Every update we receive from the team in The Africa (as I like to refer to it) will be posted on the blog. Here is what we have, in the order that we received it.
Tuesday, June 12
Hey guys,
Just letting you know that we all survived the trip over and are getting ready to have dinner at the Bullingtons. We enjoyed our time in London by watching for celebrities which we saw and met two of them. Terry O'Quinn (John Locke from LOST) and Chad Michael Murray from a lot of CW shows were both in the airport so that was fun for the kids. We are really tired and worn down from the long trip, but we are very excited about what we will get to experience over the next couple of weeks. I'm going to keep this short, but know that we will be updating regularly.
Blessings,
Ronny
Saturday, June 16th
Hello all,
We returned from the game park yesterday afternoon. It was a really great experience for all of us. We were in the gates of the park for about 20 minutes when we came across our first lion! Now being one who has been to this game park and searched for 3 days for lions this is a pretty amazing thing. We enjoyed seeing all kinds of animals in their natural habitat which is truly an incredible thing. Here's a quick list of the things that we saw in our trip there: lions (4), rhinos, elephants, zebra, giraffe, hyenas, springboks, kudus, gemsboks (oryx), wildebeest, ostriches, impalas...needless to say, we saw alot. We had a little bus trouble (go figure that on a youth trip) where our bus broke down in the middle of the park. Something happened to the hydraulics on the bus which affected the brakes, but God is good and after a little prayer and some funny video clips (which we will love showing when we return), we were on our way again.
We returned back to Windhoek yesterday afternoon in time to get a little rest before heading off to YWAP (the weekend Bible study). We got set up and ready to go quickly before the students arrived then our kids got to meet their Namibian counterparts. It was a little awkward at first, but eventually the two groups began to mix and the comfort level increased greatly. During the worship service that night our band did a worship set and they did an incredible job as usual. Then Aeriel Butler got up and gave her testimony. The students in the school hall really absorbed all that she said and I can say that I was a very proud youth pastor. The night ended with more fellowship time with the students. It was a beautiful moment to watch these American students stand and talk and interact with the students at YWAP. Our host families picked us up from there and everyone went home for a nice deserved rest.
Tonight we will get to do it all over again for the young youth. We expect God to do some great things in this trip and so far we have not been disappointed. This weekend is the last chance for these Namibian students to sign up for their youth camp so we can just pray that many will come and hear a fresh word from God. Keep praying for us and we'll talk to you all soon.
Be Blessed,
Ronny
Sunday, June 17th
Hello everyone,
We wanted to give you the update from last night and this morning. We had the younger YWAP Bible Study last night and it was great! Over the weekend we got to meet about 200 students and try to remember their names. Our band did a great job once again...they performed "Party" for the first time and the kids loved it! We are really loving the time here so far.
This morning we worshipped with the church here and it was really great. We led worship for the church and Ronny preached so we had to hear him speak...again. Haha! It was a really great time for our team to worship with the Namibians here. We are preparing to start the assemblies tomorrow so be praying for us as we go to the schools. We are very excited and can't wait to perform the program that God has led us to put together.
Please pray protection for our group as many have had some cold type symptoms due to the change in weather. We are trusting that God is going to use this program to great things. I am attaching a personal note from each student for your reading pleasure to give you an idea of what is happening from their perspective. Thanks for your prayers and we'll email again soon. Love you all and Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there.
HSM Namibia team
Monday, June 18th
Hey guys,
Last night we made a trip up one of the mountains surrounding Windhoek so that we could get a view of the entire city...the ride up itself was worth the trip. We rode on a vehicle (buffel...buffalo in Afrikaans) that could seat 25 and it was open air so we got to see everything. When we got to the top, we had dinner made by some church members that was really good. We ate Gemsbok sirloin and boerwors which is really great meat. We watched the sun go down and prayed over the city. It was a very cold ride down, but again way worth the trip.
We started the morning off by meeting at St Paul's chapel to perform part of our program for the primary (elementary) school students at 6:45am...needless to say it was a very early morning. The assembly went well. The students enjoyed having our group...there was plenty of laughing (in the appropriate places of course) and the kids seemed to really love "Party". Kyle gave his testimony and did a great job of relating his relationship with Christ to these young students. Once we finished we had to pack everything away (sound system stuff) and then head over to another school to perform our entire program for their college (high school).
