Merry Christmas! (Although technically it's already over for me...)

So, it's true that I leave more than anyone else you've ever know...
we have firmly established that... So, in keeping with tradition, I
have decided to travel with Daryl and Sabrina to take Sabrina's mom
back to Windhoek so she can fly out. I will be meeting with Mick to
do my initial debriefing since he won't be around in February when I'm
in Windhoek. I will also be getting my windshield replaced so that I
can sell my car in the next few months.

I realized the other night that I can now count in weeks the amount of
time that I have left. It's a little bit scary! I have just read a
book called 'The Art of Coming Home'. It's specifically for people
who have been living abroad and it discusses the issues that people
face upon re-entry into their own culture. The book had some amazing
insights and I hope to be sharing them with you in the next few
weeks. I think that it will help me and it will help you to know a
little of what to expect from me. I have already started composing
the emails in my head, I just have to take the time to sit and get
them down in the computer.

Christmas here was wonderful. Daryl, Sabrina and Susan (Sabrina's
mom) really incorporated me into their family and we had a very
special Christmas celebration over the last two days. A big blessing
was that Daryl found a turkey that we enjoyed on Christmas Eve. It
was my first turkey in 3 years! :-) It tasted amazing! Today we
went for a swim at one of the lodges.... it's odd to be singing
"Dashing through the snow, on a one horse open sleigh..." when you're
in a bathing suit and sweating!

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas as well!
love and hugs,
kimmie

p.s. the intention of writing this was to say that I won't have
internet access while I am in Windhoek... I promise that I will try
to catch up on the whole mess of emails when I return though!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Just a little note to say that I am thinking of you all and wishing you a Merry Christmas.  Not too much has happened around here lately.  I took a few days off to start packing (EKES) so am enjoying some quiet days.  I added some new pictures for you to check out.  

with loving prayers for a blessed and safe Christmas,

kapande

Click here to see my hero, Sabrina, saving me from a deadly killer

Click here to see the Christmas celebration at the hospital

thank you

Dearest family and friends,
wow... I have never received so many email responses in my time here.
Thank you for your warm words of encouragement and condolences. It
has been a rough few days but I am getting through.

I know that the reason I am getting through has been in part due to
your love and prayers for me. The following Bible verses have been
key in reminding me that God is in control and that I don't have to
face troubles alone. They remind me that I can trust God, and that he
will give me the strength that I need.

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone
is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be mightily
shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty
rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your
hearts to him, for God is our refuge." Psalm 62:5-8

"Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul
clings to you; your right hand upholds me." Psalm 63:7-8

"I said, 'You are my servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your
God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand.'" Isaiah 41: 9b-10

Thank you for your continued love and prayers.
much love,
kimmie

she was "just" a cat, but she was my cat and I loved her!

Dear family and friends,

I never did tell you what happened with my cat, Olive, and her
possible pregnancy. Since it had been less than a week after finding
her in that compromising position when I took her to the vet, he
decided to go ahead and spay her the next day. The surgery went well,
and, though we had a drunk cat when she came home that day (I think he
used too much ketamine) she was fine. Things had been going really
well until a few weeks ago when she developed some bleeding. Knowing
she no longer had a uterus I took her back to the vet. He thought it
might be due to infection so he gave her a shot of antibiotics and
told me to keep an eye on her.

I was petting her last week when I noticed a lump in her abdomen. I
tried to take her to the vet but since he's the only vet for the whole
region he isn't always in. I found him in yesterday and he scheduled
her for exploratory surgery today to find out what was going on. I
took her in this morning and said I would come back to check on her
then went to work.

I was sitting at my desk at work typing when I looked up and saw the
vet through the window. I knew it couldn't be good news. I met him
at the door. He said he was sorry and that she made it through the
surgery but died while he was sewing her up. He walked me out to his
truck where he showed me the cyst that he had removed from her abdomen
along with the pus. He agreed to bury her for me because I knew I
couldn't deal with it. He was very apologetic as I stood there crying
and petting her through the cage. I have so far spent the rest of the
day in tears. My boss was kind enough to let me come home. Mary flew
out yesterday and Daryl and Sabrina are going to Etosha this weekend
so I'll be alone. I know it's going to be rough, but I also know God
will give me the strength to get through it.

I appreciate your prayers.
kimmie

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy (early) Thanksgiving my dear family and friends!

How is everyone doing?  Anyone have big travel plans?  I will be alone this Thanksgiving, but I have decided I am making chicken, mashed potatoes and some veggies.  I am quite excited about it!  :-)  I will probably also watch a movie, but I don't have any really good Thanksgiving ones...  I guess I'll figure it out.  This is going to be a long email since I haven't written in a while!  Sorry in advance!!!

Hello Swakopmund but Goodbye Shelley...

At the beginning of the month I took my weekend trip to Swakopmund with Shelley, Jessica, Linda and Sky.  Jessica and Linda are both missionaries in Grootfontein, the next town and their friend Sky is a Peace Corps volunteer there.  The trip was amazing!  The main focus was to celebrate Jessica's birthday and boy did we ever!!!  Jessica went skydiving (I couldn't in the end) and we all watched.  The next morning she went sand surfing!  She said it was like snow-boarding but on sand that got into every inch of everything!  That afternoon we went together to do quad biking on the sand dunes.  It was so beautiful!  After half an hour of riding into the desert, there wasn't a sign of humanity anywhere!  Every direction you looked, for as far as the eye could see was nothing but sand dunes.  It was wonderful!  On our way back we topped one hill and were looking at the South Atlantic Ocean.  It was gorgeous!  (Have I effectively communicated how stunning Swakop is?)  That was all the adrenaline junky sports that we did.  

Other than those activities, we enjoyed great food and I sat for hours and watched the ocean.  The rhythmic crashing of the waves is so calming!  I would like my version of heaven to have big mountains and warm, sandy beaches!  I was going to post pictures but Jessica got to it first.  So, if you want to check out our trip you can look at her blog.  (click here) Of course it is her blog which means she is prominent in the pictures... but I'm there too.  The post was from November 7th and she posts a lot of notes, so you have to scroll waaaaaayyyyyyy down to get to it.  It starts with Jessica's  skydiving pictures.  (the ground ones I took... the sky ones were taken by the people who get paid to jump out of a plane and take pictures... on a daily basis... can I have that job?!?!?!)

Though the weekend was incredible, it was also a bittersweet time because it meant the end of Shelley's time in Namibia.  Though it wasn't always easy living with her, I think we both learned a lot about ourselves in the process and I began to appreciate her at the end.  It was hard to see her go.  She made it safely back to Australia and is settling in well.

