mass mailer- 7/26 'Third time's a charm'

• My older sister, Valarie, passed her nursing license exam!!!  It was really hard for me not to be at her graduation but I hope she knows how proud I am of her for all her accomplishments!!! 
• Carole's brother made it safely from Canada and they are enjoying the tours of Namibia they have been doing since his arrival
• my vacation and our missionary conference is coming up soon!
• Anna is doing very well! 

• For Anna as she continues to regain her strength
• For Carole and her brother as they travel over this week and next week
• For the traveling that I will be doing with them in August
• For our missionary conference in August, that it will be a wonderful time of renewal and rest for all of us
• For me as I deal with the loss of the precious lives of children at work and struggle with how to reconcile my culture to the one I am in.
• For work visas that still haven't been renewed for Mick and some of the other missionaries here in Windhoek

Winter in Rundu

The winter weather here is quite different than what I am used to!  To start with, not all the vegetation has died like I am used to.  in fact, there are trees and flowers that are still blooming!  This is something that I appreciate, but just haven't gotten used to yet.  Attached below is a picture of my favorite flowering tree.  The flowers are so pretty!  

Another thing that is wierd is the actual temperatures.  The nights are cold and I frequently am in the house with pants, my fleece jacket and a blanket around me!  However, the days are quite the opposite.  It is hot here!  There for a about two weeks the days were quite chilly and it didn't seem to warm up at all.  Now though I can see that that is almost preferable!  (How many of you ever thought you would hear me say it was preferable to be cold?!)  The days get extremely warm, which actually kind of worries me since summer is so far away and going to be so much worse!   

My Prince Has Arrived!

I know that a lot of you have been praying for me so I wanted to let you know my Prince has arrived! 

 

 

 

  Ha! Ha! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry, I just couldn't resist myself!  Hope you are having a great day!

mass mailer- 5/29- work is coming!
Good morning everyone!

How are you doing? I am doing well. I wanted to share the big news with everyone! After more than three months of being a bum, I am actually going to start working! :-)

I had a very nice meeting with the head MD and the Matron of Nursing last week and it was decided that I will actually start working on June 1st! I realize that this is a Thursday, but I think it will be better this way so that I can get a break after just a few days of culture shock! It was decided that I will be working in the Pediatric Ward. My shift will be from 6 am to 4 pm, and I will work Monday through Friday. Hurray for weekends off! :-) I am pretty sure that they are just allowing me to work less than the nurses here and giving me weekends off since I am a volunteer and they don't want to scare me off, but for now I am ok with it! I know that sounds awful, but at this point I know that I am going to need the time to be able to recover from both the physical and emotional part of it.

As many of you know I will be wearing a navy skirt (with pantyhose I might add) with a white top and navy shoes as my uniform. The hospital is supposed to provide me with these items but have been out of supply for the last few years so it is up to me to get them. Thankfully I brought a white scrub top with me and I have been able to find two skirts that will be ok for me to use. The shoes have proven to be a different story though. They don't really wear comfortable shoes. Most of them wear dress shoes to work their 12 hour shift in. I just can't do this, so I am bending the rules a little bit... Mostly with the Matron's approval. Since they don't have shoes for me then I decided to order some clogs from 'Green-Cross', a really nice line of shoes that I have mostly found sold at pharmacies. I don't know how long it will take for them to come in and until then I will just be wearing my sneakers. The Matron said that if I wanted I could wear my sandals, but I honestly don't think that I could wear open toes shoes to work and be comfortable! It goes against all training I have ever had!

Many of you knew that I was supposed to be moving to hospital housing right around the time that I was to start at the hospital. That isn't going to happen, at least not right now. The hospital is currently renovating the nurse's flats and is even putting some of their nurses 'out on the street' until it is finished. That in addition to the fact that they just recruited a small batch of nurses from Kenya to work and gave them any remaining housing adds up to me staying where I am for now. They are saying that it might be as soon as next year that they are able to get me housing (but this is Africa and things don't run on a time schedule like we are used to so I'm not holding out for anything). This does present a problem though. The hospital is about a 45 minute walk away and I know that I am not going to want to walk 45 minutes to and from a ten hour work day five days a week. So what is there for me to do? I haven't quite figured that out. After some prayer I don't think that I am supposed to be buying a car. This means that in the morning I am probably going to contract with a taxi driver to be picked up each day. Yes, it will be a little expensive at N$6 a ride, but isn't convenience always a little expensive? As for the ride home I'm not sure what I will do. At this point I am thinking of walking home since the time will help me clear my head and unwind from the day. Something that you can pray for is that maybe there would be a female co-worker that lives close to me that would volunteer to let me ride with her. I know that God has something planned, I am just waiting to find out what it is!

