Delayed Post!

Hey Everyone! Everything is going well with me. Sorry for the delay in posts. Things have been a bit busy but I’m very blessed. God has provided so faithfully. He has also given more of a vision for the future slowly but surely. I’m so thankful that I’ve had this experience. I know more of my dream, I think. I’ve known for as long as I can remember that I have loved Africa and African kids specifically. Since I was a little girl, I’ve dreamt of little black faces full of joy. God broke my heart for Africa long ago.

But my question in the last couple of years has been, “What does that mean, practically?”. I mean, there are plenty of ways to help in Africa… whether it is with food, shelter, education or discipleship. There are big needs across the continent. In Namibia, education and discipleship are the main needs at this point. They have a small population of mostly young people who are right at the age of potentially creating another generation. The kids I am working with are the ones that have just been created. Now they are growing into young children who will develop into young adults and then turn into the next generation of adults. We serve them by feeding them, teaching them basic skills (preschool level, of course) and giving them affection in as consistent a way as possible.

God has helped to define more of the specific heart I have. I really love discipleship. Bible and Jesus centered true discipleship of young people around high school age.
That’s just a random fact that I thought I would share. Because if you are reading this, it means that you likely care about me and in some way have been a part of my life. Maybe you even sponsored me financially to get to Namibia! I want all of you to know, that your efforts have not been in vain. God is at work in my life more than I can explain. He knows what He is doing and has the perfect timing to do what He wants. Whether we like it or not… His timing is His timing.

Be encouraged! Dad’s doing things and He’s happy! Love you guys.

Measles Shmeasles

Hi everyone! Hope all is well at home… Just wanted to post a quick update. I am now sick with the measles! Interesting right? The staff wasn’t surprised because the kids give them all sorts of small sicknesses. I don’t have much of a fever or anything, just a sore throat and runny nose and absolutely hideous spots covering the majority of my body. Hahah it’s not cute. But whatever! My steps are ordered by the Lord. And during the time I need to stay home I am able to catch up with emailing people and really spend time relaxing with God. I should be fine by next week… but I really want to ask for prayer. Since I’ve been in Namibia I just haven’t felt very good. Always a little sick. And I believe it is a spiritual attack and I don’t accept it. Keep praying family! I need you guys.

p.s. I will try to post pictures soon!(not of my nasty measle face, of the beautiful kids) But it is very difficult with the connection. I’ll do my best :)

Love!

2 Peter 1:2-3

“O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” 2 Chronicles 20:12

“… ‘Listen all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.’” 2 Chronicles 20:15

Hello everyone! Not much is new but I wanted to just share a quick encouraging word with you… A few weeks back God showed me these scripture while I was reading the Bible. I just love this moment for the Israelites… because I know it well. There are times when you are just broken and saying “Oh God… this is too much. And I just don’t know what to do…” But the key comes next! “… But I’m choosing to focus on You.”
I feel like in the last season I was in (right before I came to Namibia) I was coming to this point often. I would be driving home from work and so extremely discouraged. I would be crying so much that it was hard to see clearly enough to drive. I remember just crying out, “Oh God I need You… I can’t make this happen on my own. You are all I have. You are my only hope…. But I AM TRUSTING YOU.” It wasn’t always about Namibia. But mostly when I come to that place it is about something that I feel is within God’s plan. Or it’s something I am doing for Him or with the intention of heart to serve and bless Him. So when I get there I just think “You have got to make this happen on Your own, because I am just not made to do this.” And He always answers, “You’re right. That’s the way I intended it.”
You see, God doesn’t want us to be enough on our own. That isn’t because He wants us to be weak and sickly… Actually the opposite. He originally created us so that we could walk with Him and talk with Him face to face. How does living make sense if we are working ourselves sick to do everything without our Maker involved? He designed us with the intention to be doing things with the constant support of the Holy & Supernatural- WE ARE INSUFFICIENT ON OUR OWN. And Praise God! Man, I am loving to learn that truth. It’s so much fun to be dependent upon Him. I mean, I get to work hard still. I get to give what I have. But then the results are SO much better than when I do them on my own. And I feel better doing all of it. God is good all the time.
Be encouraged! You were MADE to give what you’ve got and have God fill in the rest. We are blessed kids.

He is Always Faithful

Hello everyone! I am doing very well. This week and last week is a vacation from school. In reality, this week is the only break though. Last week we had two day camps and a “Ball” at the Center. The day camps were for the kids invited (based on attendance) from the two younger Youth Clubs. The “Ball” was for the Youth invited (also based on attendance) from the older Youth Club.

