Happy Late Easter & a Beautiful Wedding Celebration!
How is everyone doing? I am doing really well! I am so sorry that I didn't get a chance to write to you on Easter Sunday! I had no idea that I would not return from the wedding until 1 AM!!!!! I left my house at 9 AM, so you can imagine that this was a very long day for me! I am also sorry to tell you that I wimped out and didn't end up walking to church. After more consideration I decided that there wouldn't be time for me to come back home and get cleaned up before I was picked up for the wedding. So I woke up and had my own Easter service! There was an awful sounding choir but I think God enjoyed my singing. ;-) I hope that your Easter was blessed as you celebrated our Risen Savior!

I am sorry also that this is going to be so short! It has been a hectic week and is going to be even more so starting tomorrow. I am headed out of town to go meet up with my friend that I told you about in a previous email. My friend Thomasine that was visiting missionaries in Angola has decided that it would be a shame if we were so close and didn't get to see each other! So tomorrow I am taking a taxi ride to the next big town over (about 6 hours if I am lucky and everything goes well) to get her and bring her back with me to Rundu! We will stay overnight in Oshakati (oh-sha-cott-ee) and come back in a taxi on Thursday. Traveling at night is not advised because of the dangers of the wildlife so we will have to wait until the next morning.

I promise you that I will write to you about the wedding and send it out as soon as I can! I will tell you that the service was a traditional Catholic wedding and that most of the traditions that you see at American weddings were present. Of course in America there isn't as much of the dancing and there certainly aren't half naked men dancing at the reception like there were here! What?!?! I saw that look on your face! :-) I was quite amazed when we went back to the bride's house after the wedding and they were greeted by traditional dancers! The men had on shorts with bamboo bead skirts over it, beads around their necks and animal skins on their heads! It was amazing to watch them! I will get pictures up onto the website as soon as possible, and again, if anyone knows of a way to for me to share videos with you please let me know!

I love you all and will write more soon!
kimmie

Praises:
Buford's surgery went well and he is recovering well.
Joy made it home safely from Turkey!
I get to see Thomasine while we are both here in Africa!

Prayer needs:
Please be in prayer for Marie Alexander and her family. Marie's mother passed away on Tuesday afternoon. For those of you who don't know, Ms Marie is the director of the children's ministry, Kid's Bible Club (KBC), that I was a teacher at on Tuesday nights at my church. Please pray for God's comfort and peace over this family.
One of my ex co-workers was diagnosed with breast cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. Please pray for God to completely heal her and that the healing process would be as smooth as possible. Please also pray that God would give her comfort during this time.
For safety during my travels this week.
For Alisa's parents as they make final preparations to come visit!

prayer needs
Please remember my friend Joy in your prayers. She is travelling home from Turkey this weekend.

Please pray for continued healing for my Great Uncle Jim (bypass surgery) and Buford (gallbladder surgery), Erin's stepdad.

Alisa's parents have a lot going in preparation to come visit their daughter and her family. Please pray that the process would go smoothly and with as little stress as possible!

A coworker of mine from Kennestone was diagnosed with breast cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. Please pray for complete healing for her and for her mental health along this long and painful journey! I will share more details if/when she lets me know if I can!

Mass mailer- Happy Rubber Eraser Day!
Greetings everyone!

Did you know that tax day is also the nations rubber eraser day? I didn't either! In all of my packing I apparently didn't include an American calendar, so I found a website that had a list of holidays. I was quite tickled as I was looking through to find that this was a very special holiday indeed.... Ha! Ha!

I would like to say that nothing much happened this week but of course that wouldn't be true. I was proposed to not just once but twice this week! One was a guy at the market but the other one was a little more unique than the others. I know that you are thinking, how can anything compare to being called a beautiful planet. It's hard to imagine anything surpassing that! This proposal was interesting because he wasn't actually asking for himself! It was an older man asking me if he could find a husband for me! He kept saying that I needed to marry a Namibian man so that I could get Namibian citizenship and could he find me a husband. I am not sure if he was going to volunteer or if he had someone else in mind! Either way I politely but forcefully and repeatedly said no and walked away! I figured that was a better reaction than taking off my shoe and hitting him upside the head... I don't think that would go over too well! Ha! Ha!

