Getting Back Into the flow

Over the Past few years it seems that we have been using FaceBook (FB) as the major social media platform to stay connected with our family and friends across the globe and the beauty of FB is that the posts do not have to be wordy - seems like we are all staying connected on the run and have so many people to connect with that we can only give a few minutes to reading..  No problem with this, however there does seem to be a place for a more comprehensive post which gives space to share ideas and feelings etc in a bit of detail..

I plan to continue using FB  and include this space to post news and information on a monthly basis.. my hope is that there will be those who will take the time to not only read our blog, but who will also make comments or respond.

The first posting will be done in a few days..

Eric

Been A Long Time..

It's 5:00am and my phone rings, the voice on the other end is familiar but in my sleepy state I'm not sure if I am hearing correctly - the voice tells my that I need to accompany the speaker in order to collect my car ! Yeah right, but I have not ordered a car (or so I think).. Then I remember a conversation with a good friend and the offer of a car was made and I said that would be wonderful.. At any rate later that night my friend arrived and we talked.. A few days later I was on my way to Zimbabwe at the wheel of an Audi A6 Estate.. This is the car offered to me -- I return to Namibia about a week later and then we as a family make the trek home for Christmas and New Year.. One of the highlights for our children was taking off to Creamy Inn for ice cream..

Larnelle had the joy of whitewater rafting on the mighty Zambezi river.. Our little girl is quite a together young lady and certainly adventurous..  My mum joined us for our break away to the Victoria Falls and although she moved a bit slowly we had such a blessed time with her.. Little did we know that this would be our last Christmas with her..

Our journey back to Namibia was lengthy and we had one very exciting experience as we crossed through Botswana between Nata and Maun...  An elephant was walking along the road, towards us and kept us at bay for about 20 mins before walking off into the bush... In all this time of excitement and wonder at this mighty beast just a few metres from us not one of us thought to take pictures or even a video with our cell phones.. What a wasted opportunity.. BUT we made it back to Okahandja..

It's 5:00am On Friday 25th January - the voice on the other end is familiar, it's my brother in Law - he calls to let me know that my mum, who had been in hospital for the past week or so, had just passed away. - By 2:00pm we are on the road and arrive in Zimbabwe on Saturday at about 4pm.. Sadness grips my heart and the heart of my family as we come to terms with the fact that our mum has now passed on from this life.  THe void she leaves in our hearts will always remind us of her and we have her memories and wisdom to last for the rest of our lives..

Time to go for now - more to follow later...

Update

Winter is coming to Namibia and there is a noticeable chill in the early morning air.. Our eldest daughter, Larnelle is away at the moment on a mission outreach to a place called Sesfontein.  From her text messages on day one and two it appeared as though she was really finding it tough to be away from home in a rural setting, in conditions that are fairly rustic - A few words of encouragement and the Holy Spirit doing what only He can do have turned her around and she is now beginning to see God at work and not focus on her discomfort and the difficult conditions.. She'll be home this Friday and has already told me that she has sooooo much to share..

It was Faye's Birthday on the 19th May and we had the joy of spending the weekend at the coast in Swakopmund.  A good friend took care of our three children, our leaders covered the speaking and children's church responsibilities for the weekend which released us to have an enjoyable couple of days of rest and refreshment.  

The weather in Swakop was just perfect - we had warm sunny days and cool evenings.. what more could we ask for.  We did miss the children, especially when we consider the excellent weather..

An additional 'benefit' (for Eric) was having the opportunity to gauge the performance of the car which has recently had some major repairs. The car performed very well and we feel confident that the repair work was done well.

Ministry continues to be both exciting and challenging as we seek to honour God in leading the people of Victory Christian Church.  At the moment we seem to be going through a plateau and are seeking God's wisdom and insight as to how we should respond and continue the process of growth.   

I have been teaching computer basics at the Enongelo Community Centre in the informal settlement of Five Rand.. It has been wonderful to be able to equip the young people with skills that they can use and our joy has been compounded by the news that we have had more than ten computer donated for use at the centre. Three of the donated computers have arrived and another four are on the way.  These computers will greatly accelerate the learning process and will afford us the opportunity of increasing the number of students we can accommodate in the classes..  

Eric has also begun to conduct personality profiling as part of the leadership development training offered to churches, ministries and businesses.  This is an exciting development which will greatly enhance the service we offer the community.

Ciao for now- more news to come in future posts..

Jubilee

It has been quite a while since my last post in September and this is a good time to create another post.. 

