Giving Donations

After we sorted the donations, each of the children at the Ark were allowed to select a single pair of shoes. It was pandamonium, but everyone got a pair of shoes that they really wanted.

We gave away about three quarters of the donations while we were still in Africa. The rest will be given away by George and Anna Marie who are so generous I wouldn't be surprised if everything was gone within a week of our trip. We took a number of trips to the local community where we would load up the van and drive to a small village.
My favorite trip was to Kwakwas which was about 20km (12mi) on a dirt road then another 10km (6mi) on a single track rugged road. We had originally planned to visit a school, but the school had closed early and the teacher could not call us. We drove to a couple of small shanties where a group of 8-10 kids and a dozen or so adults greeted us with smiles. We opened the back of the van and began to give away cloths, school supplies, soccer balls (each child received a soccer ball) and shoes. I remember one lady really wanted a specific red shoe. I think she is the one in the red hat. This was later in the trip and we had a bunch of single shoes and we could not find a match. We felt really bad, but she really wanted it and was so thankful it broke our hearts. It wasn't until a little later that someone noticed that she had a prosthetic leg and really only needed one shoe. After everyone had their arms full, George told us they wanted to sing us a song. For the second time in the trip I stood in awe at the sound these people could produce. It was an amazing experience and the value of the gifts we had brought did not even come close to the value of that song.

Another way we gave away the donations was to bring a car load of kids from Blok-E to the Ark. We would load them up with cloths, school supplies and toys and drive them home.
I had the honor of driving some of these kids home one day and when we stopped the car to drop someone off all the kids unloaded. One of the Aunties tried to stop them so we could drive them a hundred yards further to to their house, but they just started walking. She told me that they wanted to show off the new clothes to the neighbors.

Donation Sorting

Before we left for Africa, I spent a very frustrating week trying to get all the donations (shoes, clothes, medical supplies, school supplies and soccer balls) shipped on the plane with us. As a result of September 11, the rules in place make it nearly impossible to ship cargo on the same aircraft you are a passenger on. We decided to pay for a few extra bags and leave any donations we couldn't take with us for a cargo container or the next trip. We took everything we had to the packing meeting fully expecting to take more than half of it back home to store. It seemed to go quickly an before you knew it everything was packed. Everything! What made it even more amazing was that Monica and I had not even packed a second (or third) bag. When packing the donations, the idea was to put as many different things in each bag as you could so customs would not think you were selling large quantities of the same item. We spent much of the first day unpacking and sorting donations. This is a picture of the medical supply section above is one of the three or four clothing sections.After a short time it quickly became apparant that there was no possible way that all of these donations could have fit in the bags we brought. The stuff just expanded into a number of large piles at different stations. It was an amazing experience to look around and marvel.
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim donated a lot of jerseys which the kids all loved even though they didn't know anything about the Angels.

Origo - Choose To Wait

Here are two pictures from our first day of teaching Choose To Wait at Origo primary school. This was by far the poorest school in Rehoboth. There were at least three different barbed wire fences in the playground area and one had an extra coil of barbed wire lying loose on the ground next to it. This picture must have been taken as we broke into small groups. There were only four of us, so we made four different groups and sat the groups at the four corners of the assembly room. I remember the accoustics were so bad you could barely hear yourself think, let alone ask and answer tough questions about sex and marriage. The next day we arrived at the same time determined to take the small groups outside for better acoustics. Michelle gathered them at the front of the room to watch a skit and she turned to us and said they wanted to sing us a song. Once they started my jaw dropped. It was the most amazing sound I have ever heard. I would pay to experience it again. I have been to the Vatican on Christmas Eve and the sound these young adults produced was better than anything presented there. By far.
This was just another reminder that this was a place of contrasts. So much good and so much evil and nothing in between. The most amazing beauty in places you least expected it.

ONE MAN’S TRASH IS ANOTHER MANS TREASURE!

Several days we had the privilege of taking the car and filling it with children from BLOK E, the poorest section in town. We would bring them back to the Ark and take them into the donation room and fit them for shoes and clothes. We allowed them to choose a stuffed animal or a soccer ball and have a piece of candy.. It was amazing to see their transformation.

I won't forget the little boy in the gray shorts pictured here. His shorts have the front zipper stuck down and the back of the shorts and just strings. Even though we had given him another pair of shorts, he wanted to keep the torn ones. I found another pair in his size and finally convinced him to trade them with me.

