The remaining team members are now traving to Namibia. We all need to pray that they travel safely, make all plane connections, and quick passage at customs in all airports. Oh Dear Lord, please let their bags arrive on time and they all recuperate from jet lag quickly.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
We Are Off...
NAMIBIA HERE WE COME....
Here is a what we will be doing each day. For a full prayer calendar it is further down on the blog and DeeDee will keep you posted on how to pray as well as any updates from us. God Bless and we will see you in two weeks!!
June 29th: The rest of the team head out to Namibia
July 1st: We arrive in Namibia, drive to Swakopund where we will be staying.
July 2nd: The work starts... set up for the girls Holiday Club. Visit local homes.
July 3rd: Holiday Club for the girls.
July 4th: Holiday Club for the girls.
July 5th: Holiday Club for the girls.
July 6th: Prepare for Women of Value. Hospital visits
July 7th: Women of Value Luncheon
July 8th: Church. Prepare for Boys Holiday Club
July 9th: Holiday Club for the boys.
July 10th: Holiday Club for the boys..
July 11th:. Holiday Club for the boys.
July 12th: Head to Windhoek. Game Drive. Shopping
July 13th: Start the journey home.
July 14th: Arrive home at noon.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Preparing For us to Arrive
Today Carol and Lenita are working hard to prepare for the rest of us to join them. They are shopping in Namibia for our food and setting up the Holiday Clubs. They are getting the word out we will be there for the kids.
Please pray for wisdom on purchases and pland for the events. Pray too that they get all done before we arrive next Sunday.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Lanita and Carol are in Namibia
Hello everyone,
Just
sending a quick note to let you know we made it safely to Namibia. We
are enjoying visiting with Pastor Stephan and Beverley here at their
home.
We visited their
church today and saw its expansion which is due to be completed this
weekend. We are slowing recovering from our long journey, but we had no
issues at any of the airports or in security. All luggage arrived
safely too.
Thanks for your prayers, and please continue praying. Looking forward to seeing all of Team Zebra next week!!
Lanita & Carol
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Carol and Lenita are off!!
Carol and Lenita are almost to Namibia!! And soon we will follow too.
Only 6 more days till we head out!!
Are you ready for your lives to be changed?
Are you ready to help change the lives of those you meet?
Are you ready to help change the lives of those you meet?
As a team I know we are ready for all God has for us.
You each are perfect for what this team is going to be doing.
Each of you has wonderful gift that will be so useful.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Namibian children at serious risk
Almost a third of Namibian children under the age of five are stunted, or small for their age, because of malnutrition.
This figure was revealed by Prime Minister Nahas Angula at the launch of the National Agenda for Children 2012-2016 last week.
It came in the wake of statistics revealing that 30 children under the age of five have died of hunger in the Hardap Region over the past two and a half years.
The Health Director in the Hardap Region, Christencia Thataone, attributes the malnutrition to “improper weaning practices, poverty, lack of food in families as well as lack of knowledge of the nutritional value of food fed to infants.”
“The Namibian child is at risk – malnourished, orphaned and homeless. This is a serious matter,” said Angula.
Article 95 (j) of the Namibian Constitution reads: “The State shall promote and maintain the welfare of the people by consistent planning to raise and maintain an acceptable level of nutrition and standard of living of the Namibian people.”
According to Angula, this constitutional mandate is not being adhered to. “It is therefore opportune that the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare has developed an agenda for the promotion of the welfare of the Namibian children,” he said.
He said the National Agenda for Children 2012-2016 has five strategic goals. These include ensuring that “all children are healthy and well nourished, have equitable access to quality integrated early childhood development services and pre-primary, primary, secondary and vocational education.”
Other goals are to ensure that all children have access to age-appropriate quality HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, that they have an adequate standard of living and legal identity, and that they are safe from neglect, violence, abuse and exploitation.
“I believe the Government as a whole has the political will to allocate adequate resources to meet these commitments,” said Angula.
The minitries
The malnutrition report on Namibia states that the three most significant contributors to infant and child malnutrition in Namibia were inappropriate infant and child feeding practices, especially a lack of exclusive breastfeeding
The same report indicated that 19 per cent of Namibia’s total population was undernourished (2005 estimate).
According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, stunted children may never regain the height lost as a result of malnutrition, and most children will never gain the corresponding body weight. Stunting also leads to premature death later in life because vital organs never fully develop during childhood.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare currently provides social support to some 3 773 disabled children. There are nine special schools
It came in the wake of statistics revealing that 30 children under the age of five have died of hunger in the Hardap Region over the past two and a half years.
