Week One

My first week in country has been a lot of introductions: introductions to new people, new places, new responsibilities. I made my first visits to NETS (Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary) for an orientation, weekly chapel, and to sit in on a lecture about Contextual Theology. I've been able to meet many of my fellow lecturers and some of the students. During the morning breaks I've had a number of students come up to me and say, "So you're the new youth guy. I work with the youth at my church. I'd love to make an appointment to chat with you." Others on staff have reinforced how glad they are that I'm here because training for youth workers is so lacking. It's making me more excited to finish all my transition/settling kind of stuff so I can dive right in to the real reason I'm here!

As for transitioning and settling, much of my time this week has been spent waiting in lines. Having purchased a vehicle before I arrived, now I must go through the process of getting it inspected, registered, and insured, which involves quite a bit of paperwork and visits to many different offices. But by this point, waiting has become something very familiar to me.

NETS is currently nearing the end of their first semester. Then they'll have a few weeks off before starting back up again. I'm scheduled to teach the "Youth and Children's Ministry" course during the second semester which begins in mid-July. Hopefully by that time I'll be mostly settled and acclimated and ready to jump in.

Photos of the Day

Since today's a national holiday and everything's closed, I joined some new friends for a

9km hike at Daan Viljoen (a nearby wildlife reserve) and saw a few animals along the way.

I couldn't decide which I like better so today you get two photos of the day!

Arrival

The remainder of my travel was fairly uneventful. I slept through most of my long flights. On Thursday afternoon, I arrived at the airport in Windhoek with all my luggage and was greeted by my new coworkers, Dagmar (director of SIM Namibia) and Simon (Principal at Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary). They dropped me at my new home and made sure I was warmly welcomed, then let me recover my rest from my long days of travel.

Back when I lived in Namibia for a year I had arrived in December, just the time when everyone was leaving for their Christmas holiday. This time around I arrived just in time for a long holiday weekend. Thursday was Labor Day in Namibia and Monday is another holiday, so most people just took a 5-day weekend and left town. In one sense it's good because it allows me to settle in before I have to meet a bunch of people, but in another sense it stinks because nobody's around!

My accommodation is a 3-bedroom flat which I will be sharing with a short-term volunteer from Switzerland (I haven't met him yet because he's away on holiday). It's a comfortable place with familiar amenities and a lovely balcony with a view of the hills around Windhoek. I've done a little shopping, begun unpacking my suitcases, and started making it feel like home. Right now it all seems very new, but I know in only a short time it'll seem so normal that I won't even notice.

The view from our balcony (click on photo for larger preview)

Early Adventures

After waiting 7 weeks for my visa, I was about to head to the airport when I found out I would have to wait a little longer. My flight from Manchester to Chicago had been delayed by an hour and a half, but I could still make my connection to Frankfurt.

At the airport a little later, my friend Jackie helped me awkwardly lug my 250lbs of luggage to the check in desk. "What's your destination?"

"I'm going to Windhoek, Namibia, through Chicago."

"Not tonight, you're not," replied the attendant.

My heart about dropped. The flight had been delayed even longer and now I wasn't going to make the connection. I was at a loss. Did this mean I would have to wait even longer to get to Namibia?

But God continued to provide. Due to my father's frequent flier status (he's the one who booked the flight), they put me in a taxi to Boston to catch a direct flight to Frankfurt later that night! No connection, no flying west to go east, and less time on airplanes!

My taxi driver was a friendly Egyptian man. Only about half of what he said was intelligible because of his thick accent. He immigrated here over 20 years ago and now has 5 grandkids who all have very American accents. We talked about how languages carry culture, how soccer is the universal language around the world that brings people together, and how 'Middle East' is a political term and Egypt is really part of Africa. As we parted ways I greeted him with the one Arabic phrase I know and then I was left alone on the sidewalk trying to figure out if I could drag all three of my own bags inside without paying $4 for a rolling cart (I quickly determined I could not).

All my luggage checked through to Windhoek and the rest of that night went according to plan. I got about 6 hours of inconsistent sleep on the plane, but enough to help me feel rested. In Frankfurt I found my way to the Business Lounge (thanks again to my dad's status) where I got a shower and some food and feel like a new man! My next flight doesn't board for another 4 hours so I'll enjoy the buffet line and free wifi for a little longer before heading off to Joburg tonight.

Chapter 2

My friend Sarah is a missionary doctor in Zambia. She once told me that in missionary biographies all the preparation and training stuff only makes up the first chapter. It's not until they head off to the field that you turn the page to chapter two. Today I start chapter two. When I finish writing this post I'll head off to the airport with my three suitcases to start a new chapter of my story in Namibia. I'll spend the next two days hopping planes and airports and finally land in Windhoek on Thursday afternoon.

When I take short-term teams I like to give them a few recommendations to add to their playlist as the soundtrack for our trip. I also have a few books and sermons to accompany me along my 40+ hour journey I thought I'd share with you. So these are currently the top hits on my travel playlist:

One Life by Boyce Avenue
Simple Life by Casey Abrams
Oceans (Where Feet May Fall) by Hillsong United
Oh How I Need You by All Sons & Daughters
Love Laid Down by Green River Ordinance
London by Tim Stop
Christ Is All by Matt Chandler, from T4G 2014
Never Spoke A Man Like This Before by Kevin DeYoung, from T4G 2014
The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis

You have any other recommendations for me?

Looking Ahead

I got to preach one last time at Christ's Church on Sunday. We looked at Christ's second coming and how our theology of the end times affects our lives today. You can listen to it below or click here to download an mp3. [Sorry for the poor sound quality until 9:22, but it does clear up after that.]

Ready or not, Here I Come!

Time to repack my bags, return the borrowed car, and say my final goodbyes. That's right, I'm headed to Namibia! Seven weeks to the day since I found out my temporary visa was denied, I finally got approved for a 2-year work permit. So next Tuesday I'll catch a flight and spend the next two days hopping airports on my way to Windhoek.

I've gotten so used to being in waiting-mode, that it's interesting trying to reorient myself back into leaving-mode. Despite the delays, this has actually been a really good time to invest in relationships here, continue researching and learning in preparation for ministry in Namibia, and allow my faith to go through some necessary growing pains. Through this process I've come to learn that just as God is glorified by providing in answer to our prayers, so also is He glorified in our faith and trust in Him while expectantly waiting for that provision to come.