I am very happy to announce that I haven't been attacked by the roaches while cooking dinner in several days! This is a major improvement that I hope will only get better and better! The 'medicine' seems to be doing it's job, I am cleaning up dead little roaches everywhere in my kitchen several times a day! It was definitely money well spent!

I am sorry to announce that I don't have any stories from the wedding to share with you! It's ok, they are still getting married, they just had to postpone it by one day. Apparently the church decided to have an activity for the Easter weekend and told the couple that they couldn't get married on Saturday (today) as planned that it would have to be Sunday after the service! The really sad thing about it, is that since I will be with Imelda and the bridal party getting ready for the wedding I won't be able to go to the EBC church for Easter! Though this makes me very sad I am going to try to get to the 7AM service at the Lutheran Church where we visited last week. Apparently this early service is in English! The only thing is I am not sure they are having it since it is Easter. It is about a 45 minute walk from my home, but I won't have to take my own chair so I think it won't be that bad! I will probably send out another email tomorrow after the wedding/reception so I will let you know what I ended up doing!

This week I spent a lot of quality time with my friends from Zimbabwe. I told you incorrectly last time that they were from Zambia. Sorry about that. They sit alongside the road, next to the bank, selling clothing that comes from Zimbabwe. It is embroidered and more elaborate than the traditional clothing from here in Rundu and sells fairly well. In my walks to town I always sit with them for at least an hour if not two or three at a time! My new friend's names are as follows. The two married couples are Selhiselo (SETH-he-sell-o) and Aaron, Esnath (ES-not) and Wellington. The lady's names are Margaret, Memory, Blessing and Moblessing. (Though I may be spelling it incorrectly I am not lying, it really is her name) Though they aren't Kwangalis they speak Rukwangali pretty well and help me with my pronunciation.

It is hard sometimes because they still treat me as a guest instead of their friend. This means they always make me sit on the nicest chair (the ones that they have carried in the 40 minute walk from their home to where they sell the clothing) and even bought me lunch last week! They didn't think that I could handle the traditional meal so they spent way too much money at the little roadside stand where they sell pre-cooked meals (sort of like at the market that I told you about but found in various parts of town. They sell hamburgers, sandwiches and cokes as well as the traditional porridge and cooked vegetables.) to buy me a chicken sandwich! I shocked them a few days later when I came to visit them and immediately sat on the ground next to one of the younger ladies before they could offer me the chair! Since then I think they have started realizing that I don't desire to be treated any different than one of them! I think this coming week I am going to eat a traditional meal with them at the roadside stand! I am not sure if I can handle the texture enough to eat a whole meal but I know that God will honor my attempt!

I will write more tomorrow after the wedding. I hope this finds you blessed and getting ready to enjoy a blessed Easter!

much love,
kimmie

laugh inserted here
Mood:  mischievious
Hi guys! Just wanted to share a response from my last email (a traditional pre-wedding ceremony) that I enjoyed and thought you would as well... Love ya!

Kimmie,
Whew I was worried that maybe you'd decided to take up the very promising offer you had previously and were about to tell us all about your engagement. Laugh inserted here.
Jules

addition to lessons learned
So, last night as I was sitting in the chair checking my email I thought I felt something on my leg. I was wearing a pair of Capri's with decorative strings so I didn't think anything about it. Until I felt it again. This time when I looked I realized that it was a bug! I think the correct phrase to insert here is 'AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!' Lesson learned: always look, never assume one way or the other!

social experiment
Do you like awkward situations? Want to really watch someone squirm? Here's an experiment that you can do. I have told you in the past that when you shake hands, it is done differently here. First they frequently will shake your hand with their right hand but then clasp it with their left hand so that they are holding your hand in a little sandwich. Secondly, they don't let go right away. Often a person can continue holding your hand even if they have stopped talking to you and are talking to the person that was next to you. The reason you ask? They don't want you to think that they are rude and that they are ending their time with you prematurely. Everything here is about relationships, they want you to feel cared about and not feel lonely. This is frequently the reason for the lack of personal space as well.

So here's your assignment, should you choose to accept it. :-) Next time you are introduced to someone and shake their hand, don't let go. Just hold onto it and keep talking to them. Don't shake the hand the whole time, just hold onto it. See not only how the other person responds, but also how you respond to it.

