March 26th mass mailer
Greetings everyone!

I have survived my first week here in Rundu (ROON-doo)! Aren't you excited? I know that I am! I am completely unpacked! Yippee! I have even been a little bit of a handy-woman around here this week. After a trip to the hardware store I was able to fix my shower door that didn't close and got water everywhere, change the shower head to something that wasn't broken and spraying everywhere but where it was supposed to, and change the locks on my outside gates to something that wasn't rusted and hard to close! Please don't think too highly of me though... I was blocked out of the house again on Thursday. This time by a frog! I was kept outside for a good 10 minutes while I tried to get it out of the doorway so I could get in! Sometimes I think that maybe I am too much of a girly girl to live here! Hopefully God will help me get over my bug/amphibian phobia in the time that I am here!

I have to admit though that I have not had it as bad as Rob & Alisa. They have had an influx of roaches, caterpillars and frogs. They even discovered a frog in their toilet last week! When Rob went to grab it, it swam back down the pipes. Now that bathroom is his private one because no one else wants to use it! I have to admit it has even made me cautious about looking before I sit here at my own house!

I have made a new friend! Her name is Minnie and she is from the Philippines. She is an occupational therapist and works at the hospital. She will be here for a total of 2 years and has already been here for 6 months. She was my first guest that I had over for dinner this past Thursday! She seems really nice and I look forward to getting to know her better. She let me come to her hospital housing to get an idea of what I will be living in. The part where she lives is nice. It is so much better than what I was expecting. The nurse's quarters are a little older so we will have to wait and see what they look like. But it is nice to know someone who is already there!

I added some new photos to the yahoo site (there is one of Minnie in there). Many of you have already given me feedback on the first photos (First African Pics). Your replies let me know that my emails are actually getting read! Thanks! :-) The new album is 'My New Home'. I will only be in this house that I am in now until I start at the hospital and move onto the hospital grounds. When that happens I will let you see what that looks like too! I also added the picture of the warthog crossing sign to this album. Please save it onto your computer and use your zoom to look at it better. It was a picture taken while driving so it is a little far and I couldn't get it to zoom and save right on my computer. It will be worth a good chuckle! The link is http://photos.yahoo.com/thekimmieconnection.

I was able to meet my language tutor today. Her name is Imelda (ee-MEL-da) and she is a teacher. For the first week we will be meeting everyday for approximately 30 minutes at a time and she will be teaching me the basics like how to greet someone and ask them how they are. We will be using the LAMP method which uses a lot of mimicry. I never thought I would come to Africa to be a parrot! I will keep you updated as I go!

The big thing for me this last week has been chicken/dog relations. As many of you learned last week, I inherited some guard dogs and chickens. That's not so bad, I can handle dogs. I can even handle chickens. The rooster is obnoxious at 4:30 AM but I can go back to sleep. What is bad is that the dog likes to chase and catch the chickens. At least once a day since I have arrived I have had some crisis between the two. Usually it involves me chasing the dog around with my flip-flop in my hand trying to get him to either drop the chicken or go back into his pen after he has dropped the chicken. I am sure that I am making a great spectacle of myself with the neighbors. One guy walking by the other day was asking my why I was chasing my chicken. I don't think I convinced him that I was trying to get it back into it's hut so the dog wouldn't get it. He just looked at me like I was crazy and walked off. That's probably not the first and definitely not the last time for that, I'm sure (wait until I practice my parrot language skills on the unsuspecting locals!). Though I make light of it, it really causes me great distress knowing that the chickens are Melissa's pet and that she would like them to be alive when she gets back. Even my system of keeping them and the dog in/out on alternating schedules hasn't worked as well as it should. Yesterday a chick got into the dogs cage and was almost eaten then today a chick got out of it's hut while the dog was out and almost got eaten. They just don't understand to stay away from the dog!

