tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58346206440762572892024-03-19T08:15:35.689-04:00"send me on my way"sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-5385693258640243832011-04-18T10:50:00.001-04:002011-04-18T10:50:31.553-04:00So I am back!I know it is a little late, but I made it safely back to the States. It is nice to be back and see my wife (and her growing belly! :D), family, and friends. I do miss the village and especially all those children. It was hard leaving, but life must go on and I very sure that Sarah and I are going to see them in the future! I would like to thank all those at the COZV church and village for their help and support. Continue to pray for Travis and Lorna and all of those staff and volunteers. Also keep praying for the flood! It had been rising ever so slowly even when I left, so we hope it goes down as soon as possible.<br> sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-16629250535697534712011-04-12T15:52:00.000-04:002011-04-12T16:02:50.018-04:00Final Update<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>So this is the last update for me being here in Namibia. It has been a wonderful couple of weeks. I wish I could have stayed longer because I was just getting to know all of the kids.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>April 9th</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>A very long day of walking and driving to soccer. The girls game was scheduled at 11, but didn't start til 2. The guys played after them and I got to play with them also. The girls won their game 3-0. The boys didn't fair so well... we lost 0-4. :( I got to meet Disco (one of the older boys that is now at another school) and we actually played against his school and him. Everyone didn't get back to the village til after 8pm.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>April 10th</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>We went to pick up a team from Campus Crusade for Christ and they led a sermon and gave a message for the kids. Got to hang out with the kids some more that day.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>April 11th</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Quite a long day. Started with devotions in the morning and then went to Mafuta to drop off food. Then we had to go to town to do all of the food shopping for the village among other errands. I got some shitanges for Sarah and the baby at the open market. We had so much food and supplies to bring back we had to take 2 trips on the boat to get it back. The boat was very low in the water on the trips. It was kinda scary lol</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>April 12th</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Started with staff devotions, then went to help organize the shelves in the workshop. One of the dogs had ran off a couple days ago and then came back today. He looked very sick and wouldn't eat anything all day. Was trying to figure out what was wrong, but he just kept moping around all day. I cooked dinner for Travis, Lorna, Johannes, and Lena. Made them some fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Since it was my last night here I hung out with the kids some more. Got quite a few letters for Sarah from the kids. :) Had some goodbyes, but I told them I would see them in the morning before I left.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I definitely am going to miss the children and everyone here. It has been a wonderful time and everyone has treated me so well. Am most definitely going to try and come back in the future. This is my last update here and I will post when I get back to the states. Continue to pray for the flood to go down as it continues to slowly rise. Also pray for the kids as they will go on break from school next week.</FONT></DIV>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-60885188621383300982011-04-08T14:20:00.000-04:002011-04-08T14:21:45.678-04:00<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Woah so I got kinda behind! Sorry!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>April 5th</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Did some laundry today! I was down to my lasts of everything haha. Also did some painting on the outside cooking area. It started raining when we were painting and of course didn't stop till after we were done, but we got the first coat on! I practiced with the boys in the soccer practice. I was tired half-way through their warm-ups... It was good though and a lot of fun.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>April 6th</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Really didn't do much today, but rest. Practiced some more soccer with the boys and then had their bible study later that evening.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>April 7th</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Johannes and I had to paint the outside cooking area and laundry bench again with a different coating of paint. Read 1-3 John and some of Revelations today. Revelations is so confusing lol. Got to practice some more with the boys, but I wasn't running a lot because I was tired haha. Also had the final session of the bible study with the boys that night.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>April 8th</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Got to go to town again and did some shopping. So the water has been flooding onto the dirt road so we have to go by boat now to get the cars. The river isn't rising, but the water is breaking through the small dams that were keeping the road dry. It was also very windy today, which means according to the elders that the flooding should be done and winter should be coming now. Some of kids want me to teach them Kung-Fu because I am "Ching-Chong". So I taught them some stuff, but the most important lesson is to never start fights! Got to go to a bible study for the older kids and they were in the book of James and learning about that. Got to hang out with the kids some more and learned how to dance!</FONT></DIV>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-34212938726204482402011-04-04T15:47:00.000-04:002011-04-04T15:48:47.300-04:00<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>April 3rd</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>We had a short church service today, but a very good sermon from Travis. It was a very long day with the girls playing a friendly soccer match against another school. We had to drive all the way to the Namibia-Botswana border, which is where the school was located. Our girls won! The score was 2-1 and they did a very good job playing against girls that were older and bigger than them. It was also very hot that day.. I got a little more sun burnt hehe.