A little disclaimer: Please do not put yourself in a situation you will later regret, like doing this to the new boss or the new boss's wife. If you think that it will be mistaken for any kind of overture then please don't do it. However, if you feel that you can safely tread into this new ground then go for it. Enjoy the awkwardness of the situation. Then when you are done you might even jokingly explain it to them and have them tell you what their reaction was... Then, of course, please share your new findings with me!

roach 'medicine'
Today I very happily paid N$105 plus taxi fare for a woman to come to my home and place roach ‘medicine’ all over the house. After talking with Imelda about it (why I didn’t think to ask her to begin with I don’t know) she gave me the phone number of the people that came to her home. She said this stuff works great and that her home is now roach free. It is something that looks like peanut butter but is the consistency of puree that is made by mixing the ‘medicine’ with margarine. The lady that came told that the stuff works for three to six months so it kills the roaches that are present now but also the ones that will hatch in the near future. I jump for joy just at the thought of a roach free home! Of course it means that I have to clean up a lot of dead roaches all over the house, but that means they are dead right….

lessons learned the hard way
I have learned a few things since I have been here and wanted to share a little bit of my new knowledge with you. I hope you can appreciate the experiences I have had to bring you these insights… J

I am so glad that I brought powerful sunscreen. However, even with the 48 that I brought with me I have still suffered from a few red skinned moments. So, I have learned that it is always a good idea to go a little overboard with the application of sunscreen. I have a few funny shaped tan spots from not applying it evenly! (Joy & Teresa- are you thinking I should know better by now?) It was partially because of this that I finally gave into the delicacy of my pale, white skin and bought an umbrella to walk with the other day. I tell you I don’t think it’s as pretty, dainty or as feminine as the ladies of old carrying parasols!

I have learned that it is not a good idea to have Capri’s or shirts that have cute, decorative strings. There have been moments that I have thought it was a bug and have almost hurt myself and have definitely embarrassed myself trying to get it off of me. Actually having my hair down frequently has this same effect…

I have also learned that it is a bad idea to assume that the brown lump on the floor is a roach that I have already killed. The other day I had been spraying a lot of roaches. Well, it takes them a while to die and they tend to crawl a little off from where I first sprayed them, so I didn’t think anything about it when I went to clean up what I thought was a dead roach off the floor. Imagine my surprise when I bent over to sweep it into the dustpan and it started scrambling off! Ok, you guessed it I gave a little yelp and was completely freaked out but I did kill the nasty little thing.

my first braii and other chatterings
Many of you are wondering what a braii (bray) is. It is a barbeque! My friend Minnie, the one that was in the pictures a few weeks ago, invited me out to the Rundu Beach for a barbeque. There were several others who worked at the hospital, as well as many of the kids that live on the hospital compound. Apparently she likes being Aunty Minnie and does a lot of activities with the kiddos. It was a lot of fun meeting new people and not having to feel the pressure of practicing my new language. We had chicken and sausages for the meal and for desert we roasted marshmallows! The children had never roasted marshmallows before so it was fun teaching them how! Then, for the adults, Minnie brought the stuff to make S'Mores! Of course it was creative S'Mores, but they were still delicious! (we used dark chocolate- it's worth a try next time you make them, it's very tasty!)

All of the pictures for this week ('my first braii' is the album) are from the braii except one. That one is the ant structure (at least I think it was ants) that I found being built in my room. Sorry to all of you bug lovers, but I sprayed it with Doom and swept it away…


I forgot to mention about church last week. It was amazing. We went to the Dutch Reform Church which is held at the chapel where I spoke last Friday. It is normally in Afrikaans but they were having a special children's program! So it was all singing and it was all in English! After having a hard week of being homesick it was a wonderful treat!

Today for church we went to the Lutheran Church whose service is in Rukwangali! I didn't understand any of it! It was great though to be able to hear the language. I think I have shared before that there are people from many different countries and tribes here in Rundu. Sometimes it makes practicing my Rukwangali difficult. So the party yesterday and church today were a real treat for getting some listening practice. (If you think about it, kids hear the language their parent's teach them for about two years before they start talking- and I am coming in trying it in two weeks!)

