Flood Time

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. 

 

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!

Hippos

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 :)

 

**Oh yeah, if you want to email me, the address is cozv@mweb.com.na please put my name in the subject line!

One soccer ball equals lots of smiles

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!

"Thanks for coming back!" and "Why do you always come when it's flood time?"

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 :)

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.

The Lilypad, the bed and breakfast that we stay at in Jo-burg, was just as nice as last time. It was nice 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. 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)

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.

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!

I'm Here!

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!

(Here I am at the airport with my new friend, Lorna)

Excited!

The date is set.
My flight is booked.
My bags are packed.
I'M READY TO GO!!

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!

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.

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 :)

UPDATES:

1. I will be leaving in March instead of January (to cover for a missionary's maternity leave)
2. Financially, I'M HALFWAY THERE!!

Thanks to everyone who has given so far!!!