Entries by Daniel McFeeters

    Greetings once again from Africa. I want to thank you all for your continued support and prayers for me and for the mission team here in Namibia. Here's a little update from the dusty little town of Opuwo...
    Dust. I tell you, here in Opuwo, that word takes on a whole new meaning. For five months there has been no rain. The passing cars churn the dirt roads into clouds of choking dust. For us foreigners who aren't used to the dust, it can become a real trial. For months, I have had a cough whenever I talk for a long time or even take a deep breath. Anything that sits collects dust--not in a matter of weeks but in a matter of days or even hours! The other day I was at the home of Charlie Eklund, one of the career missionaries here. Suddenly I heard a friend calling: "Come quickly! Quickly! Look over there!" 

Cleaning. Cooking. Doing dishes. Commuting to work. Checking e-mail. Running errands. Entertaining guests. Fixing things around the house. Do these tasks sound familiar to anyone? What does this have to do with being a missionary? Aren't missionaries those people who take a Bible and picture roll out to the jungle villages and preach to the natives? Aren't missionaries supposed to have clinics and schools and hold meetings and baptize lots of people? Yes--missionaries do do these things. But they also do other things. Like sweeping the floor, and cooking, and shopping, and just spending time making friends. In fact--most of the day-to-day life of a missionary isn't spent baptizing people or preaching, but in doing the day-to-day tasks that anyone else does, whether in America or in any other part of the world.

    When was the last time you spent a week in a village on a tiny island in
the middle of endless water, grasses, and water lilies? Paddled a dugout
canoe to church? Gave a sermon in a church with dung walls and a dirt floor?
Slept in a thatched-roof home? Or took a bath in a river infested with
crocodiles? When was the last time you stood on the edge of a 300 foot cliff,
and watched one of the major rivers of the world pour into the canyon at your
feet? When was the last time you saw a rainbow so close you could actually
touch it? Or climbed a sand dune? Or walked on the moon?    How many of you have ever thought of becoming a missionary? I tell
you--you can't beat the job description. Well--on most counts that is. I miss
all you folks terribly, but I tell you--life here is great! The past few
weeks, as usual, have been filled with adventure. Actually--I've had more
adventure recently than I think I've had in most of my life. I really feel
guilty keeping all this fun to myself so I figured it was time to write you
all an e-mail and share some of the adventures.

So what is it like, being a student missionary in a strange country, half-way around the world from home? Well, to tell the truth, not that much different from being at home. We have times of laughter and times of sadness, joys and trials just as anyone anywhere in the world. But sometimes, these come with just a little twist...

Dear Friends,

 What an adventure that past weeks have been! The fun of cooking ovizema
(cornmeal porrage) over an open fire, and eating it hot with omavara (goat's
milk) in the shade of a spreading tree, while watching the butterflies float
in the warm breeze and listening to the songs of tropical birds and the
chatter of happy children. The hard life of missionaries, for sure...
Actually there's no better way to find out how the Himba people speak and
live than just living with them, so that's what I've been doing for the past
few weeks. As I mentioned in my previous e-mail, I spent two weeks studying
language and culture at the mobile school at Okuhozu about 30 kilometers
north of Opuwo. I even ended up substitute teaching in one of the classrooms
for three days!

Well, it's hard to believe it's been a week and a half since I wrote my last e-mail. So much has happened, time has gone by so fast! Thursday on the way up here to Opuwo, just a couple hours after leaving Windhoek, I had the interesting experience of sliding to a stop in a vehicle nearly out of control, while watching the rear wheel of the truck roll past my window...

Dear Friends,
After long months of planning, fundraising, training, and preparations, I
have finally launched to Africa to assist the Petersen's in the Himba church
planting project. As I type this, I am crossing the Atlantic Ocean en-route to
Namibia, Africa! So first off, I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of you
who are supporting me through your prayers! That means a lot--just to know
you are praying for me. Also many of you have supported me financially in
this undertaking--for that I am very grateful! Without your support, this
mission trip could not have happened. Of course, I don't want anyone to think
for a minute that this mission trip is about me or anything I can do--this
venture is all about God and what God is doing, through people like you and
me, to reach the unreached in Africa and around the globe. It is my fervant
hope and prayer that God can work through me and the Himba Project team, as
well as you--our supporters in the United States--to reach souls for His
Kingdom. I also hope and pray that you will be blessed and inspired to
continue service for God and perhaps even join frontier mission work as a
short-term or career missionary.

Good News! My application for a visa to travel to Namibia has been
approved! Praise the Lord--and a BIG THANK YOU to all of you who have been in
prayer for me and the Namibia mission project. This is a huge step forward:
now at least we can plan on finalizing travel arrangements and have a
definite goal for launching. However, we still have not heard any word
regarding the visa application for Lisa Scott, so please continue to keep
that in your prayers--that her application will come through in the mail by
this week or early next week.
Again, thank you for your prayers and please continue to keep the project
in prayer--especially the visa application for Lisa. I will post another
update in a few weeks after more definite plans have been made. Keep
in touch!