Here is a video I made of the youth retreat from this week.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Youth Leadership Retreat
This past week I took 10 youth on a leadership retreat. We went south a few miles to a very nice camp site in the bush. It is a wonderful place to have a retreat, and the fact it only costs $8 USD a night to stay there makes it all the better.
The focus of the retreat was on youth leadership. We focused on what the Bible teaches us about being leaders, more specifically I wanted them to learn how to be a Christian leader in our youth group. I am working to get the youth to take more responsibility over their youth group. Youth need to be given more opportunities to serve inside of the youth group that they are a part of. Taking time to encourage other youth in the group, walking along side new Christians and new members coming to youth.
I am training them on how to serve in the church and why they should serve in the church. Some are already serving as teachers for children, leading Bible studies at home and school, and one day some may go into missions themselves or be leaders in churches.
We also had different times during the retreat to have a quite time with God and to meditate on Psalm 119. We focused as a group on the first 40 verses of this long chapter, but God used it to really open the eyes of the kids on how we are to treasure God and His laws for us. It taught them how to talk with God, to ask God for help in teaching us, caring for us, giving us understanding and wisdom. These things are mostly overlooked and under emphasised in churches today, and most definitely youth are not getting taught these principles.
When the retreat was over, the kids were quite excited to get back to our town and start using what God had taught them. They are also excited about getting more youth involved in "THEIR" youth group so that more youth can learn about God, Christ, and salvation that only come from God and through Jesus Christ.
Attached is a link to all the pictures from the trip.
The focus of the retreat was on youth leadership. We focused on what the Bible teaches us about being leaders, more specifically I wanted them to learn how to be a Christian leader in our youth group. I am working to get the youth to take more responsibility over their youth group. Youth need to be given more opportunities to serve inside of the youth group that they are a part of. Taking time to encourage other youth in the group, walking along side new Christians and new members coming to youth.
I am training them on how to serve in the church and why they should serve in the church. Some are already serving as teachers for children, leading Bible studies at home and school, and one day some may go into missions themselves or be leaders in churches.
We also had different times during the retreat to have a quite time with God and to meditate on Psalm 119. We focused as a group on the first 40 verses of this long chapter, but God used it to really open the eyes of the kids on how we are to treasure God and His laws for us. It taught them how to talk with God, to ask God for help in teaching us, caring for us, giving us understanding and wisdom. These things are mostly overlooked and under emphasised in churches today, and most definitely youth are not getting taught these principles.
When the retreat was over, the kids were quite excited to get back to our town and start using what God had taught them. They are also excited about getting more youth involved in "THEIR" youth group so that more youth can learn about God, Christ, and salvation that only come from God and through Jesus Christ.
Attached is a link to all the pictures from the trip.
Gardening in Namibia
Finding fresh vegetables are not always easy in the stores here in our town. Some weeks are good, and some weeks are bad. The one good thing about the weather here is that you can plant most vegetables year round here. You do not have to worry about frost, and the temperature gets into the 70's during the winter time.
So I have been working hard on learning how to grow vegetables here in this arid environment. So far so good. My leafy greens have been doing well, and we have begun to reap from the harvest of swiss chard. They have been quite delicious.
I have now worked on getting broccoli, spinach, okra, onions, carrots and cabbages to grow well also. It is nice to have little helpers as well. It is also a good thing that God gave me a job working on a farm last summer back home to prepare me for this.
Hope that everyone is doing well.
God bless!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
The Great Commission
Matthew 28:19
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
The great commission given to us by Jesus was to go and make disciples of all nations. In other words to go and spread a passion for Jesus Christ in all areas of the world, to a point to where they too will want to understand God more, and to ultimately be a follower of Jesus Christ.
It is not any easy thing to go into a new world, with a new culture and try to effectively reach everyone with the gospel. There are many road blocks, such as language, culture, many can not read or write, and worst of all trying to work with people that have received a poor presentation as to what the gospel really is.