April 9th mass mailer
Apparently some people have not been receiving the mass mailers so they have asked me to post my emails to the journal so they can have access to them. I will be back posting previous emails to the date that they were sent out.

Though this one was sent out on the 9th I am posting it to the 8th so there isn't any confusion with the 'first braii' story. I love you guys!

Morokeni Everyone!

How are you- Ngapi? (nn-gop-ee) You would answer 'I'm fine'- Nawa. (nah-wah) 'And you'- One? (oh-neh) [you were tempted to say 'won' weren't you...] And my answer would be- Nawa. There is a much longer greeting, but Imelda (EE-meld-a) has been kind and hasn't taught it to me yet. It has some long words and some noises thrown in there that I haven't learned to make yet. :-) Note the word yet. That has become my key phrase when it comes to language. I don't know how to say that- yet. I haven't learned that- yet. It helps remind me that two weeks ago I would never have guessed that I could say half the things I can say now, and that even though I haven't learned something doesn't mean that I can't learn it, only that I haven't learned it yet.

So far language learning is going well, but slowly. My brain and my tongue are on different pages. I want to learn a lot, but I can only go as fast as my tongue will allow me to. In one of the videos about language learning they compared it to drinking water from the faucet. Even if you are very thirsty you can only drink one swallow at a time. So it is with language, there is a lot to learn, but you have to take it one swallow at a time. The good news is that what I am learning is going really well. People frequently assume that I know more than I do because of the accent and speed with which I can speak my few sentences. It's called fluency practice and I do it with the voice recorder that the KBC kids helped buy for me. When we are in our language time, Imelda records the sentences at a slow learner's pace and again at a normal speaking speed, then once I have learned it at the slower pace I practice with the normal speed. It is the key to confusing people and making it sound like I am farther along than I really am. :-)

I am very happy to announce that the chickens are gone! They were picked up last week by the mother of Melissa's friend. The dogs and I have both been much happier since I haven't had to keep them penned up during the day. As for the roaches they are growing more fearless as the days go on. While cooking lunch today they were trying to get my food! In the middle of the day! With me standing right there!!!!! YUCK!!!

Yesterday I was able to go to a traditional pre-wedding flag ceremony. Imelda's best friend is getting married next weekend and she invited me to join her for both this weekend's activities as well as the wedding next week! I still don't understand all the details, but apparently one week before a couple gets married they are required to put a white flag up at both his and her parent's houses. The white flag stays up until the couple reaches their one year anniversary. Let me paint a little bit of the picture for you. Remember that the entirety of this was in Rukwangali and that I really didn't understand what was going on.

When the couple arrived from his parent's house, the choir from church as well as family and friends surrounded them in a semi-circle and greeted them with singing. They sang several songs; for parts of it they were dancing, for part of it they would crowd up close to the couple and then they would back far away from them. Then men came from the street and were yelling at the crowd that surrounded the couple. They shouted the same thing several times. At first everyone just stared at them, then everyone started running out into the street. When they got onto the street they all stopped and were looking off into the distance. Honestly my first thought was that something bad like a car accident had happened and that everyone wanted to gawk at it. Of course I followed them. :-) Then I heard it. It was a group of people walking down the street towards us singing. Everyone, young and old, started running towards them to join them in their journey. Then I could see that there were several of them carrying a long pole that had the white flag on it. The procession came back into the yard and stopped in front of the couple where they sang another song. Then the procession went a little farther into the yard and created a big circle surrounding both the people with the flag and the couple. They sang another few songs. Then an old lady, who had been at the head of the line of people carrying the flag, started speaking. She spoke, read from what I'm pretty sure was a Bible, and prayed. Then the pole was placed into a hole that had been dug at the corner of the house. Of course, then there was more singing!

After several more songs the couple took their places of honor at the only table that had been set up in the back of the house not far from where the flag had just been placed. Then came the food. Each person present, and I am guessing that there was about 50 people, were served rice with sauce, meat and cooked pumpkin. Imelda, being the bride to be's best friend was helping to serve the food. She was gracious enough to invite me into the kitchen to join her in preparing the plates for the guests. I was very honored when she asked me to serve the bride and groom to be their meals!