I am sorry that there aren't any new pictures for you to look at this week. I did take some on Saturday when I went to one of the lodges with some other volunteers and played ping pong but I haven't downloaded them onto the computer yet. But other than that nothing that exciting has been happening!

I pray that this finds you well.
much love and many hugs!
kimmie

Praises:
I was well received by the one doctor and the nurses that I met on the Pediatric ward last week
I get along really well with the Matron of Nursing
Rob's brother and family arrived safely yesterday
my friends from Zimbabwe made it back safely this weekend

Prayer needs:
for me as I start work, that God will give me peace and calm my anxiety, that things will go smoothly, that I will bond with the other staff
continued recovery for the two ladies that had surgery and Audrey (heart surgery)
Alisa's parents are in the middle of flying home, they left yesterday to go back to Canada

prayer needs
Hi everyone!

Just wanted to say thank you for all of your prayers for Audrey, my friend Michele's 2 year old. She came through the open heart surgery well. She had a few complications and stayed in the hospital longer than they originally anticipated, but she is home now and recovering well. Please be in prayer for her continued healing.

There are also two ladies that recently had some female surgery, please pray for their healing as well.

You guys are the best!

lots of hugs and love!
kimmie

What a week!


From left to right: Lynn, Rick, me, Elizabeth, Gary and Michael John

Last week was a wonderful blessing! Elizabeth and Gary are missionaries that live a few towns over (almost a 4 hour drive), and it was their pastor, associate pastor and music leader from Birmingham, Alabama that came to do some church training. Along with them came a healthy dose of Peanut Butter M&M's and a box of Bisquick, so you can guess that I adored them immediately! ;-)

Though most of my days were spent cooking lunches for the guys, I did get to attend some of the sessions that they taught. It was so wonderful to be able to understand first hand what was being said in church! Of course they were translating into Luchazi (the language my church here is in), so I thought it was a little funny that the tables were turned. :-)

For the meals I treated the guys as much as I could. I even had a first attempt at home made tortillas! There is no such thing here are Mexican food- so it's just what I can cook. Since you can't effectively cook Mexican food for one, it was the perfect opportunity to try it! The tortillas weren't round, but they tasted perfect! I also treated the guys to sweet tea with each meal. And, since they were kind enough to bring me the Bisquick, we had pancakes not just once, but twice! The syrup here is good, just super thick. Though it was a little different, the breakfast was a little bit like heaven!

Other than that, my week ended on Saturday with some exciting things! My day started with an English class. No I am not taking one, I am teaching one! Don't you feel sorry for my students?! One of the translators asked if I would be willing to teach a class once a week to help anyone who wanted to come to further their English abilities. Since I am not working at this point I said yes. (when I start I might change it to twice a month instead of every weekend) This first class only had two students, but since they announced it at church Sunday I a sure that this coming week will by much more full! Please pray for my teaching ability!

My Saturday ended with a Birthday party where I met many other Americans! I was so excited! I was invited to this party for a volunteer that is with another organization, and the guest list was almost entirely volunteers! There were many different organizations present including the Peace Corps. I was so surprised to know how many other Americans are here in Rundu! I hadn't met any and had only heard of one other through the grapevine. I am thinking of having a 4th of July party at my house since I have so many people to help me celebrate! :-) This Thursday I have even been invited to one of the girl's houses for pizza and a movie!

mass mailer- 5/22 I survived Etosha National Park (and it survived my driving)
Hello Dear Family and Friends!