Well, it is late and I need to get some rest. Tomorrow is another 4 hour church service. :-) I am so excited! We are going to a different church (they want me to see all of them so I can decide where I want to go) and I am curious to see how they will greet us! (And if we have to take our own chairs again!) I will let you know later in the week how it went. I love each of you. Hugs and kisses all around!

many blessings,
kimmie

Praises:
I am completely unpacked!
I made it through my first week!
I met my language tutor and she seems really nice!
Rob and Alisa have been such a blessing in helping me transition and get things here figured out!
the Johnson's (the family whose house I am in) are letting me borrow their large fridge! That means I have room for ice cream!
Prayer needs:
Please pray for me as I begin my language learning. Pray that God would open my ears to the new sounds I will be hearing and loosen my tongue to be able to repeat them! Please also pray that I would begin to build friendships as I go into the community to practice what I have learned each day. Ask that God would guide my steps.
Please also pray for Rob as he is supposed to start at the hospital within the next week or two. Please pray that first impressions (both directions) would be positive and that he would be able to communicate well and build good relationships with his coworkers and the patients. He has not yet been told which department he will work in, so please pray that God will guide this decision and place Rob where he will be most effective. Please pray for Alisa's transition when Rob starts work. Right now they are teaming up to do the home schooling but she will be on her own here shortly.
My friend Thomasine that I went to orientation with will be in Angola for a month working with some missionaries up there. Please pray for her safety during this time and that she will be a blessing to the missionaries and the people she meets up there.
Ok, this did not get sent on Saturday so I will give you the update on church. We went to one of the wealthier churches this week (we still took our own chairs), it had a concrete floor and actual windows. This time there were four choirs! It was amazing. The children's choir was the most powerful! I am still amazed that the choir is so active. Hopefully I will be able to capture a little bit of the dancing on camera. Sometimes they are using their feet as percussion and sometimes they are dancing, but they are always moving! It is so beautiful! Today we had a translator that sat with us and translated. Her English was excellent! It was a huge blessing to be able to have her sit so close and speak so well! Sadly, there was no grand entrance this morning with the choir escorting us. I guess I will survive. :-) love ya! ~k

Kimmie Tibbetts
Serving the people of Namibia at the Rundu State Hospital
http://thekimmieconnection.tripod.com
http://photos.yahoo.com/thekimmieconnection

March 19th mass mailer
Hi Everybody!

It's hard to believe that I am in Africa! These last two weeks I have been staying at Mick & Suzanne Rineer's house. Mick is the country director of all the AIM missionaries. The first week there were three of us girls who were in orientation that were staying there. Aimee from Pennsylvania and Kelly from Australia were my roommates. I was very thankful to be able to have some instant friends that were going through the same transition that I was! They and their five children were great at helping me feel right at home.

I am finally in Rundu (ROON-doo). The Griedanus' (Rob & Alisa and their five children) and I arrived here Saturday afternoon. It was a good drive down from Windhoek (VIND-hook), Alisa and I were able to do a lot of talking and getting to know each other. God has truly blessed me with this wonderful family. Right now I am living right next door to them. They have been feeding me (since I don't have groceries or even dishes at this point) and it has been so nice to not have to worry about how to feed myself! The trip down was also nice because we were able to see some animals. There were baboons sitting on fenceposts, ostriches and at one point a pair of camels but I think those might have been someone's pets because I don't think they are native to this area.

The trip was much less exciting that their first trip to Rundu when they hit a warthog! As you travel to Rundu there are signs along the road that have pictures of warthogs that really do mean that there are warthogs in the area and you need to be careful of one running out in front of you! How many people can say they have run into a warthog?!?! (In case you are wondering it crumpled the bumper pretty bad but all the people were ok, the warthog however did not make it.)

The house I am in is not where I will be living permanently but it will be home for the first three months while I am learning Kwangali (kwan-gallee) then I will be living in hospital provided housing. It is a little difficult here in the meantime as I am trying to set up a home and don't know what I should and should not buy since I don't know what kind of housing I will receive in the near future. I have lots of new pets. The Johnson's left me with two dogs, five chickens, one lizard (he lives outside but likes the doorjamb as a place of rest, I sometimes am 'locked' out of the house because I won't go anywhere near where he is!) and plenty of cockroaches! These unfortunately are inside the house. They aren't the big black ones like in the states, they are little brown things that are easy to squish. The result however is that I don't walk around the house barefoot (yet) and I have to keep my pant legs hiked up because I fear one running up my pants!

For those of you who are wondering, the week of orientation went well. It was interesting to learn some of the culture and history and be able to go on tours of some of the important places here in Windhoek. We also had quite an education on HIV/AIDS. We had a case study, a speaker that is HIV+, and we actually went to a HIV testing center and went through the testing and counseling process (my test was negative). It was a good experience and I am glad that I have done it, though my response to it surprised me. Though I knew I didn't really have any risk factors I was still nervous and had a feeling of shame. It was interesting. Like I said I am glad that I have done it and will be able to counsel people on the process and even how they might feel during the process! (Who said leading by example was always best?!)