The big news of course is that Eric has turned 50 !  It was a joyful day somewhat tinged with the sadness of being away from family and friends - yet we have been so blessed to have made some truly strong friendships here in Namibia.  After a very peaceful morning we took a drive into Windhoek visited the Malls and enjoyed being together as a family - at 6pm we made our way to the Golden Spur where we were joined by Pastor Carven Izaks and his family and Stanley Beukes and his family.    The food was; good the fellowship even better.  Of course Eric was ambushed by the some of the staff of the Spur - they came over to the table, painted his face with chocolate syrup and then proceeded to sing a unique version of Happy Birthday.  Joshua and Sydney were tickled pink as they saw their dad being 'made fun of' in this way..

On Sunday morning there was a special tea at the church for Eric, but before the tea, some of the folk took the time to convey in words how they felt about Eric and expressed their appreciation of him.  It was a very special time and the fellowship after the service was very special and meaningful.

As far as gifts go, this was a really special birthday - Some of the gifts received included:  

> A set of Sony Car radio speakers

> A pair of Asics Running Sneakers

> A Samsung Computer Ntebook

> Pen Set

> A Basketball

The greatest gift of all was Being . LOVED & APPRECIATED!   You cannot put a dollar value on that.

How Cool is That ??

Hi Everybody, this is Johsua Eric Garnie.. I am in Oranjemund with my mum and dad, it's Thursday morning and we are taking a walk about town.. The point of this post is that my folks have spoiled me and bought me some cool sunglasses..Now How Cool is that?  By the way I think I look pretty cool too..  What do you say?

We went to Spar to buy a few things and I was so surprised at the notice in the shop.. This Oranjemund place is quite unique.. Check out the sign they have as you enter Spar..

So what do you think - NO Gemsboks !! It's no joke, the Gemsboks walk around the town like it's their playground, and amazingly everybody leaves them alone and I heard that if you shoot one - you go straight to jail, do not pass GO and definitely do not collect $ 100 !!

As you can see I am having a blast in Oranjemund and will be sad when I have to leave on Monday and go back to Okahandja..  Hope my dad let's me make another post before we leave..

Ha Ha Ha !!

On the Road Again

Last week Friday we travelled to the coastal town of Swakopmund for the weekend.  A very special friend has booked a house in Swakop and made it available to us.  We enjoyed the weekend and had a good time of rest and refreshment..

The House in Swakop.

It was cold on Saturday morning, but this did not keep us from going to the beach for about an hour or so. Of course there was no swimming but once again we simply enjoyed the awesome beauty of the ocean.

Off to Walvis Bay in the afternoon to visit some family.. We spent the afternoon with Andre and Fenella Matulich and the daughter Nadia.  On arrival the first order of business was to repair a leaking tap and then get down to the business of catching up with one another.  The braai was 'off the hook' and the vegetable chillies that Fenella gave us, simply hit the spot.. We were having a really great time and finally decided it was time to travel back to Swakop..

Sunday and the sun emerged to greet us and give us a spectacular day.  Still a bit cool, but really bright and beautiful..  Off to the beach we go and this time the kids played and splashed in the water as we again simply revelled in the majesty and power of God's creation..  We played in the sand and buried the kids legs etc.

Sydney and Joshua on the Dunes - Before the Dive.

Oh by the way I forgot to mention that on the way down to Walvis Bay (Saturday afternoon) we stopped at the side of the road so that the children would climb the dunes. It was good fun (tiring for dad who had to carry Joshua up to the top). After playing at the top for some time, we headed back down and Joshua decided to run after Sydney.  The next moment we witnessed Joshua dive into the sand and when I looked I his face in the sand and his feet up in the air.. I dashed down to pick him up and got him to spit all the sand out of his mouth..  Needless to say, Sydney found this to be very amusing, much to the consternation of her brother who saw nothing amusing with falling face first into the sand..

Now one week later we are on the road again.. I have been invited to preach and teach at the Full Gospel Church in the coastal town of Oranjemund..  The first leg of the trip was from Okahandja to Keetmanshoop.. This has been completed safely and although we are a bit tired we will have a good night's rest at the Pastoral Centre in Keetmanshoop..

Joshua has just fallen asleep and Sydney will be asleep soon - Faye is resting and Larnelle is blow drying her hair..  We are very thankful for the car which God has blessed us with- it ran well and although the air con needs to be repaired, we nonetheless had a pleasant trip -

Faye and Eric..

