Greetings from Africa! May 12, 2004
Well, as I both hoped and feared, the folks in Namibia have selected ALL of the options I presented regarding topics I would be willing to address. So, I will be VERY busy getting ready for this trip, and then I suppose even busier once I get there. I am so grateful that I know God loves them and wants to help them, so, since they have asked me to do all this stuff for them, I can count on God helping me as I try to do it. I REALLY wouldn’t want to be flying on this mission ‘solo’!
Tonight the organizing pastor said some folks had asked what I liked to eat, and I said ‘whatever’. He said they eat a lot of meat in Namibia, and I forgot to ask ‘what species?’ Oh well – as long as it is cooked and seasoned, if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me. (I hope) I now also have transport to and from the airport organized, which is good and none too soon, either!
The process of getting insurance approval (or not) for my cataract operation is gradually spiraling in for a landing. I hope to have final word tomorrow, and so far it looks good. The ophthalmologist had me drop in today for a quick vision check, and it is getting much worse in my right eye. The problem now is that he doesn’t want to do the procedure close to big trips to other countries, and so I will probably have to wait until I get back from the US trip in July. As long as the left eye doesn’t go bad I should do OK though. Anyone wanting to pray for my eyes/vision is more than welcome.
The weather here is better than perfect – for me, at least. It gets quite cool at night (mid-40’s), but then up to the mid-70’s in the afternoon. Lots of flowers are still blooming, including the large, gorgeous rose bush right outside my bedroom window. The grass is beautifully green, the birds sing (the dogs bark, too, but we won’t go there), and the gentle breezes help dry the sweat if one happens to be hiking around town in the sun in the afternoon. This would be a GREAT place for health resort (like Canyon Ranch in Arizona). It seems to be working for me, anyway.
There’s only one more session of ‘Fresh Bread’ to go, but it looks like I’ll be giving the whole thing again in some months. People in both the Presbyterian and Methodist churches want to market it to other folks in their churches who didn’t attend this time. It’s OK with me – that’s what I came here to do, and I even enjoy doing it.
I’m really looking forward to my time back in the US, and hope to see as many of you as possible. The attached pictures are from Transformation Africa in Rustenburg on 2nd May.
Love from Africa
Lary