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>April 4th</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Had staff devotions in the morning and then packed up and went over to the Mafuta village to drop off some food. We then went to town to get food for COZV. We had to go to 2 shopping stores and then 2 catering services to fill up the Backy (err on the spelling, it is the 4x4 truck they use). The truck was so full. Lorna had 2 crates full of loaves of bread on her lap in the front seat. Johannes and I had very little room in the bed of the truck. I had to sit on a box in the corner of it and he was sitting on a corner also. The dirt road to the village has also flooded more (even though the river hasn't risen), but we barely made it through the water. Praise God that nothing or no one fell out!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Travis, Johannes, Melinga, and I headed out one last time on the truck through the water to get firewood for Mafuta. We had to drive deep into the bush to look for wood. Since the road was getting too deep, we had to switch over to using the boat on the river and will probably be using that for a while. Once we got back to the village we had the bible study for the older boys.</FONT></DIV>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-42910025253112281152011-04-02T16:12:00.000-04:002011-04-02T17:41:19.560-04:00<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>March 31st</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>After staff devotions, Johannes and I thought we could help out some, so Tombe asked us to fix the crane for the large pots for the outside cooking pit. All we had to do was drill a large hole and place a large bolt in it to help support the heavy weight of the pots. Something that should've taken a hour ended up taking us over 3 lol. So lesson learned: always measure before you start drilling.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I gave Niko his basketball and the other kids some soccer balls. I got to play soccer with the girls and boys also. So I ended up playing basketball and soccer for about 3.5 hours. I was tired after that.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>April 1st</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I got to sleep in a little bit. After I got up I started cutting some of the tall grass near the children's home. I had to use a old push mower that kept getting stuck because the grass was so tall. I got to help serve lunch for the kids and Albert helped me out too. Uncle Travis and I had to show Niko and Mateo how to play basketball. :) Later that day I got to ride in to town with Travis to see the bus stop. Later that night Johannes led a bible study for some of the older children.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>April 2nd</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>So a group of men from the Seventh Day Adventist church came today and led a service for everyone. It was an awesome service and they can really sing well. After that for lunch we had a authentic meal of grilled chicken, pap, and potatoes. We had to eat it with our hands, which was fun. The kids were showing me how to eat it. They also found out that I am half chinese so now I have to teach them some things. I feel kinda bad because I forgot a lot of my chinese, but hopefully it will come back to me. Got to play more basketball with more of the kids and ended up with very large blisters on my feet haha. I also got a little sunburnt. (but don't worry baby, I'm fine) Saturday is also movie night so we watched Cool Runnings.</FONT></DIV>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-58611702365453142262011-03-31T15:32:00.000-04:002011-03-31T15:41:16.822-04:00<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type> <META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19019"> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">I made it!</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3> <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P> <P style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">My first flight started a little late, but there wasn't a lot of turbulence. The movies and TV did not work on the plane so basically I had to sleep the whole time good thing was I had my little section to myself. When I got to Jo-burg and went looking for the man from the Lilypad, I ended up looking and waiting in the wrong area. I did not see him when I came out of the arrivals area and thought I had to wait outside (because that is what the handbook says). Well things have changed at the airport and they can no longer park and wait outside. They have to be inside in the designated waiting area with a sign. I totally missed the guy and ended up making him wait for like 40 minutes. I felt really bad that I made him wait, but was very glad that he stayed. </FONT></P> <P style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">I was going to try and get on Skype at the BnB, but my internet didn't work until the morning. Got to the Air Botswana check-in and I had a little more luggage than I was allowed to take and the lady said that I would have to pay extra. She ended up not charging me, which was really nice. When I was walking around the airport, I think I saw 3 of the players from the Brazilian soccer team Palermios. It was pretty cool to see a professional athlete up close. It was funny because I had just watched a game of them playing on the TV at the Lilypad that morning. </FONT></P> <P style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">The flight to Kasane was a little delayed and had to wait for my ride a little bit, but it's all good. When we went through Chobe National Park we saw 3 elephants and a pack of warthogs. We also saw a bunch of monkeys in a tree near the Zambize River. On the way to the village Travis, Niko, and Johannes had to patch up some parts of the road where the river was starting to flow through. I also got to go on the really bumpy ride to drop-off and pick-up staff. I got to meet more of the kids, but kind of forgot most of their names. The younger ones still remember to call me "Billy the Goat". </FONT></P> <P style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">It has been a crazy 3 days, but an awesome 3. I just thank God for watching over me. I do miss the wifey too and a lot of the people here do too. This post was a little late, but I will try and post a little more often. </FONT><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings"><SPAN style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings">J</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML> sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-90132926352492514322011-03-27T12:51:00.002-04:002011-03-27T13:01:00.185-04:00Getting ready to go!Hey everyone, it's Billy. Just wanted to get the posts started. I am up in Maryland right now getting ready to leave on Monday. All my bags are packed and I am ready to go except for the gum that I need to buy. (because someone named "Sarah" stole all of mine...) This is going to be my first time traveling internationally alone, so please pray for me! I am excited to leave for Africa and sad at the same time because I am going to miss my wife and baby-to-be. <br /><br />Well I guess I will try to post again when I get to Jo-burg, so over and out.