A typical day (week) at the Ark.

The kids go off to school very early.  They usually have Pop, which is like hot porridge for breakfast. A treat is Corn Flakes and Oat-pop, which is Oatmeal.

8:00am Christina, the office manager, comes in. I’m sure she has already lived an entire day. She’s been said to ‘have a children’s home at home’ with lots of her extended family living with her.

Homemade dumbbells.

Organizing the shelves with me.

Cleaning the yard. Always satisfying to see teems work (-:

Rest time under the computer desks built by the 2004 MOO team. 

Ursula making the meal of the day.

God makes special kids special!

Home from school. A very funny, witty kid.

Can't wait to get the uniform off. 

Doesn't smile for the camera. Hysterical sense of humor.

The auntie that spent the night and the auntie coming in to cook and clean join Heidi, a wonderful 20 year old who grew up here at the Ark and is attending college, Kim, a volunteer from Belgium, Tikadeys, who is not attending school right now while special ed can be found for her, Rita, Christian, Andy, and I meet for a time of prayer and devotions. There are prayers and praises about CHI in general, general prayers and praises, and prayers and praises for particular kids who have left the Ark and for the current staff.

If I am extra lucky, the aunties will sing a praise song while waiting for everyone to settle in. I have some of their singing on video that I will cherish forever. I can't get it to upload quickly enough. I'll have to post those when we have wifi. We use prepaid data time with a 3G card here and it uses up quickly. 

College bound kids. The oldest at the Ark.

Then everyone breaks to do his or her jobs. Each auntie has a particular part of the house they clean. One usually cooks the hot meal of the day as well. Christina goes to the office. Andy usually starts work on the wall building he is doing or the fire escape plan he is making for the Ark. I try to help and usually spend time with Tikadeys on her chores that she loves to do (a little auntie), math and reading and puzzles. Then she gets the IPAD for Angry Birds before the other kids get home. 

This is the time when we run errands too.

 It is precious time because the kids all come home by 1. The mornings go very quickly.

About 1, the kids are usually home. Set the table, prayers, eat. Lots of pasta, rice, and potatoes. Perfect for a carb lover like me! Some kind of sauce over the top. Cooked carrots, beets, cabbage along side. My favorite was a cucumber salad side. There is always meat involved too but not like a typical Namibian's carnivorous plate! 

After each person eats, they wash their dish and silverware in a bucket with soap, dry it, and put it away.  

The kids blow off some steam and mandatorily rest from 2 – 3.

 From about 3 – 4, homework.

4 – 6:00 is free time.  I bribe the kids to do flashcards and read with me with time on my IPOD, IPAD (Angry Birds or Photo Booth), making videos and taking pics with my phone. It’s a pain but very effective. If they are lucky, Andy lets them play a car racing game on his phone or play with the talking kitty thing. They love it.

6:00 The kids have devotion time with the auntie that is here. It is in Afrikaans so I stopped sitting in.

6:30 The younger kids have some bread, usually 3 – 4 pieces each with peanut butter, cheese, or jelly and either hot tea or coffee.

About 7:00 the older kids and adults have their bread. We like toast with PB and strawberry jelly. They all think it is so strange that Andy makes Sun Tea and we drink it cold, sweetened with sugar. Sometimes I just can't face hot tea when it is in the 90's and 100's. It has been so nice lately though! 80s!!! Whoo hoo!

The little kids go up to bed about 8:15 on school nights. Christian prays with the little boys and puts them to bed. Sometimes Andy tries to give him a break. The auntie puts the girls to bed. (they range from 10 – 14 yrs old). I love how they all want hugs and kisses before they go. They pet our hairy arms and I revel in their soft skin!

The big kids have very limited TV channels. They get 1 NBC (National Broadcasting Channel) and 1 other I can't remember - but I think it is from the RSA (Republic of South Africa). They have a South African soap opera they like at 6. They often do some kind of devotion / Bible Study with Rita. They listen to music and do homework. I try to help out but they are very independent about it. I love helping them with their math but they would like it so much more if they had their multiplication facts memorized. I have made each one of them a set of flashcards to study in private, to save their pride.

Andy and I are usually pooped and head up to bed about 9.

