A Filler

I know that I haven't posted for ages and it's annoying me too! Readers who live in UK will know that we're experiencing a heat wave - and being so unused to such a phenomenon we're all strugging - well I am anyway. I chose July as the month to rip out the old bathroom and install the new and boy has it been tough! I've finally resorted to getting up really early (it helps that Sian's been on an early shift for two weeks) and getting as much as I can done by lunchtime or just after and then collapsing for a few hours until the evening brings the solace of being able to sit out the back of the house and gaze at the hills cooled by a hint of a breeze if we're lucky.

However these summer morningspresent a far more subtle and almost overwhelming temptation. The only way to avoid it is to refuse to go outside. The temptation of course is to sit in the cool shade a while the morning away with a good book taking frequent breaks to just drink in the fresh morning air with the added bonus of fresh cut hay in the field over the fence. (the odd cup of coffee doesn't go amiss either). Evenings are great too in a different way - but ah the mornings. But I musn't think about it or there'll be no tiling done tomorrow.

There is lots of good news from George and Anne Marie in Rehoboth and I will provide an update soon.

I have also decided (most people would probably say it's a decision long overdue) that this blog is boring - there's a distinct lack of pictures etc. so something must be done about it. That too is now at the end of a long list of "to do" items. Flash

Update and some Boring News

Well, a week and a half has gone by and we've had to get feet back on the ground and get back to day to day stuff. We were so thankful for the fine weather when we got back which gave us a chance to get the marathon clothes wash out of the way. It has also given us time to reflect and pray and to give thanks - not least for all you wonderful people out there who have been kind enough to pray and contribute.

We have kept in touch with George and Anne Marie by phone although they're very busy at present. Rock Harbour Church from Southern California (site at http://www.rockharbor.org/) currently have teams in Rehoboth and they're busy carrying out the Care and Compassion ministry in Block E as well as school visits in connection with the "Choose to Wait" programme which seeks to encourage and inform teenagers about the dangers of HIV / AIDS and advocates a biblical approach to sex before marriage. They have a container on route which should arrive Monday filled with clothing and other commodities for the poor people of Block E as well as clothes etc. for the Ark. To read more about their mission to Rehoboth go to http://www.rockharborinnamibia.com/ They are also helping to support the garden project and I know that George is excited about the fact that they are bringing some mechanised implements for the cultivation of the new ground as well as shade netting etc. Pray for the teams as they serve in Rehoboth as well as the safe arrival of the container.

Great news about the borehole - George rang me Wednesday to let me know that the drilling team had turned up on Tuesday night. I think he was pretty nervous at first since the drilling equipment was pretty ancient and bits kept on breaking - so not a lot of sleep for George that night! But they started drilling on Wednesday mid day and soon cleared out the borehole. The clay plug that had formed wasn't so very large after all. There appears to be plenty of sweet water in the borehole - verified by Anne Marie who sampled it and pronounced it good. So the drilling team returned the following day to make the top section wider down to the rock bed and install the PVC casing which will prevent any further blockages occurring. As I write (Saturday) I know that George will be installing the submersible pump and I hope to hear later today that they've commenced pumping which will be cause for great celebration and thanksgiving. George has promised me some photographs.

I have decided to take the plunge and rent some server space to set up a web site so that I can actually put up some of the hundreds of photographs that I took in Rehoboth as well as other personal stuff. I do have some photographs of the garden project on line on a temprary site and you're welcome to look at them. I put them up quickly in order to show the progress to a Dutch Church who are also supporting the project. Corry van Noordenne, one of their members, is a Dutch teacher who gives up her summer break to volunteer at the Ark. She helps teach the children but was also interested in the garden project. You can see the gallery that I hurredly created at http://home.btconnect.com/jonesdip/reho_evergreen/

It is important to realise that it's winter in Namibia and the night-time temperatures often sink to below freezing so the current crops are mainly root vegetables - beetroot, carrots, onions, lettuce, cabbage etc. Come August there will be a rash of planting - particularly of sweetcorn which grows very well in this area and in the space of a few months produces a profitable crop.

I will get on with the web galleries asap. Flash

Catch up Blog No. 3

Tuesday 27th June - the dreaded day dawned when we had to get packed up ready to leave. We have spent such a wonderful time here in Namibia and we are genuinely reluctant to go home. I collected Bex early from the Ark where she had taken some of the girls to school at 6 a.m. I was really pleased that Auny Nellie's husband Koos had waited at the Ark to see me - he was on his way to work at Windhoek. He had been such a help at the garden with the borehole and I was really pleased to see him again before we left. Then we got the packing out of the way and called at the Ark for some final photographs and farewells - some pretty tearful! Having said our farewells and prayed we headed for Windhoek for some last minute shopping and then got to the airport around 4.45 which gave us time to return the car, check in and relax before the flight. I shall pass over the flight in relative silence, because while I don't mind flying in the least, I hate long flights and particularly long night flights - I find it impossible to sleep. We arrived in Gatwick at 5.45 and having freshened up and consumed some coffee we caught the Reading train at 7.55 getting to Cardiff at 11.30. That concludes the detail, but I hope to post some impressions of aspects of the experience in the next week or so and also provide some links to some of the photographs I took. So thanks again to all who prayed for us and supported us during what turned out to be a wonderful experience. Flash