<br /><br />Billysarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-39937042793707633092011-03-07T14:32:00.002-05:002011-03-07T14:40:15.544-05:00requests from Africa....We've emailed Travis and Lorna to see if there is anything Billy could bring to the Children's Home with him that they couldn't get there and here is the list:<br /><br /> *Epson 78 ink cartridges PLUS BLACK! (you will see the 78 series doesn’t have black in it)<br /> *a large bottle of saline solution for contacts as well as a bottle of contact cleaner (Complete multipurpose cleaner) that would be GREAT!! We cannot find contact lens anything here.<br /><br />As for the kids: <br /> *glue (not glue sticks),<br /> *colored paper <br /> *funny or inspirational DVD’s (these do NOT have to be new)<br /> *if you can get donations to buy some scientific calculators that would be awesome<br /> *odd request but they need metal compasses for math (maybe 4 or 5)<br /> *if you can donations of clothes the children are in need of some<br /> *another odd request – spoons (eating spoons) there are very few at the children’s home<br /><br />We plan on getting some of this stuff but cannot afford it all. If anyone has any of these items they no longer need or would like to make a donation, please contact Billy or I. Thanks :)sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-49380219834904080042011-03-01T20:06:00.003-05:002011-03-01T20:45:06.393-05:00My first decision as a parent...I've been meaning to post for awhile now, but things just kept popping up and I kept forgetting. Today, I decided that I needed to sit down and post something since Africa has been on my mind so much these past couple of days, and today especially.<br /><br />I woke up this morning, realizing that it was the first of March, and the first thing that came to my mind (besides the month) was that I've spent the past two March's in Africa. My next thought was to wake Billy so he could go get his immunizations taken care of. Then a sad thought crossed my mind....Billy would be getting his shots by himself, for a trip he will be going on by himself (insert sadness here). <br /><br />For anyone who doesn't know (where have you been?!) I'm pregnant! It's been really exciting and besides the morning sickness and SERIOUS aversion to chicken, the only other bad thing about being pregnant is that it makes my trip to Africa more dangerous. After much research about malaria and pregnancy, I found out that it's pretty risky. Turns out mosquitoes love pregnant woman more than non-pregnant woman! And forget about taking medicine to help prevent malaria...I may not have a baby because of it. So long story short, I've decided not to go.<br /><br />[cut back to emo Sarah ;)] Billy decided that he will still go and I am so excited for him! He leaves Monday, March 28th and returns Thursday, April 14th. I'm hoping that he will love it as much as I did and that God will open his heart to future mission trips...with me AND the baby :)<br /><br />So I will end this post by saying goodbye. Goodbye for the next month anyway. Billy will be using use my blog to post updates while he is over there, so keep checking our page!sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-88492176541704048362011-01-12T19:28:00.002-05:002011-01-12T19:50:18.536-05:00Plans are underway...for what seems to be becoming my annual trip to Africa :) I couldn't be more thrilled to have the opportunity to be able to return to Children of Zion Village! <br /><br />As with every trip, the idea of me going back came from my sadness of being gone, then moved on to doubt- doubt that I would be able to raise the money, to trusting in God that if this is what I'm supposed to do, then the funds will come. And boy did they come! As a wedding gift, I was blessed to receive a sum of money that will cover the majority of what I need to make this trip. Excuse me, WE- what BILLY and I need to make this trip. (yes, this time I am allowing Billy to come- just kidding! :)) We had to make sure that everything with his school was on track, and that he would still be graduating at the end of March (he is- PRAISE GOD!) before we set any kind of date. The tentative dates we will be gone are the end of March to the middle of April- not long enough in my opinion, but it's all we can do for now!<br /><br />So I end this post the same way I do with the other "pre-africa" posts by asking for your support; support through prayers and finances(although we have the majority of the trip covered, we will still need that remaining lump sum to cover the rest). Thank you and God Bless!sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-2658177037026266622010-05-05T13:22:00.001-04:002010-05-05T13:26:36.161-04:00children of zion villageFinally got the pictures and most of the videos I wanted off of the cd's- enjoy!<br /><br /><br /><object style="background-image: url(http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/Nf2nGJip_Bg/hqdefault.jpg);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Nf2nGJip_Bg&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Nf2nGJip_Bg&hl=en_US&fs=1" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-67114617765953008132010-04-13T13:41:00.002-04:002010-04-13T13:42:21.033-04:00For more pics and videos please check back later...I am having some trouble getting pictures and videos off of cd's that I put them on (I think they are too scratched!) But I will have them up as soon as possible!!sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-2211506297138030792010-03-31T11:59:00.012-04:002010-03-31T12:59:44.074-04:00It took a boat, a car, then two planes, but I made it home!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHb1epRERBA2-B56Ba0O-4aE26ZCKxmsTprnYpcZbhn8ZtP9JIbB1rYfhRVkQWLxJp33YlmD1gYY6vHMa0rolT9BfyHOj9jrLFGJa9me6kNwPyrS2RH6ETpQ08MBa9fUiFM-2T7g1m74U/s1600/DSC04056.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454842955417536834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHb1epRERBA2-B56Ba0O-4aE26ZCKxmsTprnYpcZbhn8ZtP9JIbB1rYfhRVkQWLxJp33YlmD1gYY6vHMa0rolT9BfyHOj9jrLFGJa9me6kNwPyrS2RH6ETpQ08MBa9fUiFM-2T7g1m74U/s200/DSC04056.JPG" /></a>Yes, David got the boat working on Sunday night, just in time to take the staff home. I left the children's home at 6:30am Monday morning by boat (see picture on right), made it to the car at 7:00am and then to Livinstone at 9:30am. Before we got to Livingstone I FINALLY got to see some giraffes! We got out of the car, crossed the street and stood a<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkPstVFn6LZhy4YePev8LETla2cVg0NTrhJDOlJXTcG__6xkwnk4vXdgvUNTU-BWp8v55zfRjBJ-DnIsAsy2gJQt1VXJStigLHJKVNvi3dXk4TQ-DTByhcyWSUFzJX7HXeCo5yd8KOa8A/s1600/DSC04064.