Tomorrow we head for the diamond town- Oranjemund- and a week of exciting ministry.  It will also give our family a week to spend together in a different town, it's school holidays and so this is almost like a vacation.
God is really good and we treasure these times to serve Him and to be refreshed in Him as we serve.

It's Winter Time

I am sitting in my living room as I make this post.  Sydney and Joshua are playing together, Sydney is the school teacher and Joshua the student..

Last night we took our youth group - THE VICTORY CHAMPS into Windhoek (70kms one way) to be part of a youth fellowship night.  The ministry team - Latreou- performed dance and drama to communicate the message of total commitment to Christ and the youth Pastor brought a message encouraging the young people to come to Christ and to really get to know who they are in Him.

On the way home, Joshua decided he wanted to sit on my lap and drive the Kombi.. I put him on my lap and after about 15 mins I noticed he was silent- yep he had fallen asleep.. We arrived home at about 10:30pm and man was it cold..

Today I will be attending a funeral service for an infant who died after succumbing to a rather virulent viral infection.  The dad and mum are believers and whilst they are strong in the knowledge that their son is in the presence of the Lord their hearts are still broken and their grief very deep.  I have seen how other believers have rallied to their support and it has made me once again see the value and joy of being part of the body of Christ.

Every two or three months I get together with some folk here in Okahandja and host a praise and worship concert.. this afternoon we have a scheduled practice for the next concert on the 10th July..  This time we are hosting the concert in the nearby high density area called Nau Aib..

Each morning as I take the children to school, Sydney and Joshua have a fun time looking at their breath as it condenses in the cold morning air.. Yes it is Winter time and this year it has been much colder than in previous years.. I usually revel in the cold weather, but this year I have had a few days of really feeling the cold and looking forward to summer.. maybe it is also old age ??

Five Rand Youth Centre Construction

This past week has been very different for me (Eric), as I have spent the Lion's share of each day in Five Rand, the informal settlement on the outskirts of Okahandja working on construction of our Youth Centre..  Thankfully the work went well, although it did require quite a bit of running around to get supplies and materials..

A view of the front entrance of the youth centre.  One of our young men is in the process of demarcating a parking bay..









Two of the young men casting the concrete floor for the main hall.. It is in this main hall that many of our large group activities will take place.. We plan to have Bible studies, Leadership seminars and workshops, movie nights, youth club meetings etc..

Our building contracter  in the process of making the septic tank.. This one is just over two metre deep and about two metres wide.  Thankfully the continuing rain has afforded us with much cooler temperatures than normally experienced and this makes working in such a place less uncomfortable..





With our current progress we should hopefully have the centre completed by the middle of April and can commence some of our activities.  Faye is looking forward to the centre opening as it means she can meet with her ladies for knitting classes in the confines of the building and out of the dust and wind..

This month I am teaching on Family and have sensed quite an expectancy and enthusiasm amongst the congregation.. We often see dysfuntional and fractured families and people are asking the question: "Is it possible to have a healthy family?"   What is a normal family ?

Rain Rain Rain

It has been raining almost continually for the past three weeks or more, and the once dry landscape has turned into this amazing green 'garden'.   With all the rain, the rivers have been flowing and a couple of Sundays ago we decided to take a drive out to the Swakop River for a picnic lunch.  We had such a blast that we were out at the river again the following Sunday..

The most enjoyable part of the visits to the river is watching Larnelle, Sydney and Joshua playing in the water and having such a blast.. Larnelle gets to be BIG sister and has to keep an eye on Joshua... Well he thinks he's big now and that he can do anything he sees others doing..

A wonderful benefit of the rainy weather is the fact that the temperatures have cooled significantly - yes it is still warm but not the unrelenting and merciless heat for which Okahandja is so well known.. At night we are able to get some sleep and even have to use a light quilt.

I have been particularly glad for the cooler weather as it meant I was able to play tennis and really enjoy the game.. I play about once or twice a week and am able to hold my own on the court.. sadly I do not get much opportunity to play basketball..

Faye and I have been rather busy and she in particular as she spent much time in getting the paperwork ready for our auditors.. Man am I glad I don't have to do that kind of stuff.....

We are very well and enjoying the work God has placed before us.. The church is growing and we are now considering introducing a second service.. The children's church has also grown and Faye is actively looking for those she can train up to teach children.  I too have my hands full with bringing an effective and workable structure into the life of the church..