Day Camp:
Each camp was a day and a half long (Starting Wednesday and ending Saturday). The theme of the camp was “choices”. I had my own group of 8 kids in both camps. This was one of my favorite parts of the whole experience… I was able to get to know these kids a bit better and just have fun with them! We mostly played games and got to spend some time with the kids. The majority of the games were referring to making choices- not necessarily good choices or bad choices, just making the point that choices determine where you will be.

The “Ball”:
This was so much fun! We wanted to give the youth a chance to get dressed up and have a little training in dating etiquette. All of the staff was assigned partners and so were the kids. We (the Staff) learned how to do a dance so that we could start the evening off by showing it to the youth. It was really a lot of fun. We decorated the whole hall and it looked beautiful! We also served a nice meal.

I was actually getting sick during the majority of the day camps. But I felt good enough to attend the Ball. The next morning I got really sick though. It was so bad that my friends took me to the doctor. The doctor visit went really well and I got a lot of medication. The whole thing (the visit and meds) cost me about US$100… But I was so sick. It was mostly a stomach problem. This week I’ve just been resting… mostly sleeping, a lot. But now (Thursday) I’m almost entirely back to normal. Thanks for the prayers!

Well, that’s my update. Love you guys! Keep praying please. I’m so thankful for you and for where God has placed me for this season. Another prayer request: direction for the next season after December. Thank you again! Love love love!

5 Weeks

Hello everyone! I’m alive and well! I’ve been in Namibia for five weeks now, and goodness gracious God is good. He has been so incredibly faithful! Surprise surprise, right? Yeah, it’s been amazing to see how He has already fulfilled promises that He made me. He has filled me with Joy and Peace and Courage. God is good.
I wanted to share a few of the big things that God has given me the opportunity to be a part of. That way you can get an idea of what life is like for me here and get to see what God has already started.

Beautiful Kidz (Pre-School): I spend Monday-Friday going to the preschool (often referred to as “the Center”). At the Center I am 1 of 5- 10 people who work mostly in the kitchen. There is a schedule that changes every day to designate who does what work. We clean a lot, cook a lot and laugh a lot. Things get pretty interesting in the kitchen! I am the only American out of mostly Namibians- which, I have to say, is nice. Everyone is really lighthearted and is playing around all day while doing their work. Whenever there is a break from working I am free to relax. Often, work means working directly with the kids. It’s a perfect fit for me! Because I love to hang out with the kids… But these kids can be extremely overwhelming if you are with them constantly. So in this situation I get to serve the kids without being with them directly and managing their craziness but I still get to spend time with them every day. Yeah, God really knows what He is doing.

Community Work: 2-3 times a week I get to go into the community and visit families. I have been helping with interviewing families that have applied for their child to be enrolled in Beautiful Kidz for next year. Mostly we just go and see the exact living conditions of the child. We find out the income of the people watching the child and how many people live in the same room and house. The visits are really important because they have already received a huge amount of applications for the coming year (Starting in January). The kids that will be accepted are the poorest of the poor. It comes down to the income and condition of the people taking care of them and if they will likely get them into another pre-primary school if the child is not accepted to Beautiful Kidz. This experience is one of the most vital parts of the process of understanding the actual situation in Namibia. I’ve probably visited 50 homes or more in just a few weeks… It is rare to find a child that lives with both biological parents. Almost all of the home situations include not having enough money to feed the family, unemployed single parents, overcrowded “houses”, large numbers of kids per adult, and more disheartening conditions. But, you know, most of the families consider themselves followers of Christ… they just seem like they are down and out. There is such hope for them! They don’t always seem to see it. But God will show them in His own way.

