Birthday Girl

Emily turned 8 on 5th November. How did our daughter get so old?! She celebrated by going to see 'Up' at the cinema with Mum, Dad and bro followed by pizza, and then having a 'Flowers and Butterflies' party with 13 other girls the following Saturday. Lots of fun had by all!

A recycling outfit

Emily's school had a 'reading' week which focussed on recycling and at the end of it they all had to dress in material that could be recycled. Thought you might like to see Emily in her costume.

Giraffe for Christmas?

Dressing up a child as a giraffe for an end of year/Christmas concert is a first for us! Here's Nathan though. A picture to show he really has fitted well into Namibian life!

New Birmingham Office

The story is incredible. Our headquarters in the UK were given 28 days to move site after being in that location for many, many years. Within just 48 hours a new venue was found, and just look at what God has provided! Right in the centre of the city, God has given an office space attached to the cathedral there. Thank God for his provision and pray for the staff in Birmingham, particularly the office staff, as they attempt to move their workplace elsewhere in the next 23 days!

Sue Shave in Namibia!

Two weeks has flown by. Sue arrived on 6th October, visited the two top sites of Namibia, our beautiful dunes and famous Etosha safari park, and departed the next day. It was so much fun having Geoff's sister around to see us in situ and so sad to say goodbye. Now we have no more visitors for a while but as the end of year draws near, there are lots of events for the children to keep us busy and Geoff's 40th birthday in December to celebrate.

Jill, Dan and Isaac Visit

In August and September Caroline's sister and family came to stay for 3 weeks. We had an amazing time together visiting the dunes and the famous Etosha game park.

10th Anniversary Celebrations

Campus Crusade for Christ Namibia celebrated 10 years at the beginning of the month including a large student gathering, a prayer march down the main street of Windhoek, a golf day, a football tournament and our main celebration on the first of August, a bbq and celebratory and envisioning service. We were both very busy in the preparations but all seemed to go well. Here's one of 8 banners we produced for the ministries here.

Cheesmans Visit

Here's a picture selection of our time with our special friends, Paul, Lesley, Joel and Charis last month. Tomorrow Caroline's sister, brother-in law and nephew arrive :-)

New Bathroom

Here it is... the bathroom Caroline's Dad has been working on for the past month. Nice eh?!

Sossusvlei

Just been to one of the most amazing sights in Namibia, Sossusvlei. Beautiful dunes, amazing landscapes and a very relaxing time. Apart from the car getting stuck in the sand, breaking down on the way home and the catch on the door to the boot breaking, we had a marvellous time :-) T'was lots of fun and a good rest before a busy time ahead; a 2 week student project to the north and our 10 year celebrations of Campus Crusade in Namibia.

Please pray...

Please would you join us in praying for our friends and fellow Agape staff, Martin and Rachel, whose 2nd eldest son, Sam, at the young age of 11 was tragically killed in a hit and run on 1st May. They are, of course, devastated. They have 3 other sons, Jake, Tom and Josh.

Nate turned 5!

Can you believe it? Our little boy is 5 year's old! He had a 'Mr Men' and 'Little Miss' party. Nathan was Mr Bump. Emily chose her own character, Little Miss Chatterbox. Quite apt!

The North's Depart

Caroline's Mum and Dad have just left Namibia leaving a huge empty space. We had a fabulous, relaxing four weeks together, although I think Dad might debate the word 'relaxing' having re-tiled our bathroom! It was lovely to be together again and we miss them all the more for it :-)

Women's Bible Study

Every tuesday a group of women from various churches, countries and backgrounds come together to study the word, pray for one another, drink tea and eat cake! It's a very encouraging time for me (Caz, not Geoff!) We are currently looking at Proverbs. Pictured here is most of the group, from left to right, front to back... Caz, Susan, Cathy and Erin, Margi, Priscilla, Roelien, Hilary, Rachael and Tindiri representing England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Australia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and of course, Namibia!

Belated House Warming Party

Yesterday we had over 40 guests descend on our pad to warm our house for a very British afternoon tea and cake! It was a really good time and made us realise how far we've come from knowing just a handful of people to building up a good network of friends. We still have a long way to go of course but we are feeling settled here. A number of children enjoyed decorating biscuits and having their faces painted while the adults chatted.

The North

A couple of weeks ago Geoff and Helmuth (National Director) ventured north to visit the University of Namibia northern campus and a teacher training college to encourage the Campus Crusade (Agape) groups there. Here you can see some of the students he was working with, the fun they had, the food they ate and the floods viewed from the plane. Do thank God for the rain on this dry land but please pray for the north of Namibia which has suffered terrible flooding.

Student Ministry Team

Here is the student ministry team! Imelda and Sid are quality people keen to share their faith and make multiplying disciples. Both Imelda and Sid are raising their financial support at the minute so pray for them; that they would be a blessing and receive blessings. It's a slow process. It also means Geoff has to take on quite a heavy load in the meantime.

Summer in Namibia

The view from our house today, during one of many of the recent thunderstorms, and afterwards - beautifully hot and dry! The rains are heavy and have recently caused huge pot holes in the roads around the town... as if the Namibian taxi drivers weren't enough to contend with!

In Residence

Just one of the many interesting visiting creatures we get in our house!

Freshers - Project Jericho

The term has begun with a blast. Geoff and his team (Sid and Imelda - pictures to follow) have gone from one place to the next with opportunities to present the gospel to most first years on nearly every campus; the Uni, the Poly, WCE (the teacher training college)... Many responded positively. Please pray that their decisions to follow Christ are rooted quickly and deeply. Pray too for our team of staff and student leaders to follow up effectively. What an awesome start to the year!
(The photo is an aerial view of the halls of accommodation at the University of Namibia (UNAM))

Monday Nights

Monday nights are busy at the Shaves! We have about 25 student leaders round our house for food, Bible input, discussion and leadership training. It's a dynamic time!

The year begins...

The term for Emily and Nathan is now in full swing. Emily has already attended her school sports day including high jump, hurdles and long jump! She goes swimming with her class and has just started choir. Nathan is settling in to his Montessorri nursery, 'Little Penguins'. It's all quite new for them both so do pray for them. Both schools have Christian ethos which really shows and their teachers are very approachable and helpful.
Geoff is planning for the new academic year. We have already had two gatherings at the Shaves with the student leaders of the campuses in the capital, about 20 students. Freshers starts next week with 'Project Jericho', a week of prayer and evangelism and connecting with first year students.
Caroline is keeping things together! There are still some settling in things to be done and plenty of opportunities to encourage and support the children and Geoff. Thank you for your prayers for us, do continue to pray. At some times we feel life here is absolutley normal... at others, we feel like Brits in a strange land!

Emily's first day at school

Thought you might like to see Emily ready for school on her first day... 6.30am!

Happy New Year!

Had a really lovely and relaxed Christmas together as a family. A little different but fun all the same. It was followed by a trip to Cape Town for the new year. We left on 27th. It takes 2 days to drive there! We had a fantastic, chilled time after a pretty hectic and sometimes stressful period adjusting to life here in Namibia. We came back recuperated and ready for 2009. Geoff is planning for the new term. Do pray for wisdom and good direction. The picture is of Nate sharing a secret with Emily at an Indian restaurant in front of Table Mountain... Geoff's dream location!