Transition

We apologize that our emails have been short and rather irregular for the last little while, not so much because of lack of internet service but lack of time! Since we landed on Nambian soil on Monday, June 2, our days (and some nights) have been filled to capacity! The very night we arrived we stopped at the grocery store, came to our house, put down our suitcases, and helped President and Sister Bos with some last minute preparations for the Zone Conference luncheon the next day. A few nights later (actually 2am is more accurate) we were in the emergency room at the hospital with a sick elder. Seems he had a mild case of food poisoning, but after a few hours was released to go home, just in time for us to catch a few winks before starting another day. Then there was the wedding! A member of the Windhoek Branch was actually on her way to a family funeral when she saw Dad and asked him to take her place as speaker at the wedding of another branch member--only 2 hours' notice! He did a great job, by the way. After the Bos's left, there was quite a bit of follow-up things to do that they didn't have time to get done, mostly having to do with getting two additional flats ready for the new elders who were coming a week after we arrived. During all this time we were also dealing with visa issues which caused much stress. Namibia is a totally different country from South Africa and requires visas for entrance. The agent hired by the mission to take care of getting the visas said that passports were requried to obtain them (which we found out was not true) and was holding all the missionaries' passports and would not give them back. She had let several visas expire and had waited until the last minute before transfers to get them renewed. When transfer day arrived, 3 of the 5 outgoing elders boarded their plane off to South Africa, but the other 2 still did not have their passports, so missed their flight which was rescheduled for later in the day. After several promises of "very soon" and waiting around all day, the remaining 2 elders got their passports back and took off for Cape Town. It was confirmed to us once again that the Lord DOES hear and answer our prayers! (A couple of days later all the rest of the passports were retured and the services of this particular agent will NEVER be used again!) About an hour after the missionaries left, we welcomed 9 new elders to Namibia.

President and Sister Bos were our "trainers" for a week--orienting us to the city of Windhoek as to where the malls and grocery stores are, where the bank is and the process of transferring money from our account to the mission office's account in Cape Town to pay for our keep here, where we pick up the mail (not at the post office but a shipping company because the mail is driven by truck to here), where the medical facilities are, where the branches meet, and where the elders live. We still drive on the left side of the road; President Bos did all the driving while they were here. There has been much more to learn, but we are getting there.

The Bos's stayed in one of the new flats so we have our house to ourselves. It it smaller than our house in Gonubie East London, but is quite nice--a lounge (living room), kitchen with cupboards that are too high (Mom can only reach the bottom shelf), 3 bedrooms--1 of which is the office--and 2 bathrooms. The washer and dryer are in the garage which also houses 4 bikes, a supply of cleaning materials for the elders to use in their flats, cases of Books of Mormon in English, German, Afrikaans and Portugese, missionary pamphlets, and other miscellaneous items--but not the car. It is parked outside in the driveway. We live at the end of a cul-de-sac behind a gate and the yard is completely walled in. We did not realize how quiet our retirement community in EL was until we moved here. Dogs bark off and on day and night, and we sometimes hear the traffic on the much-used road that is not far from our back yard. The houses here are like those in South Africa--cement walls with no insulation, mostly tile floors with carptet in the bedrooms, and no central heat. It is winter here and the evenings, nights, and mornings are really cold. We rely on space heaters in the lounge, office, and master bathroom where we shower. But it is far from a hut, so we're not complaining!

Even though it is winter, East London was lush and green, though a bit muted with some yellow; Namibia is desert. There are lots of palm trees, some wild grasses and trees, but also lots of sandy-colored dirt. It will be interesting to see the vegetation "come to life" in the spring. In East London the battle was to cut back the vegetation and here the battle is to sweep back the dirt!
Windhoek is a modern city, though small for being the capital city. It is quite compact compared to East London. There is a branch of the church in Windhoek which seems to be doing quite well, and there is a branch in the township, Katutura, which seems to need a little more help. Since the nearest wards and stakes are a thousand miles away in Cape Town, the branches are under the leadership of the mission presidency. That is why the elder of the senior couple in Namibia is ordained as a counselor to the mission president. Much of our responsibilities will be leadership training because the church is so new here and there is so much inexperience, and any other help we can give the branches. It is the vision of President Egan that in a year's time both branches will be split. Right now, there is also a lot to do to finish the details that come with renovating a building for use as a chapel in Katutura.

There is so much to tell, but this is enough for now. We have had experiences regarding prayers, dreams, people being led to the missionaries, and missionaries being led to people--the kind of things you read about in the Ensign, but think would never happen to you. More on that later.

We love the Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ. We love the people here. We love being missionaries in His service.

We love you for your interest, caring, and support.