Youth Club: On Thursdays and Fridays we have Youth Club at the Center. This includes kids from all over the community. Anyone is welcome. We play a few games with them, worship with them, someone generally shares a message, and we always feed them. We have three different age groups that meet at three different times. There is a sort of “reward” of a night on two Saturdays of the month for the kids that come consistently. They just get to hang out, be together, listen to worship music, and eat a meal. The groups are HUGE. Each meeting has about a hundred kids… sometimes more. The first week I was here the staff had decided to start to share a message that is pretty touchy with the kids. They wanted to address the issues of not growing up with a father. More specifically, they wanted to teach the youth about forgiveness. Just about everyone that comes to Youth Club has been negatively affected by an absent man in their lives. Most of them didn’t grow up with their fathers, or they did but were really mistreated in serious ways. The subject had continued for three weeks and every time we discussed the Youth Club as a team we all agreed that we have only scratched the surface. God is really doing something amazing with forgiveness and healing and restoration for these young people. They are hungry to understand how to not hate their fathers. Every time we talk about it we are seeing people open up and break down. God is really moving. But we are expecting some deep, deep healing to take place in the coming weeks. Please pray that God will share His plan for this process vividly with the staff/leadership. These Youth Club meetings are SUCH an AMAZING opportunity to minister to the next generation of Namibia. These young people are literally asking “How do I know how to be a dad someday because mine was horrible to me?” and other practical and heartbreaking questions. It’s sometimes a little weird because one of the groups is just about my age… so if feels funny. But God is growing me in stepping up and taking the authority presented to me.

Thank you all so much for continuing to pray for me! God is really doing amazing things in my life and you are a part of it. Thank you thank you thank you!! Check my facebook for pictures and any other news. I will update soon!

Psalm 23:6

Wow. Seventeen days until Nellie and I leave for Namibia... It's like I knew the time would be coming but the feeling is still crazy.
Nellie and I both have a lot left to do. But God has provided SO faithfully. The more I proclaim my faith in Him, the more He shows Himself to be who He is.

The other day Jeff (our pastor/mentor/friend/all around awesome person) took a few of us up to Portland to meet with a woman that he has told us a lot about. She has been involved in Youth With A Mission for years and went through their teacher training system after she had already been through the university education system and had taught for a number of years. We had a great time just eating lunch and talking about our dreams and some practical education options for each of us. I was listening to everyone discuss their opinions of why the path they took or plan on taking works or doesn't work the best. I suddenly was overwhelmed with anxiety. I hadn't thought about the subject for quite a while. I made the decision to set all of those plans aside last fall... And ever since then I haven't had much stress about the subject. But while everyone was talking about why College was the key or was a potential waste of thousands and thousands of dollars.... I got overwhelmed. My chest tightened up and I started to get a headache. But the most amazing thing happened next. Before I had the chance to tell anyone how I was feeling or really verbally acknowledge it at all- God spoke to me. He brought to mind the scripture that had been in my head for the few days prior to the lunch. I would wake up and instantly say out loud "'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord..."(Jeremiah 29:11). This is one of the scriptures that is used ALL THE TIME. But truth is truth is truth. And I choose to accept this scripture for myself. So anyway, He speaks to me suddenly and starts to say that scripture. But He stops really quickly. All He says is "For I KNOW...". And I just wanted to collapse and weep. The tightness in my chest loosened and I could breathe normally and I felt great. He reminded me that a big part of the awesomeness of that scripture is that He knows. It's not a question for Him of "What's the right thing to do?! Oh no! I might mess up!"... He's got this.

Sorry, I ramble. But God just does cool things, so I wanted to share them with whoever will read my blog.
I am so excited to see what God does in the next hour, 2 weeks, 5 months, 50 & 500 years. He's good. All the time.

Before the Beginning...

Hello! So I've been avoiding writing this first entry because it just feels awkward. I mean, should I post before I'm there? Right before I leave? Will I have time for that? Ha! I think too much. So I thought I'd just go for it.

It won't be long before Nellie and I are leaving for Namibia. God has been hilarious throughout this process, let me tell ya... Funny, real funny! In the middle of fall I was going through a hard time. I was like "Man, God why won't You just tell me what I'm supposed to do after I graduate?!" I was seriously getting frustrated. I had prayed and prayed and prayed and listened and listened and listened and He just didn't tell me. I was like "I will go anywhere! Do anything! I don't care I just want what You want for me." and then He, in His own time and way, told me quietly with a smile on His face, "Hannah, You get to choose".

Man, that threw me for a loop! But I knew what I wanted, sort of. I knew I wanted to go back to Namibia for either 3 or 6 months. Both ridiculous amounts of time, looking back. He told me I get to choose, but I chose something so out of my "comfort zone" (gotta throw in some Christian-ese here and there ;) ) that it just doesn't make logical sense! It's like that one verse... "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart", but He doesn't mention that the desires of your heart will become just like the desires of His heart... hahah He is funny!

Anyway, God is moving. He is good. And He's just getting started...