Our fellow workers, Christiaan and Rita is back in Belgium for an extended break. We had the privildge of transporting the children back to the Ark after their holiday with family. On Sunday Heidi arrived from Henties bay and spent the night with us. We left Windhoek on Monday, 10th January for Rehoboth and picked up the Rehooth group. We arrived in Keetmanshoop at 20h45 and was welcomed with cheers. I think this was very special for the Rehoboth group to receive such a warm welcome.
Berdian left the next morning to pick up the group in Karasburg and Noordoewer. This however became a very strenous journey. On his way to Karasburg, a light went on warning him that the timing belt needs urgent replacement. We contacted the dealers asking them what are our options as the nearest garage is Mariental, 600 kilometers away. The mechanic told us he can drive 5 or 1000km, there is no saying for certain what may happen. After consulting leadership, Berdian travelled the distance to Noordoewer and back and arrived safe and sound in Keetmanshoop. We were so thankful to God. This unfortunate incident shortened our stay in Keetmanshoop. We travelled the next day to Mariental to get the vehicle repaired.
We had a good stay in Keetmanshoop. It is always a joy to see the children in Keetmanshoop, to see their growth and development. It is amazing, we met the children the very first time on July of 2004, then we became their houseparents in October 2005. This is almost seven years later! All are now of school going age and some who were just starting school are now becoming teenagers. We also have a huge appreciation for the staff in Keetmanshoop. They labour faithfully caring for the children. We have four staff members who are with the team as early as 2004.
We had a very good talk with the teenagers. It was a lot of fun. We talked about their struggles regarding dating. The one boy made the following comment: "If you do not go all the way with a girl, they think your are weak!" Another commented saying, "then that is not the right girl for you!" We realized that even in a small town such as Keetmanshoop, peer pressure is a challenge for many of our young people.
The Ark Keetmanshoop is like home to Dante. If he could have his way he would stay there for a week. He plays soccer, PC games and just have lots of friends to play with all day long. He loves mealie pap for breakfast.
The work and ministry in Keetmans is one true encouragement for us. Thinking back of our struggles in 2005 and 2006, and visiting them now seeing and experiencing the stability gives us great joy. Apart from the stress of the vehicle we had a lovely stay in Keetmanshoop.
No comments:
Post a Comment