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Namibia to Get Youth Center BY LON GARBER Northland Distributed Pastor Namibia, Africa
said, “We’re afraid to rebuild; the police stated that if they find us building again, they will take us to jail. We don’t have the money to go to jail.” Unlike American jails, inmates must provide their own food, clothes and bedding.
Local Service Projects vanessa puleo Coordinator, Local Projects and Partnerships
Personal Notes
T
he big news this month concerns our community development efforts and specifically the youth of Five Rand Camp. The municipality has authorized the sale of land to Leadership Outreach Namibia for the purpose of building a youth center. This is a huge blessing since many people have been waiting years for the right to buy a plot. The sale should be completed before we return to the States in late November. We will immediately erect a security fence around the property to prevent the community from continuing to use the property as an informal dumping place. Soon after, we will begin construction of a steel structure on the property. This will provide a roof suspended on steel pillars. Later, we will use mission teams for pouring the floor, building walls, doing plumbing and electrical work, working on interior spaces and so on. A rough estimate of the total construction cost is $80,000, assuming we are able to enlist lots of skilled and unskilled volunteer labor. We will use the building and property for leadership training, practical skills training, tutoring, youth gatherings and sports, such as volleyball, netball and basketball. This is the most exciting ministry news we’ve had in many years. The possibilities are endless, and this property will become the nerve center of all future ministry efforts. The property is located adjacent to the school sports fields where we will play soccer, baseball and other sports needing lots of space.
Book Progress Report As most of you know, I am writing a book. Several of you have been urging me to write it for years, and I have finally responded to your pleas. I began the project in earnest while in the States this summer, and I have continued my writing now that I am back in Namibia. My writing mentor, Eva-Marie Everson, will be pleased to hear that I am obeying her first commandment: “Write every stinking day.” As a result, the book is nearing the halfway mark. Who knows what the title will be once an editor latches onto it, but my working title is The Leap: One Man’s Journey Into Faith. It tells the story of how God led Val and me to Africa and how He has taught us the value of trusting Him with everything in our lives. I’ll keep you posted. My goal is to finish it before the end of the year. It will be my Christmas present to myself.
In the Namibian News Squatter homes are a reality throughout Africa, and Namibia is no exception. They are an embarrassment to the cities, but people with little or no means have to live somewhere. This reality creates a constant tug-of-war between municipalities and residents who are occupying government land without paying rent or receiving any government services. The city of Windhoek recently demolished 34 shacks in Otjimuise, leaving squatters with nowhere to go. Angry citizens continue to demand land of their own from the municipality, but have no means to pay for it. The city insists such moves are necessary to “set up the proper infrastructure, such as ablution facilities and street lights, before allowing people on the municipality’s waiting lists to move in.” However, the squatters only see their meager homes being demolished when they don’t have an alternative place to live. Many claim they have been on waiting lists for years, yet still need to provide homes for their families. The 34 families claim they were given no advance warning before the police carried out the demolitions. One resident
Concerning my health, we are pleased to announce that there is not much to report. I continue to feel absolutely healthy. The pain that first alerted me that Gollum (the name we have given to my rectal GIST tumor) was lurking in my body has disappeared. I am experiencing no side effects from the medication I am taking. I have slightly less energy than I used to, but that could just be old age. We are trusting that by December, when I have my next MRI, Gollum will have disappeared. Shortly before returning to Africa, I made rockets out of Lego-like toys with Calvin, my grandson. Now, whenever we video-Skype back to the States, Calvin jumps in front of the camera and yells, “Hi, Opa! Wanna play wocketships?” Grandchildren are such a blessing. We return to Denver on November 23, just in time for Thanksgiving and the birth of our second grandchild. Hopefully by then, Gollum will have disappeared and the surgery will be canceled. If so, we will travel to Orlando in late January or early February. We hope to see many of you then. We also want to thank all of you who have encouraged Val and me during our cancer journey via phone, e-mail and Facebook. It is such a blessing to have friends willing to travel with us on this journey. For the most part, we have refused to let Satan discourage us with this challenge, but there have been some days when we’ve needed the emotional support you’ve given us so lovingly. Thank you so much.