Work on the youth Centre in Five Rand (informal settlement) is just about completed and we are now in the exciting and necessary phase of fine tuning our plans for actually using the facility.  My role promises to be very challenging and quite comprehensive.  If ever I needed to know the closeness of the Lord and the Holy Spirit it is now..  God is at work and I want to remain sensitive to where He is at work so that I may join Him and be effective for Christ..

Our visit to Johannesburg

I am mortified that my last post was in May of this year whilst I was in the USA.. How could I have been so caught up with ministry that I did not take the time to update this blog..

So where are we now - this post will be a random collection of new as I will be making notes as they come to mind rather than a chronological collection of comments...

We had the joy of travelling to Johannesburg in September this year...Craig and his wife Mel sponsored our bus fares and so with much excitement the Garnie family boarded the InterCape Mainliner for a 24 hour bus ride to the capital of Gauteng..  To be honest the bus ride was not half bad- we talked, played, slept and simply enjoyed the time together.. 

Dad, Joshua & Sydney ready to board the bus.

I have to go now and will do more on this blog later.  I am back again..  Our visit to SA was so enjoyable.. Faye got to see her dad and brother Conrad and we were able to see some of our friends-

I was thankful for the opportunity to see my brother and to spend some time with my dad who came down to JHB for the special event..  Well I had the joy and privilege of dedicating my niece and nephew (Craig and Mel's two children) as well as Mel and Craig's grandaughter.. How funny is that.. I am older than Craig and yet he is a grandfather.

There were people at the baby dedication that I had not seen in many years.. One of the guys that I met was one of the young boys who always came to watch basketball and during half time they would dash out onto the court and play at one of the hoops.. When Craig introduced the young man to me I honestly could not remember him...  By the end of the evening I finally did place him - phew for a while I thought I was getting old !!

My heart was very sore at the end of the evening because some of our family members were embroiled in a verbal fight that spoiled what was an otherwise enjoyable day.

One of the realities that has been indelibly imprinted on our minds is the reality that time is so short, we really cannot afford to spend time arguing and fighting with each other over issues and things that in the big scheme of things are really not that earth shattering.

Our bus ride home was rather unpleasant- the bus was delayed, there was an accident about 50km from the Namibian border which delayed us even further and I honestly think the South African police officer who insisted that we remove our luggage off the bus, including the plastic packets containing food fromWimpy, KFC etc, was a man who was having a bad day and decided that he would cause as many other people to have a bad day as well.  I guess he wanted to share his bad day with as many as possible.. Thanks alot for something we did not need...

The Upington bus depot where we changed buses for the final section of the journey to JHB..

I guess we did not look to bad after a night on the bus.. You should have seen us by the time we got to JHB..

We found the sleepliner bus to be very comfortable and the hostess on the bus was very friendly and helpful - I guess having kids like Joshua and Sydney was a great help as well..


All in all we enjoyed ourselves tremendously and look forward to future trips....

Summer Camp

It was my privilege to be a guest speaker at Youth For Christ's end of year camp 'SUMMER CAMP' in 1998, 2000 & 2002..  We then moved to Namibia in January 2006.. Last year I was invited to speak at SUMMER CAMP and was so very blessed because not only was I a guest speaker but my daughter was amongst the almost 300 young people who turned out for this event...

Last night I spoke again at SUMMER CAMP - It was so exciting to walk into the Tabernacle and watch the excited and energetic young people coming in..Music played loudly and excited young face could be seen all around the meeting place.. On the Video screen was a slideshow of pictures taken through the day - What a fun I had as I watched young people's faces light up when they saw themselves on the screen..  Faye and I were just so at home amongst the youth.. We love this kind of ministry and are grateful to God and to YFC for the opportunity to be part of an event that will change the lives of these young people..

Yes, Larnelle is once again a camper and she was quite an active ambassador for Summer Camp this year.  She invited several of her friends and I am happy to say a few of them signed up for the event..  Larnelle is part of the Victory Dance Team and they were featured as part of the opening night programme, which I am told went very well..

We are praying for God to work some long term change in SUMMER CAMPERS and dare to believe this will have a positive impact on the youth of this beautiful nation.

Food Food Food

I have been in the USA for just over a week and one thing has become very clear- I will have to exercise self control when it comes to food..   I guess I look like I need some fattening up.. 

On Monday night Pastor Lon and I were in the mountains relaxing and being refreshed.. It was a most wonderful time- the beauty of the Rockies is something to behold and with the sun shining brightly and the weather not too cold I relaxed in the beauty of God's creation and meditated on the Psalm that reminds us to be still and Know that He is God..  

