April, 2002

I returned a third time to Namibia in April. This time Val went with me to see if she could live there. And then came a big surprise.

4 - We arrived in Namibia again today. It is so good to be here with Val. I am trusting that she will fall in love with Namibia as I have.

5 - After a slow day of acclimation and rest, we went out to dinner this evening with George and Jojo, my two best friends in Namibia. We ran into Luke and Dave at Burgerstuebchen and we all ate together. It was wonderful to include Val in a dining experience I was enjoyed with others on each of my previous trips.

9 - Val has had a bad case of the flu for 3 days and it won't go away. She has been in bed since Saturday morning. This is definitely not how I envisioned the trip. So far, she has not fallen in love with Namibia and hasn't really even met anyone.

12 - Val is feeling a little bit better, but not well enough to venture too far from our room.

13 - We admitted Val to the Catholic Hospital in windhoek tonight and Val's "flu" has actually been food poisoning. It must have been the chicken she ate at Burgerstuebchen. I feel so desperate tonight. Val hasn't seen anything I wanted her to see, hasn't met the people I wanted her to meet, and probably will not by the time we leave. It feels like a wasted trip.

15 - They released Val from the hospital today. She is weak but feeling alive again. Hopefully we can still see a little bit of the beauty of Namibia before we return home.

16 - Today Val had a chance to meet Sylvia Buekes and Stephan Nell, two people I really hoped she would have a chance to meet. Finally, Val is experiencing what I had hoped she would experience. In spite of her sickness, she has decided that Namibia is where God wants us to be and she is willing to call it home. We are actively making plans to return.

20 - After two days at Swakopmund and a day at Ondekaremba Gaestefarm, we are on our way home. The trip certainly did not unfold in the manner I had hoped, but God still gave us the desired result: Val has peace and a willing heart to follow my calling and move to Namibia.