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454840234321036050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkPstVFn6LZhy4YePev8LETla2cVg0NTrhJDOlJXTcG__6xkwnk4vXdgvUNTU-BWp8v55zfRjBJ-DnIsAsy2gJQt1VXJStigLHJKVNvi3dXk4TQ-DTByhcyWSUFzJX7HXeCo5yd8KOa8A/s200/DSC04064.JPG" /></a>bout 15 feet away from them while snapping pictures. They didn't stay around very long, so we continued on to Livingstone. Once there, Becca and I spent some time in the markets, bargining with people until we got the Zambian rate on souveniers, then headed for some lunch. I very surprised to see that they had a Subway there! Mcdonald's, I would've expected, but Subway?! We ended u<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LX34V88on6q8RueVQdzkYIySSze9o0jBn0QC2M5iyDKrjfgBZF5xfwqKGTIl2q1mlG0gO1YnhaNCbleqW6GDfwc0uandkLHoECw7GshDBDipAOJNhuEQA8IKp4u8dY7JAs5FOwtX7Nw/s1600/DSC04067.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454840789024107794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LX34V88on6q8RueVQdzkYIySSze9o0jBn0QC2M5iyDKrjfgBZF5xfwqKGTIl2q1mlG0gO1YnhaNCbleqW6GDfwc0uandkLHoECw7GshDBDipAOJNhuEQA8IKp4u8dY7JAs5FOwtX7Nw/s200/DSC04067.JPG" /></a>p splitting a footlong since it cost 12,500...Kwacha that is :) With our thousand dollar sub, a coke and a water, we only spent just under 5 American dollars!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>The flight from Jo'burg to Dulles was a bumpy one and I only slept about four hours, which was no good. Since I was in a fog still yesterday, I waited until today let everyone know that I returned safely and post some pictures on previous posts- so check them out!</div><div></div><div> </div><div>Saying goodbye to the children was hard, although not as hard as last time. Maybe it's because I still plan on seeing these kids again- I'm not sure when, but I will! :)<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454842686191014434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAyH063gI56USGxIsrR470eKw3ypsGEycMMgIOtbj667PeA6_UlJM_rkn_MC-OMs4fqskznLwHjB8CcIhUFxPFTZK9Wu-fVGYHGBO2FWHx2yZ2Q-PaNR7RQr6e3gUwSYSsobDiMAX07uY/s320/DSC03810.JPG" /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-37513257392596055492010-03-28T08:15:00.002-04:002010-03-31T11:58:37.240-04:00Quick Updates<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Well, my time is up. I leave tomorrow morning at 6:00am, provided that I have transporta<span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;">t</span>ion, that is. Our boat decided that it doesn't want to run any more, but there are some people next to us who have a boat and we're hoping that they can take me to where our cars are parked tomorrow morning so I can make it to the airport!</span><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Since I've written last, the water has gone down a significant amount! Every morning we are surprised that we can now walk on places that were covered in water the previous day. Some of the children are sad that we won't be moving- that they will miss out on an adventure like the one last year to Hippo Lodge, but as for the staff and volunteers, we couldn't be happier!</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">I also wanted to share with you all that two of our children, one boy and one girl, qualified to go and compete in Windhoek (the capital of Namibia) for running that they did the weekend before I arrived here. They left by bus on Thursday and will return tomorrow (Monday). We heard yesterday that the boy received third place in one of his races already, but we haven't heard anything about the girl yet. Everyone here is very excited and proud of them. There are also two boys, who play soccer for a team in town, who will be going to Windhoek next week to compete in the Coca-Cola Cup, which will be televised! I am definitely very excited for these two- they have worked really hard for thi<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJKTYh9VUNoDOzRxGMugZT03JehXnv3USrvfV36LW94Iv02-WiQxDzzkiHItMqr91rbi4hqGVI32roDNfVSITsMdFoV1wcJG8DE0PNwFUrmlaJDHQHbs_sf77kPriCLsWCxuZ73y5rmA/s1600/DSC03533.JPG"></a>s.</span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHifIgEflGSLOlYeGTL_k1PoRzspzkTDvGQ4yhrd11OFEBNqVW4adqE2BBbQWX-aadYXRTC7JXunmn0U1X96lQ-4t9TzukOTbvcrlaA2hMvyislA50equTMBf_4-u_Xqe0xNW9w0dpm-s/s1600/DSC03533.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454813085288481218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHifIgEflGSLOlYeGTL_k1PoRzspzkTDvGQ4yhrd11OFEBNqVW4adqE2BBbQWX-aadYXRTC7JXunmn0U1X96lQ-4t9TzukOTbvcrlaA2hMvyislA50equTMBf_4-u_Xqe0xNW9w0dpm-s/s200/DSC03533.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">I'll definitely have to put pictures and videos up when I get back because words don't do justice to the treatments Margaret and I receive when we go to rea<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRiCV990KlgO8UVMDPKN6eM7YXMeKo6ZobDSl-f3eqoX6xnXcpn60cRS9MhhvREHTj9vueaMAHZGoaPrx0OnnBeeA_rl_cpjGnxsrKTu3IYVo1bw6aNSLCr0dcCD5edqInzO1vN0jIDY/s1600/DSC03953.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454813580233220562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRiCV990KlgO8UVMDPKN6eM7YXMeKo6ZobDSl-f3eqoX6xnXcpn60cRS9MhhvREHTj9vueaMAHZGoaPrx0OnnBeeA_rl_cpjGnxsrKTu3IYVo1bw6aNSLCr0dcCD5edqInzO1vN0jIDY/s200/DSC03953.JPG" /></a>d to the little girls at night. We get massages, globs and globs of lotion rubbed on our legs and arms, and our hair brushed and braided (or knotted!). Friday night I brought over some nail polish, and we all took turns painting each others nails. The little four year old who painted my toenails also suceeded in painting half of my toes! Once they little girls <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdEn9vmJonACgnnwRlVqYCV7IzycRLOE5Pm761aPNSH6ggJIxGhSzNe-Zr-BbUeuJ6eqyAoMwJqhJ00pEVPLyeR-jH6R8X8FttULPjdcl8EtwgFx_nIHASgg1Gt6WkMM5rBk1-b8cPCk/s1600/DSC03955.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454813931951322130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdEn9vmJonACgnnwRlVqYCV7IzycRLOE5Pm761aPNSH6ggJIxGhSzNe-Zr-BbUeuJ6eqyAoMwJqhJ00pEVPLyeR-jH6R8X8FttULPjdcl8EtwgFx_nIHASgg1Gt6WkMM5rBk1-b8cPCk/s200/DSC03955.JPG" /></a>were finished, I gave the nail polish to the older girls to keep- I knew it would be in safer hands there.