Friday, May 09, 2008

Our Trip North...

I just realized that I have not updated on our trip north to Ovamboland.

Meagan went to Walvis Bay on the Intercape to visit the Strauss family... the rest of us set out to the north to visit Lazarus and Leila.

It is a long drive north... we stopped to eat at a rest stop, stopped at Ndemufayo's farm to deliver some goodies to her sisters and mother, and stopped at the Ark Oshikuku to say hello!

We arrived at Lazarus' farm late afternoon and were met with some disbelief that we had actually come... :0)! Lazarus has built a house on his family's land, next to his sisters who he does his best to care for from far away in Okahandja. They grow millet (omahangu) and sorghum (iilyaalyaka), the store it in big baskets and when they need it they pound it into flour for porridge. In the summer they collect mopani worms, which they dry. He has some goats on his farm, however some of them died during the rainy season as there was a lot of flooding in the north... they got too wet and died. Lazarus has a passion for his community in the north, he would like to see some community development take place. Many of the people are uneducated, and there are many suffering with HIV/AIDS in the villages who do not have access to the med's and are often ostracized by the community and left to die. There are also orphans and vulnerable children (OVC's) in the community who need to be supported within the extended family. There is lots to be done in Ovamboland.

During our time there the boys wandered free in the fields... catching fish, turtles and frogs and chasing snakes. Tavis said that this was the best holiday he has ever had! They were made for village life :0) I enjoyed spending the days with Leila and the children, and looking around the area. Leila and I had plenty of time to chat and REALLY get to know each other... I feel our relationship has reached a whole new level. Pete enjoyed wandering around the property and visiting with Lazarus and finding out more about his life. We went into town to visit Danny and Frieda (they used to work in Okahandja and Keetmanshoop with CHI).

On the Saturday we took a drive to Ruacana. It was a fantastic day... we saw the falls, the Angolan border crossing, the Angolan countryside :0( felt lonely for Angola... went to a park and the kids ran wild, swam near the croc's, played with the Himba boys, rode their donkey, caught fish, and just had a lot of fun! The ladies sat with the little ones and did beading, and the guys took a long hike up the river almost to the falls! In the evening we had a goat braai... we talked and laughed until we cried. It was awesome!

On Monday morning we drove back to Okahandja, stopping in Oshikuku, and at Ndemufayo's place again. We stopped in Otjiwarango and bought PIZZA... the world's best.

Of course this is just a basic summary of our trip... there are so many details that I would love to share, maybe when we are together for coffee we can talk about how God has worked in and through us! It's always better face to face!

Charlene

2 comments:

Schmanda said...

sounds great! so when are you coming to Russia for our face to face chat of the details? =)

Knightly Krafts said...

Um... let's see... how bout we think about in a year or two, or three or four! Maybe we should just wait til the two of us are back in Namibia!! We will have to chat on gmail until then I guess!