Everyone's leaving

Aside from Shelley's departure, there are also 2 more people leaving which makes me incredibly sad.  The first is Jessica.  Though she lives 2 1/2 hours away we are in constant contact through the technological wonder that is text messaging (though we call it sms here).  We often joke that we should be married with as much as we talk everyday!  Jessica is often a voice of reason in my life, which might surprise those who know her, but she has been a steady rock for me when I have gone through really rough times.  I have been in denial about her departure, but in one week she will already be in the US.  It's going to be difficult without her!  The other person leaving is Mary.  She has been here in Rundu now for 2 years and one month.  She has been a great friend and voice of wisdom in my life (and many times a bringer of chocolate cake).  Though she's old enough to be my grandmother, we have developed a unique friendship and I will miss her!  Mary has a little less than two weeks left here in Rundu.  It will be hard to see her go as well!!!

Speaking of leaving- another reason to have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Speaking of everyone leaving, I thought that you all might be excited to hear my news.  I am coming home!  I had previously said that I would be home in May.  However, after having talked things through with Mick, we think that I should come home sooner!  Though my plans are evolving, it looks like I will be home in March!  It was going to be the last week of February but I have to travel through our headquarters in NY to debrief and they are fully booked with an orientation that week.  So, I am planning on flying the first of March!  Of course there are factors (like me bringing Olive home with me) that might effect my travel plans, but that's what I'm intending at this point.

What will I do when I get home?  That's a very good question!  These plans there are also evolving, but I think that I will go to NM first and spend some time with my family.  I hope to have my dad and brother help me buy a car there and drive back to Atlanta through Texas and Oklahoma to see people along the way.  After I spend a few weeks in Atlanta, I hope to go to SC to see John David and Joy along with their new addition to the family :-) as well as my friend Sheila.  My current plan is to settle back into life in Atlanta.  I am trying to decide between getting a hospital job or applying to universities to get my masters in nursing education.  

Your prayers for wisdom, guidance and discernment are greatly appreciated!  There are so many decisions that have to be made that it is sometimes overwhelming!  I'll try to keep you all updated as my plans evolve.

For those of you that are supporting me financially (thanks again!) I will send a separate email to you that explains what is going to happen when I come home.  

Naughty Olive

I keep the door from the kitchen into the hallway closed because Olive likes to jump on the counters when no one is watching.  Today when I walked in I opened that door and screamed!  On the floor right in front of the door was a very large dead lizard.  Of course it took me a moment to figure out that it was dead... but still...  What was she thinking?!  Is she trying to torture me?!  I decided at that moment that I need to give her a second name because just yelling out Olive wasn't enough!  I got the broom and poked it to make sure it wasn't just pretending, then I moved it far away from the door so I could get through.  I was debating about how to get rid of it when I decided to ask the gardener who was working next door at Daryl & Sabrina's house to come over and take it out.  Then I realized that I was being a dork and gave myself a very hearty and long pep talk!  I used the broom to push it onto the dust pan then used the broom to push the dust pan to the door where I was able to sweep it out into the dirt.  The triumphant victory that I felt was a little ridiculous since I never actually came within 3 feet of the nasty thing!  Scorecard: Lizard 0, Olive 1  

I was actually quite surprised to find the big lizard there today because of what happened a few weeks ago.  Sabrina came over while I was at work to have our handyman, Peter, fix my door knob.  When they arrived they found Olive whining really loudly.  They opened the kitchen door and found her with a large lizard stuck on her paw!  It was biting her in protest of it's capture!  Sabrina said she and Peter were both stunned and didn't know what to do.  After staring for a bit Sabrina hit the lizard with her keys and stunned it.  It let go of Olive's paw and Peter used the dust pan to get it outside.  I think the lizard won that one!!!  Since then, I have only been finding very small baby lizards in the house.  Though they aren't great to deal with, they don't freak me out.  The big ones like the one today definitely do though!  Scorecard: Lizard 1 Olive 1

Sad News

Most of you should remember my language helper, Imelda.  Sadly, her mom, who has been battling cancer for many months, passed away yesterday.  In keeping with tradition, I went to her house to night as everyone just sat around and talked.  It was strange because no one wanted me to sit on the ground (all the chairs were already taken when I arrived) and kept trying to get me to sit in theirs.  They are not used to a white person sitting on the ground!  I will be going over there every night this week just to be there with the family (and the 100 or so other people gathered around).  The memorial service will be Friday.  Mary and I will attend that together.  Then on Saturday I will go to the funeral.  I have offered to be a driver so that more people can be taken out to the graveside where the second part of the service will be.  Please pray for the Kandjimi family as they grieve this loss.  

I think that's enough for now.  I love you all and will keep you updated with my plans!

Happy Thanksgiving!

kimmie

Praises:

• Our trip to Swakopmund was amazing!
• Shelley made it back to Australia safely and is getting settled in well

Prayer requests:

• For the Imelda and her family in the loss of their mother
• Sabrina's mom flies in tomorrow for a month long visit.  Please pray that the traveling will be safe and that they will have a blessed time as they explore Namibia.  They will be gone until the 5th of December
• For wisdom as I work out details about when I should leave and what I should do when I grow up, I mean.... when I get home :-)

6 truths

6 Truths of Life

        1. You cannot touch all your teeth with your tongue.

        2. All idiots, after reading the first truth, will try it.

        3. And discover that The first truth is a lie.

        4. You're smiling now because you're an idiot.

        5. You soon will forward this to another idiot.

        6. There's still a stupid smile on your face.

        I apologize about this.

        I'm an idiot and I needed company ...

Home pregnancy test?

Metaha vaholi! (afternoon my friends!)

The summer weather is in full swing and we are doing very little these days except rest and drink lots of water.  The day temp has got to be 100˚ and the nights are cooling to the low 90s/high 80s.  It's hot without air conditioning!  I had someone tell me that I should douse my top sheet in cold water before bed and sleep with it that way.  I tried it Saturday night and almost every night since then!  It's been awesome!  With the ceiling fan and floor fan both on high it's almost like winter!  It's amazing because after one hour the sheet is already dry!  Evaporation is an amazing process!  :-)

Etosha (yes, again)