This past Saturday Ps Lon and I met with a group of people who had all been on the mission field in some part of Africa.. We shared our experiences, and prayed for each other's present needs. One of the folk shared that he was due to fly to Angola via London BUT that there was the possibility of a strike by BA employees.. You can imagine my joy when a few days later we heard a news broadcast informing people that the strike would not go ahead.. I am waiting to hear that this man made it to Angola on time.

Tomorrow afternoon I fly to Ontario California-- yes I know- when you hear Ontario the first thought is Canada.. At any rate I will spend about five days in Southern California.. It is going to be great to visit the folk at Grace Presbyterian Church (Temecula) who have been faithfully partnering with Faye and I in ministry..  I was last with them in 2007, and they have been supporting us since then.  Spending time with my dear brother in Christ Bob Vasquez and his dear wife Jan is going to be a highlight of my time in California..  

Whilst in Southern California it is my hope to visit some Zimbabwean friends - Vic and Nancy.. We have been in touch for some time and it just seems as though our plans are experiencing some turbulence and disturbance...  I hope we will visit, but if we don't we both recognize it does not affect our friendship.  

Keep an eye on this space for more updates.. 

The Eagle Has Landed

It is Thursday morning and I am seated in Pastor Lon's living room. We are in Denver Colorado.  The weather outside is cool and the sun is shining brightly..

I left Namibia on Tuesday at about lunchtime and flew to Johannesburg where I had the joy of spending some time with a very good friend of mine - Mark Pendy.  We were able to chat and catch up on the news about each other..  He took me to Mugg and Bean for coffee and we then went to his home and to my joy was able to see Cassy (Mark's wife) and their four children.

The flight to Frankfurt was uneventful and to be honest I slept most of the way.  I had no problems in Frankfurt and after a five hour layover, boarded the flight to Denver.

I was seated next to dear old lady who made sure to keep checking up on me throughout the entire flight- hence I did not get much sleep.

The fun really began when I got to the Immigration desk- for the first time in my life I was taken to the special interview room.  Needless to say I was a bit anxious as to why I was now having to go to the interview room.  After a 30 minute delay I was finally interviewed.. Can you believe it, the problem was that they were not happy with my passport picture.. The man said this to me- :"I can see it's you but it's not a really good photo" You work that out !   At any rate, because of the delay, I was simply waved through and that was up my street as I was not in the mood for another delay, or suitcase searching exercise to find nothing..

My friend, Pastor Lon is looking very well and this morning we went together on a Pastoral visit.

It is quite surprising that I have not really experienced jet lag.  I slept well last night and this morning was feeling just fine.  

I gotta run now as we are having a cookout with Pastor Lon's family.  Back home we would call that a braai.

More posts in the days ahead..

A short Family Update

Am I imagining it or does time seem to moving at an accelerated pace?  Just yesterday it seemed it was Christmas and today we begin the third month of this new decade.. The Biblical directive to make the most of the time we have takes on greater significance..

Last night I was part of the worship band that lead in a combined churches worship service here in Okahandja.  The attendance was the best it's ever been and by the time we had sung the final song for the night, just about everybody in the sanctuary was on their feet clapping hands and rejoicing..

We arrived home and found a truck parked in the open piece of ground in front of our flat- Well Joshua decided this is the place to firstly sit and then of course to explore.  He loves trucks and motorbikes and cars, and to have a real live truck in his 'front' yard was just about too much for our young prince.

Today I take Sydney to the dentist (there is only one in our town) and will either see her having an extraction or a tooth filled..  I hope it goes well and that there is not too much discomfort for my little princess..

Yesterday afternoon (before the praise and worship concert) Larnelle decide to make some pancakes.  For some reason however when I put the mixture into the pan it kept sticking and just seemed to be a lump of dough. After three failed attempts I started using Spray and Cook - a little better but not much.. Larnelle was disappointed and I was confused BUT then  a revelation was given:  In her enthusiasm to make pancakes my young queen did not add egg to the mixture !!  Once corrected she was able to cook some tasty pancakes and I enjoyed my share following the concert.

Joshua woke up at 4:00am and felt he needed to inform me that the sun was not waking up.

I am working on a website for our church - so keep an eye on this space, you should soon be getting the page address and can visit us and see what God is doing at Victory Christian Church..

Oh My Goodness!

Can you believe it, my last post was in October last year.. Does that mean nothing has happened in the past few months? Not by any means..

Let me take you on a relatively quick overview of the past few months, highlighting some of the major or critical events in our lives..