Distributed Church We are so thankful for Linda Frodesan from Ramona, California, who just completed a three-week sewing workshop for the ladies of Okahandja. We are so grateful that she answered God’s call to share her abilities with African women. We have gained a faithful friend and ardent supporter, and Linda fulfilled a long-term dream that God had placed on her heart. We look forward to her return soon. We invite many of you who have similar yearnings to follow Linda’s example and come share with others the knowledge and skills that God has graciously given you.
A Slice of African Life Very few people on earth get quite as excited about rain as Namibians. We get so little of it, it is quite an event whenever it rains. We don’t run inside; we run outside and dance in it. The rain clouds disappear in late April and may not return until the following December or even January. It is, therefore, the cause of great celebration when we get early rains in September. It happened this year. Our garden and our water bill are very grateful. So we were delighted the other day while returning from Windhoek when it began to rain. It is customary for poor women to gather seed pods from the ground, bag them and then sell them along the roadside to passing farmers seeking fodder for their livestock. When it rains, they all grab their merchandise and head for drier ground. It was quite a sight watching several ladies carrying four or five large fodder bags on their heads as they hurried to escape being drenched by the otherwise welcome rain. I saw one very frustrated man trying unsuccessfully to drag his bags away since only the women seem adept at this hauling art. Moments such as this are distinctly African.
Prayer Points
Praise God for … • granting us favor with the municipality concerning the purchase of land. • my continued good health. • progress concerning the book. • the early rains. Please pray … • for the finances that will make the youth center construction project a reality. • that God will prompt more teams to come help with the construction effort. • for wisdom as we design the building and make a land use plan. • that God would bless us with additional staff to do His work.
Fight Hunger. Feed Hope. Next Weekend!
F
rom November 7 to 9, all Northland locations will participate in a church-wide food drive to support various food pantries across Central Florida. We continue to hear about the bare shelves and the increased need in all communities, and we want to step up and support these organizations in this time of need. This food drive comes at a critical time for many of these organizations. Food Drive: 3 Easy Steps 1 Bring a bag of canned goods and other nonperishable foods to church the weekend of November 7 to 9. 2 Leave the bags behind your car before you go in to service. 3 Volunteers will pick them up during service.
OTHER UPCOMING Serving Opportunities
To register for these upcoming serving opportunities, visit Northland’s website (www.northlandchurch.net) and select the “Serve Others” tab. Then choose “Serve Locally” to find project times, age requirements, locations and other information. November 7-9 . . . . . . . . . . Food drive, parking lot pickup November 14 . . . . . . Deliver baskets to families in need November 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LOCAL PROJECT DAY November 21 . . . . . . . . . . . Harvest Time International November 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pie drive November 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Homeless Ministry Team November 25 . . . . . . . . . Serve/deliver meals to needy November 27 . . . . . . . Give Kids the World, serve dinner November 28 . . . . . . . . . Pathways to Care, serve lunch December 11 . . . . . . . . Cookie drive for holiday baskets December 12 . . Coalition for the Homeless, cook dinner December 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Local Project Day December 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Homeless Ministry Team December 26 . . . . . . . Give Kids the World, cook dinner For questions or to make a project that fits your group, contact Vanessa Puleo (407-949-7156 or vanessa.puleo@ northlandchurch.net).
PiE DRIVE
Friday, November 24
It’s easy as pie!
Details: Vanessa Puleo (vanessa.puleo@ northlandchurch.net or 407-949-7156)
Build a Basket
November 14 or December 12 Register for this Local Project Day at www.northlandchurch.net.
SMALL SERVE TEAM NEEDED
Help ChristianHELP get ready for Christmas! Six people needed each day, 3 to 4:30 p.m., December 17, 18, 21 and 22. Register at www.northlandchurch.net.