So then how do you go into a country that has more than six different language groups and effectively reach them with the gospel message? The answer is through making disciples. I am now working with some young men in Grootfontein just this way. They both can speak English well, and have a foundation of the gospel, and Christianity. We are now meeting on Monday's and really going deeper into the Word. I am taking them through Wayne Grudems Systematic Theology, and many of the major doctrines of the Bible.
You would not believe how hungry they are for this teaching material. The excitement of learning about God and Jesus and the scriptures in a deep way is so important to reaching the nation of Namibia with a good sound teaching of God's Word.
God is working in these two guys in a tremendous way. Jeremiah is at my house every day wanting to learn more, and to have a better understanding of God. And not just for himself, but because he wants to take his learning back to his village in the north so that God can use him to share the gospel with his family and village.
This is what missions is all about. Training the people of the nations, so that they can take it to there nation and further the Kingdom of God for His glory!
In the below picture are the two guys that I am working with, but there are a few other men that are now interested in coming as well. So pray for God to use me in such a way that they can take God's message back to their villages and plant seeds for the Kingdom.
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
The great commission given to us by Jesus was to go and make disciples of all nations. In other words to go and spread a passion for Jesus Christ in all areas of the world, to a point to where they too will want to understand God more, and to ultimately be a follower of Jesus Christ.
It is not any easy thing to go into a new world, with a new culture and try to effectively reach everyone with the gospel. There are many road blocks, such as language, culture, many can not read or write, and worst of all trying to work with people that have received a poor presentation as to what the gospel really is.
So then how do you go into a country that has more than six different language groups and effectively reach them with the gospel message? The answer is through making disciples. I am now working with some young men in Grootfontein just this way. They both can speak English well, and have a foundation of the gospel, and Christianity. We are now meeting on Monday's and really going deeper into the Word. I am taking them through Wayne Grudems Systematic Theology, and many of the major doctrines of the Bible.
You would not believe how hungry they are for this teaching material. The excitement of learning about God and Jesus and the scriptures in a deep way is so important to reaching the nation of Namibia with a good sound teaching of God's Word.
God is working in these two guys in a tremendous way. Jeremiah is at my house every day wanting to learn more, and to have a better understanding of God. And not just for himself, but because he wants to take his learning back to his village in the north so that God can use him to share the gospel with his family and village.
This is what missions is all about. Training the people of the nations, so that they can take it to there nation and further the Kingdom of God for His glory!
In the below picture are the two guys that I am working with, but there are a few other men that are now interested in coming as well. So pray for God to use me in such a way that they can take God's message back to their villages and plant seeds for the Kingdom.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Youth Group in Center Town
Today we had our first youth meeting down in the center of our little town. It was really great. I enjoyed it and the youth did as well. We had a time of praise and worship with my guitar, time of prayer, and then we continued our lesson from the book of 1 John.
We had a few people stop and listen to the music, we had some watch from a distance, and we had some that sat and listend to the message. We are going to continue to have our youth meetings there from here on out. We are going to continue to pray to God and ask that He bring more people each week to here His Word preached. And we will continue to pray that God will open the hearts of the people in Grootfontein, and take away the blindness to the Light of the gospel so that they might be saved!
Please continue to pray with us!
We had a few people stop and listen to the music, we had some watch from a distance, and we had some that sat and listend to the message. We are going to continue to have our youth meetings there from here on out. We are going to continue to pray to God and ask that He bring more people each week to here His Word preached. And we will continue to pray that God will open the hearts of the people in Grootfontein, and take away the blindness to the Light of the gospel so that they might be saved!
Please continue to pray with us!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Pizza, Banana's and Gardening
Here are some random pictures as of late. Brian has become a baker, making home made bread, sour dough bread and pizzas.
There is a picture of our harvest of banana's from our banana tree.
Then some pictures of Brian's prized garden. The roses were already here, he just takes good care of them, but he has started a garden with swiss chard, spinach, spring onions, broccoli, chinese cabbage and okra! Some of his swiss chard is coming in and it has been really good!
There is a picture of our harvest of banana's from our banana tree.