1. At the close of October 09 Faye and I had come to the agreement that our time of ministry and service within Christ's Hope International was coming to an end. So many thoughts passed through our minds, so many issues presented themselves and we found ourselves looking to God for some very clear guidance on the next step. That God was giving us the go-ahead to leave Christ's Hope was not the issue- it was the question "Where to?". Like Abraham we felt God was saying "Arise and leave this place to a place I will show you".. So that is what we did.. I am happy to once again be able to declare that God is faithful.. He has connected us with an American Missionary couple who have been serving in Namibia for the past ten years or so, and as we spoke it became clear that this is where the Lord was opening the door for us. We are now serving in a ministry called Leadership Outreach Namibia.. Our goal is to serve the local church and Christian Organisations in Namibia by providing training, equipping and community involvement to develop emerging leaders and to assist these organizations in being more effective in their endeavours. Faye will serve as the business manager and will be training up a young Namibian lady in the areas of bookkeeping and general fiscal management principles, as well as taking care of the books for the ministry.

I will serve as Co-Executive Director responsible to lead the team when the Executive Director is out of the country (which is the case at the moment) and to train and equip our team and give input to the churches and organizations we partner with. An exciting development is my being released with the blessing of Leadership Outreach to serve the local community as the pastor of a local church here in Okahandja. This is probably the only church in Okahandja that conducts services in English. The Church is called " Victory Christian Church". These are indeed exciting times..

2. In December my father and mother and My sister (Lisa) and her husband (Ozzie) travelled to spend Christmas with us. It was such a joy to have family with us and to see the children playing together.. In 2008 we were blessed with a 3m (circular) splash pool and this past December we had the joy of seeing the children make full use of the pool. The temperatures were oppressively hot and so the pool was a most welcome place for relief..

3. We used the last week of December to move our possessions from the International Training Centre to the flat which now has become home for us. Yes we now live in a small 2 bedroom flat on the fringe of the CBD. It has been quite a welcome change of environment and Sydney and Joshua have already made friends with two of the children who live in one of the other flats..

4. Larnelle excelled in school and finished at the top of her class. We are so proud of her, she has grown in her maturity and grasp of some key Biblical principles..

5. I was invited to be a camp speaker at Youth For Christ's end of the year SUMMER CAMP. "All for Jesus" was the camp theme and it was a privilege and joy to see God using us to impact and influence the almost 300 (298)campers who travelled to Hodygos (YFC campsite) for the week long camp.

For us, the new year, NEW decade began without much fanfare and fuss. The momentum picked up slowly and we are finding our feet in the new ministry, and giving thanks each day for the Lord's goodness toward us.

I gotta run for now, but will be posting some more info and hopefully some pictures, later this week so please do pass by this web page in the next few days and do drop us an email from time to time

Blessings to ALL.

An Eventful Journey

Plans were being made in September for me to visit Zimbabwe with my colleague, Tony Duran. It would have been a wonderful opportunity to see friends and family during the ten days or so that we would be home. Unfortunately the trip to Zimbabwe did not take place, but I was offered a ride to Johannesburg with a friend who is currently the National Director of Youth For Christ-Namibia.

The journey to JHB was quite eventful--The plan was to travel through to Gaborone on a Saturday and spend the night with very special friends - Toby and Doll Ralph. We would join them for fellowship on Sunday morning and then move on

to JHB after lunch and my friends would collect me from the YFC centre in the Magaliesburg area..

We left Okahandja at 6am on the Saturday and after 15 mins of travel had a flat. Now the fun began. The jack did not lift the vehicle of the ground sufficiently for the flat wheel to be removed and the spare fitted.. So we removed the flat and began to dig a hole under the hub so that we would have space to fit the spare- sound like a good plan - Only one problem.. We are on the side of the main road and as a long haul truck passed the combi was moved and slid off the jack onto the ground.. Okay so we dig another hole to get the jack into position to lift the car BUT it was still not enough to lift it so that the spare could be fitted- Thankfully a good friend, Johnny Pedreiro willingly came our and helped us with his jack and we got the spare fitted and on our way.. By the time we stopped in Windhoek and had the flat repaired and resumed our journey about two and a half hours had passed. When w

e were leaving Windhoek we should really have already been at the Botswana border..

No problems getting through the border, except the shock of the new road taxes etc.. BUT .... Oh yes there is more to come..

