The Herd is on the move

Today ends our stay here in Otjiwarongo. Tonight we're headed up to Tsumeb where we're reuiniting with the rest of the team and spending tomorrow touring Etosha National Park (where the Lions, Elephants, Giraffes and Zebras are). It's crazy how fast our time here has flown by.

It went so fast, and yet I've definitely become connected to this place and especially all of the kids we've met here. They are all full of so much potential, and unfortunately there are major hurdles they have to overcome. Talking to the kids in classes this week, we've seen how painfully deep misconceptions about sex and manhood run. Unfaithfulness among respected adult men seems to be frighteningly common. These kids have the power to stop the progress of so many horrible things by standing up and refusing to accept them as "just the way it is."

I pray that our message didn't fall on deaf ears. It was amazing to see kids open up their eyes and connect to what we were telling them. If even just one of them will "Choose to wait" and avoid the pain, brokenness and health risks of sex before marriage here, this would all be worth it. That's a prayer we're praying hard.

Yesterday we said goodbye to Joy Center. Auntie Fisch is convinced it wasn't goodbye forever, and that whenever anyone walks through the front door, Joy Center becomes their home. And that's exactly how it feels. Hopefully that wasn't goodbye forever. There are amazing things God is doing, and the kids are extremely blessed to be able to stay there! We all want to stay as connected to it as we can.

Every day here was full of challenges, both external and internal, and it's been quite an adventure. I can't wait to reconnect with the team that was up in Rundu and find out what they've been doing!

Now I'll leave you with a shot from the Crocodile Ranch here in Otjiwarongo. And yes, it's a ranch for Crocs just like ranches in the U.S. raise cattle. They raise the Crocs and sell them. If the buyer wants, they'll even kill the crocs. Not quite what I'm used to hearing in our animal conservancy-minded country! And crikey, those were some huge crocs!

Maybe next time I post I'll have some sweet animal photos for you. I'm praying for everybody headed on their trip to Ghana now. I know it'll be awesome!

In three days or so I'll be in Windhoek for the next leg of our adventure. Hope everybody is great. Catch you on the flip side!