Then some pictures of Brian's prized garden. The roses were already here, he just takes good care of them, but he has started a garden with swiss chard, spinach, spring onions, broccoli, chinese cabbage and okra! Some of his swiss chard is coming in and it has been really good!
Church in Town Center
We have been here in Namibia 4 months now. Boy how time zooms by! We have been gathering weekly for our youth meetings at the church since we arrived. Our church is on the north side of town and not close to where most of the active people are coming and going during the day.
So beginning this Saturday we are going to start having our youth meetings outside at the town center. There are tons of people that are all about in the town center. Our thinking is that most unbelievers are intimidated by coming to a church, so by God's leading I have decided to take church to the people.
We will be having praise and worship, along with our normal Bible study, just out in the open where anyone can come by and listen to what is going on. We and the youth have started to pray this week for God to richly bless this new way of reaching the people of Grootfontein with the message of the gospel. We are praying that God will lead people to stop and listen to what we talk about, and what God says to us through His Word. Paul tells us that the power of the gospel is in the Word itself, and how will people believe if they have not heard. So this is why we are going to take the gospel to the streets of Grootfontein.
Please pray with me and our youth for God to move mightily through His word, and our bold youth, so that for His glory many might come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior!
So beginning this Saturday we are going to start having our youth meetings outside at the town center. There are tons of people that are all about in the town center. Our thinking is that most unbelievers are intimidated by coming to a church, so by God's leading I have decided to take church to the people.
We will be having praise and worship, along with our normal Bible study, just out in the open where anyone can come by and listen to what is going on. We and the youth have started to pray this week for God to richly bless this new way of reaching the people of Grootfontein with the message of the gospel. We are praying that God will lead people to stop and listen to what we talk about, and what God says to us through His Word. Paul tells us that the power of the gospel is in the Word itself, and how will people believe if they have not heard. So this is why we are going to take the gospel to the streets of Grootfontein.
Please pray with me and our youth for God to move mightily through His word, and our bold youth, so that for His glory many might come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
A Big Problem In Grootfontein and Namibia.
Three years ago when we began planning our move to Namibia, we knew first hand about the poverty in our area. We also knew about the HIV/AIDS problem as well. One thing that I never thought I would have to deal with to a large degree would be alcohol abuse.
Over the last month I have found out just how bad this problem is here in Namibia and in our town of Grootfontein. The drinking age here is only 18, and that is part of the problem. The other problem is that the age limit is not regulated as tightly as it probably should be. It is quite easy for kids under 18 to walk into the local bars here in town and purchase beer. Top it off with the fact that there is nothing for young people to do here, so they mostly hang out at the bars and the billiard place and drink beer.
Beer is one thing that Namibia does not have to import, because they have a large German Brewery in the capital and it is heavily marketed. You can actually buy a Windhoek Lager for cheaper than you can buy water and any other cool drinks in the store. Normally a beer cost around .67 cent in USD.
I have many of my youth every week come to me and ask for prayer for a parent or a sibling that has an alcohol problem. Lots of people will spend more than half a months salary on beer and then call our church staff for prayer that God will help them with their finances because they do not have money to eat.
So please pray for the young people here as so many here are struggling with this problem, either themselves or because of a family member that has the problem.
Over the last month I have found out just how bad this problem is here in Namibia and in our town of Grootfontein. The drinking age here is only 18, and that is part of the problem. The other problem is that the age limit is not regulated as tightly as it probably should be. It is quite easy for kids under 18 to walk into the local bars here in town and purchase beer. Top it off with the fact that there is nothing for young people to do here, so they mostly hang out at the bars and the billiard place and drink beer.
Beer is one thing that Namibia does not have to import, because they have a large German Brewery in the capital and it is heavily marketed. You can actually buy a Windhoek Lager for cheaper than you can buy water and any other cool drinks in the store. Normally a beer cost around .67 cent in USD.
I have many of my youth every week come to me and ask for prayer for a parent or a sibling that has an alcohol problem. Lots of people will spend more than half a months salary on beer and then call our church staff for prayer that God will help them with their finances because they do not have money to eat.
