Greetings Friends,

It’s green and getting greener. Rain arrived on New Years Eve, and we have had it almost daily since. Within a week the hills that surround Windhoek have gone from brown and dust haze to gentle green with clear air. Makes everyone feel fresh and happy. And it makes the place cooler too. Most of the country is getting rain, especially in the north, which is normal. Thanks for praying.

It’s been good to have a local break, as I often spend holiday times gadding about. But this time I only drove north for Adam and Emily’s wedding – see more below. After that I was home in Windhoek enjoying a slow holiday pace. But now we are back to work…

LATELY IN SCRIPTURE UNION NAMIBIA…

All the team were at work on 5th January to start the year. All refreshed and keen to get on with ministry. Having done the basic ministry plan before leave, we are getting into the detail work now. School teachers started today, and students (called “learners” here till they are tertiary students) start Wednesday (and you don’t sit exams here, you write them). See the Prayer List below for what is coming. Tomorrow we have our first SU Standing Committee meeting for the year, and so we are right into it all.

Stan and his team have started improving our Shalom Camping Centre. I called there today and walked into the Dining Hall to find the inside painted in new colours, and lots of small jobs being attended to. We walked around and noted numerous small improvements we can do quickly, such as new basketball court, upgrade volleyball and netball courts, make a children’s play area, make shaded seating areas for small discussion groups on camps, plant more trees, more painting, etc, etc. Not big cost items, but things we couldn’t afford before. And these will make a noticeable improvement quickly. And all that should improve bookings a good bit. Then next is to have a small team to carefully plan, cost and implement bigger improvements.

AND FOR ME…

Ad Adam’s wedding didn’t involve 10 couples – just 5 ! They and one other couple had about 10 bridesmaids and 10 groomsmen each, while the others had somewhat less – walking up the aisle becomes quite a marathon, let alone getting everyone seated. Thankfully it was the coolest day of the week, with cloud till late in the service. The only English part of the Lutheran service was when Adam took his vows, as all the rest was in Emily’s language. Everything was a mix of custom and modern, so while the bridal parties all wore white dresses etc, afterward bride and groom took a donkey cart to Emily’s family area (some km from the church) and they have to walk the last few hundred metres in the sand (in stilettos) with ladies and girls kicking up a duststorm as they dance them into the village in loud celebration.

The wedding meal in a big tent was well done, and lots of store food for such a special occasion. Very warm grape juice bubbly exploded everywhere – no power = no ice. Speeches were done under a big tree for 2 hours before that, while I dozed in the SU truck under a tree. Lots of fun, but sometimes things happen slowly, so a doze is permissible. Elmo did the same, claiming he was whiter than all others there, except for me! His traditional life and area is very different, with more western roots. There are lots of various ways and histories and customs in Africa, even in this small part called Namibia.

On the way back I stopped in Tsumeb, a town in the mid-north which must be the greenest in Namibia. It sits on an underground lake, and a century of watering has resulted in huge trees and lots of lawns. The Minen Hotel is a colonial classic and a bit Fawlty Towers – dinner on the terrace under the roof with rain falling is so special here in the desert country. And it’s only an hour from the great Etosha National Park where we drive amongst the giraffes and zebras and springboks etc etc. Always amazing.

Services on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning were excellent. We even had a good number of the choir leading us in rejoicing. Afterward, our minister invited me to join his family and their various visitors at home, so I listened to lots of German conversations with good coffee. But many spoke English.

Then it was home and upstairs for lunch for 17 at left, with Zim, Zam, Nam and Oz all represented. Lunch finished about 8pm, and it topped a great day. Since then it was just an easy time in peaceful, half-empty Windhoek, with some short visits to the mailbox and office – bills don’t take holiday! Only problem was that most cafes also closed for hols – dreadful.

New Year we had a gathering upstairs again, the heavens broke, my bedroom was flooded, we moved and mopped, and stayed up for the non-event of midnight. The next night my bathroom and lounge quietly flooded, so we moved and mopped next morning, and called the plumber. The one mat not flooded now looks dirty. I think throw it in the pool! Phill arrived back hours later from 3 weeks at home, having missed all the fun – NOT.

Now I am back in harness at SU, with much happening. I expect I will be about Windhoek till mid-March, with numerous events here to encourage the SU Groups to start-up for 2010, and inspire adults to get involved. I’ll be having a few visitors through the year too, so that will be extra good.

FOR YOUR PRAYER

  • Thanks for a blessed Christmas, a nice break, and that Adam & Emily’’s wedding went so well. They have a temporary tiny flat which floods more often than mine. Pray for something nearer the office, and dry.
  • Schools in Namibia start this week – pray for SU Groups to restart quickly.
  • 22-23 January – Staff night away to begin the year. Pray for my input there.
  • 29 January – SU Prayer night – all night usually.
  • 6-7 February – Volunteers Training Weekend – Adam in charge.
  • 13 February – “True Love Waits” march for SU Groups and church youth groups. To promote God’s way of living so HIV/AIDs and many other problems are avoided. Adam in charge
  • 26-28 February – SU Group Leaders weekend, for student leaders of SU Groups. Adam also in charge.

Thanks for standing with me in 2010. I hope you are blessed as you journey with us. Graeme