When everyone was served, I was honored yet again when Imelda fixed only one plate for the two of us! I got my desire to eat off the same plate as my friend! I was so excited! Since I wasn't sure what the meat was I ate the chicken, and it was very good! However my favorite was the sauce that they put over the rice. I have asked Imelda to teach me how to make it!

Up until now the men had been sitting on one side of the house and the women on the other with the couple in between the two with their chairs in a line facing each other. After the meal people broke up into smaller groups and just sat and talked. Then a group of women decided it was time to sing again. By now it was dark with only the light coming from the porch. The women got in a circle and started dancing around and singing! I asked Imelda (before she went to join them) and she said that it was church music that they were singing. They sang and danced for over an hour! The group was very dynamic as people would join in for a few songs then sit back down or as people would take a little break then come back in. Sometimes it was all women but sometimes a few of the men would join in. It was beautiful! I got a little bit of it on video. I am trying to figure out how to share it with you all since I can't email it (I tested it out sending it to myself- it didn't work!) and I can't load video clips to the yahoo site. If anyone has any ideas let me know...

Though it felt much later because of the darkness, it was only 9 pm when we came home. Imelda said, however, that many of them would have stayed much later into the night. Overall it was wonderful and I was honored to be able to attend! I will let you all know how the wedding goes next week! The photo album 'traditional pre-wedding ceremony' only has a few photos, sorry about that, I mostly took video clips. There is also 'my first braii' which I talk about in the journal...

Thanks to everyone who sent me news/updates from home. It really makes a difference in my level of home-sickness! Keep up the good work! I hope you all are doing well.

love ya!
k

Praises:
Language learning continues to go well.
Imelda has been great at teaching me not just language but culture!
Rob's first week at the hospital went well!
Alisa and the kids also had a good first week with Rob working!
Prayer needs:
Continued healing for my great Uncle Jim who had cardiac bypass surgery last week.
Safety in travel for Joy as she is in Turkey and her time spent with Kristie & Rob Satterfield.
Erin's stepdad, Buford is having gallbladder surgery April 13th.
Continued motivation to practice language every day. It's not always easy to get out the door to go make a fool of myself! Also continued progress in language.
As I continue to build relationships that I would have the ability to remember people and their names! This one is hard for me. Even yesterday someone came up to me and asked if I remembered them and I honestly didn't! And I have only been here for three weeks!
For Rob as he starts his second week at the hospital and for Alisa helping the kids in their homeschooling.
Alisa's parent will be coming to visit at the end of this month. Please pray for their preparation and travel time as well as for them to make sweet memories during the time they get to have here with Alisa, Rob and their precious grandchildren.
For Mick & Suzanne Rineer, the leaders for all the missionaries here, as they prepare to send their oldest daughter (Hannah) back to school in Kenya on the 13th. Also in general for wisdom, guidance, patience and perseverance for them. It can't be easy making sure that all of us have our needs taken care of and keeping us trouble makers in line! :-)
Kimmie Tibbetts
Serving the people of Namibia at the Rundu State Hospital
http://thekimmieconnection.tripod.com
https://thekimmieconnection.tripod.com/journal
http://photos.yahoo.com/thekimmieconnection

prayer needs
Please remember to pray for the following people/situations. If you have any prayer needs please let me know so I can share them with everyone else.

My great Uncle Jim had a triple bypass surgery last week. Please pray for his continued healing.

On Friday April 7th Joy, my dear friend and old roommate, will be traveling to Turkey to visit friends there. Please pray for her safe travels and her time there to be refreshing to both her and Kristie & Rob whom she is visiting.

On April 13th Buford, Erin's step-dad, will be having his gallbladder removed. Please pray for a good surgery and a speedy recovery.

April 19th-ish my friend Thomasine who is in Angola right now is going to try to come visit me. Please pray that all the details will work out without any major problems. I would love to see her while we are both in Africa!

the 'food court' and sharing/caring
At the back of the open market is what I can best describe as a food court. It is a cluster of women sitting behind tables selling precooked food. For meat there is breaded and fried fish (head intact) and fried chicken. For side dishes, what I can actually name is porridge made with maize meal, steamed rice, salad with ranch dressing, potato salad and something that looked like a cooked spinach/vegetable medley, though there were a few things that I was unable to identify I will leave that project for another day. The meat is priced according to size and the side items according to how many spoonfuls you receive.