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(The top picture is Marsela rubbing lotion on my leg, left picture is Maria with her pretty nails, and the last picture is Efa, Esther, Hilda and Maria. I had a really cute video, but for some reason it's not working)<br /></span><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Yesterday they had Independence Day celebrations in town since the previous weekend all of the Officials celebrated in Windhoek. A small group of us only went for the afternoon so we could watch the two boys who are on the soccer team in town play their game against Zambia. The boys were actually starting players and stayed in th<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVc9UTQkqSDL0NaFK3B7vQ_CjeOfUOGAbGTdf2QN6729o6ZHIwfnUmOoMDrB9pXsE_vb7-iWxrI0AYv4FBa-RAgU857CImHmFzlo2a11DMkq_kPofIzs5Wy8AfgPw16nDdBNivK9HH60/s1600/DSC03993.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454827647038058850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVc9UTQkqSDL0NaFK3B7vQ_CjeOfUOGAbGTdf2QN6729o6ZHIwfnUmOoMDrB9pXsE_vb7-iWxrI0AYv4FBa-RAgU857CImHmFzlo2a11DMkq_kPofIzs5Wy8AfgPw16nDdBNivK9HH60/s320/DSC03993.JPG" /></a>e whole game (even though the team is made up of 20-30 something year olds and our boys are teenagers!) The boys team ended up winning the game, which made the Independence celebration that much sweeter! My favorite part of the day had to be when Becca and I went looking for some really nice Independence Day t-shirts that we saw on people who had performed or on people who were working there, and were refused and then sent to look somewhere else by a man with a big box full of them (we think he sent us on a wild goose chase for them!) but when we came back to confront him, another man told him to give us a shirt. They also gave us a visor with the same print as the t-shirt on it! We definitely wore those proudly for the rest of the day, and then decided to have the children sign them this morning after Church.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Well I am going to go and enjoy the last of the short hours that I have left. Thanks to everyone who has supported me throughout this whole process- I am SO THANKFUL that I was able to return and spend more time with these lovely 57 children!</span></div></div></div></div></div>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-47035533396239730432010-03-22T11:00:00.001-04:002010-03-31T10:40:59.937-04:00Just when you think the water won't stop rising....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7tyJNQWPNEgYLe1C4bZlXtl4bew3B9yIncnd3zBVkYX_4WuGJ9STZRb2Wd5AiseeiQk0Kd-lMdEBpYKnYVXS_4Lq_MpFTBvSaKsAWYlDX6nxGuLsWQiFGFruw2Me1sBdMrDMgbP27NGU/s1600/P1040834.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454807319975258786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7tyJNQWPNEgYLe1C4bZlXtl4bew3B9yIncnd3zBVkYX_4WuGJ9STZRb2Wd5AiseeiQk0Kd-lMdEBpYKnYVXS_4Lq_MpFTBvSaKsAWYlDX6nxGuLsWQiFGFruw2Me1sBdMrDMgbP27NGU/s320/P1040834.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">it does. Praise God that it hasn't risen much, if at all, in that past couple of days! Friday night we had it all worked out that we would be moving (or shifting as they say here) Sunday, or Monday at the latest, until further notice. Luckily, since the water hasn't risen, we have been able to postpone the move- hopefully for good! I don't think that I have ever mentioned the poles that David put in the ground when it was dry and way before I even arrived, but they are 2 meters high (you'd think by now I'd know how to convert all of this stuff, but I don't. All I know is that 2 meters is pretty high!) When I came in the beginning of March, the water was to the 0.5 mark. It is now over 2 meters; the poles are completely covered! All of the volunteers here can't believe that the water has come that high, but since between this year and last I've only known the water to be high, I can't believe that David could once stand where he did to put the poles in! The picture here is courtesy of the Curry's while on a boat ride...to the far left you can see the poles that we used to measure the water and where the water stood at the beginning of this month!</span><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Saturday I spent some a couple of hours in the boat fishing with David, Margaret and two teenage boys. It was a nice sunny afternoon and the weather was wonderful- so nice that I got to work on my tan :) Unfortunately, we didn't catch anything but grass, as we were fishing in a spot that is a dry road during the dry season. One of the boys got a huge tiger fish hooked, and reeled all the way to the boat, but the hook was too small, so right as he was about to pull in the fish it got away. Either way, we all had fun!</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Today (Monday) the kids didn't have school, because of Independence Day, so this morning I spent some time playing soccer with a few of the older girls and the little kids- who never really get a chance to go to the field and play. It was the four older girls vs. the little kids and I was surprised at how good these kids were! Some of them were really fast, and others could dribble the ball much better than any other little kids that I've seen! Then there were the two 4 year old boys, who just spent the whole time picking the flowers from the side of the field, running onto the field, handing them to me and saying, "Here you go Auntie!" and then running to get more. I think they all had fun on the big kid field today!</span></div>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-59131277817341197942010-03-19T07:39:00.004-04:002010-03-31T11:44:15.294-04:00Happy Independence Day, Namibia!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-fCPZZKLDhYsQlHrAKODCMz-dzKeN_sI9EfeZbYP0QjsMsP0YsO5rrG_qh097B5CIEZaDbT7p94VwBUgV2UpNOTrFxLcif1oJ0nNS9B_2OZ5g_aBoIcdlubfeQui1B3l7_EI8gpzxHo/s1600/DSC03784.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454806675595929298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-fCPZZKLDhYsQlHrAKODCMz-dzKeN_sI9EfeZbYP0QjsMsP0YsO5rrG_qh097B5CIEZaDbT7p94VwBUgV2UpNOTrFxLcif1oJ0nNS9B_2OZ5g_aBoIcdlubfeQui1B3l7_EI8gpzxHo/s200/DSC03784.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Known as "West South Africa" in the past, this country suffered through years of fighting and the apartheid, but this Sunday will mark 20 years since Namibia became an independent country. Today, the children had an assembly full of dancing, singing, and speeches about what their country went through in the past. Full of pride for their country, the assembly ended with (most of) the children standing up straight and proudly singing their national anthem. It was great to be here again to celebrate their independence day with them- and to see all of the talent!