The major joy in regard to the parishes mission support is of course Graeme’s work in Namibia. It seemed to take for ever for Graeme to get the necessary Visa documentation ready for Namibia. It was very frustrating for Graeme.
Graeme made the most of his enforced “holiday” and enjoyed a change of pace in Nhulunbuy (nulunboy) aka Gove as part of the team building a hangar (the biggest meccano set you have ever seen) at the MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) base. Graeme decided that this was clearly not his calling but it was great fun for a while. Graeme finally received approval for his visa to Namibia finally leaving Australia on Wednesday 30th July.
Sadly, Graeme’s first introduction to Namibia was to discover that one of his SU work colleagues is suffering from TB and HIV.
Graeme is living in the “Missionary Flat” which means he is close to other Christians. Graeme can have his rooms cleaned so he can concentrate on his work. Namibia (formerly a part of South Africa until 1990) broke from apartheid in the mid 80’s so those under 25 have never known it. Blacks and whites work together and mix socially but are mainly separated due to social cultures and affluence.
Slums in Namibia are not as prevalent as other neighboring countries and the government is successfully working on continual improvement. Like all places, the people are always striving to move to better living conditions.
From Graeme’s perspective, security is somewhere between Australia and Port Moresby. Graeme does not feel afraid to go out at night.
Graeme says, “There are many churches, traditional ones, newer ones, quiet ones and raging ones, and if they don’t suit, just start your own!! And they come in many languages, so there aren’t lots of English-speaking ones”.
Graeme struggled to find a church where he felt at home. It was hard to discern whether being a white foreigner or some other factor made it difficult to feel more at home. Graeme has previously worked in pacific nations and has never experienced the same difficulty in settling into a church.
In October 2008 Graeme sent out a request for financial assistance to help Kick re-Start the Scripture Union work in Namibia. Graeme and the staff at Scripture Union were delighted and overwhelmed by the response. Graeme wrote:
“Finally, give thanks for great response to the urgent appeal called Kick reStart. The result is twice the figure of the list of needed items for the Camp Centre. That means we can do some more there, but also now print Bible-studies and handbooks for SU School Groups, and they can all start next year with simple basic material for their ministry. This will also reduce the need many have developed of SU staff running their meetings too often. The local staff and leadership are tremendously grateful for you all who contributed. They also know that this was a one-off, and that we must raise local running costs here in the country. Hence, the Reunion Dinner for a start.”
See the SU Namibia Newsletters and the Airaldoms for more information.