I want to thank many of you who donated shoes or clothes for us. KEEP THEM COMING, especially your new or SLIGHTLY used things. We hope to get a container together for 2006. We need clothes, shoes( black school shoes for kids), a large L-shaped couch, towels, new comforters for the kids, children's books, videos, educational items, 2in X 2in square steel rods, electric hand tools (220 volt), kitchen utensils, etc. Thank you.
--Monica

EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER, AFRICA STYLE

The stores of the hearts of George and Anna Marie could go on forever. George and Anna Marie hired a man named Benny to work on the Reho Evergreen Project. Not only do George want to give Benny a job but he wants to improve his living conditions. You will see from the photos, that George is building Benny a new yellow house. His old house is also pictured here. George has built a number of these houses for people with AIDS in the area. We hope to include this as a part of our next mission. We would love to bring a team of people to build 40 of these houses in two weeks. Do you know people that would be willing to invest in this makeover?

THE AMAZING REHO EVERGREEN

George and Anne Marie are have started an amazing project called Reho Evergreen. The land in Rehoboth is very fertile yet, they mostly import their fruits and vegetables from South Africa because no one has invested in the land. George has been given some last behind the Ark so that he could start this garden. The plan is for people with AIDS to work in the garden to make some money to pay for their medications and care. The garden has many, many challenges including many people who don't like the idea and want George to stop. George is determined to help people by giving them a place to work. The garden has just started buy has beautiful rows of corn, beets, onions, lettuce and potatoes. It is truly beautiful.


One of the key roadblocks is watering the garden. George, with the help of some of his friends in Germany, is digging a well for the property. When we visited, they did some drilling. They thought they may have do go down 50 meters but in the end they had do go down about 130 meters to find water. Of course, that made the price tag on this project sky rocket! George shows great faith and knows that God will provide. We are so excited to partner with George on this project.. We could use teams of people that want to come and help with REHO. EVERGREEN!!
-Monica

George and Anne Marie Show Us Love

One of the best memories I have from our trip to Africa is the generosity of George and Anne Marie. When you arrive at their house, you feel totally welcome. You know that they would give you everything that they have. That just spills out of them the minute you are around them.
Anne Marie made a mirror to put up in the bathroom in the girls room because we had accidentally mentioned not having a mirror the first time we were there. The mirror was beautiful with green and gold around the edges.
The room we stayed in was perfectly cleaned when we arrived. Melissa, one of the older girls at the Ark, told me she and one of the Aunties spent the entire day getting our room ready for us. She mentioned how enjoyable that day was washing the walls, all the linens and cleaning the bathroom and shower. It was very different than a US teenager discussing housework. They really love serving others.Finally, I will NEVER FORGET the night we did communion. George said he wanted a few of us to share our stories of what God has done in our lives. It was a beautiful candlelit evening filled with emotion. At the end of the evening they announced the wanted to wash our feet to show their gratitude. Anne Marie and Suzette washed our feet and prayed for us and then Auntie Rachel would massage our feet, sing and pray all at the same time. They gave us 100% of themselves. They truly know how to treat people and we all felt totally loved.
-Monica

Lailanie's Thoughts - Jet Lag 'Socks'

Hey everyone,

I'm writing this to you at 6:00 on a Sunday morning....what's wrong with this picture? It's jet lag I tell you!...haven't had a full night's sleep since I've been back last Saturday :( Be rest assured...I am amusing myself in the wee hours of the morning...one morning at about 3am I woke up and it was freezing- (a sharp contrast to waking up in Africa in the middle of the night because I was sweating) and realized my socks had come off. So I had to sit up (which wakes me up even more) and put them on. As I was putting the socks on I say "this sucks" and totally laugh at my my own pun in my head...get it? "sucks"..."socks"....what? it's just me??? Anyways, I tell you this as a disclaimer. I've been wanting to write you guys upon arriving from Africa a week ago so here it is...please forgive me as I write in a sleep deprived state :)

We were asked at our debriefing the Friday we left to describe this trip in three words. I chose Heartbreaking, Challenging, Amazing.Heartbreaking to see children orphaned by AIDS or just by irresponsible parents. Heartbreaking to know many more are being orphaned daily. Heartbreaking to hear stories of rape, death, and abandon. I saw a 29yr old man who lost his brothers to AIDS and was literally on his deathbed when we saw him- a physical skeleton with skin, living in a tin shack on a mattress on the dirt floor. Heartbreaking to see so many without....just without....and I wonder "how do they live?" Really gives meaning to "Give us this day, our daily bread."

Challenging to be stretched everyday, not only physically (our days started at about 6/7am to about 10/11pm) but emotionally and spiritually. Challenging to love and serve without pretense and judgement...does that make sense? Challenging to have to give so much of ourselves to so many people in such a short amount of time.