Today we went to church at the local EBC church. It was a 4 hour service and over half of it was singing. WOW can those women sing! When we arrived , bringing our own chairs, the choir created two lines and escorted us in with singing and dancing! It was quite an honor! They also sang us a hello brothers and sisters we welcome and accept you song. Again, it was quite an honor. I was asked to say a few words to the congregation. As I shared with most of you the church was started in Angola and brought down to Namibia during the wars in Angola so they speak a different language than the Namibians. It is Luchazi (loo-cha-zee) and the entire service was in it! What a blessing that they had one of the members translating for us! I can't imagine trying to preach a sermon one or two sentences at a time and waiting for someone to translate it! But they did and it was wonderful! Afterwards there was a lot of handshaking and me just smiling because I didn't even know how to say hello! And of course there was a bit of me playing with the kids. They are always the easiest to connect with since they love to play! The one thing that struck me last time I was in Africa that kids everywhere are just kids. They love to smile and play and have fun!

This week has in store for me a little bit of cleaning (though they left the house very clean I have been killing bugs everywhere and need to spray for bugs then sweep and mop) and unpacking and settling in. I also have to do more shopping for some of the basics like sugar and flour. Did any of you think that I was going to ever say I was tired of shopping? Setting up a household can be tiresome at best but when you don't know what the brands are and what is good quality it can be quite stressful! I am glad that I am almost all settled. I am hesitant to buy too much furniture though since I don't know what the hospital housing is going to be like. There are a few things though like a bedside table and lamp that I get to go look for this week that can go anywhere.

I will write a little more later but it is after midnight and I need to get some rest. I think that I am getting sick. I have had a sore throat for a few days now.

Lots of love,
kimmie

p.s. please remember not to send me any forwards with attachments. Internet is slow here and charged by the minute so it can be quite expensive to try to download anything large. Thanks for your help with this!

p.p.s. My contact information is as follows. My cell number is 081-303-0207, and 264 is the country code. It is free for me to receive calls! For those of you in GA I am 7 hours ahead of you and from NM I am 9 hours ahead of you. Please keep this in mind if you decide to call. I do have a P.O. Box but I don't know what it is. The address on the back of my prayer card is an acceptable address to use. There are two or three boxes and they are all under the mission's name so it doesn't really matter and the three houses are next to each other so mail would get to me even if it wasn't 'mine'.

Kimmie Tibbetts
Serving the people of Namibia at the Rundu State Hospital
http://thekimmieconnection.tripod.com

Checklist completed!
Today I got through all the necessary paperwork, discussions and the checklist! They gave me my paper tickets (do they really trust me that much?!?!) and it made it a little more real. I don't think the whole reality has set in yet though. Tomorrow I have breakfast, a prayer meeting, a luncheon then I leave at 3pm for the airport. I don't know how long it will take me to get internet access to be able to update everyone. I will get you updated as quickly as I can! Lots of love to everyone!

On Wednesday please pray for the ride to the airport, the flight and all of my connections including any time that I might spend in London, the arrival of me and my luggage at the same time, and for peaceful sleep on the plane! Thanks!

I'm in New York!
Mood:  spacey
Today I started the final leg of the journey to get me to Africa. It started with one last hurrah in Atlanta traffic and ended with me arriving in New York this afternoon. The wind is blowing hard and the lakes are all still frozen over. It made for a pretty, yet bumpy plane ride. I arrived safely however and with all of my luggage intact. I pray I can say the same after my journey to Namibia.

There was nothing planned for me today except to say my hello's. It is a nice switch from all of the goodbye's that I have been saying for he last few weeks. Of course I get to say a few more Wednesday but I will deal with that when I get there. Tomorrow is full of meetings and making sure last details are all in place. Then Wednesday I take to the open air!

Better than 'Finding Nemo'!
Today my friend Teresa took me to the new Georgia Aquarium! It was like 'Finding Nemo' only so much better! Check the website for the cool photos!
(http://photos.yahoo.com/thekimmieconnection)

Happy Valentine's Day!
Mood:  happy
On this beautiful Valentine's day I get to spend hanging out with my big sister! I am so excited! We are going to make the day all about her (since it's her birthday coming up too) and enjoy ourselves! I'll let you know what all we ended up doing!

