South African Adventures and Anecdotes

We recently spent about a week in the stunning city of Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town is located at the very southwestern-most part of the African continent map , and is a completely different world from Rehoboth- geographically, economically, and socially.

You might not be aware of the extremely strong ties between Namibia and South Africa. Until 1990 (?), Namibia was referred to as Southwestern Africa, and was controlled by South Africa. Although the political relationship has changed dramatically since then, Namibia is still greatly influenced by South Africa economically, as a huge portion of goods sold in Namibia are imported from South Africa. For these reasons, we have studied a bit of South African history, and were really excited to see the place for ourselves.

Our travel plans changed last minute, and we had to more or less throw the trip together. Realization: it’s difficult to pack for a 10-day trip when you aren’t sure what you’ll be doing. First, we traveled to Windhoek to take care of our last-minute errands and catch the bus. We quickly stopped at a KFC (yes, I mean Kentucky Fried Chicken), but they didn’t have wedge fries or sporks, so what’s the point? I here our hometown is getting a KFC, so at least that gives us something to look forward to ; ) The following are just a few adventures and anecdotes from our time in South Africa.

***Our first day began at 3am with a border crossing, which basically involved standing in a long line outside in the cold. For those of you who think Africa is always some sort of perfect tropical climate, you are wrong. It is definitely not cold like Minnesota, but it still wasn’t pleasant. Nonetheless, we mad the best of it by talking to those around us. As soon as we settled back in, we found out we had to do another border crossing- one for Namibia, one for South Africa. So much for efficiency. I often have to remind myself that I live in Africa, and things aren’t bad, they are just different.

***Both of us woke up sick after a night on the bus. That’s what happens when you travel from a place with zero humidity to somewhere on a coast. The man sitting in front of us who was hacking up a lung (and not covering his mouth) probably didn’t help, either. As soon as we arrived in Capetown, we searched for a pharmacy. After walking quite a long distance (we later found out there was a drugstore about 1 block in the other direction!), we found one and went in to search for some over-the-counter medicine. As medications all have different names here, we had to ask for help. I had no idea how difficult it would be to explain the concept of “Dayquil” to someone who barely spoke English.

***The weather was a wee bit…well, ridiculous. It is sunshine-y and dry, dry, dry here in Namibia, and anything but in Capetown. About 2 weeks before we visited, it actually snowed. It was overcast or raining all but our last day, and was rather chilly. I actually ended up buying a sweater from the second-hand store (something I definitely miss about the U.S.)- a sweater! Thankfully, hot water was plentiful and free at our hostel, so showers were my new favorite activity (and I now have the flaky skin to prove it!) About halfway through our stay, Josh found a hole in the window of the door that led to the “balcony” off our room…a few pieces of duct tape later, and our room was practically tropical. Yes, we do carry duck tape with us wherever we go; what of it?

***One night, we hadn’t been hungry for dinner, but were looking for a place to get some hot chocolate or something. We had been walking for a couple of blocks in really windy conditions when Josh said that if we didn’t find a coffee shop in another 2 blocks, we were turning around. Luckily, at the next intersection, we could see a restaurant one block away, located right on the beach. It looked pretty fancy, but even we can usually afford coffee or hot chocolate at most places. However, as we approached the building, we realized the doorman was wearing a tux- on a Monday night. All of a sudden, I remembered reading that there are quite a number of restaurants in Capetown that have a dress code, and with our jeans and my seriously windblown hair, we doubted we’d make the cut. We turned around before we ever reached the entrance. Luckily, just a block down the road we found the best hot chocolate in Capetown!

***On all but two nights, we cooked our own food in the hostel kitchen, but one night Josh took me to a tiny family-owned Italian restaurant. The restaurant itself was great if unremarkable, but the adventure was in getting there and back. It was pouring outside, so we decided to call a rikki (sort of like a taxi) to take us to the restaurant, even though it was only around half a mile away. When we got to the restaurant, the driver asked whether we had been quoted the price when we called, and we said we hadn’t. He said he asked because it was R70 (!) and he didn’t feel it was fair to charge us so much for such a short distance without us being aware of the cost (usually it would cost R20, but it was more since it was after 7pm). He said he would only charge us for one fare. This may not seem exceptional if you don’t have much taxi experience, but it is certainly noteworthy.

Our transport home? A romantic walk in the rain.