How are you all doing? I have been really busy these last few weeks. I am sorry that I didn’t communicate with you sooner that I made it back safely from the park. We had a great time! Below is a fairly detailed account of our trip and the animals that we saw. The album on yahoo is ‘Etosha National Park- Holiday May 2006’. There are many more photos than what are on the website, but I think that you get a good mixture of everything that we saw. The pics are a mixture of all 4 of our cameras; I took the best shots to put on the site! There is also an album ‘getting my hair done’ that I know many of you were looking forward to!



As for last week, I had a great time hosting 3 pastors from Alabama that were here doing church training. It was wonderful to have Southerners in my home! Imagine their surprise to be served sweet tea in Africa! I am going to put a little blurb about our week on the journal tonight so you can look for that as well as a photo of all of us (https://thekimmieconnection.tripod.com/journal). I hope that the journal about Etosha isn’t too boring!



5/9/06

Yesterday I arrived in Grootfontein. I was almost able to tell you that it was an eventful trip. However, while we were driving we crested a hill as noticed that there was a huge group of guinea fowl in the road and we noticed that one had bit hit. Now, in certain parts of America we joke about road-kill stew and in my mind I was laughing about it. That was until I noticed that we were slowing down. The driver pulled up to a stop right next to it so all he had to do was open the door to look at it. He apparently decided that it wasn’t damaged so he decided to take it home with him! He reached down, picked it up, placed it under his feet, and away we went! Other than that I arrived safely and soundly with a great story to tell!



Today we arrived in Etosha National Park! I love driving by the way. It is a little confusing since it is on the left side of the road and the driver’s side is the right side of the car, but I am getting used to it. My partners in crime have really laughed since I repeatedly hit the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal! Everything is backwards and it just takes some getting used to!



Within the first five minutes of being inside the park we saw giraffes and springbok. Since then we have seen ostriches, Oryx (gemsbok), zebras, wildebeests, and more and more springbok. I felt kind of like Chevy Chase in National Lampoon’s European Vacation saying ‘Look kids, Big Ben’ each time I said ‘There’s a springbok!’ Tonight we are going to the watering hole and will hopefully be lucky enough to see some big game. We almost saw some lions, the park rangers told us which road they were down, but when we went down there we didn’t see anything. Maybe tomorrow!



5/14/06

Ok, so I got so excited for the rest of the trip that I didn’t journal, but I can fill you in on the details now!



The first day we arrived at the park at 10:24am. We drove to the Chudob waterhole in an attempt to see lions but there were none there that we could see. Then we drove to the farthest campsite from the entrance we used. It’s name was Okaukuejo (oh-coo-quay-oh). We set up camp and realized that the tent we borrowed wasn’t big enough for four people (Kelly opted to sleep in the car). Then we went to the waterhole to sit and wait for animals to come. We didn’t see anything for a few hours then decided to go eat. We were told that at least once we should pay the big money and eat at the lodge so that we could try the different game meat. It was a bit of a disappointment in that there was only one game meat, Oryx, and it wasn’t that great. But in general eating at the lodge and getting lots of different foods was great! While we were eating however a male lion came to the waterhole. We were totally bummed!



The second day we drove from the Okaukuejo waterhole/campsite to Halali, which is the middle one. That day as we were driving, the only unusual animals that we saw were warthogs and a giant lizard! The warthogs were a mom and her baby. Chances are that we were close to elephants because of all the dung on the road, but we never saw any. Of course we went through some thick tree patches, so they might have just been beyond our sight… We also saw numerous Oryx, springbok, giraffes, zebra, wildebeests and lots of pretty landscape!



That night after we set up camp we were determined not to miss any animals at the waterhole like we did the first night, so we set up shifts so that one person was always at the waterhole. It paid off because we were able to see a rhino at 7:20 pm that night! It was funny because Kelly and I were eating while Aimee and Kimberly were at the waterhole. The sign we agreed upon was doing a missed call on the cell phones (calling but hanging up before the person answers). While I was eating I jumped when my phone rang! I ran to the car, drove to the toilet/shower area to get Kelly who was washing up after dinner, drove back to the campsite to get her camera, then drove to the parking area at the waterhole. Then we ran all the way to the seating area. Of course by this time I couldn’t breath and it was hard to hold the camera still enough to get a photo! The digitals that we all got weren’t great, I am hoping that my 35mm took better photos! We were so happy that we didn’t miss it! Then we couldn’t stop giggling because of what we had to do to get there!



