Dearest Friends and Family,
Once again it has been a week full of much change and the Lord has been so good!
Monday, Oct. 25th – Went to Family of Hope Services (FHS) in the morning and a Day of Travel.
FHS: Family of Hope Services is a program which Africa Inland Mission helps children who are not in school (and should be) or need extra help with school (tutoring).
Children from 1st grade through high school years can come and get help.
It is a great program, but there is still so much need. This program works with children that are underprivileged, and they also serve lunch for them. Around 400 kids are enrolled.
Travel: About an 8 hr drive from Winehoek to Rundu. 8 passenger van with 13 people. I sat in the back with all the children, but they were well behaved! Who would have known that a deck of cards and pens a paper could be so entertaining!
Things I saw on the way include: Giraffe, and baboons and cows and goats roaming in herd on the side of the road, At a lodge we stopped for about 15 minutes and saw a Lion - Muphasa (in a cage), Leamu (type of cat, but I am not going to mess with it), ostrich (baby ones too), and Mercat.
Once getting to Rundu, at about 730 p.m., we had a meal already prepared for us by David and Mackenzie! In Rundu already serving are short termers – David and Mackenzie (from Montana), Blair (Australia), and now all our team (Laura, Mark and Julie, and Me). Rob, Alisa, and family (which equals nine- 7 kids and 2 adults) are also serving. The meal was great and we were able to then start to get settled in our own house right next to Rob and Alisa’s house.
Tuesday, Oct. 26th – Rundu tour, Start of Rundu orientation, OVC project, and
Meal with Blair’s cooking!
Rundu is a fairly small town, but many grocery stores and a small mall. It is really hard for me to tell how big is truly is for many of the people that come to Rundu travel long distances to reach the city. The hospital serves a VERY large number of people. One fast food place – The Hungry Lion! Alisa drove us around town and allowed us to get a bearing of the place. We also went to the store and picked up a few basic food needs.
Every afternoon this week we have met as a small group and discussed and talked through and about many different topics. We have discussed basic safety, expectations, mentoring, HIV/AIDS, gave our testimonies and a portion of our life story (how we got to Rundu), and cultural issues and trends. It has been so helpful and so good!!
We went to the Orphan and Vulnerable Children project (OVC) on Tuesday early evening. I will tell more about this later. After OVC, Blair made us a meal including fish. Blair, David and myself ate fish eye!
Wednesday, Oct. 27th – Hospital tour and Team day.
In the morning Rob took on a tour of the Hospital. It is quite large and in many ways much nicer than I ever thought it would be! The operating room or theater, as they call it, was very clean (not completely sterile but very clean). Next week I will be starting at the hospital.
On Wednesdays traditionally the team of people in Rundu have team day. This typically includes time dedicated to worship, praises and prayer requests, and they study of the Word or a book. We will be studying “Walking with the Poor”. This week we told our testimonies and watched a Nooma video “Dust”. It was a very good time of fellowship and bonding.
Thursday, Oct 28th – Shopping, more orientation, and meal at Kavango Lodge.
We went on another shopping spree, because as of now Laura and I will be cooking for ourselves. They have almost all the typical food I have eaten in the past here, but I am looking forward to cooking more often.
Thursday afternoon we had more orientation. There were some heavy discussions on how to handle many of the difficult situations that may be thrown our direction, but I am so thankful that we are addressing many issues prior to them.
We ate at Kavango Lodge. It is about a mile away and we walked there and back. The food was amazing and it was great to just chill with everyone. If you come visit me, I will take you there!
Other interesting things:
+ Buying electricity for the first time. Yes, you buy it by the Kilowatt and prepay!
+ Everything is Sandy here. We do not have any grass in our yard – only sand. It is nice sand too, beach type!
+ It’s SO HOT!!! I think today the high is suppose to be 35 C. That is HOT if you did not know it! Thankfully we have and air conditioner in our bedroom!
+ We are pretty well settled in our house (Laura and I share a LARGE house)!! I will try to take pictures or post a video of it sometime soon. It is very nice to have our own place and I am also gratefully to have a roommate.
Hope this gave you a glimpse of my life thus far in Namibia! So much more to come, this is only the beginning.
In Christ’s Love,
alysse
“They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.” Isaiah 45:24
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Phone Number correction
My phone number is 26 481 662 628.
In the prior post I did not have it written correctly (at first).
In the prior post I did not have it written correctly (at first).
Sunday, October 24, 2010
I am in Namibia!!!
Oct. 24th 2010
Friends and Family,
I’m in Namibia! Yeah!! The last week has been a bit of travel (that is an overstatement), but thankfully none of it has been stressful and I have not gotten sick!!
Oct. 16th, 2010 – Said goodbye to Michigan.
Oct. 17th, 2010 – Said goodbyes to my parents and brother and close friends in Indianapolis. Flew to New York City.
