First Impressions

Well, I've arrived.

The guesthouse in Namibia was great, a cook-for-yourself job. Tim, Tom and I headed into Windhoek to explore and buy the ingredients for a basic spag-bol. Windhoek has given me food for thought - it seems that I like our home comforts in ultra-developed UK, and I like places like Lubango and Chiaquelane (Mozambique), but enjoy in-between places less. I can't really explain why, because the airport was fine, taxi driver very nice and helpful etc. Maybe it's just because I haven't spent much time in such a place yet.

The last leg of the journey was "interesting". I have never known a flight so turbulent (the lunch tray fell off the seat in front and landed on me), nor one where, on landing, many of the passengers screamed before breaking into applause. Comments around us ranged from, "That was a great landing, we didn't go off the end of the runway!" to "Next time, we go on foot!"

There's a great Angolan guy called Bentinu (probably entirely the wrong spelling) and his wife Yolande who are sharing some of the weight on Dagmar's shoulders by taking us short-termers under their wing a bit. I'm sure you'll hear much more about them and Dagmar, who is giving us tremendous support, in due course. His English is very impressive, but ever since meeting us at the airport he's been doing a great job of teasing out more and more Portuguese. I still feel quite lost in the language - I can understand a LOT more than I can say (even more of a contrast than with the other languages I know), but I guess it will come in due course.

I'm getting used to our accommodation. So far I've found out how to work the cold taps, but not the shower. I don't really know how the water works, but it seems to be better when there's electricity. We've gone to bed by candlelight each evening so far, but the Internet cafe (about a 20 minute walk away) has its own generator, so I should be able to keep in touch. And I've been drinking lots of water from our double-filtered supply.

There is much more I want to tell you about what has happened so far, but no more time to say it now - other than untold amounts of thanks for your support.

Points for prayer:

• thanks for God's protection on our journey and our safe arrival
  
• these early days are always tough - at times I have been laughing so hard with everyone and thoroughly enjoying every minute of my Angolan experience, at others the combination of tiredness, the heat and the newness of everything have led me to feel quite homesick
  
• that my ability to speak Portuguese will rapidly catch up with my understanding of what is said
  

• thanks for Tom's brother Joe's discharge from hospital - just about the time we were taking off from Heathrow; his sister, Hannah, will have a small operation next month
• Avril in Uruguay continues to be in pain and is undergoing a series of tests - possibly kidney stones rather than appendicitis is the latest; give thanks for the high level of care she is receiving.

Arrived safe and sound

Just a very quick note to say that we have arrived safe and sound after a tiring journey and a very interesting landing at Lubango!

So far we've seen our new home and met our new colleagues. Jerry is a Short Term Associate (STA) who is (this very day!) half way through his stay in Angola. We met Tim, another STA, in Namibia and flew into Lubango together.

Thank you again for your prayers and support so far. I'm sure we'll need more in the coming months!

Oh yes - and the weather is (very) hot and sunny ...

We're on our way!

Just after four o'clock on Tuesday 24th January I said "au revoir" to my parents and Tom and I walked off to have our hand baggage scanned at London Heathrow, Terminal 1. Our flight was due to take off at 6pm and if all goes according to schedule, we should land in Lubango at about midday UK time on Thursday. The adventure has begun in earnest!

We give thanks for all God has done in getting us this far, but there is still much to pray for. Over the next couple of days there is what my Gran's missionary friend calls "travelling mercies" - that the arrangements made will go smoothly, not least in Namibia where on Wednesday afternoon we will get a taxi to the SIM guest house and on Thursday morning a taxi back to catch the flight to Angola. Pray too for Tom and his family - his brother, Joe, has been in hospital for the last few days with a foot infection, and his sister Hannah is waiting for results from hospital tests.

I hope that I will be able to give you my first impressions of Angola soon. It's been fascinating hearing first impressions and first experiences from the other GAP students over the last couple of weeks. It is unfair to single any one out from them all, but over the next few days please pray for Avril (Montevideo, Uruguay) who spent part of the weekend in hospital with suspected appendicitis, and give thanks for her partner, Philippa, who kept her laughing through the pain.

Next stop, Africa!

A YEAR IN: Part Four

After various delays, waiting first for visas and then for seats on our flights, I can at last confirm that we will be flying out of Heathrow on Tuesday 24^th January. Obviously these extra two weeks have not been without their frustration and difficulties, borne out of being apart from team-mates and wondering what on earth God was doing (until the visas arrived, I couldn’t even be certain I was to end up in Angola).

During all of this time, Tom and I were both endeavouring to put all of our trust in God, knowing that his timing is perfect, and that this extra time in the UK wasn’t just for sitting around and moping! With that in mind, I’d like to tell you about a couple of people, of whom you may never have heard, had my departure been on the 10^th as originally scheduled.