***You know the phrase, “It’s just like riding a bike”? It is usually used when someone needs to do something they haven’t done in a long time. Well, I was going to do an unofficial experiment as to the accuracy of this expression. Is it possible that it is analogous to “sweating like a pig,” when, from what I gather, pigs don’t sweat? Our tour of the Cape Peninsula included a bicycle tour, and I was set to do some investigative work, as I haven’t ridden a bicycle in at least a decade. However, due to the unfavorable weather conditions, I was not allowed to risk making a complete fool of myself in front of a dozen strangers. What a shame.

***While on our tour, we had the pleasure of witnessing a family of baboons who figured out the timing of the automatic doors of a coffee shop and snuck in. They stole packs of cookies. FYI: Baboons are rather powerful and dangerous creatures. And ugly. REALLY ugly. (But don’t tell them I said that, or they’ll figure out a way into my house…)

***Although the World Cup will not take place until the summer of 2010, Capetown is already obsessed. The are building a beautiful and gigantic stadium. Roads are in complete disarray due to construction. It seems almost every shop has some sort of merchandise related to the event that will surely inspire an unofficial national holiday for weeks. I played soccer for 10 years, and love the game, but I am still thrilled we don’t have to endure this for another year.

***A couple of days before we left, there was an actual shipwreck right off the coast. We didn’t even know they had shipwrecks anymore. It was carrying coal, and the crew had to be rescued in the middle of the night during a bad storm. Read more here. Other newsworthy events? There was a shark attack the week we arrived.

***On the day we left, we were taking a taxi to the bus station, and the cab we were in hit a man! He was running through traffic, and ran out from in front of a truck- it was all very dramatic. He rolled up onto the windshield, then down to the ground. After a moment, he stood up, put on his hat, and walked away as if nothing had happened. Yep, T.I.A. (this is Africa).

Mini- Camp (Week 24 continued)

So, as mentioned before- so much to tell you in so little time.

-We had the opportunity to do another “mini-camp” at the youth center this week, and here is the story, in note-format:

-We did the camp at the youth center, and had 85-90 kids the first day, and between 135-140 the second day

-Jeff and Alfredo from Gospel Ministries to Children were here for our conference from Texas and Mexico, respectively, and were kind enough to lead the program

-We had some new volunteers from the community, which was a huge answer to prayer! For the first time ever, we actually had a parent volunteer!

-Although we advertised that kids in grades 1-7 were invited, we had pre-schoolers to high-school students- it wasn’t a problem at all, and everyone had fun

-On the second day, Josh and I drove around in the Bakkie (which we are able to borrow while Heidi is gone) in Block E, and picked up 2 loads of kids who had never been to the youth center before. We are hoping they might come back to the Wednesday youth program in the future.



-We were blessed to be able to use our new home to host Jeff and Alfredo. Kitty was able to come over for dinner 2 evenings, and we all had a great time.

-We found out the first day that two of our kids (siblings) had just lost there mom the night before. I am fairly certain no children in the U.S. would come to a youth program the day after their mom died. I will not identify them for confidentiality purposes, but they are both in at least one picture in this post. My point in telling you this is just to demonstrate how little evidence there is of their trauma. There is a completely different attitude here towards death. On the second day, both of them did get emotional, and just wanted to cling. I held and sang to them for almost an hour, and they seemed comforted, but I just felt so helpless. We gave them a ride home, and they both wanted to sit on my lap the whole way. Please pray for these two precious children.

AIM Namibia National Conference

Last week brought with it our AIM Namibia National Conference, and boy did we need it! The week before conference had been full of discouragement and frustration; we looked around, knowing we were almost at the halfway point in our time here, and felt like no impact had been made. I am so burdened for these kids; I just want them to know the hope of Jesus.

Conference was encouraging, thought-provoking, confusing, exciting, educational, and fun. It was like a family reunion, even though there were a couple of people we hadn’t met yet. The first night we just settled in, told funny stories, and got acquainted.

The “educational” part of the event began the next day, with talks given by Gordon Dalzell. I learned so much- he and his wife were so personable and loving and wise and humble. I felt as if he were talking with us rather than at us.

His wonderful wife, Helen, led a discussion with for the women of the group (Gordon led a discussion for the men, but I obviously wasn’t there, so I have nothing to report). It was a relief to see that so many others, even those who have been on the mission field for years, share some of the same struggles. When the need of those around us is so great, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and discouraged. I was reminded of how much wisdom these women have, not just about missions but about life. I was humbled to learn from them, and God used them to impact my life in a very real way.

One highlight of the conference was that each team gave a presentation about their life and ministry. I hadn’t realized how little I knew about some of them and what they are doing!