When we arrived at St George's we had to get everything set up all over again and ready for the students break time. This assembly was really tough because the kids were all over the place getting snacks and talking, but our kids did an incredible job. This was the first time to do the entire program and they pulled it off flawlessly. Maggie and Benjamin gave their testimonies and the students really responded well. After we finished the break time, our students went out into the crowd of St Georges kids and had a great time mixing it up with them. It was a rough assembly because we were outside and it was hard to hear, but we know that God was glorified through all that we did today.
After the two assemblies this morning, we took the kids shopping for a second time (the first was really short and so not everyone got to get what they wanted). We went to the Craft Center in downtown Windhoek and it was a very cool experience for the students. We then headed back to the Bullingtons for lunch which was homemade lasagna...mmm, good!!
After lunch we headed out to Beautiful Gate which is a day care center for AIDS orphans. We had a fun time ministering to the kids there by singing worship songs, doing a Bible story, and making a picture frame out of paper plates. It's incredible to see the poverty there, but also still realize that God is still at work among the poor and marginalized in this society. These kids are being given the opportunity to hear the Gospel and be loved on which does not happen at their homes. It was a very emotionally draining as well as physically draining day, but God moved and we are blessed to see how He is working in the lives of students here in Namibia. We love you all and ask that you continue to pray that God opens doors for us to encourage the students here, share the love of Christ, and most of all just be a reflection of the compassion and mercy of our God.
Blessings to you all,
HSM Namibia team
Tuesday, June 19th
So today has been a great day! We started early again to do an assembly at Delta Secondary School. It was a short assembly but it was really fun. We only had 10 minutes, but the head master of the school let us do an extra song so we must have done something right. After the assembly, we got a few minutes to meet some of the students which was really great.
We ate breakfast afterwards at Cafe Schneider which was a big hit with the kids before having to rush off to set up for our next assembly at All Nations. Most of the schools that we are ministering in are schools supported by churches or the government, but this one we went to was one that would be referred to as a church school. It was an amazing group of students ranging from age 5-15. I was so proud of our kids yet again because they did a great job and the children responded so well. This was probably the best group we have performed for thus far. Sarah and Seth gave their testimonies to the group and did very well. Each one of our kids has been able to reach out and encourage students today and that was a great blessing for us.
We went back to Beautiful Gate for day 2 of our 3 day program there. Paul Carr led the Bible story time and did a really great job teaching the little children...he even got asked if he taught children back in the States. They really seemed to enjoy him. Our students are really attaching to some of these little children and it is a beautiful thing to watch as they just go and put these kids on their shoulders or swing them around or just sit and hold them while praying for them. They are truly being the hands and feet of Christ as they minister to these who have gone through so much before reaching the age of 7.
After we finished at Beautiful Gate, we tried to get some time at an internet cafe, but most of the students who tried to email found out how slow African internet can be at those types of places. They got half an hour to try to email without much luck. A few were actually successful at sending an email, but the majority were frustrated to watch nothing happen as they sent their email. So if you were waiting on a personal message from your student, this is why it didn't happen. We may try again at a different place later this week, but don't worry because everyone is doing well.
Tonight we took the team to a restaurant called Joe's that is known here in Windhoek for it's incredible food. They have a platter that they serve called the Bushman Sosati that many of the students ordered which gave them a bunch of different meats to choose from...I will let you hear from them what meats exactly were on there. It was some great fellowship for our team after a very blessed day. Thank you so much for continuing to pray for us. Here are some more items that you can be praying about for us: 1) peaceful sleep-many of us have had a difficult time getting to sleep at night as well as waking up in the middle of the night multiple times, 2) continued health-lots of runny noses and coughs because of the change of weather; and 3) energy for a long day of assemblies tomorrow-we will start at 7:15am and go all the way through to 11am before getting ready for our last time at Beautiful Gate starting at 2pm. Thanks so much for you prayers thus far. We really have been blessed by them and can feel God using you to help keep us alert and unified. We love you all. Until tomorrow...
Blessings,
HSM Namibia Team
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