Catch up Blog No. 2

Sunday morning Sian and I went to church with George - to the Gospel Mission church to be precise. Sian soon got into the worship which was lively to say the least. Twenty minutes of "I have decided to follow Jesus" with the repeated chorus "No more turning back" all to a wonderful swinging rhythm, was quite an experience followed by a joyful conga to an Afrikaans song. Then we enjoyed a slow but beautiful song about enjoying the presence of the Lord. The service was in Afrikaans but a young man sat next to me and a young lady next to Sian and they interpreted for us. The young man's name turned out to be Llewellyn (very Welsh!) and they both did a marvellous job.

Afterwards we went to the Ark where we enjoyed a traditional Sunday afternoon Braai (Afrikaans for barbecue) the highlight of which was for me the wonderful Roosterbrod (roast bread) prepared by Aunty Nellie and cooked on the barbecue. We were very privileged to share this Braai with all our friends - thank you George and Anne Marie and all who made this possible. After eating I had to play the organ for the kids and this was rounded off with all the children singing for us. This was wonderful - they all have such natural rhythm and enthusiasm. We finally left for the lake after sundown having had a wonderful day.

Monday - just one last full day. We spent some time discussing the future of the garden and the priorities and made arrangements for George and the family and Bex's friends to come to the lake restaurant for a meal in the evening. On our way South the previous week I had noticed a sign for "Tropic of Capricorn." It didn't dawn on me until later that this sigh actually marked the Southern tropical line. So Sian and I drove down to take a photograph. It was a bit further than we had thought but we did it. On our way back I was driving along when something disturbed a flock of birds in the bush to the left of the road (locally known as tarantal (?) - a bit like a large pheasant. All of them managed to get off the ground quite quickly except for one who failed to make it and smashed into the windscreen. Thankfully the windscreen was made from toughened safety glass and although it crazed, it didn't completely shatter. A phone call established that no hire company provided insurance against damaged windscreens in Namibia due to the high proportion of gravel roads. Again, thankfully the windscreen was only badly crazed in the centre so I could drive it to the airport ok the following day.

We spent a very enjoyable evening at the lake restaurant and also met the owner of the resort and his wife Helena. Helena has been very kind to us during our stay at the lake. After dinner, George and Anne Marie came back to the house. Flash

Catch up Blog No. 1

I'm sorry there's been such a gap but I hope that everyone will understand that our last few days in Rehoboth were busy and since we've been home it's surprising how little time I've had to update this blog. I think I last wrote on the Thursday before we left Reho and now I guess I'll have some difficulty remembering the detail - but here goes anyway. Thursday was a quieter day. We chilled at the lake in the morning and went to Reho for supplies and a look around later. It was a chance just to catch up on a few things although I did look in at the garden.

Friday also started slowly. In the afternoon I was at the garden helping get the armoured cable from the main supply point into the building. Albertus the electrician has done a good job of getting the wiring installed and it only remained to get hold of a three phase switch to terminate the main cable. However, something of an anticlimax when we found that there was no supply coming from the meter. Reho Electricity were on the scene and I left them puzzling over the problem. I later learned that a healthy tap on the back of the earth trip switch had cured the problem - ah well!

Friday was a lot cooler and as evening drew on it got pretty nippy (or nobbling in Bex-speak!) at the lake. George, Anne Marie, Jennifer and Suzette joined Sian and myself for a prayer meeting while Bex headed off for a weekend of fellowship with all her friends at the Ark. It got so cold that we had to get a quilt for the girls but then all the cold was forgotten as we had a wonderful time of prayer and communion together. The guys working at the lake have a room one side of us and there were also guests along the row from us and whether they spoke Afrikaans or English they certainly would have known that we were praying and probably what we were praying. It was a wonderful, blessed time and will remain a very precious memory for Sian and I.

Saturday, Sian and I went to Windhoek to see if we could do some shopping for a few family presents etc. Sigrid, the Dutch volunteer at the Ark came with us and we had a very pleasant morning including breakfast at the Mug and Bean - an Americal style diner in Windhoek. We got a bit of shopping done but most of the shops closed at one so we had lunch and drifted back. On the way back we made a bit of a diversion up into the hills which were very beautiful. Baboons are a regular sight on a certain section of the Windhoek / Rehoboth road and when we stopped to video them, I saw a warthog. Sian is not so sure that I saw a warthog but I am adamant that I did - so there! No video evidence I'm afraid so you'll all have to take my word for it! Flash