I should mention that this picture and the other like it are from the single birthday party we had for all four members of the team that have birthdays during our trip. We all just went downstairs to see our leader Ed (bottom right) wearing some clothes backwards. One thing led to another and soon everybody was decked out in whatever crazy clothes we could find. We had a blast. That’s just the kind of people the team is.
On to the recap:
We spent this last week on the campus of Polytechnic of Namibia, right next to downtown Windhoek. It’s a really cool place, complete with its own sort of “steps” area to remind of home at UC. It was a seriously tough and challenging week, but one where God showed up with some huge blessings.
I know a lot of us have been learning some tough lessons, myself included, but it’s been paying off big time. Throughout the week, we had ups and downs of resistance and breakthroughs. Some relationships didn’t pan out the way I wanted them to, but other really cool ones were formed.
Dan, Living, Me and Chris at the Birthday Party
I won’t go into all the details here (I have to save something for when I get back) but the week all led up to a Braai (an Afrikaans word that essentially means Barbeque) that we had at our house on Friday afternoon. We ended up having about 25 of the people we met during the week come over to eat a lot of meat (a necessity for any Namibian gathering) and hang out. At the end of the night, a few people from our team got up and shared testimonies, then Dr. Fynn got up and explained what the Navs are all about. Dr. Fynn is the leader in the Namibia Navigators and has a very cool story himself, but that’s another tangent to save. Towards the end of his spiel, Dr. Fynn started to talk about what it really means to be a Christian and ended up asking if anyone was there that hadn’t committed their lives to Christ and asked them to come to the front of the room if they wanted to.13 Polytech students came forward and prayed to accept Jesus in our dining room. It was very cool, and it was amazing to see what God was able to do in just a week on campus.
Allie, Erika and Kelsey
After the meeting finished up, many people had to leave but some stuck around. At first we were just hanging out, but before we knew it the night erupted into an unplanned all-out Navigators Dance Party, Namibian style. People brought in speakers and Nathan was DJing the party with plenty of “House,” an Africa-infused dance music. Kelsey even whipped out some glow sticks. It was awesome to be able to show our guests that if there’s one thing the Navigators know how to do, it’s have an awesome dance party!
Saturday morning was a time of fasting and time with God over on the campus at the University of Namibia. I had never done anything like that so it was a cool experience. God definitely told me some things that I needed to hear following the week at Poly. I’d definitely like to take time at the end of this trip to do something similar.
Alex, Simba (our coaster driver), and James
Today (Monday) we were originally planning on going over to the UNam to start talking to students there, but we were all feeling led to follow up with our Polytech contacts and really building into them. For me, that meant that I spent the whole morning with Chris and Botshélo aka BP hanging out and talking to them about life, Jesus, and the Navigators. They are really cool guys that I’ve definitely connected with and they’re really interested in getting involved in bible study with the Navigators. I definitely want to help them get some roots in the Navs before we Americans leave. Today I also ran into Usiel, a guy I met last week who actually came to the Braai and was one of the people to commit their lives to Christ. He told me he really wants to learn more about the bible, so hopefully we’ll be able to plan some solid time later in the week.
Last Wednesday night, Dr. Samuel John, the head of the Engineering Department at Polytech and a member of the Naivgators Board of Directors in Namibia came over to thank us all for coming. It was powerful when he talked about how much Namibia is in need of a moral base. He talked about how messed up the family structure is in Namibia thanks to a lack of real, responsible men, and how much separation and dissention there is between churches and believers in the country. He said he believes that the Navigators, being a strong interdenominational discipleship-focused ministry, have the opportunity to really change the country for the better.
Recently I’ve heard a lot of people joke about how Namibia is “Africa for Beginners,” meaning that it’s a relatively westernized country that isn’t too terribly shocking or difficult to get used to. Like I said in my last post, this doesn’t fit with my romanticized view of mission work in Africa. Still, as we experience the amazing need of this country and connect to the people in it, it’s impossible to deny the fact that Namibia is ripe to become a major stronghold for the Kingdom. We’re all seeing the signs that God has big plans for this small country in southern Africa.
Lori with Simba's Son
It’s such an amazing privilege that God is letting us take part in his work here. As I get over my stereotypes, it’s awesome to see that God has put me here for a reason. He’s always wanted me to come here.
Right now, this is exactly where I’m meant to be.
1 comment:
Alex, this is so exciting and encouraging to read- I am thrilled to hear about how God is working in you and around you! I am praying for you!
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