The Health Director in the Hardap Region, Christencia Thataone, attributes the malnutrition to “improper weaning practices, poverty, lack of food in families as well as lack of knowledge of the nutritional value of food fed to infants.”
“The Namibian child is at risk – malnourished, orphaned and homeless. This is a serious matter,” said Angula.
Article 95 (j) of the Namibian Constitution reads: “The State shall promote and maintain the welfare of the people by consistent planning to raise and maintain an acceptable level of nutrition and standard of living of the Namibian people.”
According to Angula, this constitutional mandate is not being adhered to. “It is therefore opportune that the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare has developed an agenda for the promotion of the welfare of the Namibian children,” he said.
He said the National Agenda for Children 2012-2016 has five strategic goals. These include ensuring that “all children are healthy and well nourished, have equitable access to quality integrated early childhood development services and pre-primary, primary, secondary and vocational education.”
Other goals are to ensure that all children have access to age-appropriate quality HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, that they have an adequate standard of living and legal identity, and that they are safe from neglect, violence, abuse and exploitation.
“I believe the Government as a whole has the political will to allocate adequate resources to meet these commitments,” said Angula.
The minitries
The malnutrition report on Namibia states that the three most significant contributors to infant and child malnutrition in Namibia were inappropriate infant and child feeding practices, especially a lack of exclusive breastfeeding
The same report indicated that 19 per cent of Namibia’s total population was undernourished (2005 estimate).
According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, stunted children may never regain the height lost as a result of malnutrition, and most children will never gain the corresponding body weight. Stunting also leads to premature death later in life because vital organs never fully develop during childhood.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare currently provides social support to some 3 773 disabled children. There are nine special schools
Sunday, June 17, 2012
The People and Tribes of Namibia
San People
The San People are direct descendants of Stone Age Foragers, indigenous inhabitants of southern Africa and East Africa, who continued to use stone arrowheads and implements into the 19th Century. Much of the prehistoric art in Namibia is attributed to the San People, although they no longer paint or engrave images on rock.
San nomads once roamed the land in small groups. They kept ancestral territories where they found shelter in caves or under rock overhangs near a of source of water, or alternatively they made make shift shelters from bits and pieces of vegetation. Over time the San were driven from their hunting grounds, until the current day where the only land left for the San people to practice their culture and beliefs is in the Northern Kalahari.
The San People are direct descendants of Stone Age Foragers, indigenous inhabitants of southern Africa and East Africa, who continued to use stone arrowheads and implements into the 19th Century. Much of the prehistoric art in Namibia is attributed to the San People, although they no longer paint or engrave images on rock.
San nomads once roamed the land in small groups. They kept ancestral territories where they found shelter in caves or under rock overhangs near a of source of water, or alternatively they made make shift shelters from bits and pieces of vegetation. Over time the San were driven from their hunting grounds, until the current day where the only land left for the San people to practice their culture and beliefs is in the Northern Kalahari.
The Nama
The Nama are pastoralists. They look a lot like San, just lighter in color and generally somewhat taller. The two tribes also speak similar tongues, widely considered to be part of the same phylum or group of language families, full of clicked consonants and slurred vowels.
The Nama are fighters and in precolonial times, the Nama intermittently fought the Herero for control of grazing grounds in central Namibia. The feud dragged on for a good part of the 19th Century. Subsequently the Nama twice rose in armed rebellion against German Rule. It was during the second uprising in 1904 – 07 that a mass genocide occurred and over half the Nama people perished. The greatest chief was among the dead. As punishment for the revolt the colonial government confiscated their land.
The Damara
The Damara People share the same language with the Nama People but little else. They are taller, sturdier and darker skinned. Their culture and beliefs are also markedly different. It is believed their ancestors were ‘pure’ or true blacks who accompanied the Khoisan people into Namibia. The majority of Damara people no longer live in Damaraland and the Skeleton Cost. They are found in most walks of life in modern Namibia. The first prime minister of Namibia and his immediate successor were both Damara.
The Ovambo
The Ovambo people established a number of kingdoms on the floodplains north of Etosha where the majority still live. The population is the densest in the country, about five times the national average, mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture.
The Ovambo are strong supporters of the ruling party and they were at the forefront of the struggle for independence from South Africa. The founding President of Namibia, Sam Nujoma, was born and raised in an Ovambo villages. He retired in 2005 after a period of three terms in office, his successor as President, Hifikepunye Pohamba, comes from a similar cultural background.