Today I decided that I didn’t want to come home and cook my lunch, but would rather eat ‘out’. So I came up with a plan to ask my new friends, Elizabeth and Ndeshy, who run a clothing stand also in the back of the market to help me. Ndeshy decided she would be the one, though she wasn’t sure she knew exactly why I wanted to eat there. We walked over to the stand and she told me to pick out what I wanted. I pointed to the different things and they made my plate. I chose a piece of fried chicken, potato salad and the regular salad. The potato salad was decent, the salad drenched in dressing was just the way I like it, and the chicken was some of the best chicken I have eaten in a long time! I was amazed at how good it was! I probably could have eaten the entire thing if I had tried!

For N$12, I was amazed at the amount of food that I received! I told Ndeshy that she needed to ask for another fork because I couldn’t eat all the food, that it was too much for one person. She laughed at me like I was joking, but though I could have attempted to eat the whole plateful it would have made me sick, there really was that much food there. She did not get a fork but told me that she would finish whatever I did not eat. I paid the nice lady who, now that I think of it, never really talked to me directly, and off we went back to the clothing stand. Though this may sound like a weird desire, I actually long for the day when my friends feel comfortable eating off the same plate as I do! After I finished eating, and I was very careful to eat only about a third of the food because I had a good idea about what would happen when I was finished, both girls sat next to each other and ate what was left. The culture here is to share everything, and I think it is so beautiful to see!

There is a group of women that are from Zambia that I stop and talk to each day. They speak many languages including English and Rukwangali. I have found that they are some of my greatest cheerleaders each day as I practice my new language with them! Today I was walking home with a 2-liter bottle of Vanilla Coke when I stopped and talked to them to tell them to have a good rest of the day. One of the ladies asked me if I was walking home now to which I replied yes. She jumped up, grabbed my heavy bag and started walking with me! She walked me as far as the Post Office (where I stopped to talk to my wonderful Angolan friends). I was amazed at her willingness to honor me by carrying my burden. It was a beautiful fulfillment of Galatians 6:2, which says “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” It reminds me that as a Christian I should also be eager to carry the burdens of others. I pray God will make me sensitive to the needs of others and help me to be available to care for those needs!

culture on my own not a great idea...
My first attempt at culture on my own, I have to admit, is now fairly amusing. It is not always a good idea to try to be independent. One should always watch the people who know what they are doing to see how they are doing things before attempting it on one’s own. Take my first attempt at eating these bean things that everyone here eats for example. Feeling that I should be doing something aside from just walking (that’s the Western task oriented person in me) and a little curiosity about how they tasted, I decided that it would be nice to buy some of these bean things that I see everyone with. So, spying one of the big, shallow, round tin bowl that they sell them from, I cautiously approached the young lady. At times I am very glad that they use a mixture of languages to communicate because they use English numbers when buying/selling! So I asked how much and getting the answer that it was only N$1, found that to be a reasonable price, so I purchased them.

Then I walked quite a ways off (I didn’t want to have witnesses if I didn’t like it) and opened the piece of newspaper they had wrapped them in. At first touch they were cool, wet and slightly slimy. I hesitated but was able to get the courage to put it in my mouth. The flavor might have been good, but I couldn’t tell you because the texture wasn’t anything that I cared for. It was a mixture of the slightly slimy and the hardness that you might imagine getting from eating the husk from corn. Overall I was not that impressed. So a few stores down when a boy told me he was hungry, I gladly gave him my beans!

It wasn’t until later that day that I learned my mistake. My Angolan friends at the post office, where I frequently rest before making the rest of the walk home, find it interesting to have me try new things and see what my reaction will be. In this way I have tried a few new things. Well, this day there was a lady there selling these beans. She picked one up, PEELED it, and handed it to me! Can you imagine my hidden surprise that you have to take off the outer layer? So, with my newfound knowledge I popped it, without it’s outer skin, into my mouth. This time I really enjoyed it! I don’t think that I would ever crave it the way I do peanuts or cashews, but it’s not a bad little snack to have in the middle of the day!