When I went to Etosha with Daryl, Sabrina and Anna, Shelley couldn't join us, so I promised her that we would plan a small weekend trip before she left.  We decided that September would be a good time to go.  I know that many of you think that I go on too many vacations so I wasn't even going to tell you about this little weekend trip.  However, God blessed us so much that I can't help but re-cap our amazing trip and just brag on God's awesomeness for a minute!  In a day and a half, we saw an amazing amount of animals!  Total we saw: 59 elephants: one water hole had 22 elephants where we watched them play in the water and even got to watch one baby breast-feed!  16 lions: The first day we saw 12 lions.  A single male and then a pride with 5 cubs, 2 males and 3 females.  We saw one male earlier in the day and when we came back to that same spot the rest of them were there and crossing the road right in front of us!  The next day we saw an older male, a younger male and 3 females that crossed the road literally right behind our car!  I kept pushing Shelley out the window to get a better picture and she thought I was trying to get her killed!  5 hyenas (4 at the same waterhole with the 22 elephants!). We also saw a black rhino that was just off the road that stopped perfectly in a clearing for us to take some pictures!  The first day we saw a leopard come out from the bush to get a drink at a waterhole.  It was the most perfect sighting we could have ever wished to have of a leopard!  Then, to our amazement, we saw another one the second day! WOW!  People can go on safari their entire lives and never see a leopard!  We had two in two days!  The second one was a little frustrating at first because there was a huge banter with Linda, a missionary in Grootfontein that went with us of "Which tree? That tree. Which tree? That tree right there.  The dark thing in that tree.  Which tree?  Look at this rock then go straight back this way. I still don't see it.  Which tree?  Ok, is it the tallest tree? Yes. I don't see anything in the tallest tree. WHICH TREE? That tree."  I honestly think that the only reason I ended up seeing him was because he moved!  Every time it just seemed like our timing was orchestrated by God so that we saw the most amazing things!  Did I mention that it was an awesome trip? :-)  Here are a few photos that I posted.  

Further proof

In case you guys needed any further proof that I go on vacation more than anyone else in the world (except my fellow missionaries) I am planning another trip for the end of this month.  Jessica, the other missionary in Grootfontein, has her birthday at the end of the month and has requested a trip to Swakopmund on the coast.  She has also requested to go sky diving in honor of her birthday!  I think it's a great idea because it's something that I have always said I wanted to do.  However, it is a little expensive.  A chat with my friend brought us to acknowledge that we wouldn't want it to be cheap as that would be frightening!  The cost is $220 US.  Being on a fixed income this will be really difficult for me to come up with.  If anyone is interested in helping out a bit I would gladly accept it.  (Sorry, it wouldn't be tax deductible) You can email me for details about how. 

Home pregnancy test?

I don't always pay the best attention so it wasn't much of a surprise to me when I realized a little late that Olive (my cat) was in heat.  I found her the other night in a compromising position with a neighborhood cat.  Is there a home pregnancy test for cats?  What in the world am I going to do if she has kittens?!?!  Ekes!  Though I think it's slightly funny, I am still wondering what the results of my inattention will be!  Why hasn't she been spayed yet you ask?  By my best estimate she is only 5 or 6 months old and I didn't think she was old enough to have that problem yet!  I have an appointment tomorrow with the only vet in town to find out what we can do.  

Good cat? Bad cat?

I have been frightened before, but I had my first true panic attack Saturday night when I went out to get a glass of water right before bed and found Olive playing with one of the spiky geckos that I hate so much in the hallway!  She looked like she wanted to come and show me her prize so I had to praise her for catching it but kept telling her to stay where she was!  It was a little like this "Good girl Olive!  You caught a lizard!  Good girl!  No- no- don't bring it here. You stay right there.  Don't you dare bring it over here!  But good girl for catching it..."

Shelley, who was house-sitting at Daryl and Sabrina's next door, got a phone call of "Olive caught a lizard and you have to come over right now!"  The saint that she is, she actually came over.  However, at night we always bolt the door from the inside so even with her keys she couldn't get in!  That sent me into even more of a panic because it meant I had to get past Olive and the gecko to get to the kitchen to let her in.  Poor Shelley had to stand outside coaching me from the window to get me through it!  The gross little thing kept biting Olive and at one point she flicked it up onto the wall.  Because it was above her, she "lost" it.  At this point I was able to use a piece of foam to push her into the bathroom then use as a shield between me and the gecko.  They don't typically run from people and I think this poor guy was a little shocked because he didn't even try to run when Shelley finally used an old plastic butter tub to catch him.  What would I have done without a roommate who isn't afraid of these nasty little creatures?!?!?! (Mary said that in the future I can call her, but she leaves in December!)

Me

So you're tired of hearing about all the fun stuff I do and you just want to know how I am doing.  Well, it's been a struggle lately but it is improving.  Things weren't going well with Shelley and we had to ask Sabrina to mediate for us, I haven't been able to do any teaching at the hospital for a multitude of reasons, and the heat is intensely oppressive and makes me ridiculously lethargic and cranky.  On the other hand, I have been developing a wonderful relationship with Pastor Domingo's youngest daughter Emilly.  Emilly called me a month ago and asked if I knew anyone that could tutor her in accounting because her grades were very poor.  I asked those around me who are teachers if anyone could help and the answer was always no.  So I decided to help her myself.  What do I know about accounting?  Absolutely nothing!  However I do have a college degree and I am an American consumer so I figured I knew enough.  Boy was I wrong!  Even though she's already half way through her book in school I decided that the best place to start was the beginning.  It has been so confusing!  I have no clue why the debit side is for money coming in and the credit side is for money going out!  I don't understand at all!  However, we have been able to keep working through the book and we're all the way to chapter 3!  I don't know if it is the blind leading the blind or if I am helping, but I hope it's the latter!  I use it as a chance to coach her in English as well which she appreciates.  Emilly is a very sweet girl and I have enjoyed spending time with her several afternoons a week.  I will keep you updated on how we do!  :-}

I hope this finds you all doing well!

lots of love and hugs!

kapande

Kimmie Tibbetts

Serving the people of Namibia at the Rundu State Hospital
http://thekimmieconnection.blogspot.com
http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb136/thekimmieconnection/

8 months, 7 weeks, 1 hour, a few pounds?, etc.

Dearest Family and Friends...

How are you all doing?  Things here are going as well as they can when you live in rural Africa!  The only exciting thing is that it's Daryl's 30th birthday today!  And I must say that he is handling his much better than I handled mine!  :-)  We have a surprise planned for him that I am getting very excited about!  I will try to post some pictures afterwards of the evening's events.  The only thing that Shelley and I haven't figured out is what present to get him!  Why are guys so hard to shop for?!?!?!  Yes, we are a little last minute... I am ok with that!

8 months

Time is fun when your having flies!  Oops... I mean time flies when you're having fun!  :-)  Though many days I have felt the strain of living and working in another culture, it is hard to believe that I have been in Namibia for 2 1/2 years already!  WOW!  The time in many ways has just flown by!  It must be in the air or the water because everyone keeps asking when I am coming home.  The answer that I have given to all who have asked is the same.  Not yet!  :-)  Part of the reason that I am a little vague is that it depends on my work permit.  Yes, after all these months I still haven't heard anything (nor do I really expect to yet).  My main plan is to leave sometime in May, which is only 8 months away!  However, should my work permit expire before then, I probably won't bother renewing it and I'll just head home.  It is very strange realizing that I am on the downhill stretch.  It has made me a lot more tolerant of the things in this culture that I don't really care for.  I am now questioning if I have actually accomplished anything!  Rationally I know I have, but there is something about knowing you are leaving that grips you and makes you question yourself.  I am also looking forward at the next few months and wondering what I want to do with the time that I have left...  

