The Journey Lens - take two

Good day All!

Last weekend  I had the privilege of travelling to Omauewozonjanda to take part in an outreach opportunity. While there, Cindy, Linda, Candace (other AIM missionaries) and I stayed at Harnas, a most amazing place. We had an incredible time being surrounded by the Lord's creativity and creation. It was a weekend of many firsts for me, including my first sightings of some fantastic animals. Here are the pictures of a few. More stories on the weekend, the outreach, and other updates to follow. 

We received a very warm welcome.
(We actually did)

A not so wild, wild dog.

Yes, we were chased by an ostridge.

Cheetahs can run up to 100 km/hr

I can't quite run that fast so we decided to walk.

"Ohh... you may not want to get too close, the fence is not very safe."
- Thanks man, I appreciate knowing that... after the fact.

Baby croc. 

Tortoise... very old tortoise

One of the best quotes of the weekend -

"Monkey, get out of the fridge!"

More coming soon to computers near you.

~Heather

The Journey Lens - take one

Dear family and friends,

It is my great pleasure to finally share a few photos of this journey with you. I hope that they truly will be worth a thousand words, and aid you in seeing how precious these children are, and how amazing this place is. As I have mentioned many times before, it is such a privileged to be here and the Lord continues to grow my heart daily for this country, its culture, its people, and particularly its children.

Say Hi to Canada!!

Family of Hope Services

FHS is one building with two small offices, a tiny kitchen, and a main room which gets divided into five make shift classrooms. It is very loud and difficult for the children to concentrate. Each 'classroom' has a small chalk board, and each morning the students set up the chairs, desks, tables and classroom dividers, all of which are cracked, broken, filthy, and falling apart. All of the windows in the building are smashed, and birds are constantly flying through. The children are very used to them so they are no longer a distraction (I will say though, that one birdy gave me quite a scare when it flew inches away from my head while I was teaching). Teachers take turns moving their classrooms outside in order to keep the noise level a bit more manageable.
Needless to say, conditions are very different from those in Canada. 

The students love to crowd for pictures.

Some of the boys outside during break.

Despite the less-than-favourable conditions, FHS is an amazing place. The teachers have big hearts and truly care about their students. It is a work which is constantly lifted before God in prayer. But during moments when I think about the education system in Canada and the privilege Canadians, including myself, have in this respect, my heart can't help but hurt. It is the simple things that I get taken back by. For instance, having no electricity and no light being students' excuse for not having homework done ( not that I accepted this excuse of course, but just hearing it made me think ). Or hearing a girl give thanks to God for His protection in allowing her to walk to and from school safely all week (many of the areas the children have to walk on a daily basis are very dangerous. With poverty comes a number of different issues – theft, prostitution, alcohol abuse, drug dealing, etc). Or this morning for instance, my students were struggling to concentrate because it was simply so cold. (I actually wore leg warmers today... yes I'm probably one of the only people who would think to bring leg-warmers to Africa, but I tell you, I was so very thankful for them today).You could see your breath outside this morning, and being that all the windows in the school are smashed, and the building is concrete, inside is just as cold as outside. Hunger is also a problem and cause for lack of concentration. It is these little things on the surface which speak volumes of underlying issues the children are faced with everyday.

Teacher Judith and Teacher Candace
with some of their enrichment students.

Playing clapping games with the kids during the morning break.

My 'ohh so cool' junior high boys...
 they are a handful but we have a lot of fun.

My hair is very soft, very funny, and a never-ending source of
children's entertainment and amazement...

... not always to my delight... ouch!

Smiles and poses for the camera.

All smiles here. 

Meet Joanne.
I met Joanne one day after school.
She was playing with this Coke bottle, filling it with sand
 and then emptying it again, behind the bike repair shop
 beside the school.
 Joanne was very shy, maybe even afraid,
 but after spending a bit of time talking with her,
 I was given the gift of seeing her beautiful smile!
 She also loved seeing her picture on the camera. 

Watching the sun set on another beautiful day in Africa
"...And the clouds are the dust beneath His feet"
Nahum 1:3

More photos to come soon! Thank you for all your emails, words of encouragement, and for your faithful prayers. The Lord does answer prayer, and for this I'm truly grateful. 

Enjoy the day!

~Heather

The One I Worship

Hello Hello!

Now I know this is not the pictures I promised, they will come soon, but I wanted to share with you a song that was introduced to me by Linda, one of the missionaries who is here. Just click on the link below to watch the clip. If that does not work, simply copy and paste the link into your browser, or look up "My Jesus" by Todd Agnew on Youtube. This song has been very meaningful to me. I pray that it will touch your heart, and cause you to reflect on the powerful, awesome, and compassionate God who loves you so much.

Enjoy,  
~Heather

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5Svz6YFtkI&feature=related

You Cannot Climb a Smooth Mountain

I have been in Namibia just two weeks now, but in many ways I feel as though it has been much longer. Time really isn't an issue here in Africa, and perhaps that's why it seems there is more of it. It truly is a wonderful thing. I will say though, that I believe my adjusting and adapting to life in this very different culture is thanks to God preparing me and the answer to many prayers. Both Candace and I feel quite at home here, and working with the children of Family of Hope Services (FHS) is a great privilege. I am taken back every single day by the realization that in fact, I am living a dream. I am in awe of the Lord's faithfulness, He is a God of grace, He is unfathomably good.