The Herero
The Herero are arguably the most culturally recognizable in Namibia. The Herero women are often seen in ankle length dresses with high neck lines, tight bodices and long puffed sleeves. Adapted from European fashion in the Victorian period, the style of the dress is now regarded as a cultural tradition to them. It is worn with a cloth headdress that is pointed on either side in a shape meant to symbolist cattle horns. Like the Masai in East Africa they were nomadic herders, with cattle at the center of their culture. They regarded their cattle as ancestral legacy which had been husbanded for future generations. Cattle were only slaughtered on ceremonial occasions. Historically the Herero were persistently cheated out of cattle and land, and they rose in rebellion against the colonialists in 1904. In the war that followed the Herero people were massacred. They fell to enemy fire both on and off the battlefield or died from thirst as they fled to the Kalahari, to compound the carnage their waterholes were poisoned. In modern times Herero activists like Chief Hosea Kutako (after whom the international airport in Windhoek is named) figured prominently in the quest for support from the international community for Namibian independence.
The Nama are pastoralists. They look a lot like San, just lighter in color and generally somewhat taller. The two tribes also speak similar tongues, widely considered to be part of the same phylum or group of language families, full of clicked consonants and slurred vowels.
The Nama are fighters and in precolonial times, the Nama intermittently fought the Herero for control of grazing grounds in central Namibia. The feud dragged on for a good part of the 19th Century. Subsequently the Nama twice rose in armed rebellion against German Rule. It was during the second uprising in 1904 – 07 that a mass genocide occurred and over half the Nama people perished. The greatest chief was among the dead. As punishment for the revolt the colonial government confiscated their land.
The Damara
The Damara People share the same language with the Nama People but little else. They are taller, sturdier and darker skinned. Their culture and beliefs are also markedly different. It is believed their ancestors were ‘pure’ or true blacks who accompanied the Khoisan people into Namibia. The majority of Damara people no longer live in Damaraland and the Skeleton Cost. They are found in most walks of life in modern Namibia. The first prime minister of Namibia and his immediate successor were both Damara.
The Ovambo
The Ovambo people established a number of kingdoms on the floodplains north of Etosha where the majority still live. The population is the densest in the country, about five times the national average, mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture.
The Ovambo are strong supporters of the ruling party and they were at the forefront of the struggle for independence from South Africa. The founding President of Namibia, Sam Nujoma, was born and raised in an Ovambo villages. He retired in 2005 after a period of three terms in office, his successor as President, Hifikepunye Pohamba, comes from a similar cultural background.
The Herero
The Herero are arguably the most culturally recognizable in Namibia. The Herero women are often seen in ankle length dresses with high neck lines, tight bodices and long puffed sleeves. Adapted from European fashion in the Victorian period, the style of the dress is now regarded as a cultural tradition to them. It is worn with a cloth headdress that is pointed on either side in a shape meant to symbolist cattle horns. Like the Masai in East Africa they were nomadic herders, with cattle at the center of their culture. They regarded their cattle as ancestral legacy which had been husbanded for future generations. Cattle were only slaughtered on ceremonial occasions. Historically the Herero were persistently cheated out of cattle and land, and they rose in rebellion against the colonialists in 1904. In the war that followed the Herero people were massacred. They fell to enemy fire both on and off the battlefield or died from thirst as they fled to the Kalahari, to compound the carnage their waterholes were poisoned. In modern times Herero activists like Chief Hosea Kutako (after whom the international airport in Windhoek is named) figured prominently in the quest for support from the international community for Namibian independence.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Drink your water
We leave in just 13 more days!!
It is important to be drinking lots of water now.
Water helps with jet lag, keeping you healthy,
and staying alert.
Try to get 6 to 8 glasses every day.
It is important to be drinking lots of water now.
Water helps with jet lag, keeping you healthy,
and staying alert.
Try to get 6 to 8 glasses every day.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
We have our Flights....
June 29th Leave Seattle 9:30pm Arrive in New York 5:33am 5hr 3min
June 30th Leave New York 11:15am Arrive in S. Africa 7:45am 14hr 30min
July 1st Leave S. Africa 9:45am Arrive in Namibia 10:45am 2hr
July 13th Leave Namibia 3:10pm Arrive in S. Africa 5:55pm 1hr 45min
July 13th Leave S. Africa 9:25pm Arrive in New York 6:40am 15hr 15min
July 14th Leave New York 8:55am Arrive in Seattle 11:59am 6hr 4min
Monday, June 11, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Okapuka
A king and his kingdom in a world of excitement, adventure and spirit ..
.
Situated
30km North of Windhoek, the rolling plains and bush savannah afoot the
Otjihavera mountains are stage for Okapuka’s scene
of ancient Africa.
Gently rolling plains and bush land savannah extend towards the horizon. The land afoot the Otjihavera mountains is home to a large variety of birds and mammals. Herds of antelope roam the bush, the hooves of Zebra and Giraffe pound the soil, rhinoceroses hide ...