The other question people ask is where am I going to live.  The answer is I am not sure, though I am leaning towards heading back to Atlanta.  I still want to get my Master's in nursing education, but think that being home for a year first will be wiser than starting right away.  The school that I am interested in is in Texas and I don't think that coming home from being gone for 3 years and trying to settle in a new place is a good idea!  I want to be around people I know at least for a while before I strike out on my own again.

7 weeks

It's been 7 1/2 weeks now that my car has been sitting in the shop.  While most of the parts have come in, the rubber seal for the gear box has been elusive!  Here's what's been going on.  After the promises of '3 days' stopped I have had to make multiple phone calls to harass the mechanic to find out information.  Neither he nor his wife are very happy to hear my voice at this point and if I call with my cell phone I think he ignores it sometimes then later just claims to have not had his phone with him!  Before we went to conference he did receive a seal, however it was the wrong one.  He sent it back along with the old one for the guy in Windhoek to know exactly what was needed.  After we came back from conference I called the mechanic but he said nothing had happened, so I put pressure on him to find out what was going on.  He finally got the guy in Windhoek to say that the old part had never arrived so they didn't know what to order!  My mechanic had to call the post office and figure out what went wrong.  The story given was something about the parcel being small and set aside somewhere.  After that it finally made it's way to Windhoek.  That was a week ago.  This week they are saying that there isn't a part like it in all of Namibia so they are having to contact South Africa to try to find it.  It is all very frustrating and I can't wait to get home and buy a new car that I won't have to do anything to but change the oil and wash!!!!

1 hour

HOORAY! YIPPEE! HURRAH! YEE-HAW!  WAHOO!  In case you haven't figured it out, we are all very happy to announce that the time has changed again!  Why are we so excited?  Because we no longer have to take Shelley to work at 5:30 in the morning!  :-)  YAY!  With the time change, the hours for the nurses working also changes from 6-6 to 7-7.  Now, since Mary leaves to go to the college at 6:30 anyways, Shelley just rides in with her and Daryl, Sabrina and I make our way to work at 8.  Since we are in spring, our time moved up an hour, so now we are currently 6 hours ahead of my friends in GA (and Joy & JD in NC), 7 hours ahead of my friends in OK, and 8 hours ahead of my family in NM.  When the time changes there in October it will be different again, but this is it for these next few weeks.    

A few pounds?

After being told for some years that I am at risk for diabetes (my own health problems related to my tumor as well as a family history), I have finally started taking the doctors seriously.  It is not an effort to lose weight, but rather to become a healthier person.  Of course, in this process if I lose a few pounds I won't be sad about it!  So, I have cut out almost all refined sugar from my diet!  YIKES!  After having done some research, Shelley and I have also started eating a much more balanced diet and are only buying foods that have a low glycemic index (GI).  Sabrina and Daryl have been very supportive and are cooking healthier meals when we join them for dinner!  Because it is a lifestyle change and not a diet, I am allowing some 'slip-ups'... so don't worry, I won't deprive myself of any of Daryl's birthday cake tonight!  :-)   

Prepaid Electricity

As some of you may remember from when I first arrived, our electricity here is prepaid.  It is an interesting way to do it, but pretty wise since most people are very poor and would constantly have it turned off and then wouldn't be able to pay the reconnection fee... it would be a serious downward cycle.  However, for those of us that could pay, it is sometimes a bad thing.  Take the case of a few Sundays ago when our power went out.  Sunday is when the power tends to go out because they are working in the lines, so at first I didn't think anything of it.  However, a little bit later I noticed that the electricity meter was flashing red.  If the power is out then there is nothing that is on.  I went over to look at it.... that's when I realized that the power for the town hadn't gone out, we had just run out of power credits!  I felt so embarrassed!  To make matters worse, when we went to get more electricity credit, the machine was down and the line had over 30 people in it!  OOPS!!!  I went back several times that afternoon and it was always the same story.  Finally in the early evening I was able to get more credit and we were back in business.  Thankfully it wasn't too hot that day!  (I pay much more attention to the meter now too!)

Missing life

One of the hardest things about being here is missing all the big life events that are happening in people's lives.  Missing weddings and births make me the saddest.  The latest wedding that I have missed is Sally's.  She was here as a short-termer from Canada last year.  Amy and Sarah, who were both here at the same time, were able to go.  I am still waiting for some pictures.  (hint hint)  It is always good news to hear about my friend's happiness, but it's also sad because I hate missing it.  I am also happy/sad to announce that my friends Joy & JD are expecting their first child, due in early February!  I can't wait to meet him/her when I return next year!  Congratulations Sally & David and Joy & JD!  

I hope this finds you all enjoying the new school year and the fun colors and weather of fall.

love and hugs to all,

kapande

Kimmie Tibbetts

Serving the people of Namibia at the Rundu State Hospital
http://thekimmieconnection.blogspot.com
http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb136/thekimmieconnection/

regarding forwards

Hi Everyone!
Just a reminder to all of you to not send me forwards with large
attachments. My internet is dial-up and charged by the minute.
Attachments clog up my account and take a long time to try to
download. Thanks for your help in making internet communication less
painful!
Thanks in advance!
kimmie

p.s. please also remember that I will be gone the 20th to the 27th
without internet access.

gross pictures of the carcass

Ok, it's not everyone's thing, but for those of you that wanted to see the jackal carcass you can look at the photos.

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=50937&l=deb7a&id=624739114

hope you enjoy it!

k

Kimmie Tibbetts

Serving the people of Namibia at the Rundu State Hospital
http://thekimmieconnection.blogspot.com
http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb136/thekimmieconnection/

Olive

Hello Dear Ones!  

How are all of you doing?  I hope that this finds you well.  Here, they would say ngororo (nn-go-roe-roe) meaning 'it's just like that'.  It's what you say when there's nothing really going on.  Of course in all of life there's really never a time when there is NOTHING going on, but of course we all say that when there is nothing exciting going on.  :-)  So how are things here you ask?  It's just the every day ins and outs of living in a foreign culture.  

Olive

I have a new houseguest.  An adorable but absolutely rotten kitten.  :-)  McKenzie rescued her from the village.