I can’t sleep tonight. There has been a fundraiser with loud music competing with some kind of praise singing in a house or church nearby, competing for airspace all night. Of course, it is Friday night so the local bars are making their share of noise too. It is actually a pretty nice neighborhood. I love that it is cleaner than Mexico, but with the same 3^rd world feeling to it. The area is called Kronlein. The location of the Ark is perfect, right next to the kids’ schools.

The dogs' barking and yelping can be awful. It so reminds me of our time in Islita, Mexico, sleeping in tents, listening to the dogs roam around and torment those behind fences. They sound like they are killing each other! A new Pic and Pay store opened in town last week. I was fascinated that, in what is considered a very poor region, they sell quite a lot of pet supplies and dog food. I saw a pet store in town too. Poverty is often not what we expect it to be; I have learned that at home. We need to be very careful about how we judge those who live with little hope of ever coming out of poverty. What would my mom say, "Until you've walked a mile in their shoes..."

The stars keep me up too. I just want to stare at them. They are bright, like I’ve seen before. The biggest difference is that it seems I can see off the end of the earth. They seem to arch down the ground. I don’t think I have ever been anywhere flat enough for far enough to see that.

Today was Friday. The kids watched Flipper in Afrikaans this afternoon. I went into town with Andy for some groceries after a few hours of very intense time with the kids this afternoon. Some of the little ones jogged in a jog-a-thon at their school. I sensed we shouldn't go. They didn't invite us. Maybe having a white couple cheering them on would make them stand out even more as the kids from the children's home. We watched some animated Bible stories too. They are really good. Wish I had raised the boys with them. It helps me see the accounts in new light.

They rent movies sometimes. The little kids' TV doesn't get any channels. Only movies and videos which play periodically, but not frequently like at home. 

After chores on Saturday morning, the girls often set up little households around the house and pretend away. We paint nails, brush hair, snuggle (a lot). Kim sets up games outside for them. I get new books from the library, find puzzles to do, they have UNO and other favorite games. Some of the girls work on braiding their hair on Saturdays too. Takes some time but it can last for weeks! That would be perfect for a hair nerd like me! I absolutely love how the 3 youngest boys make shields and swords and guns out of cardboard and wage imaginary battles all over the place. 

The kids go to different churches on Sunday. The little ones go with an auntie to Sunday school. I will try to post one of the videos of them singing a Sunday school song in the van. The big boys go to their church. Not really sure about that one. Heidi goes to Logos Church where we like to go because it is in English and they rock the house down! Love it. Rita and Christian go to a church on the other side of town where the service is in Afrikaans. We did go to a ‘bring and braai” with them there and it was very nice. It was interesting to get some perspective from the white Namibians. There was a very nice gentleman who spoke great English who didn’t mind all my questions. Pray for Fred, would you? He is on his way this weekend to the capital for treatment for Prostate Cancer and other ailments. He is 80 years old and you wouldn’t know it. Very cheerful. Worked as a missionary most of his life. Don’t think he has any family.

Sometimes I feel they don’t really need me here. The aunties do most of the daily work and, since there are very fewer kids here than in the past, they have it down. Rita and Christian never stop. Never! But this is their life here. They would think the same of me if we were at our home. I am concerned that I am bonding with the kids and then will leave and that it isn’t good for them. I have to just go with it and trust that the love will be healing and not hurting for them. I know how important unconditional love was for me in being able to recognize and accept God's love for me. 

On the other hand, we are here during a transition time. Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) are being identified for the new CarePoint opening here at the Ark, in an area that will be called "The Potter's House." Kids from the community will be able to come after school for a meal, tutoring, discipleship, and safety. Rita and Auntie Vielma are identifying the children. CHI is committed to 1 trained caretaker per 10 OVC kids. The need is great and, once Andy has the new wall built, I see it starting quickly and it will need lots of energy, by everyone here. 

I am meeting with each of the older kids to do some serious planning, testing for skills, values, and personality traits to help them see their futures and be motivated to strive. We have guaranteed that we will help financially any of the kids from the Ark who goes to college and, when they graduate with the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree, we will bring them to the US for an extended trip. I figure they will be mature enough to handle it by then. 

Hugs to all! Gotta sleep!