So please pray for the young people here as so many here are struggling with this problem, either themselves or because of a family member that has the problem.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Why is the Gospel Good News?
God hit me with something today, thanks to a book I am reading and the godly pastor that wrote the book. The book is "God is the Gospel" by John Piper.
God showed me today a huge difference between valuing the gospel message, and valuing the gospel Giver! If that makes no sense, give me just a few more lines and you will understand.
For many people that call themselves Christians, they tend to value the gospel message for what it offers. Let me explain. Many people value the gospel message because we are told if we believe the message then we will not go to hell. We are told if we believe the message it will help us with our guilty feelings and it is helpful to believe we are forgiven of our sins. We are told if we believe the message we will go to heaven. And don't get me wrong, all of these are truths of the Bible and are truths that come from truly believing in the gospel message.
The problem comes when we value the gospel message for its gifts, rather than valuing the gospel message for the Giver to whom is God. One thing that I have learned over the last 7-8 years is that God is more valuable than anything in life. This also means that God is more valuable than the gifts that we receive through believing in the gospel message.
Back in the US and even here in Namibia, many people preach the gospel only to get an immediate reaction to the gifts of the gospel message and to get converts. The message is preached in a way that people value the gospel and call themselves born again so that they will not go to hell, and so that they can go to a wonderful place called heaven. They embrace the gospel so that they will feel free from the bad life they have been living and to feel forgiven from the gospel, because the world will not forgive them or forget their past. They cling to the gospel because it might bring blessings in their life, or new found success, or physical healing.
The problem with this style of preaching is that there is no passionate desire for the Giver of the gospel, no desire for God! God is not even mentioned in most peoples response to why do you love the gospel message. Again, the gifts are wonderful and can only come from God, and the death of Jesus, but the gifts are not God! God MUST be the most valuable gift of the Gospel!
The fact is that if all we cherish from the gospel is forgiveness of sins, free entry into heaven, and safety from going to a place called hell, then we have missed the mark!
And here is what John Piper wrote in the book, to which God used to shake me up a little this morning:
These are strong words, but truthful words, and it has changed drastically the way I will approach teaching and preaching the gospel in the future. I hope that this will also help you as much as it did me today.
So why is the gospel good news? Because God is the gospel!
God Bless!
God showed me today a huge difference between valuing the gospel message, and valuing the gospel Giver! If that makes no sense, give me just a few more lines and you will understand.
For many people that call themselves Christians, they tend to value the gospel message for what it offers. Let me explain. Many people value the gospel message because we are told if we believe the message then we will not go to hell. We are told if we believe the message it will help us with our guilty feelings and it is helpful to believe we are forgiven of our sins. We are told if we believe the message we will go to heaven. And don't get me wrong, all of these are truths of the Bible and are truths that come from truly believing in the gospel message.
The problem comes when we value the gospel message for its gifts, rather than valuing the gospel message for the Giver to whom is God. One thing that I have learned over the last 7-8 years is that God is more valuable than anything in life. This also means that God is more valuable than the gifts that we receive through believing in the gospel message.
Back in the US and even here in Namibia, many people preach the gospel only to get an immediate reaction to the gifts of the gospel message and to get converts. The message is preached in a way that people value the gospel and call themselves born again so that they will not go to hell, and so that they can go to a wonderful place called heaven. They embrace the gospel so that they will feel free from the bad life they have been living and to feel forgiven from the gospel, because the world will not forgive them or forget their past. They cling to the gospel because it might bring blessings in their life, or new found success, or physical healing.
The problem with this style of preaching is that there is no passionate desire for the Giver of the gospel, no desire for God! God is not even mentioned in most peoples response to why do you love the gospel message. Again, the gifts are wonderful and can only come from God, and the death of Jesus, but the gifts are not God! God MUST be the most valuable gift of the Gospel!
The fact is that if all we cherish from the gospel is forgiveness of sins, free entry into heaven, and safety from going to a place called hell, then we have missed the mark!
