Who in the world reads this???

My sister asked me, "Who reads your blogs?" That is a good question and one that I cannot supply an answer to. I told her that I frequently click "next blog" to see what other people in the world are writing about. Many I can't read although I recognize the language as German, French, Spanish, etc. After spending time in Africa where many people speak 3-5 languages I show my ignorance in that I can only speak one language. English!

Occasionally when I click "next blog" I get into blogs I'd rather not see. And sometimes those blogs don't have "next blog" at the top so I have to backtrack and then go forward again hoping to avoid the naughty pictures or language. I have flagged a couple of sites as inappropriate. I think this blogger site should be family friendly.

So "who in the world reads this?" Is it you....someone in the USA, the UK, Sweden, France, Botswana, Namibia?

Television--My life as an addict

It began in the 50s when I was very young. TV was very, very new and no one I knew had one if they were even available at that time. My grandparents who lived in Portland, Oregon had one of the first TVs--a Dumond. It didn't have a very big screen and everything was in black and white. In my young years my sister Jeanne and I would spend one or two weeks per summer with my grandparents....and the Dumond TV. Oh it was so glorious! Everyday in the Oregonian newspaper there would be a little TV schedule about 5 X 6 inches. Keep in mind that back in the 50s there were only 3-4 channels (if I'm remembering correctly.) When I was in the house that schedule never left my hot little hands. I studied it as though it were a textbook. The most incredible program was the Mickey Mouse Club with Annette Funicello. M..I..C (see you real soon)..K..E..Y.(Why?? Because we love you.) M.O.U.S.E. I'll wager there aren't too many people my age who can't sing that song.

And then there was KOIN Kitchen--a very early cooking show. That probably was the start of my liking to watch cooking shows, even though I'm not particularly fond of cooking. And I loved the way the announcer said: KOIN TV, Channel 6, Portland. There was just this lilt in his voice.

When Dr. Kildare was on the air Jeanne and I went down the street to the neighbors to watch this show every week. I don't think it bothered the neighbors because they let us sit on the floor and watch the show weekly. My mom even bought Dr. Kildare blouses for Jeanne and me. We were SO cool!

And then when I turned 14 dad bought a TV. By then he had remodeled our house so the TV was downstairs. On hot summer days Jeanne and I would be in the basement watching TV wrapped up in blankets because it was so cold downstairs. I think that is when my attachment to "General Hospital" began. An attachment that is now beginning to wane, believe it or not.

Favorite shows were Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Phil Silvers Show, The Real McCoys, Jeopardy, and the soaps. I really didn't like it when NASA shot off a satellite or Apollo, Gemini or Mercury flight because it interrupted my regular television viewing. And then when something political happened like a state funeral that really messed things up. I couldn't understand how adults could like to watch all that stuff. I know I saw the news coverage of man landing on the moon and looking back I realize that is a good memory.

My years in college did interrupt my usual viewing habits but after marriage the watching became epidemic. And when I kids were young I recall with shame how often I put them off about doing something or going somewhere because "I had clothes to fold." That part was true but what I really wanted to do was watch the soaps. Nolan and Larisa....I sincerely apologize.

This past summer in Namibia I didn't have television to watch. I don't really want another summer without ANY TV. But I will say this....my viewing has lessened. I hardly ever watch "One Life to Live" and "General Hospital" now. I guess my addiction has waned somewhat.

Maybe there is hope for this addict.

The Big "C"

CANCER....the diagnosis nobody ever wants to hear from his/her doctor. Last May we were given that diagnosis when Aaron's urologist gave him the news that he had prostate cancer. As this is a very slow growing cancer we decided to wait until we returned from Africa for the surgery. What made the wait safe was the hormone injection Aaron got that slowed the growth of the cancer. We arrived home from Botswana on Sept. 12 and on Oct. 12 Aaron underwent surgery in Walla Walla, WA. The surgery took a little longer than expected because of where the prostate was but still things went well. The doctor is pretty certain that the cancer was contained but a biopsy of the lymph nodes will be done this coming week and we'll find out for sure.