  When she found her she had her whiskers burned off, a huge sore on her leg and the same skinny le

gs and pot belly that the undernourished all have.  I am proud to say that after a few months of TLC and proper food that her whiskers have grown back and she looks like a normal kitten now!  Being a kitten means she loves biting and scratching both Shelley and I.  She is very playful!  Her favorite game is to bat at our legs as we walk down the hallway.  Normally this is fine since it's winter and we wear pants around the house.  However, Shelley wears a skirt as her uniform for work and has to carefully watch her hose clad legs from the claws of the little monster!  She is really cute and has an odd brown/grey and white coloring with bright green-yellow eyes that really sparkle with mischievousness.  Though she is rotten I have had a lot of joy having her!

               

Anna's gone and I'm blue :-(

Last weekend I went on another vacation.  Yes, again!!!  Anna's last request before she left was to go on safari and see elephants one last time, so we went!  Daryl, Sabrina, Anna and I went for 2 nights to Etosha then went to Windhoek to see her off.  It was an amazing safari and we saw an incredible number of animals on our first day!  23 elephants, 13 lions, 1 black rhino, a half eaten carcass with the lioness just on the other side of the road chasing away the vultures and as we were entering our camping place we came across a leopard!  All of that in one day!  We were extremely blessed!  Our time in Windhoek was nice as well.  We actually went to the movies!  (We saw the new Batman movie! I enjoyed it but think I missed out on a lot since I never saw Batman Begins...)  We also had two windows in our car broken and some bags taken.  Mostly it was Anna's last minute souvenirs that she had purchased that day!  OUCH!  It was while we were having dinner so they didn't get our handbags or anything of vital importance like passports or bank cards.  No camping gear or cameras, laptops.... nothing like that, though Daryl was sad that his Swiss Army knife was in the bag of snacks that was taken..  It was incredibly inconvenient to have to get the windows replaced, but we were so lucky that it wasn't worse!  The day that we sent Anna off we had to get the windows replaced so it shortened our time with her that morning.  Thankfully we were able to see her again a bit later.  Though I enjoyed spending time with her it was really hard because I had to say goodbye a second time!  I have received word from her that she arrived safely at home.  I look forward to the time that I am no longer the one being left behind!!!

The Mystery Rash- caution, contains gross details

I think it's quite disgusting and not at all exciting, but for the last 5 1/2 weeks or so I have suffered from a mystery rash.  Due to Olive, at first I thought it was a case of ringworm and for the first 3 days I treated it as a fungal infection.  However it was getting worse, not improving, so I finally went to the doctors here at the hospital.  No one could figure it out.  The rash started on my neck and traveled up to my cheeks, making it look a bit like razor burn (though I don't shave).  Then it spread to my arms, hands and legs.  I was frantic in my care for it.  A different pillow case each night, only wearing my clothes for 12 hrs at a time (then washing them in HOT water), using a different towel each day, using my African wraps as sheets so I could use a different one each night....  I was washing my hands each time I even thought that I had accidentally touched one of the sores or anywhere near one...  It was awful!  For the most part they looked just like a cold sore, kind of bubbly looking.  But then the ones on my arms started oozing a nasty clear yellow substance.  This lasted for almost a week and a half!!!  YUCK!!  That was definitely the worst part!  The ones on my face and neck cleared after about 9 days on their own, which was a huge blessing.  The ones on my arms and legs still haven't cleared up though!  We had a visiting doctor from the UK who was passing through Rundu and he looked at it for me.  He decided it was a folliculitis (infection in the hair follicles) with staphylococcus, a type of bacteria.  He put me on some antibiotics, but they didn't do anything.  At this point, the majority of the sores have cleared up.  However I still have two on my left arm that are intermittently continuing to ooze and several more that haven't disappeared yet.  I went to a homeopathic doctor in Windhoek to see if she could figure out what it is, but she was also stumped!  She just gave me some echinacea to improve my immune system.  So far they all look the same.  The two on my arm have started coming up with these yellow pimple looking things, which, when squeezed they ooze nasty thick yellow pus which then turns back to the clear yellow that they had in the beginning.  No one else is grossed out by them but I think that it is absolutely disgusting!  I have some pictures of it, if anyone is interested in seeing the grossness I wouldn't mind sending them along!  :-)

Annual Conference

Next week we will be going down to Greiter's Conference Center near Windhoek.  This time for our annual AIM conference where all the AIM missionaries gather for a time of fellowship and spiritual retreat.  It is always nice to see old friends and to meet the new people who work in other areas of the country.  There are going to be several new people that I haven't had the chance to meet so I am excited about it!  We will be gone August 20-27th and I don't think I will have email access during that time.  Most of our time gone will be at the conference, but we do have another day in Windhoek before hand.  (I am hoping to go to the movies again!  How exciting would that be?!  Two movies in one month!!!!)  

My Car

Owning a used vehicle isn't always the easiest thing here.  Especially when it breaks down and you live in the middle of no-where Africa and can't get the parts you need!!!  At first it was "3 days" then that came and went with another promise of "3 days"... I have been strung along with these continued 3 day promises for 3 weeks now!!!  The mechanic is a South African (Africaner) man who is very nice that Rob became friends with.  He really tries to take care of us missionaries but it's not always possible since he can't control the availability of parts for our foreign vehicles!  I really enjoy having my vehicle but it can be such a pain!  Though it has less people room than Rob's vehicle (which Daryl & Sabrina are renting from him while he's gone) it has a lot more luggage room which we really need for 5 of us traveling for a week including camping gear to make our stay there cheaper....  Please pray that it will be ready by the time we leave next Wednesday!  The shock has been busted for a long time.  Since I had them replaced when I bought the car it is supposed to just be a replacement part.  We have been waiting for the shop to replace it for many, many months now.  In the meantime the roads here are so bad that the shock finally busted through the top... isn't that fun?  I am waiting for the shock as well as that top part.  In addition it somehow also managed to mess up the gear box seal when all this happened and so the rubber seal has to be replaced as well... EKES!

I love you all and miss you!

kimmie

Praises:

• Anna made it home safely
• Work is going well
• I am exciting about getting to see everyone at conference!

Prayer requests:

• For continued healing for my strange rash.
• For safety in travel as all of us head into Windhoek from our various places of ministry
• That my car will be fixed by the time we need to travel for conference

new pics

Ok, so it's only a handful, but I thought you should see the pics that went along with my last email...

Andreas, my latest boyfriend as well as my new teammates are included...

love you all!

k

click me!

p.s. ask and you will find the answer... According to Dr Kristin who is a urologist, the studies done about HIV and circumcision are from S. Africa, Uganda and Kenya... all very well done studies she says!  Who knew?!

Miscellaneous trivia

Recently I attended a hospital meeting where I learned all sorts of interesting trivia.  It encompasses medical knowledge, Africa in general, Namibia, the Kavango region (the region where Rundu is) and Rundu itself.  Some of them are entertaining and some are heartbreaking...  