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Acts 20:24
"My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus - the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God."
Friday, June 1, 2012
The Deep Ache of Poverty
It hurts. Not a sharp pain, more of a dull ache. A haunting that you
slowly notice as the numbness fades away. A haunting of those desperate
souls one tries so very hard to ignore when they are there before you.
Dirty, gnarled, even missing hands that press against the window of
the van. Dark and insistent, sometimes pleading, sometimes indignant
eyes staring right into you, deep into you, as you wait for the traffic
to move on so they will give up on you.
I sit in a heavy traffic jam in a roundabout in Dhaka, Bangladesh. And once more the van is surrounded by beggars.
A mother with a naked baby, a woman who looks very old but probably
isn’t. A boy holding up another who has a huge growth on his abdomen.
And others, all looking so desperate, so far from the image of God that
they were created to be. And I want so hard to ignore them.
I just want them to go away.
But I’ve just read a friend’s book about Matthew 25, the sheep and
the goats, the day before arriving in Bangladesh. As it turns out, it’s a
rather convicting combination – the words of Jesus and a face-to-face
encounter with the desperate poor. And so I have to do something.
I know it will bring even more desperate souls to our very stuck van, but I look to Thomas, the driver. He lowers the window a bit and I start to hand out Takas – 100 here, 10 there.
It doesn’t really add up to much and I wonder why I haven’t done this
before. Perhaps because, before, I didn’t have the image in my heart of
Jesus saying,
“This is me. I am the hungry, I am the sick, I am the least of these. What will you do?”
I was also just so weary, returning to the hotel each night with
images of the poor, of people robbed of health and hope and dignity. I
was tired of feeling numb to it during the day, and haunted by it at
night as I lay in bed wondering if I should have done something. It was
eating away at me.
People weren’t meant to live like this. And that, I think, is what
Jesus was trying to get us to not only understand, but to feel and to
feel deeply.
So the next day, here I am again. And like the day before, there are more heartbreaking scenes.
A young boy pushes a man who is not much more than a skeleton in a
wheel chair. A woman with hollow, sunken eyes taps on my window, hoping
for a moment of charity.
A man too sick to beg is sprawled face down in the dirt by the side
of the road as streams of commuters walk around him. He doesn’t move. He
doesn’t move at all.
And I find myself trying to be numb again. Somehow the fear has returned: If I help this one then the line will never stop.
Five thousand will line up and the loaves and fish will run out and
I’ll be left with nothing and still they will come. I don’t know what to
do with this. I don’t know how to respond.
One day they are the image of Jesus. The next day His image slips
away. And I realize the horror of those who will one day ask Jesus,
“When did we see you hungry?”
There is great beauty, too, in Bangladesh. Beauty that contrasts so
starkly with the sorrow. It highlights the injustice of poverty, the
inequality of it all that conspires to destroy the lives of people
created and loved by God.
That such sorrow continues to destroy so many lives is an affront to the One who created us all.
So how do we respond to such entrenched need? Such injustice? Because
regardless of our politics or our theology, it is injustice that a
child is born into extreme poverty.
It is injustice that he becomes sick and cannot afford to be treated.
That his sickness leads to a disfigurement and his disfigurement leads
to rejection. That he is doomed to a life of begging in the dust. And
that nothing he can do can change that.
No matter what we might believe, this is not right. This is not fair.
And man, it all just aches inside – especially in the alone and quiet moments.
But if the choice is between the heartache or the numbness, we must
choose the heartache. We must trust that it will lead us to a godly
response and to the God who chose solidarity with “the least of these.”
Because to protect ourselves with numbness is to surrender a vital
part of our souls that a Christian cannot afford to forfeit. And to feel
the ache compels us to ask some very hard questions.
Questions about how much we believe. Because, in the end, we should
want our faith to be alive – and so the words of James haunt us through
time: “Faith without works is dead” (see James 2:14-26).
It is so easy to argue away the theology when we are safe and
comfortable in the pews of suburbia, but so much different on the
streets of Dhaka – a place that cries out for the pure religion that God
accepts.
I still wrestle with how I did not change the lives of so many of the
people I came across in Bangladesh. How easy it is to judge the priest
and the Levite until you are the one who comes across the man lying in
the street (or tapping on the window).
And then, then it is so much easier to look away or to cross the street to the other side.
So while we may wish, in the moment, that these poor souls would just
move on, that they would see us in our hurry and give up on us for
someone more charitable, in the end it would be so very tragic if they —
these souls who are so close to God’s own heart – were to give up on
us.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Christopher Delvaille works as a
senior strategy and planning advisor at Compassion’s Global Ministry
Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
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