Aaron says I'm the best looking nurse he's ever had...but maybe he was looking at me with his glasses off. Hmmmm. Anyway for the next two weeks I'll be doing the lifting, the driving and the fetching. He's worth it! I want a lot more years with him.

We are thankful for the grace of God and His presence in our lives.

Around Otji on a Saturday Morning

As we were driving out to take a picture of a business with an interesting sign we saw walking down the street this group of Herreo ladies dressed in traditional dresses. We stopped and Aaron asked if he could take their picture. When asked where they were going Aaron was told they were going to a parade. He also inquired as to how long it takes to iron one of their dresses and was told one hour. We have seen some beautiful Herreo dresses and it has been a fairly common sight here in Otjiwarongo.






Below you see groups of men. The men on the left were dressed in traditional Herreo stype, military type jacket, hat and walking stick. A man Aaron conversed with told him he had been an officer in the military. The group of men on the right came marching down the street doing an intricate style of step. A man called out a beat to keep them in step. When they saw Aaron with his camera they began to perform maneuvers--turning around, snapping their arms. Oh how I wish we had brought the video camera to have caught this incredible sight.




In the background behind the gentlemen you can see the group of soldiers coming up from behind them. It wasn't long before they passed us.

I was so glad to get these pictures because I'd been wanting the Herreo style of dress to show you.

A Wimpy Breakfast

A Wimpy breakfast is not a wimpy breakfast. The plate I ordered is the Hashbrown Splashdown.

In the lines below I cannot figure out how it became underlined
and no matter what I did I couldn't change it. I've also had a great deal of trouble getting this accomplished this morning because our dial up internet kept disconnecting so I'd have to start the downloading process of the pictures all over again. Frustrating!





Our waitress Ingrid. When we go into Wimpy for coffee the ladies like to wait on us so Aaron has them call heads or tails with a coin. The "winner" has jumped for joy.

This is Spar, where we do much of
our grocery shopping.

After breakfast we took a drive around town to check out the sights and found some interesting things to take pictures of. I'm going to start another blog to record what we saw.

House Church in Sam Saat

This is a very common sight in Ombili--small children carrying even smaller children.

Below you see Pastor Brown greeting the young lady who asked him to start a house church in her yard. On the right is Pastor talking with an Herrero lady.


The lady in blue, Siska, takes care of 5 children none of whom are hers. The parents may be away in Windhoek working. Many grandmothers are raising their grandchildren while the parents are away working.
Pastor Brown preaching to people eager to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Children waiting for House Church to start.


As I've reported before Pastor Brown has been building a church in Ombili--outside of Otjiwarongo. One day while passing a small house in San Saat, a young lady dressed in blue asked him and Fredna to come pray for her and her home. Later she asked him if he would be willing to do a house church. He replied with great joy, "I was just waiting for you to ask."

So now on Saturday afternoons he and Fredna pick up a young couple with their 3 little boys, and another couple. Joel and Neddy from Zimbabwe help with the service. Neddy leads the singing and she has a great voice. Billy and Helen go weekly and Billy is a great interpreter for the Pastor. They work together like coffee and cream! It is a joy to listen to Pastor preach and Billy interpret. The residents begin to gather in and before long...church starts.

People bring their own chair--one girl sat on an overturned can, one lady on a block. The children sat on the ground on a blanket.

This was a church service we thoroughly enjoyed.

Enchanting Etosha

On July 31 we visited Etosha National Park about 1.5 hours north of Otjiwarongo. Below you'll find pictures of some of the animals we saw there. If you wish to see a bigger picture, just click on it and it will fill the screen. We were gone for 12 hours, including the driving time, and saw elephants, springbok, kudu, oryx, secretary bird, kori buster bird, wildebest (sometimes known as gnu), warthogs, red hartebest, black faced impalas,lions, black backed jackal, ostriches and zebras. The Park is enormous, you can drive all day without seeing everything. It was an incredible day. A wonderful place to visit.

Elephants and babies

Noah's Ark





Sundown at the watering hole

Two wild guys--Aaron and Mark