, however...kind of like Spring time in Ohio.

Last night, we worked out the plans for our month and some things have been changing. Instead of traveling to a town called Outjo, we will be heading all the way to the Namibia-Angola border to a small town called Rundu...which is the home town of our new friend Living. They have been praying that we would be able to come and help them...and wouldn't you know God is answering their prayers!!

It has been difficult adjusting spiritually, for the whole team, to this new environment and mission. But God is good and we know that He has called us to be here. A lot of people have been praying and waiting for us for a long time. It's quite humbling to think that we are the answers to some of their prayers. Please pray for the friends we have made already, because it is them who will be laboring for the Kingdom long after we depart. Udabong Idometer (which is a fun name to say!), who is the Navigator Zonal leader of Southern Africa greeted us in Johannesburg and shared with us the verse that God gave him about Namibia: "You did not choose Me, I chose you and appointed you that you should bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give to you" ~ John 15:15

We are going to try to take hold of that promise!

Thank you so much for your prayers!

With Love from Namibia,
Dan