This is also the night that three of us fell asleep while waiting for animals so show up. I was the first to fall asleep and I am told that I started snoring! Kimberly was kind enough to shake the bench I was on to keep my quiet! Thanks Kimberly! I owe you one!



Our third day was the most amazing! On Thursday we saw so many animals! That morning we were out of the camp as soon as the gates were opened at sunrise and it definitely paid off! We drove to the Goas waterhole and were there by 6:20am. It didn’t take us long to see the lump with ears that almost blended in with the long grass. It was a female lion! It was all we could do not to make too much noise because of how excited we were! She wasn’t that interested in us until a second car drove up and started getting out of their car! I was totally freaked out by their boldness! It was they, however, that pointed out that we had a second female off to our left that we had missed because we were so focused on the first female! That was very scary! He also told us that this second one had cubs near her but we never saw them. After a bit they all got up and went away from us, so off to the next waterhole we went!



After a few waterholes, we finally saw an elephant! Don’t know if it was a he or a she, but it was beautiful! Kelly got some really good close-up shots of it because it walked towards us, stopped, and then walked off. We were so excited!



Then we were off to the waterhole of Tsumcor where we really hit the jackpot! We rounded the corner and there was a sea of elephant backsides! We were in complete awe! We drove to the far side of the waterhole, which was a mistake! We weren’t there very long when we were approached by a large female that started flapping her ears at us. Having been through ‘Elephant Etiquette 101’ I knew that that meant she felt we were intruding and that we needed to get out of her space. It turns out that they were almost ready to leave and we were in their exit path! I am glad we moved- otherwise we would have been trampled! Though we visited another waterhole that afternoon, that was the end of our exciting day. We were so thankful that we had been able to see so many of the big animals that we had been praying to see! We felt very blessed!



That night at the waterhole there wasn’t much to see except a herd of zebra and a few giraffes. We were told later that night that the campsite has a big area fenced in and that it doesn’t include any predators. We were glad that we didn’t try to stay up like we did at the other holes. We would have been very disappointed if we had been successful in staying up but didn’t see anything!



However, at 4am that morning I woke up but I wasn’t sure why. It didn’t take long before I heard the noise that had awakened me- a lion was roaring outside our camp! I woke up Kelly to hear it (I’m not sure she was as excited as I was). We stood there talking and saw a lady off in the distance out of her tent so we went to talk to her. She was pretty sure it was a female because after each roar there was also a low woofing noise that thought meant the lioness was her calling her cubs. It could have also been letting the others know that she had made a kill. We weren’t exactly sure and we weren’t going to go out of the camp to figure it out either!



That morning we didn’t see anything big, but we had to leave the park by 7am to make sure that we got where we needed to go. On our way home we also stopped at the Hoba Meteorite, which is the largest meteorite in the world. For being the biggest in the world it wasn’t all that big. But maybe anything bigger would have thrown the Earth off its axis and we would be lost in space… Anyway, we had a lot of fun taking pictures and climbing on it. Unfortunately the batteries in my digital camera were dead at this point and I haven’t gotten the other girls pictures! As soon as I do I will add them to an album on yahoo!



I hope that you are all doing well. Again I am sorry that it took so long for me to get back in touch with you all. I hope you didn’t worry too much about those lions and me!



I love you guys!

kimmie

My first visit to the hospital!
I finally got to see the inside of the hospital!

On the Saturday before last, Minnie (my friend who is a volunteer from the Philippines) treated Thomasine and I to a tour of the hospital. We did not go into every ward, just the pediatric ones where she works and knows the nurses, but we were able to walk through the compound and get a tour. Overall I was very impressed with the cleanliness of the facility. As you enter the front door you are deposited into the main facility. This includes reception, all of the clinics, the emergency department and the radiology department (x-rays for you non-medical people). I am sure that there is more in that area but we just didn’t see. Then as you walk out towards the back you find the different wards. Each is a separate building, one to the right and one to the left but it is all attached through the middle walkway.