About thirty kilometres before the little town of Kang (375kms from the border) we ??? Ran out of fuel ! Now way you say.. Oh yes.. Well what to do now? Walk.. That was our only option. So Stanley and I start walking.. We walked for about 25 mins before a vehicle stopped to give us a ride into Kang.. Yippee..

we get there and buy ten litres of fuel and ??? start walking back again.. We are now walking into the sun and carrying a twenty litre plastic container with ten litres of fuel - Had a nostalgia attack as I remembered what it was like in Zimbabwe with fuel containers etc.. At any rate God favoured us and a long haul

Namibian trucker stopped to give us a ride.. yes I finally got to ride in an air conditioned Scania rig.. Every cloud had a silver lining..

Okay so now we have the fuel, we're back at the combi and our journey resumes - Oh by the way - Travelling with us was Stanley's wife (Desiree), their son Justin (4yrs) and daughter Rachel (8 months).. Another two hours have passed -

so all in all we have had our journey extended by four and a half hours.. Arriving in Gabs at night and looking out for Toby was fun.. We found each other and were treated to a phenomenal chicken curry and roti dinner (prepared by one Mrs Gwen Harry..

Toby and Doll

Seeing friends we have not seen for some time was refreshing and a great blessing..

To add to this was the enjoyment of sharing in their worship service the following Sunday morning..

Rowan and Gwen Harry

The service was excellent and we were treated to a very special lunch- in fact it was so enjoyable that by the time we checked our watches it was already 3pm !! We still had to drive through to JHB.. Our trip to JHB was without any major negative event, we did get ourselves temporarily misplaced for about 30 minutes, but who's counting?

The next post will talk about JHB ..

Adding Value to Others

Both Faye and I consider it a privilege to be missionaries and to know that God is gracious enough to afford us the opportunity of adding value to others. We have both had the opportunity to speak at Encounter Camps, Faye to the ladies and me to the men, organised by a Powerhouse Family Fellowship - a church based in Windhoek.

Faye participated as a small group leader and came home so blessed and fired up after the weekend of ministry. Dad of course had the joy of babysitting.. Confidentiality commitments prevent me from giving details of some of the ways in which lives were impacted as the Holy Spirit worked through us. I can however say that both Faye and I were very conscious of the Lord's hand on us in giving us wisdom to know how to speak to and pray for people whose lives have been traumatised and who have come to such a camp looking for answers and looking for solutions, and some not even sure of what they are looking for.

Through a structured programme of big group and small group sessions we listened, prayed spoke and saw how God became more real to so many of the people and how eyes that appeared dull and without light suddenly came alive and lit up with hope as people experienced the person of the Holy Spirit and a revelation of Christ which brought hope..

I was invited to be a guest speaker at a youth camp and while taking the campers through the Biblical account of the prodigal son had the joy of sharing with them about the Father heart of God. On the final night of the camp I spoke on the value and importance of a father's blessing.. My dear friend Tony Duran and I then invited the campers to come to the front for prayer if they wanted to receive a father's blessing.. Almost all the campers came forward to receive a blessing and it was my singular joy to not only bless these young men and women, but my own daughter (Larnelle) was on the camp and I was honoured and moved as I held her in my arms and blessed her and spoke words of life and destiny over her..

Parents you know how your heart lurches and questions go whizzing through your mind when you receive a message that the principal of the school your child attends, requests that you come in to see him ? Well I did get just such a call from Larnelle's school.. I had no idea what to expect and was just about blown off my feet when the principal explained the reason for his wanting to see me.. NO Larnelle was not in trouble and in fact there was no problem with her at all, in fact to the contrary. Because of how well Larnelle is doing at school (and at the end of the second term she got all A's) the principal informed me that there was a scholarship/sponsorship being made available specifically for Larnelle that would cover her school fees for all of 2010 ! This comes to a total of about twenty four thousand rand for the year !

While still giving thanks to God for His provision for Larnelle I received another call and on going to see this precious person was told that he and his wife wanted to cover Sydney's school fees for 2010.. This amounts to an annual figure of fourteen thousand four hundred rand. How awesome is that ! God is indeed Jehovah Jireh (Go our provider) and he does meet our needs.. It seems as though God has been pleased with us adding value to others and so moved others to add value to us..

Catch UP..

It has been said the 'time flies' and when I look back at the last posting on this blog I cannot believe how much time has passed. An update is way overdue..

In June we had the joy of a few days break to attend a sports festival in Swakopmund. Due to the large number of people being in the town for this important private schools event, we had the benefit of excellent rates at the Municipal Bungalows. Despite the cold June weather of this picturesque seaside resort we simply enjoyed some quality family time. It was so good to be without a rigid and fixed schedule for a few days it gave us a time to unwind..

