Stop #3, Tsumeb

 So by the time we were ready to leave for Tsumeb, Sammie could tell that our car was a bit dirty and thought she should help to clean it up a bit.

The way it always goes when we travel is that we say we want to leave at a certain time and we actually leave about an hour or so after that.  We had a long drive to Tsumeb and little did we know that about 80km of that drive would be all on a rough dirt road.  So that 80km slowed us down a bit and not to mention all of the goats, cows, and donkeys we had to slow down for all the way to Tsumeb.

Our campsite in Tsumeb was awesome but we kinda just stumbled upon it.  We had planned to stay at one place and when we got there the gate was closed and no one was there so we drove to the next closest place.  !Uris Lodge.  (The "!" is a click)  This was probably the coolest place we stayed and the cheapest. As you can see we had a lot of room to ourselves.  There are only 2 campsites at this place but you have your own toilet and shower and all that.  You can see it in the big tree with sticks around it, that is the shower.  It was really cool.

During this whole trip we weren't sure how Sammie would do being in new places and with naps and everything else but she did awesome.  We had a harder time keeping her from running around and getting her to stop playing in the dirt while we are trying to eat.  She had a blast and couldn't be more thankful for a safe trip.




 Now our prayer is that God would lead us in the direction that he has laid out in His plan.  We don't always know what he has in store for us but we really want to just seek Him and see what he has planned.  So please be praying also that God would show us where he would like us to be and what people he would like us to be reaching out to.  Also along with that you can pray for our visa that it could be extended so that we can stay for a longer amount of time because we believe that we aren't finished yet and we would like it if the government would agree with us and let us stay for a while.  Thank you for all the prayers and support that you give us.  We couldn't do this without all of this team.  Thanks

Second Stop, Opuwo

Our Second stop was in Opuwo.  We stayed in Opuwo for two nights.  This stop was very interesting because of the differences in cultures all in one place.  You have the Himba, that still live and dress very traditionally.  On the other hand you have others that live in town that were dressed very modern.  Some of these people are Himba even that have decided to not live or dress traditionally.  It was very odd to see these two put in one place and living together as if nothing were out of place when to us it really looks different.

 It is strange to be in town with shops and all then drive just a few min outside of town and then you see huts and goats and cows everywhere.

     The view from our campsite was awesome.  we were up on the side of this mountain and we got a good look at the sunset.  i know this may not be a big deal but there was even grass to put your tent on.  In a country that is so dry, this is a really cool thing.

First stop of the trip North.

We stayed the first 2 nights in Kamanjab, a very small town with not much in it at all. It was interesting that the people that are running the rest camp we stayed at had only been there for 3 months and were previously from Cape Town SA. They were experiencing some of the frustrations that come with moving up this far where you really aren't close to anything. They told us about how they had an incident with their little girl and were scared she needed to go to the hospital but they are 250km from the nearest hospital.

We had a great time in Kamanjab. Right when we arrived we were setting up the tent and the guy running the camp told us to look up, and there was a giraffe. This was all with no fences in between us. They also said that Kudu often make their way up to or near the campsites. Here are some pictures we took while in Kamanjab and i will hopefully put some pics up of Opuwo tonight after the sunset.(I have to get a good picture of the sunset)

Please be praying with us that we are trying to see if this is where God is calling us. So while we are here and traveling around we are praying for God to put a passion and desire in our hearts to be here.

Andila gets sick!

So just the other morning as the kids are lined up nice and neat to come in the room i look in the boys line to see Andila hunched over in a ball and he says, "Mr. Wright, my stomach doesn't feel good." (Most of the kids are sick with something all year long.) So i figured i would wait to see how long this goes to see if something really is wrong. Just a few min later Andila is sitting right in front of my desk at his desk with his hands folded over his mouth and he is looking distraught. Then it hits me that his stomach really isn't feeling well. I give him some toilet paper and send him off to the toilet to take care of himself.
Andila comes back just a min later in the same position. He comes in the door with hands folded over his mouth and gesturing for more toilet paper. So quickly i see that this is more serious than i had previously thought. He comes back a few more times. Enough times that eventually i just had some toilet paper on the corner of my desk so that when he comes in the room i just point and send him back out.
About 5 to 10 mins later i had him sent to our admin/nurse/a lot of other jobs lady, Dorthy to see if she wants to send him home. I ask him a few questions to see why his stomach might be in this state. I ask if he ate this morning and he confirmed. So i asked what he ate, he said, "fat cakes" (a ball of dough fried in oil the size of a baseball or tennis ball). I notices when he said that there was an "s" on the end so i asked how many...2. Then i though... wait i think he eats here at school in the morning. So i asked about the school breakfast, and he said that they had a bowl of oats.
So Andila started his day with 2 Fat Cakes and then came in to school and packed a bowl of oats on top of that. After I heard this, there was no doubt in my mind that he should be sick. He was later sent home and was even gone the next day. Sometimes I guess it is true that our eyes are bigger than our stomachs.

Missing Home.

You know, no one ever told us how hard it is to be away from family and friends. I know as missionaries that's a sacrifice you make for the cross but someday's it's really hard. You know though, God know's when these rough days come and He has always given us something that reminds us why we are here and that His plans are always perfect! One day we went to the mall to get some things for a gift and our friend George was outside selling beads and he came and talked to us about buying beads and then out of no where he begins to tell us how much we encourage him by just being together as a family. That was just a huge encouragement for us too because sometimes we do feel worthless and just blah in this place but God always picks us up and shows us what we are doing here for His glory!

Oh Sammie.

So Sammie is talking up a storm from the moment she wakes up to the time she lays her head down to go to sleep, even then, there are times she is still talking in her sleep! She is really picking up everything we say. When you have a talking Child you can really see what you talk about it. We were driving and a taxi driver pulled out in front of us and Adam and I both were just like urg and I said Come on and then this little voice from the back seat says, Oh Come on!! whoops! I have to work on my road rage!!

When Sammie has something of ours that she is not supposed to have we always say Sorry Sammie this is not for you. So the other day Adam is helping her pick up her toys and she looks at Adam and says, Sorry Daddy not for you... She says so many cute things and just just can't help but wonder what all is going through her little mind throughout the day.

It is such a joy being a parent! We love it! There is not a day that goes by that I don't laugh at the new things she is doing and saying! She is so smart and such a good little girl. We just praise God day by day for our little blessing, Samantha Joy

LaHarpe Illinois Team!!!

We were blessed to be visited by 7 people from LaHarpe Illinois. There were 5 people that we had known from our trips to LaHarpe and two people that we didn't know before but are so glad that we had the opportunity to get to know. We have been involved with LaHarpe in a few ways. For the last 3 years we have been the missionaries for LaHarpe VBS. It was really cool because these kids saw us as we were preparing to come and now even got to see that they helped to get us here. This was very exciting but yet at the same time it made us very nervous. This was the first team that has come to visit us and to plan everything for them and have everything ready really made us nervous. When we saw them get off the plane the nervousness was gone and the excitement was here.
While they were here we obviously had to go on a quick safari, where some of the team was able to quickly touch a rhino while it was walking by the car. They came to Community Hope School and helped in many ways and really got to connect with a few of our students. We even took grade 5 out to the YWAM base and played softball and hiked the mountains with the students. We then took a quick trip to the coast where they were able to see the beautiful views of the ocean meeting the sand dunes. That quickly is an overview of the trip and there were a lot of times that we had laughs and serious conversations but we really had a great time and are so glad they were able to come out. Thanks LaHapre.