And then there was one ...

As many of know, I travelled to Windhoek (the capitol) over a week ago to say goodbye to my dear friends Daryl and Sabrina. They have faithfully served in Namibia for one year and are headed back home to Canada. The goodbye was tearful and hard. I had the blessing of spending the following week travelling with friends and hanging out with the AIM Windhoek team. The week was very refreshing and encouraging!!! I was a little hesitant to travel back to Rundu, knowing that things would be very different. But nonetheless, I took the eight hour bus trip last night. However, before the journey began something very interesting occurred. A nicely dressed Namibian man stepped on the bus and called for everyone’s attention. He introduced himself as Pastor Danny and explained that he had a message to share with the passengers of the bus. He began to read some passages from the New Testament and communicated how we can each have a personal relationship with Christ. He shared that each of us are separated from God due to our own sin, but that through Jesus we can be reconciled with God. He explained that by trusting in Jesus and following Him, we can have a relationship with God He encouraged all of us to think about where we stand with the Lord. This in abridged version- his presentation was both eloquent and sincere. I couldn’t believe that this man had just sauntered on the bus and was speaking such bold truth! Then (to my surprise) he asked if anyone felt led to make a commitment to follow Christ. “Easy there buddy”, I thought. I was relieved that everyone was even politely listening, but what were the chances that someone would be brave enough to make a decision in front of this group of 30 passengers? Well, good thing I wasn’t in charge! Wouldn’t you know that one man raised his hand and Pastor Danny prayed for him! It goes to show that God works in a variety of ways and uses our faithfulness to reveal Himself to those around us. After Pastor Danny prayed for the man, he prayed for our safety and blessing upon our trip. It was an unexpected encouragement. I arrived around mid-night and was welcomed home by my sweet friends – Monica and Hansie. They are a couple from South Africa and they each have a tremendous heart for people and the Lord. Monica is a general practitioner and Hansie is a dentist. I was touched that they were willing to pick me up so late.

I woke up this morning wondering what the day would be like. For those of you who do not know, I am now the only member of the AIM team here in Rundu, but fear not – there are many people within the community who will be working along aside of me. I will tell you more about them in upcoming posts. I decided to jump right in and keep myself busy. I set up several times to meet with people for discipleship and fellowship over the next week. I tried to reconnect with many friends whom I haven’t seen in couple of weeks. I needed to go into town to grab some groceries (the fridge was pretty empty) and stop by the Post Office. I called my and Tricia’s friend, Seketa. He is a local taxi driver and extremely reliable. His greeting was beyond encouraging! “It was been too long with no seeing. It is very good you are here”. I knew he genuinely meant it because I had missed him too. It was like being reunited with an old friend. I also received kind text messages throughout day of friends welcoming me back. I arrived at the Post Office hoping that there might be a card waiting for me. Much to my surprise, there were two cards and FOUR PACKAGES!!!! Four packages!!!! What in the world?!?! I couldn’t believe it! How sweet of the Lord to have those packages arrive on my first day back. How sweet of my dear friends to send such kind things.

All this to say – I do think that this transition will be challenging, but I felt extremely loved and cared for today! Thank you for all of your love and encouragement!!! Please continue to pray that I would remain focused on the task that God has for me and that I would not waste any of the time I have left. Also pray that God would continue to soften the hearts of the people of Kaisosi and reveal Himself to those who do not yet know Him.