The experience however, is certainly not without its challenges. As I sit in the heat of the beautiful African sun, I am reminded of a quote my brother shared with me at the airport before I left Canada. The quote is the following: “You cannot climb a smooth mountain”. Though I am in the midst of an incredible opportunity, I have faced obstacles and know that they will continue to arise throughout my time here. I also know that perseverance through the difficulties will lead to a mountain of hope as is promised in God's word: “...we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:3-5).

As I reflect upon my time at FHS so far, I cannot help but think of the mountains these precious children are climbing everyday. The centre assists 450 orphans and vulnerable children, all of whom are affected by or infected with HIV/AIDS. This very morning I had a wonderful conversation with an amazing girl named Aldophine. Aldophine is fourteen years old and is in grade five of the remedial program. (The goal of the remedial program is to give these non-school going children some education and a chance to get into a formal school). She has lost her mother, a brother and a sister, and is currently living with her older sister in order to help her out with her children. She dreams of one day becoming a doctor, a lawyer, or a pilot, but until then, she has decided to stay in school and study hard. “It is not always easy,” she told me, as she finds math, agriculture and social studies very tough, “but I can do my best, praise and worship God, and follow Him everyday.” I shared with her about how much God loves her, and I held back tears as she responded “I love Him very much also”. Aldophine has lost some of the most precious people in her life. She has experienced the great pain of seeing loved ones suffer and die. She is four years behind in school and is struggling greatly. Yet despite all this, she wears the most beautiful smile, and does not blame God for her hardships. Rather, she turns to Him for her source of strength. I think we all can learn a lesson from this wise young girl.

In class this morning we were talking about some of the physical features found on the continent of Africa. Mountains happen to be one of them, so I shared the above quote “You cannot climb a smooth mountain” with Aldophine and other students in the class. We talked about how there are many challenges in life, many trials to overcome, but with perseverance, it is possible to make it to the top. This week I had the students memorize Philippians 4:13 which says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. We talked about how the Lord is always there to help us as we face these obstacles along the mountain's hike. I was so touched to see students remain during the break to copy that piece of scripture onto their scribblers, and one girl even wrote it on her schoolbag. The Lord shines His light into dark places, He is a source of strength, peace, hope and joy.

Again, thank you all so very much for your encouragement, prayers, and emails. I cannot explain how meaningful it is to hear from you folks back home.

With much love and many hugs,

~Heather

Cultural Tidbits:

- How are you? = Ongini (in Oshivambo)

- Come = ila (in Oshivambo)

- Wash = ll āsen (in Damara)

- Bleed = l aoba (in Damara)

- Damara is a clicking language

- Clicking is very very hard

- Pick-up truck = Bakkie

This is a photo of two of the precious children who run around FHS. Shiwa, the little girl on the left is deaf. She captures my heart every day as she clings on to my leg until I pick her up. Kaita is the little boy. He is a bundle of energy, very cute... and he knows it.

More pictures to come very soon!

“Well Heather, welcome to Africa”

Six years of waiting, eight months of planning and preparing, two days of travelling and twenty-three hours of flying, and with great thanksgiving I can finally say this leg of the journey has begun. As I watched the sun rise over South Africa, I was in great awe of the Lord's faithfulness. I have a feeling the words, “Well Heather, welcome to Africa,” will radiate in me for years to come. It is a great privilege to be here, yet I feel so unworthy. Who am I that I am so blessed to serve the Lord in Africa? I'm reminded of 1 John 4:4 “... greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world,” meaning that God's Spirit within me is greater than I, and it is through Him and for Him that this journey is possible. As I have told many of you before, I firmly believe the Lord has great works to accomplish here, and I look so forward to sharing stories with you throughout my time here.

When we arrived at the airport in Windhoek (Namibia's capitol city), Rob, Alisa, and their daughter Erin, picked us up and brought Candace and I to our homestead for the next three months. (Rob and Alisa are missionaries with AIM, serving in the community of Rundu here in Namibia. Candace is another Canadian girl who is here on the same assignment as me). It was very welcoming to see warm, smiling faces after such a long and exhausting trip. Over the next few days we had a series of orientation sessions, meeting some of the other missionaries along with some Namibians and other Africans living in the region. I have learned so much in the week that I have been here, and have no doubts that I will continue learning about this fascinating culture and its people every day.

As with any journey, there are always bumps along the road and I seem to have encountered one early on. I have been quite sick for the past two days and am struggling still to find some much needed energy. I'm very thankful to have fallen ill before the start of classes, but please pray that God will restore my strength before the arrival of students.

A big thank you to everyone for your prayers. Prayer is a powerful gift the Lord has given us. A big thank you to everyone for your emails. It is so encouraging to hear words from back home. Both prayer and emails are huge gifts to me, they are truly appreciated more than can be expressed. I have had numerous troubles with email accounts over here, so to contact me please use my hotmail address: heatherkeefe@hotmail.com

I will be sure to update you all more on life on the field once I am back to health.

Wishing you all a wonderful day!

~Heather

Some cultural tidbits:

-traffic lights = robots

-trunk = boot

-peace = ombili

-coffee is not coffee without 4-5 spoons of sugar

-One interesting fact which I became aware of is the notion of “Africa Time”... perhaps “Heather Time” has simply been God's way of preparing me for “Africa Time”. (For those of you who don't know, I am sometimes known for being late...)