Oct. 18th, 2010 – Meet up with other orientees and my unit member for at Africa Inland Headquarters in Pearl River (about 40 min. north of NYC).
Oct. 19th, 2010 – Orientation all day
Oct. 20th, 2010 – Left for Namibia via London. Flight took off from NYC to London at about 6 p.m. and arrived to London what would have been about 1 a.m., but in London is was 6 a.m.
Oct. 21st, 2010 – London! We had a 12 hr layover!! So we went into the city. We had our 2nd red eye flight to Johannesburg, South Africa arriving early on the 22nd.
Oct. 22nd, 2010 – We arrived in the early afternoon in Winehoek, Namibia! The remainder of the day was pretty low key.
Oct. 23rd, 2010 – Winehoek. Orientation, leaning history of Namibia, a tour of Winehoek (it is the capital of Namibia), getting a cell phone and a little shopping. Last night we had a pizza dinner and time to spend with other AIM missionaries.
Oct. 24th, 2010 – Church and a day of rest!!
That is my life for the last week in short!
Tomorrow we will drive about 8 hrs up to Rundu, Namibia. Rob said that it is not very safe to drive after dark (could run into wild animals – aka cows!)
Lowlights/ Highlights.
Lowlights- Saying goodbyes to family and friends. Long travels. Tiredness.
Highlights-
Meeting the other orientees and my unit has been great! I am so thankful for each of them. We were able to hang out with the girls going to Uganda in London and I really enjoyed them.
London was great. I was tired, but still SO cool. We did a ton of stuff. I will try to post some pictures soon or all the places we saw or went.
As soon as we came up from the tube we saw Big Ben! Absolutely stunning. Also saw the London Eye, Westminster Abby, walked to Buckingham palace (no changing of the guards that day), took a double-decker bus to the British museum, drank a cappuccino and croissant (in honor of Jenna), and fish-n-chips! At the British museum, I saw lots of Egypt artifacts and Rosetta Stone – that is incredible. We also walked about a couple parks too. It was a beautiful day and sunny, yet quite cold (maybe 40 degree)!
Yesterday we had Naf, a native Namibian, give us the history of Namibian (mainly the last 100 years) through oral history account of his life and story. It was very interesting to hear from him and we could ask him tons of questions about the culture, way of life, history etc. I really appreciated how they have taken the time to make us truly aware of the complexities of this culture; there are many different facets to the culture here. The complexities of a Namibian culture is something I will dive into more as I am here longer and understand it a little more fully.
Last night, I was also able to sit at talk to Margo, a nurse through AIM (who is going home tomorrow) that has lived in Rundu the last year and a half. It was very helpful to just sit and gain wisdom from someone who has experienced what I am about to experience.
I have been able to read a bit more than normal. I highly recommend, “When Helping Hurts” by Steven Corbett & Brian Fikkert. It articulates of many holistic ministry concepts I would like to adopt to ministry.
Miss you all and wish you could be here with me!
Love in Christ,
Alysse
FYI’s:
- I will have internet in the house I am living in up in Rundu. Although it is not a strong connection.
- My cell number in Namibia is: (+26) - country code.
For overseas dial: 26 481 662 628
- I will give you my address on a later date.
- Time difference: 6 hours.
Friends and Family,
I’m in Namibia! Yeah!! The last week has been a bit of travel (that is an overstatement), but thankfully none of it has been stressful and I have not gotten sick!!
Oct. 16th, 2010 – Said goodbye to Michigan.
Oct. 17th, 2010 – Said goodbyes to my parents and brother and close friends in Indianapolis. Flew to New York City.
Oct. 18th, 2010 – Meet up with other orientees and my unit member for at Africa Inland Headquarters in Pearl River (about 40 min. north of NYC).
Oct. 19th, 2010 – Orientation all day
Oct. 20th, 2010 – Left for Namibia via London. Flight took off from NYC to London at about 6 p.m. and arrived to London what would have been about 1 a.m., but in London is was 6 a.m.
Oct. 21st, 2010 – London! We had a 12 hr layover!! So we went into the city. We had our 2nd red eye flight to Johannesburg, South Africa arriving early on the 22nd.
Oct. 22nd, 2010 – We arrived in the early afternoon in Winehoek, Namibia! The remainder of the day was pretty low key.
Oct. 23rd, 2010 – Winehoek. Orientation, leaning history of Namibia, a tour of Winehoek (it is the capital of Namibia), getting a cell phone and a little shopping. Last night we had a pizza dinner and time to spend with other AIM missionaries.
Oct. 24th, 2010 – Church and a day of rest!!
That is my life for the last week in short!
Tomorrow we will drive about 8 hrs up to Rundu, Namibia. Rob said that it is not very safe to drive after dark (could run into wild animals – aka cows!)
Lowlights/ Highlights.
Lowlights- Saying goodbyes to family and friends. Long travels. Tiredness.
