Ngangela Update

Life with the Conards

October found us still in Johannesburg after a good prayer retreat.  We spent the first week at the IMB installation in Edenvale (BIMS) getting to the know the Conards a little better.  This visit was primarily fellowship -- not much of a business nature was accomplished.  It was great to go shopping with them and to visit the Bunny Farm and Lion Park. (For pictures of our Lion Park experience, go to http://photos.yahoo.com/namibdon; click on the gallery for the Lion Park.)

Mark, Stacey, Grace and Katie finally arrived in Namibia on October 18 and after a few days in the capital made it to Tsumeb on October 24.  We have had quite an adventure getting them settled into their rental home.  Especially problematic was the absence of hot water but hey, true team building occurs when you share your bathtub with the new members of the team! 

Tsumeb Wedding #1: The Long March

The first wedding that we have been part of at Nomtsub Baptist Church occurred on October 14 at 3:00 in the afternoon.  Joseph Muhepa, one of the church leaders, married Cecilia Shipango.  It was not your typical wedding, as you can guess.

First, Joseph and Cecilia have been traditionally married for a number of years and have three children.  Recently, they made their marriage "legal" by going to the magistrate's office here in Tsumeb and tying the knot.  Afterwards, they completed the hat trick by solemnizing the ceremony at the church.  I did the wedding, assisted by the unordained pastor of the church, Andreas Chintango -- who was part of an officiating ceremony for the first time.

Cecilia (pictured above) wore a dress provided through Carol's wedding dress ministry.  The actual dress is a gift to the ladies of Africa by Cindy Andrews, a member of Kirby Woods Baptist Church -- one of the Ngangela Team's partner churches.  Thanks, Cindy, for sharing your dress -- you can't imagine the joy that you gave not only to Cecilia, but to the other ladies in the congregation.

Why the "long march"?  After the ceremony, while the meal was being prepared, the congregation led the newly weds (in their festive duds) all over the entire community.  They probably walked four miles during the march.

Open Door: Portuguese speaking ministry in Namibia

A number of trips this past month have centered around Portuguese speaking ministries in Namibia.  One church in Windhoek, the Grace Baptist Church, has had some communication problems between its leadership and the Portuguese speaking congregation that it has allowed to meet in its building.  Don was invited to arbitrate a meeting with the leadership on October 18.  There are still details to be worked out, but there seems to be a greater openness to move forward together.

In this meeting was Aarão Jesse, the leader of a Baptist congregation at the Osire Refugee Camp.  This camp has exploded in population since the MPLA offensive began in Cuando Cubango province in southern Angola from 2,000 to over 17,000.  Aarão informed me that another Baptist church, led by João Manuel from our Matende Church in Kavango province, was also functioning.  This information really hit the whole team with the need for a strategy to minister to these displaced Angolans.  Pray that we will be able to develop this plan quickly.

In early November, Don and Mark were able to meet Pastor Marcalino Soares, who was in Windhoek receiving some medical attention.  Pastor Soares is the president of the Baptist Provincial Convention of Huila in Angola.  The Ngangela homelands begin in eastern Huila province so we were very interested in sharing with Pastor Soares our vision for this people and hearing from him about the work that is already going on.  It was a profitable visit.

Looking Forward