Fun and games were also a significant part of our conference experience. There were about the same number of kids and adults, and a giant game of “Mission: Impossible” (kids vs. adults) was one of the highlights.

Overall, it was a great time of relaxation and re-energizing. There is so much more I could say, but I am way behind on blogging in general, so if you have any questions, you’ll just have to ask!

J.G. Day

Last Tuesday I had the last-minute opportunity to do Hope's Promise- Namibia's first-ever Jonathan Green Day photo shoot. Jonathan Green is an African-American painter who's work is admired by many individuals involved in Hope's Promise, and they wanted to do a photo shoot to interpret his work and have a lot of fun. Here are some of my favorite shots:

Beat This...

We watched "The Lion King" in Africa. It was so sweet, I had to devote an entire post to the experience. If any of you come visit us, I promise you can watch it, too : ).

I have so many posts in progress right now, it's ridiculous. However, none are ready...not sure when that will happen.

Other random fact: Last night, a Preying Mantis fell on my arm while I sat in bed. Only in Africa...

Jesus Loves the Little Children...

"Today the church is tempted…to do big miraculous things…but Jesus has called us to littleness and compares our revolution to the little mustard seed." -Shane Claiborne

N.I.C.E.

As I walked down the stairs, poor lighting and an abundance of mirrors completely confused my internal GPS. I was only looking for the bathroom, but this could become quite the challenge. I saw the word “ladies” etched into the floor-to-ceiling mirrors (this was not terribly obvious in the dim lighting), and saw there was an overlap in the mirrors.

Then I found it: the most incredible bathroom I have ever been in.

As you walk in, there is a room with a square island in the center and floor-to-ceiling mirrors for walls. Each corner of the island has a above-counter sink, and everything is stainless steel and white porcelain. There is an arrangement of twigs and such that stretches to the ceiling in the center of the island. There are four doors around the room, and each of them leads to a small room with a toilet. Yes, a room, not a stall. Of course, it wasn’t huge or anything, but there was much more space and privacy than usual. There was a large mirror for changing clothes or check one’s hair. It felt…luxurious.

Of course, this effect may have been enhanced given the fact that, at the youth center, we have no running water. Relativity and all…

Bathrooms in foreign countries are an interesting experience. Sometimes there is an outhouse, and sometimes that outhouse has a door (I love those times!) Other varieties of lavatory facilities include ditches, holes in the ground, waterways, trenches, and “squatty-potties.” I am sure there are more, but these are just the ones I have personally experienced. There is also the variable of water usage and plumbing. I many places, you don’t flush every time you use the restroom, because the region is running low on water and you must conserve. Sometimes the plumbing is not able to withstand toilet paper, so it is thrown into a garbage can (an interesting experience in 110 degree heat).

Random fact: here in Namibia, all restrooms are referred to as “toilets.”

Incidentally, Josh had an interesting lavatory experience at N.I.C.E. as well, but if you want to hear about it, you’ll have to email or Facebook him.

Okay, back to the bathroom with rooms. It is located in the N.I.C.E. restaurant (Namibian Institute of Culinary Education, I think), which we visited for the occasion of Catherine’s and Heidi’s combined farewell dinner. It was an experience unlike any I have ever had (I don’t really get out much). The restaurant is located in a former home, so there are many rooms with 4 or 5 tables each. It’s all white linen and candles,; the food was alright, but the plating and atmosphere were wonderful. Let’s just say we were underdressed. [Whoa, have you ever realized how similarly the words “underdressed” and “undressed” are spelled? That could have been really bad.]

Here you go- you can see that we are both fully clothed. The pictures in the back are of their chefs out in the desert- they were great!

One funny experience from the night involved my dinner. Catherine and Kitty ordered the same dish as me, but asked for substitutions for the side dishes. When the food arrived, we realized that their orders were served complete, but mine (which I ordered directly off the menu) was missing the grilled cherry tomatoes meant to accompany it. Ordinarily, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but the tomatoes were half the reason I ordered my food in the first place. After some confusion in communicating the issue, my long-awaited tomatoes arrived:

Yes. I am not kidding you. There were 2 halves. That’s what I get for eating at a fancy restaurant!
[FYI, my fingernail was not painted gunmetal- it was a lighting defect.]
When doing what we do, it is sometimes difficult to remember a culinary world beyond PB&J sandwiches with kids while sitting on the ground. N.I.C.E. was certainly a special experience for us, but in the end I don’t at all mind going back to the kids : )