The first area that we went into was the children’s surgery ward. We visited with a few of the patients that Minnie works with as well as the nurses on duty. All of the nurses that we stopped to talk to were very impressed at my learning Rukwangali. One nurse was so impressed she offered for me to marry her son! (I can’t seem to get away from it!!!)

The next on we went into was the general pediatric ward. Here we stopped to ask the nurses permission and chatted with them. We didn’t chat with any of the patients past my greetings in Rukwangali, we just looked at how the ward was set up and left. It wasn’t exactly a thorough tour but it gave me enough of the basics to be able to have a good impression of the place (for which I was very thankful).

I still do not know what area I will be working in. While I was with my friend Ndeshy (nn-desh-ee) at the hair salon the other day I met a nurse who said that because I was a volunteer that they would place me in the high care ward (their version of intensive care). I am not sure who exactly makes the decision but I know that the third week in May I am supposed to have a meeting with Dr. Yuri, the head physician and find out all the details about housing as well as when I start and where I will be working. Please be in prayer for this meeting. There are several things that I think I want, but please just ask that God’s will be done and that I am placed according to His purpose.

Thanks!

Thomasine's visit and the rest of my week
Greetings my dearest Family and Friends!

I hope that this past week was as enjoyable for you as it was for me! I had a very good time visiting with Thomasine. I went to pick her up in Oshakati on the Wednesday before last and we came back to Rundu the next day. On Friday we walked into town and I was able to introduce her to my friends and all the people that I stop to talk to along the way. One of the funniest moments for me was when my friends from Zimbabwe told her that she knew how to speak better than me and that they could understand her better, that she didn't talk through her nose like I do. What was funny about this you ask? She's from Chicago! I laughed and told them that the part of America where she comes from they talk through their nose much worse than I do and that they wouldn't be able to understand her if she hadn't been in Africa for the last two years! They didn't believe me, but I knew it was true!

Sunday found us traveling in the public taxi to Windhoek. The music was way too loud for us to be able to talk but we rested for a large part of the trip and we arrived safely so we felt blessed! Monday through Wednesday morning we were in downtown Windhoek during the day and enjoyed the comforts of staying with the Rineer family in the evenings. I love staying with Mick & Suzanne and the kids! They are so great at making me feel at home, comfortable and a part of the family! The kids thought it was very cool that Thomasine lived in Madagascar so they made her feel welcome as well! We visited almost all of the historic sites of Windhoek including the old prison which isn't really a museum, it's just that the building still stands (it was converted into office space in the 60's). After getting permission to go into the lobby and look at the plaque that gives information about the building we decided to walk a little farther in until someone stopped us. Then from out of nowhere came a nice man who gave us a little tour! He showed us into the old kitchen area, the one old cell that remains (but is being used for storage) and just around the building. It was built in the early 1900s and it was cool and a little sad to touch the walls and think about everything that the walls had been witness to.

On Wednesday we took Thomasine to the airport and I said my goodbyes. I was supposed to head home on Thursday, but Mick thought my passport was ready to be picked up from the office of Home Affairs and asked me if I wanted to stay an extra day. How could I say no to getting my passport back?! So I got to spend an extra day in the city and did a little more shopping. I arrived safely back in Rundu on Friday evening and then had the pleasure of hosting Gary & Elizabeth Wilkins for the weekend.

The Wilkins are independent missionaries that are living in Tsumeb (sue-meb), a town about 4 hours away from Rundu. In May they are having a team of church elders come to do some leadership training and were here getting things set up. They are originally from Birmingham (or a little south of it) so it was fun to have some Southerners in my home. I even made sweet tea! :-) I look forward to having them again when they come back in a few weeks!

I bet many of you are wondering how I am doing. I am doing well, thanks for asking! I feel really settled (although I still anticipate moving into the hospital housing in less than a month and am not looking forward to packing and moving again) and am getting into a good routine. I know this will change once I start at the hospital, but for now it's working for me! I have not been having problems with the roaches. I still see them occasionally but nothing major. The dogs are still the dogs, but there's nothing I can do about them. (right now the female is in heat and I am having a grand time keeping them separated)

Other than that language is at a little bit of a stand still right now. Imelda is a school teacher and they are in between semesters right now so she is in Windhoek visiting her boyfriend (I got to have lunch with her while I was there). So I think this week I am going to take the time to learn some Bible verses in Rukwangali and hopefully learn that way.