</span><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">There isn't much new with the flood situation...the water is still coming, slowly, but surely. We now have to walk through an ankle deep puddle of water to get from the mission home to the children's home- but that's the worst of it (except right outside of the front gate, but since we are going by boat, that doesn't really matter anymore). Yesterday I spent half the day in town with Becca, running errands and getting food to last us until Tuesday (since everything will be closed on Monday). The boat ride back was a slow one with all of the groceries and five people sqeezed into it! I was happy, though, that the big gray clouds above us didn't lead to rain until after we had gotten back. Being caught in a thunderstorm while in a boat is bad enough, but being caught in a thunderstorm in an all metal boat (ours) would be worse....</span></div>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-16324548180053708102010-03-14T13:43:00.001-04:002010-03-31T10:34:37.694-04:00A hard days work<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbx1iBSMSemHGMKQr1OrOSfr_nWv-id8vWqpelhaAbSBrwWN-ueHRG-Ol5ESr2dcOe2ykB3F0fYDwIOS8llbF76JOxoE5Sgd3-HAseiMqehcDa5IOFyJrDQjCzzE5Y89IYqPvUi2lHUY/s1600/DSC03776.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454806215105015634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbx1iBSMSemHGMKQr1OrOSfr_nWv-id8vWqpelhaAbSBrwWN-ueHRG-Ol5ESr2dcOe2ykB3F0fYDwIOS8llbF76JOxoE5Sgd3-HAseiMqehcDa5IOFyJrDQjCzzE5Y89IYqPvUi2lHUY/s200/DSC03776.JPG" /></a> <span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Yesterday, we spent a good portion of the day filling and placing sandbags around the doors of Becca's/my house and the children's home. Even though the water is just now coming on to land, we want to be prepared! After expecting to wake up and see water out of my front door this morning, I have to say that I was a little disappointed that it looked like it hadn't moved much- only because I wanted all of our hard work yesterday to be worth while! We are hoping that this means it is slowing down and will stop rising within the next couple of days, but we aren't holding our breath for that! (Pictured are the sandbags outside of my door..)</span><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">It doesn't seem like we need to be too concerned about moving, for now at least. We met with someone yesterday who basically told us not to worry until the water is everywhere and we have to get from the main house to the children's home by boat. So it seems like we might have a week or so before we have to move if the water keeps rising....</span></div>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-11315755851281112882010-03-11T07:26:00.001-05:002010-03-11T07:26:48.066-05:00Cwani (How are you)<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Weather today: Sunny and 82 degress- not a cloud in the sky.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>River today: Up 6 inches (and counting) since yesterday evening. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I can now see the river, almost parallel to my front door of the house I am staying in, which means it's maybe less than 10ft away from my doorstep! The small bridge that we have to cross to get between the children's home and the town has water running over one part of it, which some people were trying to fix this morning. By fix I mean pile more sand and bricks and stone onto this rock and sand-made bridge. Yesterday, we moved the vehicles out (again) to a drier place and now only have a small pick-up truck. Dave took three of the volunteers, who were leaving today, into town to get the other car so they could drive to Zambia. </FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Margaret and I were supposed to ride with them to town to take a couple kids to the doctor today, but we stayed behind since we weren't sure there would be a bridge to cross later this afternoon. So since we have one car getting fixed in town, one in Zambia until tomorrow and one that is here, with no bridge to cross, we are stuck! Once we get both of the cars back tomorrow, all of our trips to town from now on will be made by boat. </FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial>We still don't have a firm evacuation plan, but luckily, we don't need it right now- maybe this weekend or early next week.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>As I mentioned earlier, Ray, Travis and Lorna left to go back to the States today. It was sad to see them go, but at least Travis and Lorna will be back soon! We spent their last night here having a Silozi (native language here) lesson after dinner, which was fun, and I definitely learned a lot!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Well, that's all I have for now...need to see how much the river has gone up since I started this post ;)</FONT></DIV>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-62743044317364066082010-03-09T12:42:00.002-05:002010-03-31T10:31:11.640-04:00The latest from Namibia...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxV8H3Ak0vPz1NnDYul9ueUcSsFjZz7Zt7z9BCkzV0rMvAXLMAXWJTYVy0jD5ONojC9Wy2EPZhEOKvBMEbvqK_c1in28HUufQW6nQlMKsVX4LB5ij23Dff6ck4ewpBqa5UCrFycKtPDX0/s1600/DSC03671.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454805280753470002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxV8H3Ak0vPz1NnDYul9ueUcSsFjZz7Zt7z9BCkzV0rMvAXLMAXWJTYVy0jD5ONojC9Wy2EPZhEOKvBMEbvqK_c1in28HUufQW6nQlMKsVX4LB5ij23Dff6ck4ewpBqa5UCrFycKtPDX0/s200/DSC03671.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">I spent the majority of the day in the kitchen today...cooking (Billy, you would be so proud! Even some of the children wanted to take pictures and record some videos of me cooking to show you!) Auntie Margaret, another long term volunteer, and I were making dinner for the children, some of the staff and the rest of the volunteers. She decided to make grinded pumpkin leaves, mince<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWMokXjV7bMMHJ0jlPy70fOETTDSphO-rmL90R6v8QnNw0JlRJO4TgIgn-sJ8zMJuGbNwyvQ-eWc_ry7q6C-2VgC8hb4tyQy7N91rtXTZrNdWLPYgAUFtXiX_YcArRp2IQgz6MdMi0QE/s1600/DSC03676.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454804490051579298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWMokXjV7bMMHJ0jlPy70fOETTDSphO-rmL90R6v8QnNw0JlRJO4TgIgn-sJ8zMJuGbNwyvQ-eWc_ry7q6C-2VgC8hb4tyQy7N91rtXTZrNdWLPYgAUFtXiX_YcArRp2IQgz6MdMi0QE/s200/DSC03676.JPG" /></a> (beef) cooked with lots of veggies and curry sauce, and pap (the staple food here, similar to grits but with the consistency of mashed potatoes that you are supposed to eat with your hands). We got all of the vegetables from the garden here, so they were nice and fresh! It was really nice eating with the children- we don't do that anymore on Saturday's, which I know some of them miss, so tonight was a treat for everyone.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMiY4bdbY7rlCRTkBq7JSZo341GW_GtnD0o_nelljQJ43oTsQR9tt4J-kqcZtpXS4L6JFjlFy-DEGbaKmFqn1lwusSUrpuf-5gGzLAukDe0HGaU8eKL0V4dr86VysaGJLZ5dRKB6DHI0/s1600/DSC03722.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454804807240295042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMiY4bdbY7rlCRTkBq7JSZo341GW_GtnD0o_nelljQJ43oTsQR9tt4J-kqcZtpXS4L6JFjlFy-DEGbaKmFqn1lwusSUrpuf-5gGzLAukDe0HGaU8eKL0V4dr86VysaGJLZ5dRKB6DHI0/s200/DSC03722.