Well, the day is over and boy did we have fun doing not much at all! After joining Val's husband Jimmy and son Erik for lunch we went to Sears to have our photo taken! I thought it was a good Valentine's/birthday present for the two of us. They turned out great (at least I think so). The other thing we ended up doing was going shopping. Not for anything in perticular and we didn't end up buying anything but groceries... but we had fun doing it!

Happy Birthday to us!
February brings not only my birthday but my sisters as well. To celebrate on my dad's side of the family we went out to eat at the Texas Roadhouse Grill. Since it was a Saturday night it was loud, but the food was absolutely worth it! I had a steak to die for. Their cinnamon butter for the bread was great too!

For our birthday our Auntee Elaine made us this cute cake! My favorite color is green and my sister's is yellow. And, since my big sister is following in my footsteps and becoming a nurse both bears have on nurse outfits! She did a great job on decorating and the cake was delicious! For those of you wondering what the 06-09 is, it stands for this birthday as well as the birthdays that my family will miss while I am gone! Thanks for thinking ahead Auntee E!

Also at this restaurant for your birthday they bring over a saddle that you have to 'ride'. Attached is the picture of my sister Val being too chicken to get on it and standing behind me instead! For more family pictures remember to look at my website!

Ashton is the best nephew ever! (but I'm not biased...)
Mood:  cheeky
Yesterday I was lucky enough to be able to baby-sit my nephew. We had a great time! We played with his Leap Frog Touchpad, read books, danced, watched his favorite show (the Doodlebops), did his favorite activity- vacuuming, played outside in the sandbox and of course took a long nap. While playing with the Touchpad his favorite was the number four sheep, which sang the last ‘baa-baa-baa’ of Mary Had a Little Lamb and played music.

He is still a music playing fool. He loves to dance to every kind of music. At one point I had my laptop up on the kitchen counter and I was playing music on it so we could dance. When the song ended, he walked up to the counter, pointed up and said dance. Being as well trained as I am I quickly turned the music back on!

My favorite part of the day however, was when he would say my name and command me to do something. "Kim come. Kim eat. Kim vaccuum." One of the hardest things about living so far from my family is that Ashton doesn't know who I am. So everytime he would say my name it made my heart sing with gladness. Of course that means anything he would tell me to do I would jump to it! He definitely has me wrapped around his finger!

Ashton's 2nd Birthday!
Yesterday was my nephew's birthday and I was blessed enough to be able to spend some time with him after my arrival in NM. He is so beautiful! I haven't seen him since April of last year. Since then he has started talking. He's such a smart little guy too!

I sat in amazement as my brother asked him all sorts of questions and he sat in his lap and answered them. I was quite surprised when Reed asked Ashton if he had a girlfriend and he answered! Apparently her name is Abby and she is the daughter of a friend of Reed & Trish. She is 6 months younger than Ashton. I hope to have pictures of them after his birthday party on Saturday!

Where are we going for the party? Just ask Ashton... he'll quickly tell you 'Chuck-e-chuck-e-chucky Cheese'!

God's provision is amazing!
Mood:  silly
It has been amazing to see over the last month how many people have stepped up to support me. It is often overwhelming that I have so many people that love me and are willing to support what I am doing. That or they really just want me out of the country... I'll hope for the former! I still haven't received my medical or financial clearance but am confident that God can do it in the next few days. Even if He chooses not to I am still amazed at how far He has brought me and will continue to sing His praise!

Yesterday at church they had this verse on the powerpoint. It was a great encouragement to me and I wanted to share it with you.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

the joys of moving
Mood:  caffeinated
Hello all! Today held good news! I am in the process of trying to sell my car, which is never fun, but I got an offer from the dealership for $600 over what I owe! Praise God! Especially since I went to Carmax and they were offering me over $1000 less than what I owe!
Other than that I am beginning the exciting journey of saying goodbye to sentimental items and deciding their fate. Most people would call it packing up my apartment! Tomorrow I am hosting a vulture party where my friends get to go through my things and take what they want! Of course this is with the full knowledge that some of it will only be on a 3 year loan. :-)
I hope this finds you all doing well. I leave you encouraged by the memory verse from my girls class on Tuesday nights:

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1