Hypochondriac's anonymous meets here...
Hypochondriacs. That’s the word we use for people who aren’t really sick but who always claim they have something wrong with them. Nurses are especially bad at this. It starts in nursing school. The nursing student is always convinced that they have whatever new, weird and exotic disease they are learning about. I’m not sure why it happens, but it’s true. Ask any nursing student or nurse and they will tell you.

Apparently moving to Africa has the same effect on a person! At each new little bump or stomach grumble I am convinced that I am coming down with some exotic Africa disease. Of course living next to a doctor forces me to be a little more realistic as I have to decide if something is really worth running over to him and asking about. Last Thursday, however, I almost decided that the symptoms I was having were real, not just make believe, and almost went over to Rob to have him check me out. I woke up with a little bit of a stomachache (could have been anything) and slightly blurry vision. Well, after a bit of breakfast my stomach felt a little better but I was still having trouble with my eyes. Thinking it was maybe just some sleep in my eyes that I couldn’t get out I tried taking a shower and cleaning my eyes with a washcloth. It didn’t work. I cleaned my glasses several times throughout the day but it also proved fruitless. I couldn’t figure out what was going on! So I decided not to walk to town that day and just stayed home. I thought to myself that if the problem persisted into the next day that I would go to Rob.

So the next morning, the day I spoke at Chapel, I woke up with the same problem! I couldn’t skip make my commitment, so I showered and got ready. Then I went to put in my contacts. That’s when I discovered that my contact case was empty! Imagine my surprise when I looked at my eyes and realized that I had one of my contacts in! No wonder my vision was blurry! I was wearing one contact and my glasses at the same time! Now I know you have a good question brewing in your mind. Where was the other contact? I couldn’t answer this question at first. I looked in my and around my bed but couldn’t find it. I knew that it wasn’t stuck anywhere in my eye (I have been told that is very painful and that I would know if it ever happened) but I couldn’t find it!

The next day I looked all around my bed again but couldn’t find it. I was beginning to get a little nervous. I mean, I know what it takes for me to get them out when I am actively trying… So what could have possibly happened to it while I was sleeping?! That night after it was dark I decided to use a flashlight to be able to see better to search the area around my bed. Finally I had victory! Because of the fear of bugs and the desire to be under the ceiling fan I keep my bed fairly far away from the wall. Imagine my surprise then when I found the contact on the floor right next to the wall!

I have no idea how I was able to get it out or how I managed to throw it so far from my bed in my sleep. I am extremely happy though to know that there isn’t anything wrong with me that a better memory and routine can’t fix!

April 1st mass mailer
Hello my dear family and friends!

How are you? How's life treating you? Things are going pretty good here. I have ups and downs in my battles with the roaches. This week there is a new bug too! They are these little black grasshopper things. They are small, thankfully, but they are everywhere! I have to sweep my house every day (many of you know what a housekeeper I am know how much this thrills me) to get all these bugs out! They come in at night when I open the door to come in or out and they fly around the living room light for a while then I either kill them or they die on their own. Either way my floor is full by morning!

This week has been fairly quiet as far as the chickens go. We are down to five though, one died last week. I have no idea why, it seemed ok the day before but that morning was gone. Rob was kind enough to come remove it for me. What would I do without him & Alisa?! After a long discussion Melissa has decided to have a friend of hers adopt the chickens. I am waiting for them to be picked up sometime this weekend. The idea eases my stress some but I still have to deal with them for the time being!

Language learning is going well. It is much harder than I would have ever imagined. Just the learning part isn't bad, it's the long walk into town to practice on the unsuspecting locals that is the difficult part! Part of it may be that it is such a long walk into town. I meet a lot of people along the way though, so it is worth it. Having lived in a place where you don't walk anywhere it is a little bit of a shock to my system. The long walks combined with the heat are definitely not what I am used to! I have listed a few of the things I have learned how to say so far. Have fun trying to say it out loud. Don't go for each sound that I have given individually but remember to say them a little fast... Good luck pronouncing it!
hello- morokeni (morro-kennee)
how are you- ngapi (nn-gop-ee)
fine- nawa (nah-wah)
I am learning to speak Rukwangali- Ame kuna kulironga kuhuyunga Rukwangali (ah-meh coona cool-ee-rrong-ah coo-who-yoonga roo-kwang-all-ee)
But I still don't know it well- Nye simpe kapi narudiva nawa (nn-ye sim-peh cappee nah-ru-diva nah-wah)
bye- baa (ba-ah)