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">We have had really nice weather here (sunny and in the high 70's, low 80's) but the water is continuing to rise. Still no word on whether we will be evacuating, but we aren't in any danger-yet! Tomorrow I will go for a "girls day" in town with Margaret and Lorna (soon to be the new permanent missionary here) to run some errands and then some shopping for ourselves since Lorna will be leaving on Thursday. Well, that's all I have for now! Please pray that the water will not come up much more!!</span>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-22296273963883751692010-03-07T06:50:00.000-05:002010-03-08T00:29:18.772-05:00Flood Time<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>So I was all excited Friday night and early Saturday morning because we were going to be taking some of the children to see their families in the Western Caprivi for the day. Well, it started raining Friday around 9pm and didn't stop until Saturday around 10am, so sadly, at 6am Saturday morning I found out that we would not be going on the trip. After checking the dirt road that leads out of here, it was decided that we should stay and try to work on getting the vehicles to drier land, incase the flooding got worse. There wasn't a lot of activity around here the rest of the day, as it rained on and off. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Today is a much sunnier and brighter day- with no rain on the horizon! We pray that it will stay like this and that the water continues to slow down so we won't have to move! We should find out sometime this week if we will have to move and this time, it looks like we will be in a field with a bunch of tents!</FONT></DIV>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-49153525638596990322010-03-04T08:11:00.000-05:002010-03-04T10:31:47.070-05:00Hippos<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Between last night and this morning we received a steady amount of rain. The river is still rising very quickly and we are praying that we won't have to move again. The only good thing about the water is that the hippos seem closer to us, which means that we can hear them every evening. Becca, the long term volunteer who I am staying with, and I went outside the gate last night and down near the water, which is creeping closer and closer to our house, in search of some hippos. They were so loud after dinner that we definitly thought they were close by! We don't want to come across any because they can be very dangerous; Becca told me that one guy was actually killed by one recently! All we wanted was to get a few good pictures. Unfortunately, I didn't see any....Becca saw one in the distance going into the water but all I captured on my camera was them making noise. It was a fun adventure and now I have a video of what hippos sound like :)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>**Oh yeah, if you want to email me, the address is <A href="mailto:cozv@mweb.com.na">cozv@mweb.com.na</A> please put my name in the subject line!</FONT></DIV>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-923175791132573582010-03-04T08:00:00.001-05:002010-03-31T10:22:03.760-04:00One soccer ball equals lots of smiles<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-SWvVM4IGlO-nmfd7AkCkcHsUJZf2UmEN3-u6AiherLPmyLoh_AUqFk9zu3rKY9ncytXjIxvjiEdAJ9gA0V_UvZLLJvrUQ3sRKvBHb8LrToag7Vf933UU0OC5Ubba_qPrJiB2xAQOt4/s1600/P1040632.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454803027295501842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-SWvVM4IGlO-nmfd7AkCkcHsUJZf2UmEN3-u6AiherLPmyLoh_AUqFk9zu3rKY9ncytXjIxvjiEdAJ9gA0V_UvZLLJvrUQ3sRKvBHb8LrToag7Vf933UU0OC5Ubba_qPrJiB2xAQOt4/s320/P1040632.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">So some of you may remember from last time my post about some of the older boys not sharing a soccer ball with the girls the first time I went to play soccer with them. When we finally received a ball, it was a little on the flat side, and all of a sudden the boys "couldn't find the pump". I decided then that I would bring the girls back their very own ball and pump, so this would not happen again! I picked out the girliest ball I could find (not that it matters- the boys will play with whatever!) and a nice looking pump and packed it in my bag with me. Yesterday I called all of the soccer girls over to the house where I am staying...there are a lot more this year than last! I asked them if they remembered what happened last year when I came and they said yes. Then I showed them the ball and pump and said, "This is for you girls, BUT if the boys don't have one or the little kids want to play, you have to share! You know what it's like for someone not to share with you, so don't be like that to them." They had the biggest smiles on their faces! I had even wrote "To my soccer girls, love auntie sarah" on it and they loved it! Of course later some of the boys came to me and asked why I didn't bring them a ball and when I reminded them of what had happened, they laughed and understood right away. That afternoon the boys AND the girls (and myself) enjoyed a long game of soccer with a brand new ball!</span>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-5763734079122829732010-03-03T07:02:00.002-05:002010-03-31T10:20:00.862-04:00"Thanks for coming back!" and "Why do you always come when it's flood time?"<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Hello from Namibia! I made it here safely and with little trouble (our trouble being the 5 gate changes in Johannesburg before leaving to Livingstone). I was traveling with Travis and Lorna, the couple who will be the new permanent missionaries starting this fall. They are a very nice couple and it was great to have someone to travel with this time! This was their first time in Africa, so they relied on me, since I'm the veteran, to show them the way :) </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">I want to go back to the first flight over here. We had to stop in Dakar, Senegal, which is usually only a 1 hour stop, but we were a bit early because of the winds, so our 1 hour stop became 2. Now this was right around midnight U.S. time so even though I was tired, it was nice to get up and stretch. I also got to see the sunrise there- a beautiful, bright orange sun rising over sand. I noticed that the houses there look alot like ones you would see in the middle east, which was pretty interesting. Taking off, we flew right on the coastline and could see more houses and little canoe type boats right off shore, fishing. I also saw some bigger, pirate ship looking boats. Last time I flew over here, I didn't have this stop in Senegal, and even though it was 1 hour too long, I really enjoyed being able to see a different part of Africa.