Desert Storm - like fog, but painful!

The Pulley

When God at first made man,

Having a glasse of blessings standing by ;

Let us (said he) poure on him all we can :

Let the world's riches, which dispersed lie,

Contract into a span.

So strength first made a way ;

Then beautie flow’d, then wisdome, honour, pleasure :

When almost all was out, God made a stay,

Perceiving that alone, of all his treasure,

Rest in the bottome lay.

For if I should (said he)

Bestow this jewell also on my creature,

He would adore my gifts in stead of me,

And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature :

So both should losers be.

Yet let him keep the rest,

But keep them with repining restlesnesse :

Let him be rich and wearie, that at least,

If goodnesse leade him not, yet wearinesse

May tosse him to my breast.

O Thou who has given us so much, mercifully grant us one thing more - a grateful heart.

George Herbert

Coastal Images

Ministry opportunities

Setting the Captives Free

What motivates you to go to Bible study?

What are you hoping to get out of church?

David asked the new NETS students at Swakopmund prison what they wanted to get out of their Bible studies and NETS course material. Their replies included:

• I want to understand the Holy Spirit and what baptism really means
• I want to learn how to pray and how to preach God’s Word
• I want to learn more about God’s kingdom: how it functions and how to enter
• I want to discover what it is in me that keeps me away from God
• I want to be able to come to God
• I want to learn how to overcome temptation
• I want to be able to leave the things of this world behind me
• I want to know how to handle the anger inside me
• I want to know how to live sinlessly
• I want to know how to change my life
• I want to know how to choose the right friends
• I want an easy way to tell others about God without being embarrassed
• I want to know how to improve the negative things in my life and get closer to God
• I want to know how to cleanse the bad thoughts out of my head
• I want to obey God’s will
• I want to defeat godlessness
• I want to exactly understand the Bible
• I want to follow the 10 commandments
• I want to grow spiritually
• I want to understand God’s Word and his will for my life
• I want to set an example for others
• I want to stay in the level way and leave the world’s way
• I want a strong heart and soul to obey God’s commandments
• I want good fellowship with God
• I want to be a church person
• I want to live for God’s kingdom
• I want to be 100% spiritual Christian
• I am far from God and want a relationship with him and to understand the Bible
• I want to know what is the aim for those who are in God’s kingdom and what role they play on earth
• I want a deeper knowledge of the Bible and to teach others so they do not wander like a lost sheep
• I want to know who God is
• I want to know what he is telling us to do and not to do
• I want to be strengthened in my spirit

Packing up for Heaven

How many of you would be ready, by tomorrow morning, to walk out of your house in order to move – with all that is important to you – to a new home?

Packing up to leave the North and come to Walvis Bay was hard work.

I was not just packing up a home for a family of 4; there were also 2 offices (as we both work from home) and a school room (with 100s of books) !!

But it was easier than when we left on home assignment at the end of 2008. Not knowing if we would get a visa renewal to come back, I had to look at each book, each slip of paper, each article of clothing … and decide whether it mattered if I never saw it again.

I had 3 piles: what to ‘keep’, what to ‘give away’ …and what to throw away.

I am a ‘what if …’ person:

• “What if our things get stolen or the garage floods and destroys everything I want to keep?”
• “What if David dies on this long trip away and I have to pack up our life on my own?”

You know the kind of thing - I am sure I am not alone in the world! (It does has some benefits in that, when we go away, I am always prepared for every contingency!!)

So, knowing my propensity to stress in this way, I put up a Bible verse to help me put things into their proper perspective.

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. (Psalm 119.37)

And I thought of Jesus, and his Return.

Unlike moving house, we will have no warning of our departure for heaven.

My ‘precious possessions’ will then be consigned to moth and rust anyway.

I was putting into boxes things I wanted, in this life, to keep.But I wondered what would be in my ‘to keep to show Jesus’ “boxes”?

After packing up the house, I was amazed at home much rubbish I had accumulated.

And I think it is the same in my own life – too much time spent doing things that, upon Jesus’ return, will be classified as worthless, and too little time expended pursuing things that are of eternal value.

