Namibian Christmas

In my culture there are 3 big F's for holidays around this time of year, food, family and football. Sometimes when you're living overseas, you have to forego your own traditions and accept those of your new culture. Other times you can keep a taste of home, but may have to fudge a little bit on the details.

One of my best purchases when I first arrived was buying a Christmas tree at a sweet deal from a missionary family who was just leaving. My family always prided itself on finding a fresh tree each year that could touch the ceiling. Mine's not quite that height, but it certainly helps bring the sense of Christmas. Obviously a fake tree doesn't bring the "scent" of Christmas, so I tried to help with one of those Pine scented air fresheners that you put in your car. Good idea, bad execution - doesn't even smell like pine at all! And of course setting up the Christmas tree always goes best with hot chocolate and rusks!

Another Christmas tradition is our Christmas Eve service at my church. We always turn off all the lights and sing Silent Night while everyone passes the flame along their little white candles. This Christmas I headed out to a nearby lodge that hosts a Christmas Eve service for surrounding farmers. The service was in the afternoon out under the shade of the palm trees. It was led in 3 different languages, German, Afrikaans, and English...and interestingly enough, our closing song was also Silent Night.

I somehow ended up as the braai master.

On Christmas Day I enjoyed a nice big breakfast with my fellow SIM missionaries who live next door. Most people leave town for the holidays, so those of us who are left have to stick together. After breakfast I watched the Patriots game that happened in the middle of the night. Then in the afternoon we hosted a braai (a.k.a. "cookout") for anyone who had no place to go for Christmas. We had people from four different continents, so it was nice to meet some new people and exchange stories of Christmas traditions from around the globe.

 So, as I said, sometimes you have to fudge a bit on the details, but I still managed to fit in lots of my Christmas traditions!

Summer Camp 2017

The months of December and January mark our summer break here in Namibia. So the first week of December, right after schools let out, Youth For Christ (YFC) runs their annual youth summer camp. This year we had about 480 youth and leaders from every corner of Namibia, from Oshakati to Oranjemund!

This is the third year I've been involved. I was busy hosting the Bible Quiz (almost like a Bible trivia game show), playing guitar for the worship team, and making daily videos to play before our evening sessions. This year was also special for me because we had 3 former NETS students as speakers at the camp, and another one came as a leader with her youth group. Check out the video above to get a little taste of the experience!

How to host American Thanksgiving

Sometimes, when living in another culture, you have to give up certain cultural traditions and festivities from your home culture. But fortunately, others you can bring with you. And often many of your new friends will even be interested in sharing in those experiences from your home culture. Such was the case with American Thanksgiving.

Many of my friends here have seen Thanksgiving on TV or in movies, but have never actually tasted a turkey or experienced it for themselves. So I decided to host American Thanksgiving and let them all be part of my traditional holiday experience. So here are my steps on how to host American Thanksgiving while living abroad:

Step 1: Make up a menu list including but not limited to turkey, homemade stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, mac & cheese, cornbread, corn-on-the-cob, pumpkin pie, apple pie, ice cream, etc.

Step 2: Hand out good American recipes to all your friends who are brave enough to try. Assign others to bring store bought items like drinks, sweet corn, ice cream, or plastic utensils.

Step 3: Warn your friends that this is not a Namibian braai so there will be more vegetables than meat.

Step 4: Purchase two small, over-priced turkeys and allow them to thaw a few days in advance.

Step 5: If you like cold apple cider, make it from scratch a day before and put it in the fridge. If you like it hot, 3 hours before will do the trick. Ensure you make a little extra because it won't all make it to the event because someone needs to taste test and it's delicious.

Step 6: Mix up your homemade stuffing.

Step 7: Stuff the pre-brined birds just before you stick them in the oven.

Step 8: Welcome guests to the lovely aromas coming from your kitchen and the familiar sound of football on the TV.

Step 9: Remove the lovely smelling birds from the oven when the little button thing pops out.

Step 10: Announce that now is the time to take selfies with the birds.

Step 11: Carve the birds.

Step 12: Organize the spread and take recipe-book worthy photos.

Step 13: Load up the plates (ladies first, of course!)

Step 14: Find a spot in the shade and enjoy!

Step 15: Play games to allow time for the food to settle.

Step 16: Pull out the tasty treats!

Step 17: While enjoying dessert, everyone shares something they are thankful for.

Step 18: After everyone heads home, lay down and drift off into a tryptophan-induced coma.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Early Rains

Namibia is often called the 'Land of Contrasts' and for good reason. You can drive east from the lush, cool ocean town of Swakopmund and within 15 minutes you're surrounded by the most arid, dry, hot desert you've ever seen.

Similarly in our dry season it seems to be about 0% humidity and you don't see a cloud in the sky for months. But then sometime around October the clouds start to reappear. Some late-afternoon it will get dark and cool, and then the sky opens the floodgates. Yesterday afternoon's showers were even accompanied by lightening and hail! In many places of the world rain storms signify troubles and force us to cancel plans and stay inside. But here we pray for rain and see it as God's blessing on the land and go outside to enjoy the wet drops on our faces.

Soon these early rains will stop and for the next two months it will get hot hot! Then from January to March we'll get our real rainy season. And such are the cycles of life in the desert.

This is about as close as I'll get here in Namibia to making a "snowball."

Photo of the Day

Caught this African Paradise Flycatcher in our garden this morning. A new lifer for me!

The Gospel According To David

Psalm 51 is one of the most famous and beloved chapters in the Bible, and for good reason! It allows us a glimpse behind the scenes of how the "man after God's own heart" responds to his sin. David is honest about his sin and pleads that God not treat his sins as they deserve. This past Sunday I preached on this text at my church hoping to stir us to a deeper love and appreciation for God's great grace and mercy through the gospel. You can find the download link here if you'd like to hear it.

The Holiness of God and the Sinfulness of Man

The story in 2 Samuel 6:1-11 of Uzzah being killed when he touched the Ark of the Covenant is one of the most confusing and misunderstood stories in the Old Testament. It seems to lend credence to the theory that God is just rash and impulsive. Yet when understood properly it gives us a rich appreciation for God's love. I had a chance to preach on this text at my church this past Sunday. You can find the download link here if you'd like to hear it.