• The incubation period for Leprosy can be up to 20 years!  So, 20 years after you are exposed you can still get it!
• The Kavango region has over 400 registered 'traditional healers' (also known as witch doctors).... and that's just the registered ones!
• Only 3% of the world's health care work force reside in Africa, though Africa suffers from almost 25% of the world's disease burden.
• There are 112 identified bacteria and viruses in the Kavango region.
• Rundu State Hospital has over 3,000 patients on Anti-RetroViral (ARV) therapy for HIV/AIDS.  Over 10,000 people pass through the ARV clinic's doors each year for testing, counseling and medical examination.
• According to Rundu State Hospital's guidelines, doctors should only spend 12 minutes on each out-patient exam with a total of only 25 patients per day.  That equates to only 5 hours of work.  :-)  I'm not saying what actually happens... I just wanted to tell you what the guidelines are!
• Namibia has approximately 3,500 people who are Hepatitis B positive.
• A study (no idea who did it or where they did it) showed that when a man is circumcised it reduces the risk of transmitting HIV by 60%.  Namibia is looking into making it mandatory that all of it's male citizens have this procedure performed... 

According to the UNICEF document 'The State of the World's Children 2008': 

• "In 2006, for the first time in recent history, the total number of annual deaths among children under the age of five fell below 10 million, to 9.7 million.  This represents a 60 per cent drop in the rate of child mortality since 1960."  However... "Of the 62 countries making no progress or insufficient progress towards the Millennium Development Goal on child survival, nearly 75 per cent are in Africa." (page iii)
• Namibia ranks number 61 in the list of countries with the highest under five mortality rates.  Sierra Leone is the highest.  The United States is tied in the 151st place with the United Arab Emirates, Lithuania, Slovakia, Serbia and Thailand.
• In 2005 the rate of adults ages 15-49 living with HIV was  19.6.  
• In 2005, the total number of HIV positive people 2005 in Namibia was estimated at 230,000.     
• In 2005, the number of HIV positive women ages 15+ was 130,000!  
• In 2005, the estimate of children ages 0-14 that were HIV positive is 17,000.  
• HIV prevalence among young people ages 15-24 is 3 times higher in women than men (4.4% vs 13.4%).  
• In 2005, children ages 0-17 orphaned by HIV was 85,000, which is over half of the children ages 0-17 orphaned for all reasons which was 140,000.  

All of these statistics are astounding when you think that Namibia's total population is less than 2 million!

my latest saga

Morokeni vaholi! (more-oh-kenny va-hoe-dee)

That's the word I just learned which is the plural of friend.  :-)  How is life out there?  Things here are just going on as usual.  The latest saga is that the banks here all decided to become independent of SA, so now the atm machines won't accept international cards!  If I had a visa debit card I would be fine, but since it's just a regular atm card I can't access money!  There is one business oriented bank, Ned Bank, that worked when I was in Windhoek, but of course we don't have one in Rundu!  Isn't life grand?!  The joys of living overseas!!!  Of course they are all aware of the problem and they are working on fixing it, but until then life has become very creative.  This month, in order to get money I sent my ATM card to Windhoek with Rob when he left.  He gave it to Pete & Paula, other missionaries that are coming this weekend to Rundu as they pass through on their way to see Victoria Falls.  Paula was excited about shopping with someone else's money!  I am so thankful that they agreed to take on the responsibility of traveling with my card and money!

A Sad Day

Last Sunday morning was quite sad as I watched my friends and family of the last 2 years, Rob & Alisa and kids, drive away.  There were lots of hugs and lots of tears (especially on my part), but also a sense of peace.  It was their time and knowing that made it easier to let them go.  They flew out on Tuesday with their 20 bags and 6 kids.... and I'm waiting to hear that they have made it safely with all their bags back to Canada.  

A few days before that David left.  If you remember, David & Mackenzie are from Montana.  They lived out at the OVC site and worked closely with the OVC volunteers to help them run the program more efficiently.  Though we are thrilled that McKenzie is staying for another month, we're all sad that David left.  He had to go home and work for a bit before he enters med school this fall.  David is my new favorite artist... I don't know how he classifies his music, but I really like it.  You can find him on iTunes under David August.  I like several of his songs, but I especially like 'Pluto'.  You should check it out!  (Mer- I especially think that you would appreciate his music)

My new boyfriend

When you fall in love as easily as I do, it's easy to switch boyfriends almost daily!  :-)  My latest boyfriend I was able to hold onto for a whole two weeks though!  

Oh... did you want more details than that?  Well, he's 3 years old and about 2 1/2 feet tall, has brown hair and brown eyes.  His name is Andreas.  He was admitted to the hospital for severe protein deficient malnutrition (kwashiorkor {kwa-she-ah-core}) and the stepmother left him in the hospital by himself.  She has a small baby with his father and didn't want to stay in the hospital with the baby.  She only came to visit him a few times, which is so foreign to our culture, so I decided to make him my friend.  :-)

Protein deficient malnutrition causes severe edema (swelling) of the whole body.  When he was first admitted he had almost no facial features because there was so much swelling.  He could barely move his arms and legs because of the swelling and the pain.  The way that you reduce the swelling is by giving a high protein diet which helps them absorb the extra fluids.  (If anyone wants a more technical medical explanation I'm happy to explain it.)  After a week the swelling had gone down considerably but he still wasn't a normal playful kid.  During the second week though, he really opened up, and though he was still swollen, he became playful and smiled a lot.  It wasn't difficult to fall in love with him with his big brown eyes and gorgeous smile!  The doctor kept him a week after his treatment was finished to continue to give him a good diet, but on Saturday he was released.  It's always hard to see them go!

Malnutrition is both a social and a medical issue.  Socially there is a reason that the child isn't getting enough food, whether it be poverty, lack of education, family problems or any other reason.  Physically and developmentally for these children, there are a lot of problems that occur because of the lack of proper nutrition and stimulation.  One of the things I struggle with is the fact that the doctors here focus on the physical maladies and by and large don't address the reason why the child is malnourished to start with.  So, in the ward, we 'fix them up' by treating the physical maladies and giving them proper nutrition, but then send them home with only minimal health education and fully expect them to live happily ever after.  It's heartbreaking to spend so much time trying to get them to recover only to send them back out into the unknown!  Many come back worse off or later on we find out that they have died at home.  Please pray that I will have the ability to continue to pour out my heart to those that aren't taken care of in this society.  

Crazier than the Canadians? 