I hope this finds you well! I look forward to hearing from you!
hugs and kisses,
kimmie

Praises:
Thanks for your prayers during all of mine and Thomasine's traveling, we are both safely back home
Buford is healing well from his surgery
Rob & Alisa (and tribe) traveled safely to Windhoek today

Prayer needs:
My friends Michele & Matt Anderson just their second baby a few weeks ago and their daughter Audrey is having heart surgery on the 8th of May
My ex co-worker who is undergoing chemo
Mick & Suzanne Rineer- for guidance, wisdom and patience and for safety for Mick as he travels to some meetings this week in South Africa
Rob & Alisa will be picking up her parents from the airport today (Monday) and will be doing some traveling here in Namibia, seeing the sights. Please pray for their safety as they travel and that they will be able to cherish each moment they have together.
My friend Joy has a very busy week with multiple meetings each day. Please pray that she will be patient and full of grace and wisdom during these meetings and that she will have endurance to last the entire week!



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

Tangeni & Phillo's Wedding (4/16/06) mass mailer 4/30
Hello My Dear Ones!

I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to write to you about the wedding! As many of you know the wedding was an all day and all night event, which I was unaware of! Imelda and I left my house at 9:15 Sunday morning and didn't return until 1 AM Monday morning! Given how long the day was you can imagine that this email is going to be just as long- sorry! The groom's name is Tangeni (tang-any) [the tang is pronounced with the same 'g' sound as when you say the orange drink 'Tang'] and the bride's name is Phillo (fee-low). In the pictures you will notice that the names are backwards. I didn't realize this until just a few days ago when I had lunch with Imelda! Oops! The album is titled 'Tangeni & Philo's Wedding'. Don't you think it is original?! Ha! Ha! ;-)

BEFORE THE WEDDING
At 9:30 we arrived at the house where Phillo was getting dressed. Being Phillo's best friend meant that Imelda was helping her actually get dressed and they (of course) let me be there as well! The bride was absolutely beautiful! She wore a white dress that wasn't any different than ones you see in America, complete with veil, elbow high gloves and a shoulder wrap. Her hair was done up with silk flowers placed in it. There are no 'real' flowers here in Rundu so all of the flowers were silk. We were there until about 10:45 when we were transported from that house to the bride's mother's house. I am still not sure why it was two different locations and Imelda is out of town all this week so I haven't been able to sit with her and ask her all the questions that I would like to. So the bride was placed in a car along with the flower girls and I went along with all of the bridesmaids which meant going in the back of a truck! In case you hadn't noticed, Africa is a little different in the way they do things! Not to worry, after just a short time at the mother's house and we were able to secure a seat for ourselves in a combi. (It's like a minivan but with more seats) At 11 am, which is when the wedding was supposed to start, we finally left the mother's house and went to the filling station (It's not called gas here but petrol and so it isn't a gas station but a filling station. After all, that is what you do there so it makes sense!). The wedding was held at the Catholic mission which is about 30km out of town. It took us about 35-40 minutes to get there because the combi wasn't a very good one and wouldn't go very fast.

Just a word about the bridal party. They have bridesmaids and groomsmen just like we are used to and they have what I would have called the maid/matron of honor and best man. I would have called them that but Imelda said that it was more like Godparent's of the ceremony. It is a relative that is chosen to fulfill this role which is to make sure things run smoothly throughout the day. Through the day the bride and groom were both followed by these people in almost everything they did and especially the woman was always fixing the bride's veil and train to make sure that it was in place. The other thing that I found interesting was that they carried white umbrella's to shade the bride and groom throughout the day! You could always tell where Tangeni & Phillo were by finding the umbrellas! For the story I will just call these people the Godmother and Godfather (no jokes please).