Sydney and Joshua in the Bungalow Larnelle in full flight

Larnelle's team played fairly well and although not emerging as champions the players all seemed to have enjoyed the tournament.

On the way back to Okahandja we stopped over to visit our friends Calvin and Koesha Martin

who live in Karibib. We first met the Martins whilst they were living in Okahandja, and have continued to keep contact with them even after they moved to Karibib where Calvin took on the post of principal of a private school. During our visit Calvin mentioned his wanting me to conduct a church service for the school boarders one Sunday. We looked at the calendar and set a date and I had the joy of travelling to the school and running a chapel service one Sunday morning, and of course we all enjoyed our fellowship with the Martins.

We were very blessed to have my Uncle Ernst and Fay pay us a visit in August. They first travelled to Cape Town to attend a family wedding and then came up to Namibia where they spent a few days with us. During their short visit they were able to see the beautiful Etosha Game Park and then spend time in Swakopmund as well. From Namibia they travelled on to Zimbabwe to see family before returning to Switzerland.. The value of seeing family face to face and spending time with each other cannot be fully quantified and both Faye and I have come to treasure these times.

One Sunday afternoon I went out to play tennis and on returning home discovered that my laptop was not functioning properly. All my efforts to get it sorted out came to zero and finally I sent it in for a check up - the diagnosis- the motherboard is faulty and it would be best to replace it - cost of a new mother board? +/- R 4000.00 The lady at the computer shop very gently suggested that rather than replacing the laptop I should simply consider purchasing a new laptop. Yeah right ! Now you know we Christians are an interesting lot and we tend to talk to God about such situations.. wonder of wonders we often receive answers and solutions to such situations .. I am happy to report that some good friends who had purchased new laptops for themselves had one that was gathering dust on the bottom shelf of a closet.. They knew about my chronically 'sick' computer and decided to bless me with their extra laptop. Whilst it may not be brand new, it does work and has sufficient resources and facilities for me to do all I need to..

The winter this year was not unbearably cold and we were thrilled that our children did not suffer too much in the way of colds and/or flu.. However our Joshua had a nasty fall which resulted in his two front teeth being damaged quite significantly - thankfully they are milk teeth which will be replaced with permanent ones.

Joshua was pushing himself along on his little racer, and going very fast.. He accidentally put his feet in front of the front wheels which resulted in him flying over the front and landing face first on the concrete floor. It has been a while since this very painful and unpleasant event and we are happy to say that there have no further mishaps. Joshua has recovered from it quite well, although Faye and I are thinking that perhaps we should take him to the dentist to have the two front teeth removed as we wonder if the damage to the milk teeth may not create problems for the permanent ones..

Faye and I are well, our work keeps us fairly busy and we have the added joy of being active in a local church and are building some very good friendships with folk here in Okahandja and Windhoek. We both have noticed a few more grey hairs and we tend to move at a more royal pace than before !

The Garnie Kids Band

This is one of those sweet and blessed moments that reminds us of just how pecious our children are. Sydney and Joshua were having such a blast on this day as they sang at the top of their voices. Needless to say the TV was silent (muted), whilst these two entertained us. Joshua then casually walks over to us and instructs us to stand up and it soon becomes obvious that he wants us to join in as well. "What's the name of the song Joshua ?" "Sing sing".. comes his reply So we sing and make a joyful noise just as the Bible says we should..

Random Pics and Comments..

Joshua the fireman- in the back ground are Max and Mary-Jo.  We were visiting Carven and Juanita in Windhoek.

Joshua exploring the Swakop River bed.. Well it's easy since there's no water now !

Max and Mary Jo with Sydney on the floor.. Joshua in his own world of enjoyment..

Max the man trying to get Sydney interested in his game, but not having much success..

Bath Time is FUN time..

Tony Duran our projects man- Doing business the American Way.

Choose To Wait Participants having a break in the sun- yeah it's winter time again.

Faye hard at work..

Mother's Day special- breakfast in the bedroom- Don't even think about the bed when you have Sydney and Joshua around !

Our Centre converted into a temporary construction site.

Tony and I at Rock Lodge for a Pastor's and Leader's prayer and equipping time-  We start at 6:00am on a Saturday- once every 4-5 weeks..

Oops- a thousand apologies for making you have to turn your head to the side to see Catherine and Johnny practicing at the church we attend..

The church we attend has changed its name to Victory Christian Church- 'Where Everyone is a Champion'