Again I have added a few new pictures to the yahoo site. This album is 'a little familiar and a little foreign'. They are mostly pictures of some of the food items that I have here. Some of the brands are the same and some are not. Let me tell you, the long life milk is not my favorite. It doesn't taste quite right. I am thankful for the Nestle Quick though! The thing you have to worry about here is flavor. Just because something has the same name doesn't mean that it has the same flavor. This means that even things that look like home must be approached with a cautious tastebud at first. :-) I am a little sad to tell you that the Oreo cookies fit into this category! They look ok but the taste just isn't there. One of the new brands that I have fun buying is 'Simba' chips. Although some of the available flavors are a little bit out of my taste. I have actually had the 'Fried Chicken' and 'Smoked Beef'. Though tolerable they were not what my tastebuds really appreciated! I am really excited though about the sour cream and onion. They are really tasty!

There are some other pictures in this album as well. There is one of the Okavango River which is the border with Angola. You may remember me telling you that it was the river that is infested with crocodiles. This picture is as close as I have gotten! The other two pictures are of the Christian school. I was asked to speak at Chapel on Friday. Little did I know that it was 'Freaky Friday' and that all the kids would be dressed up! It was a good time of sharing with the kids about obedience to God's Word. I enjoyed it and Pastor Saul said that I would probably be invited again (so I guess they enjoyed it too)!

I guess you are all wondering about the subject of this email. Please let me explain! As I was walking around town this week I was parroting out the three sentences that I knew in my new language to anyone that would even begin to look my way. I got many different reactions. Some school children in their uniforms laughed at me and followed me for a ways just so they could listen to me talk to strangers and giggle at me. Some old women cheered for me (at least that's what I am choosing to think they were saying). Many were very surprised to hear Rukwangali out of the mouth of a white person. And one man in particular was quite pleased.

Let me recount a little of how the conversation went. I said 'Morokeni' or hello. He looked at me, smiled, then walked over and took my hand (they don't let go immediately like they do in the states when you shake someone's hand, you tend to stand there holding hands with the person while talking to them). He said hello (in English) then asked me if I was ready to marry a Namibian man. I could tell by his tone that he was volunteering for the job. It was all I could do not to laugh out loud at the poor man. (If I only knew how easy it was to get proposed to maybe I would have learned how to say 'morokeni' while still in the states! Ha! Ha!) We talked for a little bit while I tried to convince him that I had a boyfriend back in America (a lie, I know but one I was willing to tell! Know anyone that will volunteer? Ha! Ha!) and that I wasn't ready to marry anyone, Namibian, American or otherwise. It was after only a short conversation that the man's friend saw us and came over to join us. He spoke some words to his friend that of course I couldn't uncerstand, then looked at me and said to his friend 'Where did you get such a beautiful planet?' I have been called many things in my life but never a planet! I guess I should feel blessed that he didn't choose other words! Anyway, the conversation went on for just a bit more. I was finally able to tell them goodbye and keep going with my walk, but it was definitely an experience that I won't forget! What a way to be greeted!

I hope this finds you all blessed. Please feel free to send me updates about how you are doing. This is a two way street you know! :-)

much love,
kimmie


Praises:
Language learning is going well.
I am meeting several people that are my regular cheerleaders in helping me practice my new language.
Rob & Alisa continue to be a major blessing to me.

Prayer needs:
Please pray that God will continue to open my ears to the new sounds I am 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.
Rob starts at the hospital on Monday! They have placed him in the OB/GYN floor which is one of his specialties. Please pray for him as he starts his work that he would have an easy transition into the hospital, that he would make a good first impression and that he would be able to minister effectively.
Alisa will be home with the kids this week by herself. Pray for God's strength, help and encouragement as she adjusts to this.
My friend Thomasine that I went to orientation with will be in Angola for a month working with some missionaries 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.

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

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)