True religion

True religion in the sight of God our Father is this: to visit widows and orphans in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
James 1:27

I can’t really think of a more appropriate quote at this time. Today (I wrote this on Monday, the 22nd) was the first day I went to Sylvia’s “preschool”. The reason I call it that is because it is not at all what I expected or envisioned, and really, compared to what even the lowest standard in the United States is, the simplest school, this place is atrocious. The adventure started at 7:30 am, when I left my house in Block D. I’d be walking to Block E, which is about as far from where I am as you can get and still be in Rehoboth. I met Steph at her house, which is about 15 minutes from mine. She needed to go make some copies of coloring book pages for the kids we’d be visiting. The copy place was about 10 minutes away. After the copies were made, we walked to MollyBea’s house to pick her up. That was another 15 minutes. From there we walked another 10 to pick up Ruth, one of the ladies who is here for a year with her husband and 2 daughters. We rested there for about 10 minutes, then headed out for the final stretch. That was another half hour. So we’re looking at the fact that I’ve walked about an hour and a half. I was so exhausted by that point! (If you know me, you understand. I’m a wimp.)

I was starting to feel the intense heat of the day beginning and the sun beating down on me, the dust getting into my shoes and my mouth and eyes, the dizziness beginning, my mouth drier than I ever remember it being. It felt like we’d never get to where we were supposed to be. We finally came into Block E, which you can recognize instantly by the tin shacks which are all over the place. People living in the simplest and harshest conditions. If you’ve been keeping up on my blog, Block E is the equivalent of Katutura in Windhoek. We finally got to the preschool probably around 9:30. It was powerful. Moment we were in view we had about twenty children running towards us. We’d experienced this a few times in Windhoek visiting some orphanages and schools. It is so obvious how desperate these kids are for love, attention, a touch, a smile, anything. I had a little girl, about 3, cling to me for about ten minutes. I found out later that her name is Jeanette. She had the cutest smile you’ll ever see in the entire world. Several of the children latched onto each of us.

We met Sylvia, who runs the place. It is a one-room, cement building with sheets for a roof. No electricity, no running water, no bathroom. At least half of the kids weren’t wearing shoes, which generally means that they don’t own any. The room they’re in is about 12 x 20 feet – rough estimate. Definitely not big enough to comfortably house thirty little ones!! Some kids looked really dirty; some not too bad. Some things that surprised me were that they had enough plastic chairs for about 80% of the kids, some little tables, and a few larger chairs for adults. There were some signs on the wall with different shape or color names. Sylvia had written the numbers one through ten on the wall as well. They had a minimal supply of scissors, paper, coloring sheets, and crayons. There was a big, old area rug on the floor which the kids sit on during group time.

When we got there they had some singing time. The kids are really good at repetition or echoing, and Sylvia has taught them a lot of songs. We sang a few in Dama (that is the language most of the people in Block E speak) and a few in English. About 90% of the kids are Nama speaking, which is a relatively small tribe found in Namibia. The rest are Owanbo, the darkest skinned native Namibians. Apparently the Basters (which is the dominant group for sure in Rehoboth) won’t set foot in Block E. They are a very proud people. I think it would bring too much shame on them if they were to admit they were that poor. Shame is a huge issue here, just like in places like Japan where people will kill themselves because they brought shame to their family.

So, after singing time the kids ate their lunch. Here comes a really tough part. About 30% of the kids don’t bring any lunch at all, for whatever reason. Their parents spent the money on alcohol, or they’re just too poor to eat every day, whatever it may be. So anyone that brings lunch has to put half of it in a basket and then it is redistributed to the kids that didn’t bring anything. Almost like a mini version of communism, but it actually works. We were so surprised to see these kids willingly give up half of their food, which really, in most cases, was just 2 pieces of bread with nothing on them. So that was real difficult to watch and to know it happens every day.

After that, they went to play outside for about half an hour. Some boys were wrestling; the girls were just kind of hanging out. We did a few organized games like Ring Around the Rosey or Duck Duck Goose. They love that one. They loved doing the Hokey Pokey as well. Anything that has repetition or an echo they were really good at, which is honestly the same with kids no matter how rich or poor they are, or where they live, so that was cool to see. It makes it even more interesting since none of the kids speak English beyond understanding “what is your name?” and a few other things. After outside time the kids came back in and colored for a while. The oldest ones have learned to write their name, although many can only do it if they see it written first. After that, the last thing they did was to all gather around on the floor rug and it was story time. Sylvia put me on the spot and asked me to tell a story, so I told Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, which I totally butchered, but the kids couldn’t understand anyway, so I really tried to emphasize things, and gesture, and change my inflection!! Haha.

We left soon after that, it was about 11:30. Most of the kids leave between then and noon. Parents don’t really come pick them up, they just all walk back to their houses. These kids that are 4 and 5 years old. It’s just so foreign to me, and sad as well. Leaving was hard; I wanted the kids to understand that we would be back the next day. I hope Sylvia communicated that to them. The thing that makes it even harder is that even though it’s in Block E, that’s super poor, there is a primary school just across the street from the preschool that has electricity, water, classrooms, etc etc. I can’t imagine being a kid and wondering why I don’t get what “those” kids get. It must seem so unfair and confusing to them. So anyway, that is the gist of what MollyBea and I will be doing the next 2 and 5 months, respectively (MollyBea’s staying until February). Sylvia also mentioned wanting to start an afternoon tutoring program for the kids who will go to first grade next year. That would tentatively be from M-Th from 3-5pm. I don’t know if we’ll be helping with that, or exactly how that will look. As you can see, there is much to pray for! Since I’m a list person, I’m going to just bullet a few things I’d covet your prayers for. Thank you so much for reading, keeping up-to-date, and being supportive. I know I’m wordy!!


· Pray for MollyBea and I as we help at Sylvia’s school each day; that we would have patience, endurance, and compassion for these children
· For Sylvia as she basically runs this school by herself and manages 30+ kids a day; for her weariness and stamina; for her walk with God to be strong and consistent
· That we would be creative and unique with the ways we teach the kids, or play with them; the games we teach them, the ways we interact with them, that it would be pleasing to God and would show these kids His love
· That these children would be encouraged; that God would intervene and bless them; that miracles would happen and they would feel His love
· That our eyes would constantly be centered on the cross and on His great love; that that would fuel us and be our resource; that we would not grow so drained that we become ineffective
· For God’s love and message of redemption to be spread throughout Rehoboth and that many would be saved


And some praises:

· Praise Him for Sylvia; for her energy, compassion, and joyful, faithful heart as she serves God’s kids here
· That we are able to walk to the school, though it is long and arduous, we still have the capability to do so and that is a gift
· That the kids are guaranteed food at school, though it may be very little; it is something
· That God’s plans are bigger than we could ever fathom and we get to be part of what He is doing here


Thank you! Dankie!! :)


*Update*: Since writing this on Monday, MollyBea and I have decided to go help at the afterschool program on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, and go in the morning on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Also, the walk there is getting easier, though it is still a good 2 miles each way (maybe more) and it is exhausting in the heat!!

And some pictures I borrowed from my team members (y'all won't be able to see my pictures until I get back).

Katutura, Windhoek

The team in Windhoek

What most of Rehoboth looks like

Team again