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 :-)
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