Amazing to see the joy the children have in their hearts- being content and satisfied with so little- (I guess our version of little, right?). Amazing to see the love and generosity George and AnnMarie pour out on all the children at the Ark, to the community, and to us. Amazing to hear the people sing praises to God, when they welcome us to their school or home, we really felt like it was a sneak preview of Heaven. Amazing to be able to bless others with the donations we collected. Amazing to see over a hundred students make the committment to "Choose to Wait." Amazing to see God's beautiful creation- in the people, the wondrous sky (the pictures don't do it justice), the sparkling stars and shooting stars we saw every night, the landscape, the giraffe, monkeys, and even the rhinos:).

As I've been home it's been hard to process all that has happened and all that I have learned. As you all know, we get so busy- esp. at this time of year. I know God brought me on that trip for a reason, or reasons, and I may never see it or understand. I am so blessed to have been chosen to go and to serve alongside such wonderful, extraordinary people. Will I go back? I hope so.

As for now, I pray that the Lord will continue to soften my heart and lead me...whether it be here or a country thousands of miles away. I don't want to get caught up in material things, in the busyness of Orange County life, and forget that there are many things I can do or pray for outside of myself, ouside of my own world.

Thank you for your support, encouragement, and prayers. I can honestly say I felt it the entire time I was there. You have no idea how much it means to me that you gave. Again, I went as an extension of you, so I know the Lord will bless you as well.

Here are 2 verses that I held on to as I was there:

Psalm 115:1
"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness."

Ephesians 3:20-21
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power, that is at work within us. To Him be the glory in the church in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever, Amen!"

With much love and gratitude,
Lailanie

Lynne's Thoughts

Heartbreaking, joy-filled, Spirit-led.

These are the three words I used to describe the trip to Namibia during our team de-briefing session last week. I am struggling to describe the trip. "Great" seems cliche. A life-changing experience to be sure.

I am caught by the contrast of where I have been these past weeks compared to returning America...the "OC".... and at Christmas. I am overwhelmed by the people I met and how content they are with so little, how grateful children and adults were with the smallest of gifts, and how much joy there is in their lives.

Pictures my heart will not forget:

Barefoot, dirty children living in the shanty-town area - Block E....running after our van with their tin-bowls for some soup and bread, which is brought every-other day. I am certain that this is the only meal some get.
The smiles and songs of the 32 children at the ARK... the children's home where we stayed. These kids crave love and attention. If foreign adoption was allowed in Namibia (it isn't), I would have brought a couple children home with me.

The excitedness on the faces of children and adults in receiving a new pair of flip-flops....waiting patiently in line to be fitted. Our team brought over about 1000 pairs of shoes to distribute. Receiving new clothes was beyond belief for many....and when we handed out the bright yellow soccer balls in a village... the roar was deafening!

Picture 32 orphaned children all wearing new ANGEL baseball jerseys (Finley's number) with new Galaxy Soccer team visors on.

I thought I was standing at the threshold of heaven when we prayed for healing for Johaness....a 29 year-old in the last stages of AIDS...our team praying in Afrikaans, Taiwanese, Dutch, German and English. Johaness lives in a 2room shanty 'house' made from aluminum siding with a dirt floor and a mattress. He became a Christian while we visited.

400 7th-12th grade learners (students) meeting each afternoon in a local church to hear about "Choose to Wait"- an abstinence ciriculum. I was awed that we could go onto school campuses and announce our program, pray at assemblies held in our honor, and even teach 'Choose to Wait" in several of the school's classrooms.

I could go on and on...will send photos soon. I again, want to thank you for your support, prayers and encouragement for this trip....truly one of a lifetime!

Peace and grace.
Lynne

Meidos Surgery

This was some e-mail from Lynne today -

The REAL reason I am writing (other than to say hi and I miss you), is to remind everyone to pray for Meidos...as she has her surgery on Tuesday...she is in the hospital NOW. Pray for God to be a fence around her, for the doctors that God's Spirit will guide them as they perform the surgery, that no infection will be allowed near Meidos, and for her speedy recovery and that that her mental state will be fortified. I know that she will have someone with her...but the hospital is a scary place.


For those that don't know, the surgery is to amputate her left foot. Lynne and Monica took a number of trips with George, Anna Marie and Meidos to Winhoek to see doctors. They all wanted to make sure that this was the right decision, so they went for second, third and fourth opinions.


Meidos has the most incredible spirit you can imagine. Her smile is constantly from ear to ear. If there is a spirit in the world that can make the best of this surgery, I'm sure it is hers. I hope that everyone can say a prayer for her.