I want to introduce you all to my new team mates.  :-)  Shelley Jacobs and Daryl & Sabrina Neufeld.  I am going to try to post a picture of them on the blog site.  I'll let you know when that actually happens.  :-)

Shelley is a newly graduated nurse from Australia who is here for 5 months.  It was supposed to be 8 months, but because her leave date kept being changed it decreased to only 5.  She is working in the Pediatric ward, as well as doing some home based care for the orphan (OVC) project.  She started work last week and has been a little overwhelmed.  As a new graduate I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to get my first experience in Africa!  I really enjoy her sense of humor and she is easy to live with, which is really great.  She has a bad habit of leaving lights on, but I'll get her out of that habit!  :-)  I am not exactly sure yet as she's only been here 2 weeks, but I think that this Australian might be crazier than all the Canadians I've had come through my doors!  

Speaking of Canadians, Daryl and Sabrina are here until March next year, which is approximately 10 months.  Daryl is here as a pharmacist and is working in the hospital pharmacy as well as also being involved in the OVC project.  He started work last week and has already been facing a lot of challenges with the staff there.  Sabrina is a massage therapist who will be working part time in the hospital's rehab department and will also be involved in the OVC project.  They lived with me for the first week while Rob & Alisa were still here, now they have moved over to their house.  I enjoyed living with them, which really surprised me.  And it wasn't just that Daryl is a good cook!  They are really laid back and just as easy to be around as individuals as they are when together.  I really enjoy them and look forward to living next to them.  :-)  

That's about all that is going on here in Rundu.  Winter has set in and the night temperatures are quite cold.  My house is much colder inside than it is outside because the brick doesn't warm up during the day.  And, since there is no such thing as a heater, I think it's COLD!  So, how do I keep warm?  Lots of hot chocolate for one... but at night I use my hair dryer to warm up the bed before I get in!  Shelly couldn't figure out what in the world the loud noise was every night in my room... so finally she asked...  She laughed and laughed when she found out what it was!  I told her she could laugh, but that I was the one going to bed with warm toes!  :-)

I hope this finds you all doing well and enjoying your warm summer temperatures!

much love and blessings,

kimmie

Praises:

• My new computer is GREAT!  It's way smarter than me, but I'm finally getting used to it!
• Daryl, Sabrina and Shelley are all settling in well
• Sabrina had a great first day of work!
• Rob & Alisa, kids and bags in tow, made it safely to Canada last week.  Though things have been overwhelming, they have had great reunions with family and friends

Prayer needs:

 

• My colleague, Kosta, had a court day today for the incident of her beating the orphan that she cares for.  The magistrate postponed the hearing until October.  Please pray that I will continue to be a positive influence in her life.  
• The O'Neill's will be leaving this week after being here for 2 months.  It's never easy saying goodbye!
• For Andreas' continued good health and development.
• For 13 year old Dophelia (doe-feel-ee-uh), who is one of the orphans at the project.  She is a very smart girl, but is really acting out and making poor choices.  She has been sponsored by Sally, who was here last year, to go to school (it's not free here).  However, because of truancy the school is getting ready to kick her out.  Though she is 13 she is only in 4th grade.  If she gets kicked out of school there is little hope for a successful future for her in this culture.  Please pray that God will change her heart and that she will start making better choices for herself.  She has a grandmother that tries to care for her, but I think that  she is at that age where she fights what is good for her.  Please also pray for her grandmother who also has other of her grandchildren that are orphans that she is trying to care for.

 

Kimmie Tibbetts

Serving the people of Namibia at the Rundu State Hospital
http://thekimmieconnection.blogspot.com
http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb136/thekimmieconnection/

oops! Let's try again..

Hi Again!

Thank you to those of you who let me know that the link in the previous email didn't work.  (It's nice to know that people are actually looking!!!)  So, let's try again!

love and hugs,

k

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38610&l=7e6eb&id=624739114

Kimmie Tibbetts

Serving the people of Namibia at the Rundu State Hospital
http://thekimmieconnection.blogspot.com
http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb136/thekimmieconnection/

pictures from before I left...

Hi Everybody!

I finally uploaded some of the pictures from before I went on my trip to SA.  Included are my new office, me teaching and the snake from Anna's house... I hope you enjoy them!

love and hugs,

k

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=864063&l=ab483&id=62473911

Kimmie Tibbetts

Serving the people of Namibia at the Rundu State Hospital
http://thekimmieconnection.blogspot.com
http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb136/thekimmieconnection/

My SA trip- sorry- it's a novel!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

You've been waiting for it, so here it is! I know that some of you think that I go on vacation more than anyone you've ever known before, but you have no idea how much I needed it! Aside from my faith that this is where God wants me, the only reason that I do get by here is because of the breaks that I take. Living cross-culturally is very draining, and working in the medical system adds an extra strain. Taking vacations is one of the things that I can do to stay sane and keep my love and compassion for the people around me!

The retreat
My trip to South Africa was amazing! The first week I attended a retreat for single missionaries. It was held by Missionary Encouragement Trust (MET), an organization that was started with the sole purpose of encouraging missionaries. We were 31 missionaries from all over the world and who serve with many different organizations and in many different countries around the world. It was great to be with others who go through the same types of trials that I do on a regular basis. The fellowship was very sweet and refreshing. The teachings they gave us were on God's covenant. It was amazing! I had heard God's covenant talked about a little, but never in as much detail and with such depth of insight into the Jewish culture that Jesus lived in. I made me want to learn more about Jewish culture and the roots of Christianity.

Aside from that, the location they chose was incredible. Beautiful greenery and flowers everywhere made the facility, Carmel by the Sea, like an oasis! I got 4 new birds just by sitting one afternoon on one of the many benches on one of the many walking paths! It was great! I got the speckled mouse bird, cape white eye, cape robin, and the greater double banded sunbird. Also in that area I was able to see the Knysna lourie which is a very pretty greenish bird with bright red wings and what looks like white eye-liner.