Highlights-
Meeting the other orientees and my unit has been great! I am so thankful for each of them. We were able to hang out with the girls going to Uganda in London and I really enjoyed them.
London was great. I was tired, but still SO cool. We did a ton of stuff. I will try to post some pictures soon or all the places we saw or went.
As soon as we came up from the tube we saw Big Ben! Absolutely stunning. Also saw the London Eye, Westminster Abby, walked to Buckingham palace (no changing of the guards that day), took a double-decker bus to the British museum, drank a cappuccino and croissant (in honor of Jenna), and fish-n-chips! At the British museum, I saw lots of Egypt artifacts and Rosetta Stone – that is incredible. We also walked about a couple parks too. It was a beautiful day and sunny, yet quite cold (maybe 40 degree)!
Yesterday we had Naf, a native Namibian, give us the history of Namibian (mainly the last 100 years) through oral history account of his life and story. It was very interesting to hear from him and we could ask him tons of questions about the culture, way of life, history etc. I really appreciated how they have taken the time to make us truly aware of the complexities of this culture; there are many different facets to the culture here. The complexities of a Namibian culture is something I will dive into more as I am here longer and understand it a little more fully.
Last night, I was also able to sit at talk to Margo, a nurse through AIM (who is going home tomorrow) that has lived in Rundu the last year and a half. It was very helpful to just sit and gain wisdom from someone who has experienced what I am about to experience.
I have been able to read a bit more than normal. I highly recommend, “When Helping Hurts” by Steven Corbett & Brian Fikkert. It articulates of many holistic ministry concepts I would like to adopt to ministry.
Miss you all and wish you could be here with me!
Love in Christ,
Alysse
FYI’s:
- I will have internet in the house I am living in up in Rundu. Although it is not a strong connection.
- My cell number in Namibia is: (+26) - country code.
For overseas dial: 26 481 662 628
- I will give you my address on a later date.
- Time difference: 6 hours.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Excited for Africa
I wrote this in prep for Africa.
Why I am excited to go to Africa!
I am excited to learn about a new culture, new people, new way of life, new foods, new look, and different perspective on this world. I am excited to see how they love the Lord in a different way, or do not know or love the Lord at all. I am excited to be able to give to them in some small way.
I am excited to become more aware of what the value of life and death is, what reconciliation really looks like, how to live an authentic Christian life, and what community means.
Most of all, I am excited to see what the Lord is up to in Africa.
Why I am excited to go to Africa!
I am excited to learn about a new culture, new people, new way of life, new foods, new look, and different perspective on this world. I am excited to see how they love the Lord in a different way, or do not know or love the Lord at all. I am excited to be able to give to them in some small way.
I am excited to become more aware of what the value of life and death is, what reconciliation really looks like, how to live an authentic Christian life, and what community means.
Most of all, I am excited to see what the Lord is up to in Africa.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
leaving for Namibia soon
Friends and Family,
The Lord has done immeasurably more then I could have asked or imagined in the last month (Eph. 3:20). I am overjoyed to inform you that I am fully funded. I have seen the Lord do many miracles. One day my support doubled from $6,000 to $12,000. The Lord provided all I needed in less that one month! Wow!! Thank you for your involvement!! I could not have done it without your support and prayer.
I have been very busy over this last month—moving out of my apartment, raising support, working, visiting family and friends, and much more.
On October 20th I fly to Africa! I have seen the Lord at work in every step of this process, and I’m so excited for the opportunity to serve in Rundu, Namibia with Africa Inland Mission.
Please continue to keep me in your prayers!
Specific requests: Saying goodbyes, wrapping up life in Indianapolis, team unity and bonding, learning to adapt to Namibian culture, and having all the little details come together.
Rejoicing in Jesus,
alysse
Best ways to stay in contact:
Facebook. Email: alysse.cuthbert@gmail.com
Skype: alysse.cuthbert Blog: http://alyssecuthbert.blogspot.com
The Lord has done immeasurably more then I could have asked or imagined in the last month (Eph. 3:20). I am overjoyed to inform you that I am fully funded. I have seen the Lord do many miracles. One day my support doubled from $6,000 to $12,000. The Lord provided all I needed in less that one month! Wow!! Thank you for your involvement!! I could not have done it without your support and prayer.
I have been very busy over this last month—moving out of my apartment, raising support, working, visiting family and friends, and much more.
On October 20th I fly to Africa! I have seen the Lord at work in every step of this process, and I’m so excited for the opportunity to serve in Rundu, Namibia with Africa Inland Mission.
Please continue to keep me in your prayers!
Specific requests: Saying goodbyes, wrapping up life in Indianapolis, team unity and bonding, learning to adapt to Namibian culture, and having all the little details come together.
Rejoicing in Jesus,
alysse
Best ways to stay in contact:
Facebook. Email: alysse.cuthbert@gmail.com
Skype: alysse.cuthbert Blog: http://alyssecuthbert.blogspot.com
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