Update Thursday 22 June

Missed a few days blog but have been busy this week. Monday went well. Sian and I got up at 5.15 to go to the airport to meet Bex. Her journey had gone well and we acknowledge God’s blessing in this. Dan, Bex’s boyfriend has been absolutely wonderful, supplying the support and help and company that Bex needed in sorting out her tickets etc. Big thank you from Flash and Madge to Dan and all Bex’s friends who have supported and helped her. She managed to get a centre row seat on her own on the plane and so was able to stretch out and get quite a lot of sleep en route. We arrived at the airport approx. 20 mins before her plane touched down and we were thrilled to see her walk into the arrivals area. We headed into Windhoek and as we travelled caught up with news on both sides. We took our tyre for repair and picked up some final plumbing requirements and also the electrical equipment to wire out the garden building. Then we went and enjoyed a breakfast together. We collected our repaired tyre – the guy who took care of it told me that he had “carefully healed it” and collected the final electrical cables. One slightly depressing story that both of the electrical wholesalers I visited insisted on telling me was how the world price of copper had rocketed recently and that if I had come for the cable two weeks ago it would probably have cost me at least half less than I had to pay today – ah well!

We got back to Reho about 2 p.m. and went immediately to the lake so Bex could have a rest and shower. We eventually went down to the Ark about 4. When we arrived a lot of the older girls were in one room (maybe chatting to one of the volunteers) but George saw us coming and made them all walk out with their eyes shut tight. I don’t think Bex quite realised what was happening but the next thing she saw was around ten screaming older girls bearing down on her and totally engulfing her in their excitement. Bex confessed to having actually being a little frightened at the reception. One of the major Bex words when she had been here last year was “minging” (used to describe anything from vaguely bad to totally grotesque and horrible) and so it was really funny when one of the last girls to see her screamed “It’s minging! It’s minging!” and ran to greet her.

George and Anne Marie and the aunties at the Ark who knew here were equally excited at seeing her and so after a while and much excitement we returned to the lake for an early night.

On Tuesday Sian and I went down to the garden with me prepared to do some electrical work in the garden building, but they were still busy chasing out the walls and George told me that one of the guys was an electrician so that relieved me of the installation job and freed up my afternoon to go out to Block E with the Care and Compassion team. We did a little shopping and came back to the lake for a light lunch with Bex. Then we went to the garden where Bex had a major reunion with Aunty Nellie, the faithful anchor lady of the garden who has worked from the beginning with George and Anne Marie with so much courage and effort. This was a very tearful reunion as Aunty Nellie had been very close with Bex and was so looking forward to seeing her. Aunty Nellie has an older daughter who is deaf and dumb and currently not well so after some blood tests she will see the doctor today (Thurs).

Tuesday afternoon we followed the Care and Compassion team to Block E and again visited many who we knew and also many new faces. Again, the overwhelming impression is the vastness and variety of the problems these poor people face. An older lady who is blind is living in a 2 metre square corrugated iron hut and is regularly robbed by unscrupulous neighbours; families who have lost up to three or four older members and who now are reduced to 11 children being brought up by one grandmother and a daughter, and old lady scraping the hair off the hock of a goat in order to have something to eat – these are just a couple of the situations which face the team every time they go out. But it’s also heartening to see the reception that they receive and to witness their faithfulness in this ministry. Later Bex decided to stay at the Ark for the evening to enjoy some time with the girls and so we returned home and I collected her around 10 p.m. Sian was really very tired at the end of this day.

Wednesday we three took the two Dutch volunteers, Marianne and Sigrid to Windhoek. Marianne was on here way to meet her parents at the airport later in the morning – they are staying for a short time. We took Sigrid to the hospital to collect a prosthetic foot for one of the young girls at the Ark who has Spina Biffida and who had to have an amputation last year. Without the Ark I doubt she would have survived. Then we went into Windhoek to look around.

Unfortunately Bex was not at all well – she has a tummy upset which got worse during the day and by the evening she was really feeling ill with it. It's pretty rotten feeling so bad when it is so hot and we both felt sorry for her. However, she did get a fair amount of sleep in two parts and this morning she is feeling much better although still a little weak. Sian and I went to the ark this morning and it wonderful to see that already the little girl has mastered te use of her prosthetics - she can walk amazingly well with the aid of a mini zimmer frame.

So on yet another day we have so much to be thankful for and we are so glad to see Bex a little better - she will soon be back in full email and text mode and I will try to get her to sit long enough to write some blog. Thanks again for all the support and prayers - we really feel the strengthening. Flash and Madge.