So, when we arrived the bride and groom's vehicles were already there. They spent a lot of their day in the car which I found interesting. At this point there was a lot of just standing around while the bride and groom roasted in their cars. The bridal party stood next to the vehicles and all of the guests stood at the opposite end of the parking area under the shade of big trees. Finally the ceremony master invited the guests to enter the church. There was dancing and singing as the guests entered the sanctuary. Once all of the guests had entered then the bridal party lined up at the door. Phillo was escorted to the door by his parents and the Godfather, then entered the sanctuary escorted by the entire party. There was of course singing as he entered! Then the bridal party returned to their positions outside and again waited as the bride was escorted to the door by her mother, flower girls and the Godmother. There was even more singing as she entered the sanctuary!

THE CEREMONY
So I already told you that it was a traditional Catholic wedding, so nothing at the actual ceremony was different than what you would have seen in America. I was very embarrassed though that they wouldn't let me sit in the middle of the church, they had me sit up at the very front WITH the bridesmaids! I was very embarrassed about this but Imelda said that as her special guest there really wasn't anywhere else that would have been appropriate for me to sit. (We'll chat more about this later too when I tell you about the reception)

During the ceremony the only thing that I thought was different was that during the exchange of rings any and everyone that had a camera, including me because Imelda pushed me to, surrounded the couple and took pictures. In Catholic weddings the bride and groom face the priest not each other during this, so even without all the cameramen the guests wouldn't have been able to see, but I was kind of shocked that so many people crowded around during this time. What shocked me was that to take the pictures we were actually up on the part of the platform where the priest was which I thought was kind of a no-no. Imelda confirmed this but said that unless they make an announcement at the beginning of the ceremony not to then people just come up to take the pictures!

After the ceremony the bride and groom left first but were taken to a side room where the marriage certificate was so they could sign it. Then the guests sang and exited the sanctuary. After everyone else had left, then it was the bridal party's turn to leave. Everyone went outside and waited for the new couple to emerge. When they did the singing and dancing started! Much like at the flag ceremony from the last week, the newlyweds were surrounded by the women as they sang and danced. This time there were also drums, which I was surprised to see the women playing! After a while of people coming up to hug and greet the newlyweds and the women dancing the bridesmaids carried Phillo to the car! Tangeni's sister and some other women danced around him as they escorted him to the car as well.

AFTER THE WEDDING
After the wedding the entire church piled into cars, trucks (called bakkies (bock-ees) here) or anything else with wheels for the procession back to Phillo's mother's house. For this trip Imelda was able to get us a ride in her friend's car which had air-conditioning! I was so excited! Along the way we stopped along the road so that they could decorate the first few cars with a few balloons so that people knew that it was a wedding procession. Each car had their flashers on and there was a lot of weaving back and forth and horn honking! Many of the women that were walking on the side of the road started dancing when they saw us come through. You could tell that everyone wanted to help celebrate! We arrived at the house (the same one where the white flag was placed the week before) where a big tent had been set up in the back yard. As we walked along behind the bride and groom I noticed that we had stopped. There were many people lining the pathway into the tent but I now saw that there were people in the middle of the path. It was the traditional dancers!

There were three men playing drums and many men and women dancing. I wish I could share the video clip with you so you could see how smoothly and quickly their bodies move. The dancing was a mixture of shoulder movements and hip movements. Sometimes there was clapping and sometimes there was singing but mostly it was just dancing. As I told you before, the men had on shorts with bamboo bead skirts over it, beads around their necks and animal skins on their heads. The women had white beads that criss-crossed around their torso, white beaded belts that sat over their skirts and their headdress was made of red yarn and white beads. Of course they also had bracelets, necklaces and anklets on. It was amazing and beautiful to watch them. I wish I could move like that! I don't know a whole lot about the history of the dancers or the significance of their dress. I asked Imelda but she didn't know a lot about it either. If later down the road I learn more I'll let you know!

The newlyweds finally made it into the tent where they sat at the only table along with the bridal party. We stayed there long enough for a cold drink and prayer then we were off again. This time we went to one of the riverside lodges for the pictures to be taken! After being there for a bit we finally set off to the reception!

THE RECEPTION
When we arrived at the reception I was so excited to see the dancers again! There was more dancing and singing as we stood outside the reception hall and the newlyweds waited in the car. After almost an hour then they started allowing guests into the hall. The seating is limited so they invited the guests who had come from a distance to be seated first. Then people from Rundu that had been invited were seated, then they opened it up to anyone else who just happened to show up because they wanted to join the party or get free food and beer or for whatever reason.