Kingsley is homeless and sleeps rough in Reading town centre. He approached me late one afternoon last week when I was in town to pay a few cheques into the bank (see Money Matters). Having been challenged about my attitude to the poor in this country some weeks earlier, here was an opportunity to put things right. Thankfully on that occasion, I had some change in my wallet, and so we went to a fast-food outlet where I was able to buy him his first meal since the previous day. Kingsley told me that he goes to a church in Caversham when he can, and I pray that my words were an encouragement to him to keep going. I thank God that he used me in this way… please pray for Kingsley, that God would continue to touch his life and grow closer to him.

At the other end of the scale is Robbie, a friend from school who is now at University. He had never shown much interest in Christianity, but this week due to what can only be God working in his heart, he is positively devouring “the Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel. I am preparing to go and visit him as I write; please pray for him.

And now with thanks and joy, I look forward to the months ahead in Angola and what God’s got in store there… Please pray for us too – we know that there is power in prayer and that without your prayerful support, we won’t accomplish nearly so much as we will with it. Thank you.

petitions and praises

Give thanks:

· that our visas have arrived and remaining tickets are on their way

· for the fact that God uses us where we are to touch those around us

· for the safe arrival of my team-mates to their respective countries of placement

Please pray:

· for safety in travel, as well as for families and friends as we leave them behind

· that God would use Tom and me wherever we are: from Heathrow right through to Lubango

· for the African church and SIM folks with whom we are to be working

· that God will prepare us for what he would have us do

· for Kingsley and Robbie
(see left)

Thank you. Be assured that you all remain in my prayers too.

MONEY MATTERS

I feel incredibly blessed by your generosity: cheques and money keep coming in from both Christian and non-Christian friends (and family) who wish to help Angolans. Thank you so much!

Please continue to pray that Tom and I would spend frugally and responsibly in Angola, and that God will continue to provide for all our needs.

FLIGHT DETAILS

24^th Jan @ 1800

London to Jo’burg

arr. 0705

25^th Jan @ 1055

Jo’burg to Windhoek

(Namibia)

arr. 1255

26^th Jan @ 1245

Windhoek to Lubango

arr. 1315

The Final Delay

Today I received the news that, unfortunately, no seats have become available on the Windhoek to Lubango flight at this stage, and thus our departure is to be delayed for another week. The news was, of course, deflating. Nevertheless, I have another week to say farewell to even more people -- and we continue to trust in God that he is working his purposes out through this extended period of waiting.

Thank you so much for your ongoing prayers and support.

The Next Hurdle

Friends: after the joyous news of our visas' granting yesterday, I have another prayer request! There are three 'legs' to our journey: Heathrow to Johannesburg, onto Windhoek and then finally the flight to Lubango. This last leg is a weekly flight and the one causing us problems! At the moment, we are on the waiting list for this Thursday's flight, and have been advised to ring back on Monday to see if there are any spaces. If the answer is positive, we leave on Tuesday; if not, it's another week in the UK. Obviously, I am hoping for the former, but sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers in the way we want him to... let his will be done.

Thank you all for your prayers ... I'll keep this space updated with the latest news.

Visas Granted!

At last, a result! I have just heard from the SIM office that the Angolan Embassy has granted visas for Tom and I. They're being sent by special delivery tonight to the SIM headquarters and, assuming that all the boxes have been ticked in the right places and stamps placed in my nice clean passport, they'll wing their way to me after that. It has been at times a difficult and frustrating few days, and I don't know what reason(s) God has had for the wait -- perhaps I will find out soon. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support: I feel we will need it all the more as the real adventure begins!

Visa Delay

Dear all,

A Happy New Year to all my readers and thank you for allowing your thoughts to rest on this text for a few moments.

Frustrating news from the embassy today. Visa-dependent, we had hoped to depart from this fair land a week from now, Tuesday January 10th. However, today I've heard that visa applications will not be considered until the 9th, and would not be collectible until at least the 12th. Bearing in mind that I filled in my application form at the end of November, this is not the happiest situation!

Please pray for safe travel for all those GAPers who have been able to head off. I will be spending tomorrow at Heathrow Airport seeing the last of those guys off.

Thank you for all your prayers and support; we know that it is all in God's hands.
David

PS: If you are into online interaction, or even if you aren't, you'll notice a comments link just below this post, where you can click and leave messages for me (others will be able to read these). The other symbol allows you to email this item of news to somebody else, and there may even be a way to subscribe so that the website will email you when I put new prayer requests on here (we will do that already for the monthly "A Year In" letters) ... I'll let you know if I work it out!