Music Class Glitch

Here I am on the first day of teaching Fundamentals of Music in Otjiwarongo. On the wall behind me you see words on a blue background....this is NOT what I was hoping for. I had prepared a Presentation slide show (kind of like Power Point, but not) to illustrate some of the points in the lesson. Alas, we were not able to get it to show.....unless....you clicked the mouse on the top of the slide and slid it all the way off the desktop screen and then it would show on the wall. No matter what we did, it would not work.

Then this morning I took my computer to church to use for projecting the words of the songs we were going to sing and the words would not show on the wall no matter what we did. So whatever we did on Saturday to try to see the presentation, completely messed it up for using the program I have for our church songs. So, we just sang without the words to read from. How novel. It was okay, though, because most everyone knew the songs. Everything turned out well. Crisis averted.

Teaching in Otjiwarongo

Fundamentals of Music class in Otjiwarongo. My first experience to teach anything other than a Sunday School class. In one week's time--24 hours of class time, and helping students practicing on the piano--we will have a small recital on August

Ohhhh, the Pain, the Pain

of not having a battery for our laptop. It has completely died during the 6 weeks we've been in Namibia and D**l says we can only use their batteries and they can only be purchased from D**l.

So if our intricate plug-in system here gets bumped, the computer goes off immediately..and I mean immediately. Today I was at the library at the Bible School entering some information for spine labels and bar codes I need to print. The long, long extension cord I generally use was in use across the room and I couldn't just take it. I had my laptop plugged into the wall at a table, but the room where the printer is, is too far away to reach so I'd have had to unplug, have the computer immediately die, then go plug in and have to do the whole restart thing. I thought about it and thought about it and decided that I'll do it another time when I just start in the room where the printer is.

We are praying that our laptop lasts until we get back to the States where we will purchase new computers.

If ONLY the battery had died before we left for Namibia. That's life on the dry side.

And uh one and uh two

In 2006 I was asked to teach Fundamentals of Music to the students at the Bible School in Tlokweng, Botswana. The missionary gave me the book to begin studying. The course is actually intended t0 be a self-study text but even with my 3 years of studying music in college and almost 10 years of piano lessons, I have to admit there are things in this text I've never of, so to think that a non-musician could grasp all of this material on their own is hard to imagine.

I brought the book home with me and several months later decided to do some studying. I had to email the missionary's wife to ask something and she wondered why I was beginning so early. Then in 2007 while in Namibia, Mark, the missionary here asked if I'd teach the course. Glibly I replied that I would.

The book had set unopened for quite some time in my home in Hermiston, but before we came to Namibia this year I did begin studying. But I became more serious about it after I arrived. I've made many notes in the text, I've made a flip chart to use in class. I've printed off free beginning piano music and I have a chord chart for each student.

I'll begin teaching 4 hours per day this coming Saturday, July 26, and then Mon-Fri of the following week. Each student (12) will sign up for a time to practice very simple songs on a piano. I'll go back and forth from the two rooms spending 15 min. w/each student.

This is my goal. By Saturday, August 2, each student will be able to play a very simple piece, or two. Those who have some experience with music may be able to play something that is a bit of a challenge. They'll take a final in the morning and then right after we will have a mini-recital. Victoria (missionary's wife) suggested we have juice and cookies. We'll have a certificate of some sort. This will be so different for these Namibian students that I'm looking forward to how it is all going to come off.

This will be my prepatory for teaching the course in 2009 in Botswana. Hope my practice session goes well.

Yes, Virginia, Honest People Do Exist

On Saturday, July 12, Aaron and I along with our missionary friend Bill took a trip to Waterberg Plateau Park, where we went on a 4-hr. game drive. We saw only about 4 animals--the hydrox, the sable, and eland and a giraffe, but being on top of the plateau, one of the higher points in Namibia was interesting. Red sand, very fine, would be difficult to drive through in a regular vehicle but the Land Rover we were in handled it just fine.

Unfortunately during the 4-hr. drive Bill lost his wallet. It is actually more than a wallet. It is like a daytimer with all the money and cards, etc. By the time he realized it was lost it was after 6:30 p.m. and very dark....and a long way from where he lost it. Linus promised to keep a look out for it and Bill made several phone calls. No word, no wallet, no use of any of his cards.

Today after the class he is teaching was finished he took off for Waterberg. It is slightly more than an hour's drive. He talked to the folks at the park but his wallet was no where to be found. Shortly after he pulled in to our driveway he received a phone call that the wallet was found. There were a group of students who were in the same area we'd been and one of them had picked it up. Not one dollar was missing. Not one card was missing. The young man, Moses, wondered why anyone would throw away such a thing, with so much in it. Bill rewarded the young man and when he and Aaron returned he was a happy man. It is nice to know that there are honest people in this world.

Does He or doesn't He......Exist???

As I was perusing the various blogs I came across one that looked interesting. The person who created this blog had the scripture "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13, so I believe I can assume that this blogger and I share "like precious faith."

On her site she has some discussions linked to blogcatalog. One of the items that people are discussing is "Is There a God?" I found that interesting and I thought I'd weigh in on the subject, but here on my own blog.

As an evangelical Christian I have complete faith that there is a God, that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to earth as a baby, to grow up and eventually die for my sins. He did not stay in the tomb, as on the 3rd day He was resurrected from the dead and now sits at the right hand of His Father, interceding on our behalf.

So....what if I'm wrong? What have I lost in this life if I'm wrong? Because of my faith in Jesus Christ I have adopted certain life style changes. So if I'm wrong in my belief about God and Jesus Christ, here is what I've missed out on. I've missed out on getting a DUII (DWI) from drinking too much alcohol (I personally drink no alcohol.) I've missed out on various diseases directly associated with smoking cigarettes. I've missed out on being addicted to heroin, meth, cocaine, etc. I've missed out on HIV/AIDS. I've missed out on sexually transmitted diseases because I've been faithful to my husband. I've missed out on robbery, murder, etc. I've missed out on losing all my money to gambling. Isn't that a lot to miss out on?

So...what if YOU are wrong if you don't believe in God? Here's what you will miss out on. You'll miss out on having complete peace in your heart knowing that Jesus is in control of your life. You'll miss out on an eternity spent in heaven with your fellow believers from around the world. You'll miss out on the joy of not being addicted to drugs, alcohol or cigarettes.

Now I know you won't all agree with me about the cigarettes or alcohol and you'll say you can still be a follower of Jesus Christ and do those things. Okay. But they aren't for me. That is the choice I made. The Bible doesn't say, "Thou shalt not smoke." But it does say that my body is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and I want to make that dwelling place as good a place as possible.

If I am wrong in my belief about God, at the end of my life I won't say, "Oh, I wish I'd used drugs," or "I wish I'd been unfaithful to my husband." Or other things like that. It will still have been a fulfilling life.

But if you don't believe in God and His Son, what things might you say at the end of YOUR life?

I'm not here to force you to believe in God. I'm just here to give you something to think about.

"For God so loved the world (you can substitute your name here) that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:16, 17