Africa - The Church

The purpose of the trips that our association has been making to Outapi, Namibia for the last 3+ years has been to establish an evangelical church there to share with the people about Jesus.  That mission is basically complete.  Here are some pictures to help explain some of the details...

This is Lenekela and me.  He is the local PK (Preacher's Kid).  He is Erastus' son, and is 7 years old.  He called all of the ladies in our group "Auntie" - it was awesome!  He was full of energy and fun and made me miss my boys terribly.

He and David are standing in front of the church.  There is a fence that goes around the church and their house.  The church is made of tin, it's on a concrete slab, and the 2 light bulbs are run by a generator.  

This is Sherry, holding Erastus' other son, Erastus, Jr.  They are standing in front of the family's home.  It has 3 rooms.  During the week, Erastus' wife and a friend teach two preschool classes.  One reached in the home and the other teaches in the church.

This is Erastus and Beverly.  He is one of the church's pastors.

This is our new sweet friend Laurie and her little sleeping beauty. This is inside the church.  They sit in black plastic stacking chairs for the church services.

This is another view of the inside of the church.

During the week we were there, the ladies met in the church, and the first night, the men met in the home while the kids learned outside.  It was in the 70s, their winter, and you may notice the toboggans, coats, and gloves they were all wearing.  We would sweat just looking at them!

Several of the children impressed us with their knowledge of Bible stories and even where in the Bible they are found.  The kids are SO smart and so eager to learn and help.

Some had really happy, bubbly personalities, some were very somber.

I would have brought this sweet baby home with me if we could have.

These ladies and gentlemen can SING.  They have beautiful voices and their songs are amazing.  Even the songs that are familiar to us sound so special in their accent and to a slightly different rhythm.  

On the left is the other pastor, Noah, and on the right Erastus.  Erastus plays the guitar, there is a lady who helps lead the singing, and whoever feels like it grabs the 2 tambourines and gets after it. It is such a blessing to hear them sing in their language, and know that while we have no idea what they're saying, we are in agreement and worshiping the same mighty God.

This is the inside of Erastus' home.  The children moved into it to meet after the first night so they wouldn't be so cold - it was sweltering! Danielle and Hayley L. were helping Laurie with the kids the first 2 nights.

We met several really precious ladies, who loved to have their pictures made as much as the children.

As soon as we clicked the picture, they would run to the camera to see how they looked!

Lenekela performed a rousing song on his new kazoo one night!

 This is my sweet new friend (and sister in Christ!! Woohoo!!) Tuli.  I'm not sure what makes you connect with some people more than others, but she and I hit it off.  That's Grace on her back, an 11 month old precious baby.  Tuli is married and has 3 kids.  We have been emailing some since the trip, and I feel this HUGE excitement when I see her name in my inbox.

This darling girl belongs to the lady who helps Erastus' wife teach preschool.  Her name is Joanna, and David would have brought her home in his backpack if she'd have fit!  She was 3 and reminded us of our sweet 3 year old.  

This little doll is Selma - she had great eyes, a sweet smile, and a really fun personality!

Miss Laurie worked with the kids every night - I had the privilege of helping her our last 2 nights.  She is an incredibly gifted and patient teacher, and the kids adored her.

Playing telephone

This is Tuli's baby Grace again.  We brought pillowcase dresses and headbands for 5 lucky little girls, and Grace got the smallest one!

Mr. Sid and one of the men at the church

Beverly finally got this little one to sleep.

Balloon volleyball was a big *loud* hit!

 Somehow this little girl slept through the volleyball game.  She's laying halfway on one of the beds - it's a really thin mattress that sits directly on the floor, and all of the kids walked all over it.

The kids had never seen glow sticks before - they LOVED them!

I like that you can't see anything in this picture except the swinging around glow sticks and a bright white smile!

The church has filed paperwork and been approved by the government to be an official church - Jesus is the Way Baptist Church.  There are two very kind pastors who are working well together to take care of the needs of the church.  The people they serve are growing in number and faith.  They love Jesus.  It was such an amazing experience to witness and I'm so thankful for the people we were able to know and love.