Coal in my eyes
After the retreat I took the Oteniqua Choo-Tjoe, a steam engine locomotive, from George to Mossel Bay. The trip was absolutely beautiful because it started in the country side and ended by travelling along the coast with gorgeous views of the sea. I have some great photos of the engine that you can see on Facebook. There are however, some things about steam trains that I didn't know that made it not quite as romantic of a trip as I had imagined it in my mind! Did you know that as the steam train travels that it spews small pieces of coal back towards the passengers? And that if you have your head sticking out the window to try to get a really great photo that it really hurts to be smacked in the face by these small projectiles? Or that when you have your window open that it will enter the cabin and fill your seat, hair, clothes and bags making you look somewhat like a hobo? Did you know that in the few moments when there is no coal flying that they release the steam from the engine and that then there becomes a shower of water streaming from the engine, which also doesn't feel so great when you're trying to stick your head out the window to get a good photo? I didn't know any of these things at the time, but I do now!!! J

THE SHARKS!!!
Upon my arrival in Mossel Bay, I immediately proceeded (bags and all) not to my hostel, but to Shark Africa, where I had booked to do the cage diving. I thought that I had scheduled to go that afternoon and I wanted to make sure I knew where it was so I wouldn't be late. Well, there weren't enough people signed up for the afternoon, so I had to wait until the next morning. I'm so glad I did! We got out onto the boat and took a tour of the bay including a circle around Seal Island. Seals are the Great White's natural food source so you can always find them together. We went out a ways from the island to set anchor, then they started 'chumming' the waters. This means that they had these little fish that they mashed up and mixed with sea water to make bloody fish soup. They then poured it into the water to attract the sharks. The skipper, either John or Joe (with the strong Afrikaner accent I couldn't quite tell), said that we were lucky because our first shark showed up within 10 minutes. He said sometimes you wait 2 ½ hrs until one shows up. When the first one showed up they threw the bait in, which was a 5 pound block of tuna. They didn't allow it to eat the tuna though, they were just getting it interested. It circled the boat many times each time getting closer to the bait. After it tried to actually eat the bait, they thought that it was interested enough, and they lowered the cage. The shark came back rather quickly after being scared off by the noise, I guess he was hungry!

Now, I thought we were going to be completely submerged with oxygen tanks and would have sharks swimming past us. That wasn't quite the case, but it was amazing anyways. The cage was only 2/3 under water, so that when the skipper saw a shark coming he would tell us to go under and what direction to look. We had on snorkel masks but didn't have snorkels, so we would have to hold our breath when we went under water. They would throw out the bait far from the cage, and then pull it in closer, luring the shark closer until the shark was right next to us. Overall, the skipper said that we saw 8 sharks! The smallest was just over 3 meters and the biggest was over 4 meters. Our first shark was the best. When it came to get the bait, the skipper was able to pull it in really close and the shark ended up completely body slamming the cage as it fought to get the bait off the line! WOW!!! A couple of times the sharks would turn away from the bait and end up with the tip of their noses in the cage with us! It was awesome! I asked if I could pet one, but they said that they didn't want them to get the human scent. I respected that, so I behaved, but it was so tempting!!! Once the shark passed the bait, swam around to the back of the boat, of which I had the perfect view, and tried to bite the motor! I asked the skipper what had just happened and he explained that the sharks have a sensor on their noses for electrical activity, either a heart beat or gill action can activate it, so the shark got confused by the electricity of the motor! I thought it was my own personal show and it was great!

The worst part of the whole experience was how cold it was! Even though we were in the Indian Ocean, which is supposed to be warmer, after just over 2 hours in the water I was a popsicle! I couldn't get out of the water, while standing as high up on the cage as I could get, they had to pull me over the edge of the boat. Then they had to take the wetsuit off of me because I couldn't do it! The second worst part of it was the fish parts. They kept chumming the waters, even after we were in it, so that we were floating around in fish pieces and oil. It was smelly and gross! The skipper joked about us having shiny hair and healthy kin for the rest of the week, but I didn't think it was that funny! J After we got out of the water I couldn't bring my hands near my face because I smelled so bad like fish! Even after 2 showers, when I met up with Lauren, Janeen and Fiona, Lauren's cousin who travelled with us, they still thought that I smelled a little! YUCK!!!

After Wilderness
After meeting up with the ladies, we went to Wilderness, which is just the other side of Victoria Bay where the retreat was. It was incredibly beautiful! We had several great meals, but the best was at Serendipity. It was not just a meal, it was a fine dining experience! I can't even begin to describe how good it was! When we arrived they ushered us into a fire side lounge and the owner introduced the night's menu to us. After talking to us for a while he showed us to the dining room and we started our meal of indulgence. Everything was amazing, but I think the dessert was the best. I don't usually like chocolate and mint together, but it tasted just like an Andes mint! It was so good!! One of our days we travelled to Knysna where they have this place where a few rivers come together and meet the sea. It was stunning in it's beauty! The photos absolutely do not do it justice! After Wilderness we made our way to Franschoek (French Corner in Afrikans), where we stayed with a really sweet couple that were on staff at the retreat. Johnny & Deleste have served as missionaries to the Ukraine for many years and are based out of Franshoek. When they found out that us girls were travelling through their town, they invited us to stay with them. It was so wonderful to stay in a real home and have their warm hospitality and fellowship. They treated us like princesses the whole time we were there! After that we had one night in Stellenbosch then it was time to head back home. It was too expensive to fly, so I took the bus. It was a 20 hour ride but I at least had a seat to myself, which was really nice! Then I took the 8 hour taxi ride back up to Rundu. My own bed never felt so nice!!

I hope that I didn't bore you too much with the shark information. It was just so amazing that I could go on talking about it forever! I added a few pictures to Facebook before my computer died, so here is the link.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=35798&l=d8c79&id=624739114

I hope you enjoy the pictures! I was going to try to add new ones, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon! I'll let you know when that happens... I hope this finds you all doing well!

love and hugs to all,
kimmie

Praises:
• My trip went extremely well! I enjoyed the scenery, food, and the company!
• Shelley (AUS nurse) and Daryl & Sabrina (CAN pharmacist and his wife) arrived in Windhoek safely. I will travel back up with them on Monday the 26th and they will start at the hospital in early June.
Prayer needs:
• Please remember Sheena as she has her last week here. She is working with the OVC volunteers to teach them about basic first aid and with the kids about hygiene. We will head out together on Wednesday to go to Windhoek then she flies out on Thursday. Since I was gone for over half of her time here it seems like she just got here!
• Please remember Rob & Alisa as they are trying to make the decision about whether or not they will be coming back to Rundu after their home assignment. Their decision effects the future of AIM's ministry in Rundu, so it's a big decision not just for their family but for many others as well.
• Please pray for Kosta Kapewa, one of my nurses in Paediatric Ward who got arrested for beating one of her children. She doesn't have her own children, but she has 5 or 6 orphans that she cares for. One of the girls, a 10 year old, has had some very bad acting out behaviour in the last few years. A few days ago Kosta decided to punish the girl for something she did by spanking her. Kosta dropped something from her pocket and bent down to get it. When she did, the girl attacked her and started biting her. Then Kosta lost her temper and beat the girl. (I don't know how badly) The next day Kosta got arrested and spent the night in jail. She is out now with a pending court date of June 16th. She has asked me to help her write a statement. Please pray for me as I help with this because I don't want to be untruthful in the statement but I also want to help Kosta out. She is one of the most compassionate nurses that I work with and though it wasn't right for her to do that, it would be a shame for something terrible to happen from this (like her having to go to prison and the possibility of her losing her job if that happens).

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