If you had to pack up your life for heaven and be ready by tomorrow morning, would your ‘boxes’ of serving and giving be as full as you would like?

When you pray for missionaries, when you pray for each other, I think this is a vital prayer request.

I feel more inadequate for the job we are doing in Namibia than when we first came out there as I am aware that the desert is more than the landscape, it is also sometimes in me.

Sea, Sand and Schooling

We are just entering our 6^th week in Walvis Bay. Let me try and give you a brief overview of how this time has been. We are feeling already very settled here and thank God for preparing the way for us in so many ways.

This is the children’s 4^th week at school - 2 weeks of which have been exams for Étienne! In preparation for which, he and I have had a crash course in Geography, History, Science and German to cover what they have done in their syllabus. For instance, in history and geography Étienne and Caris have been learning about Eastern hemisphere countries (China, Japan, etc), whereas Étienne’s class has been doing Southern Africa! But today (10 Aug) is his last exam. (He is in grade 5 and Caris in grade 3.)

They are really enjoying school – new friends and new subjects. They learn Portuguese and Afrikaans as well as German and English! They also go horse riding once a week and Étienne has started piano lessons and his teacher has put him onto Grade 3. As Caris is the only harpist in Namibia, she continues to have her fortnightly Skype lessons with her teacher in South Africa. Caris has been invited to perform 2 pieces at a concert for junior musicians this Friday, so that is exciting.

David has started regular trips to the two prisons. Walvis Bay is Tuesday mornings (5 kms away) and Swakopmund on Fridays ( 35 km). Next term I hope to be able to work with the women in the prisons. He has visited a number of churches and has been invited to preach at one on August 22. The children and I have been attending Walvis Bay Baptist church; it is fairly near and has a good Sunday school (in English!). We have also started taking Étienne’s friend, Robert, with us.

As for me, I am mainly playing taxi at the moment! For instance, today:

7am – take children to school

8am – take David to the prison

10am – pick Étienne up from school after his exam

12pm – collect Caris from school

2pm – take the children to gymnastics

?pm – collect David from prison

We live in the far south of the town which, whilst being quiet and very close to the lagoon (which offers lovely walks and bird life), means we are a fair distance from school, church and shops etc. I don’t know if people import soil to the coast but some homes sport very nice gardens with grass and flowers. We even have a small patch of grass in our back yard! Palm is the predominant tree.

The weather seems never very warm (compared to the North) or overly cold (compared to the Winter minus temperatures of Windhoek). Mornings are often very misty, and moisture drips from roof and branch. Some days, like today, a warm East wind blows – bringing a cloud of sand to coat washing on the line and furniture, and irritate the eyes. Some days there is not a breath of wind … and on others there can be a gale! It is very reminiscent of our years living in Cape Town – though it has not been as windy here. Up North, wind was a rarity and what one put on in the morning one knew would suffice for the day as the temperature barely fluctuated. So, you can say that the weather is more interesting here!

There is a shelter for women and children in town, and a day care for vulnerable children. I think they also do adult literacy and life skills with handicapped people. I have made contact with someone who volunteers there and will go and see where I can be of help. There will probably be Sunday school workshop opportunities, too. I was invited last weekend to speak at a conference in Windhoek, to encourage adults to teach the Bible to children from an early age. It has been postponed. But anyway, Aune will be doing it in my place. She is a very capable young woman and coming along well in her studies. The Gillhams (CMS-NSW) have had her living with them this year, which has been wonderful.

There is a lot to explore in our new environs. We look forward to our weekly day off so that we can have some new adventures!! (We were rather house-bound on our days off up North.)

We have David’s mother flying up from Johannesburg next week for a visit. We look forward to that. (Unfortunately, David’s father has a leg injury that is not healing well so he cannot accompany her.) In the 4 years we have been in Namibia, we have had 4 visitors from Australia, 2 from South Africa and 1 from England. Ongwediva was rather off the beaten track for most of you – but Walvis Bay is just a short flight from Johannesburg so, if you have been thinking of visiting Africa … I will put the kettle on (rooibos tea, of course)!