It wasn't until everyone else had entered the hall that the wedding party was finally invited in. The bridal party lined a pathway and the bride and groom finally entered and made their way to the table on stage. This, by the way, is where I sat as well! I was so embarrassed but again according to Imelda there wouldn't have been a better place for me to sit. There was food on the table but we didn't eat for almost 2 hours after we arrived! (Without a lunch because we had been there all day you can imagine how starved I felt at this point!) There were prayers and speeches and more speeches. Again, remember that this was almost all in Rukwangali so I couldn't understand it! Finally we ate and I started feeling more like a human again. Then there was more dancing! This time though it was the first dance for the bride & groom. It was fun because they were playing some American music mixed in with the Rukwangali. They placed the veil over them both to 'hide' them during their dance. That of course opened up the dance floor to everyone and there was a lot of dancing after that.

Then everyone went to their seats although I am not sure how they knew to since the music was still playing. Then the bride and the groom went back down to the dance floor and the bridesmaids stood off to their left. Then some different music started and everyone started a dance up to the front while carrying their gifts (if they brought one). They would dance past the bridesmaids, pass the gift to them, then dance their way to the newlyweds to greet them. It was the coolest receiving line I have ever seen! Then there were a few more dances then everyone sat back down again. Then the music changed as a group of women danced in from a side door. They were carrying more gifts. They created a semi-circle around the couple and of course they were dancing! They would dance for a bit, then one would bring up a gift and use the microphone to talk about it (in Rukwangali) then they would dance again and the process continued until they had given all of their gifts. They left again while the music was still playing and came back with the gifts for the groom and the process started all over again with the dancing and giving of gifts. It was fun to watch and was glad when it was over so I could ask Imelda what the gifts were. I know you were wondering too. For the bride they were gifts that she would need to provide for her husband and family. They were things like a mat to sit on, a basket full of seeds for a garden, a basket to sift the muhongo (not really sure what it is or how to spell it for that matter) as well as the bowl and pole they use to pound it, and a hoe to tend the garden with. For the groom he received things like an axe, something that looked like a sledgehammer and a bow and arrows.

THE WEDDING CAKE
The other really cool thing that was a little different was the wedding cake. It was beautifully decorated to look like a traditional hut and it was made of chocolate cake. :-) When the cake was cut it was cut into little bits that were less than a square inch each and placed on a large plate. The bride and groom stood at the front of the dance floor and, can you guess... there was music! All of the guests danced their way back up to the newlyweds to receive their little piece of wedding cake that they were holding. Of course this doesn't do much of anything but make you hungry for more cake. This was easily taken care of because on each table were smaller cakes that Phillo and her friends made the day before. There wasn't just one flavor but the only one I tasted was a carrot cake that was in front of where I sat with Imelda. It was yummy and since there was plenty to go around I got a bigger piece that I would have at an American wedding!

After all of these activities then it turned into a normal party with dancing and mingling. Up to this point we had been at the hall for four hours and the partying would continue for another four hours before I was able to go home. This was a little excessive and I wish that I could have gone home a few hours sooner. However I am glad that I was able to have the experience and that I am able to share it with you! At 1am, I was way past my prime and was actually sitting with my fingers plugging my ears because I was tired and the music seemed to be getting louder. Imelda and the other bridesmaids decided that they didn't want to be in their dresses anymore so we finally left, me to go home and them to change so they could go back! Overall is was a wonderful day and I was truly blessed by being able to be a part of the wedding!

I hope that you enjoy the pictures to go along with the story. If you have any questions about anything please feel free to ask!

love ya!
kimmie


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

I should pay more attention!
Life is often in the small details. I frequently miss this fact. Take for instance my prepaid electricity meter. I should actually pay attention to it. Then I wouldn't run out of electricity in the middle of the day! Thankfully I didn't run out in the middle of the night, but when I came home from buying it I was completely out! After putting in the code that I got from the electricity place the gentle hum of the refrigerator and ceiling fans starting up again was music to my ears!

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….