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">The Lilypad, the bed and breakfast that we stay at in Jo-burg, was just as nice as last time. It was <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yVDcnKlRN0vn8mZXSDrsN3T5bZR923g-BQqhbQP_GvFlbOLaf5dM1OyLeqspCXGm6gdWTRSip74jl5CniKectXw-UOGbcjQy2WIfmmXN2zuJEbzjij5dG7LE0IY1L755PliFUr6CsXs/s1600/P1040577.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454801991510071986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yVDcnKlRN0vn8mZXSDrsN3T5bZR923g-BQqhbQP_GvFlbOLaf5dM1OyLeqspCXGm6gdWTRSip74jl5CniKectXw-UOGbcjQy2WIfmmXN2zuJEbzjij5dG7LE0IY1L755PliFUr6CsXs/s320/P1040577.JPG" /></a>ni<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17UrxumR0bogakga9NisZR7gYB98djxXqm1Ib9N4V_MRMiMKfG-lPw-Q5-bUPwVE827wOaPYtoXKkiSCVD1-WIT8WtOdCDl6zmNouAOb5ExGdaNt1Gew-IaTsU5XhLJMaBIdznF5eLiA/s1600/P1040577.JPG"></a>ce and cool outside so Travis, Lorna and I took our Indian Food that we had ordered out to the patio, and enjoyed the evening swapping mission stories. The next morning, we arrived at the airport and had plenty of time to look around the shops there. There is a large shop there called "Out of Africa" which really has a lot of neat African things. After shopping awhile, as I already said before, we had to walk all over the airport because they couldn't seem to decide where we were supposed to be boarding from. Once we were finally on the plane, everything went smoothly<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgovJIfh69qIIvXCCd2c_huQ21lHZtLQay8KbmzWRRaocpn8PfdWZ8e_EflTH44kkmRa_K9I9yBzWvbRCRWDHMARxlzgyX3RKPWP-Ahs-h1U6rAdTOX7btsDa3vKk_m2-B-HqekPH7O5Ts/s1600/P1040577.JPG"></a>. I even got to see Victoria Falls from the plane again! Once we landed in Livingstone, we met up with two people from the Children's Home and made our way there. On our way, the smells of Africa brought back memories and I kept thinking that it was great to be back! (And in some ways I felt like it was great to be home haha)</span><br /><div><div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">The closer we got to the Children's Home, the more nervous and excited I became- I was hoping that they would remember me!! I was greeted by some of the older girls with lots of hugs and excitement! (They had remembered!!!) The girls were first of many to ask "Auntie, why do you always come when it's flood time? Maybe you like the water?" I assured them that I did not and that I was hoping for no Hippo Lodge again this year! :) The rest of the afternoon was spent with hellos, hugs, handshakes, old nicknames, thank you's (for returning) and that question, "Why do you always come when it's flood time?!" It was really great to see everyone again, and I was happy that everyone remembered me...except for my three little pre-schoolers, who have since warmed up to me. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">This has been a lot longer than I thought it would be and I need to go, but I will try to update more tomorrow!</span></div></div></div>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-555746808733731802010-02-28T12:31:00.004-05:002010-03-31T10:10:26.840-04:00I'm Here!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHNn6cwmjOsYXejcHk0v7yRiTPrcdbxovBO9YH7Qz4ogVIzzIiWeYwFw5IQvpCs3iBSrBPRk-yga-7-LdSF7SFNVa00QhUm15hHWA6OlMVgRL140bKg5rGHpQ-aIrnh8aPSd1D5dywcMw/s1600/P1040556.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454799340585540834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHNn6cwmjOsYXejcHk0v7yRiTPrcdbxovBO9YH7Qz4ogVIzzIiWeYwFw5IQvpCs3iBSrBPRk-yga-7-LdSF7SFNVa00QhUm15hHWA6OlMVgRL140bKg5rGHpQ-aIrnh8aPSd1D5dywcMw/s200/P1040556.JPG" /></a><br /><div>Just a quick note to say that I made it safely to Johannesburg!! The flight was painless and quicker than expected. It is 7:30pm local time but 12:30 back home so I am waiting for my lunch/dinner to arrive and then try to get some sleep. Tomorrow I make my way to Livingstone and then on to the Children's Home! I'll update more later!</div><div></div><div></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;"></span> </div><div>(Here I am at the airport with my new friend, Lorna)</div>sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5834620644076257289.post-66671208431599204262010-02-22T21:26:00.002-05:002010-02-22T22:04:45.881-05:00Excited!The date is set. <br />My flight is booked.<br />My bags are packed.<br />I'M READY TO GO!!<br /><br />The first part of my journey will start on Thursday. Since I am flying out of Washington Dulles Airport in Virginia on Saturday, I will fly up to Maryland to stay with my dad for a couple of days before I leave. Saturday, at approximately 5:40pm, I will be on my way to Africa!! After a LONG 18 hours of watching movies and trying to sleep, I will arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa. There, I will be picked up by some friends of the Children's Home and taken to a lovely Bed and Breakfast. The next morning I will have another 1.5 hour flight into Livingstone, Zambia (home of Victoria Falls). It is in Zambia where I will meet up with someone from the Children's Home and drive 3 hours into Namibia and to my final destination. By this time, it will be Monday afternoon! <br /><br />I am very excited to see all of the children again! I have been writing letters back and forth with one of the girls from there, so I'm sure the kids know that I am returning. Last time I was there I spent most of my days helping out in the school there, as they were short one teacher, but I'm sure they have a new teacher so I'm wondering what I'll be doing this time. This trip will also be different because the missionaries, Gary and Rebecca, who had been there since the opening of the Children's Home in 2004 have returned back to the States. I'm sure the people who have replaced them will be really nice, but Gary, Rebecca and their 2 sons were like family to me. <br /><br />Other random things...I will be 7 hours ahead of you- until you "Spring Forward" then I will only be 6. I'm not sure if my email address there will be the same as last time since Gary and Rebecca have left, but once I get there I will let you know! (For those of you who are new to my blog, I have access to the internet there but it is EXTREMELY slow and I have to pay to connect. Since Gary and Rebecca had an outlook account, I had my emails sent there so I could check it for free whenever they connected.) One more thing, I will find out on Thursday the final amount in donations that I have received, but I wanted to thank everyone again...especially those last minute donations, which proved to me for the second year in a row that having faith does wonders!! Alright, I'll stop boring everyone now! Next time you'll hear from me will be from Africa :)sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160002915569676203noreply@blogger.com0