And here is what John Piper wrote in the book, to which God used to shake me up a little this morning:
"If we believe all these things happened to us, but do not embrace them for the sake of getting to God, they have not happened to us. Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. And people who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It's a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God. If we don't want God above all things, we have not been converted by the gospel."
These are strong words, but truthful words, and it has changed drastically the way I will approach teaching and preaching the gospel in the future. I hope that this will also help you as much as it did me today.
So why is the gospel good news? Because God is the gospel!
God Bless!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Come Minister With Us!!
We are already talking with a few groups about coming to work with us on short term mission trips here in Namibia. There is quite the plethora of jobs to be done and people to serve here in Grootfontein. This summer we have three young people coming to serve with us from three weeks of service to ten weeks of service.If you have a heart for missions, reaching the lost for the Kingdom, and want to serve in a third world country, then this is the place to come and serve. We have anything from working with children and youth, medical teams, evangelism teams, and construction teams that come to Grootfontein to work.
So if you as an individual, a small team of college students, youth group, married couple, or adult team would like to come and minister along side us for a short term here in the field, please contact me at brian.bradsher@sim.org. We will talk with you about your interests and your special gifts that could be used here in Grootfontein. We are already looking for teams to come starting this winter, next spring and next summer.
This will be an experience that will touch your heart for the rest of your life. Most of all the Kingdom impact is an eternal one. God plows the hearts and makes the soil ready for the seeds of the gospel to be planted by people like you! Come, be a part of the Kingdom work being done in this great land of Africa for the glory of God!
Mayonnaise
I love to eat sandwiches, make tuna melts, chicken salad, and many other recipes with mayonnaise. Well, mayonnaise in Namibia is not remotely close to what we have back home. For one the color of it is yellow. It has a soupy texture to it, and tastes nothing like home. It has more of a sour taste to it. I tried to make my moms favorite potato salad with it and it wasn't good. We ate it, because we try our very best not to waste food now that we see how hungry the people around us are.
But today as I was shopping in one of our little food stores, what to my surprise was on the shelf??? A nice bottle of Kraft "Real" Mayonnaise!!! I was sooo happy that I came home and we made some delicious tuna melts! I can hardly wait to eat a sandwich tomorrow for lunch! :)
Friday, April 23, 2010
Life for more than the average in Grootfontein
Today I had a chance to make a house visit to some people in what is called the "Location". The location is where over half of the population of Grootfontein (our town) live. The average home is built of scrap pieces of tin that they find in order to build a make shift shelter. The size of these tin houses are about seven foot square. Normally anywhere from 5 to seven people live in a house.
The house I went to today had what looked to be around 7 people living there. We went to see a man who is in his mid 40's who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. Because he does not have access to good medical care he is usually just laying in a make shift bed made of various pieces of cushions he has found. Otherwise he just sits around all day.
Today he was in bed, and his room is field with smoke where the 7 year old child was cooking lunch over a fire. I could hardly breathe from the smoke, but this is normal for him.
This man never complained as we tried to help him with some stretches, and to teach him some things he can do each day to strengthen his muscles. He smiled and was so glad that we were just their to see how he was doing. It didn't matter that there was not much that we could do for him, but just the simple fact that we cared enough to come to his house to see him made his day.
It was a very humbling experience for me, yet this is normal for a lot of people in Grootfontein. In the US this man would probably still be walking because of available health care and medications. But this was a reality check for us. Just to be thankful for our blessings that we, many times, take for granted.
The house I went to today had what looked to be around 7 people living there. We went to see a man who is in his mid 40's who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. Because he does not have access to good medical care he is usually just laying in a make shift bed made of various pieces of cushions he has found. Otherwise he just sits around all day.
Today he was in bed, and his room is field with smoke where the 7 year old child was cooking lunch over a fire. I could hardly breathe from the smoke, but this is normal for him.
This man never complained as we tried to help him with some stretches, and to teach him some things he can do each day to strengthen his muscles. He smiled and was so glad that we were just their to see how he was doing. It didn't matter that there was not much that we could do for him, but just the simple fact that we cared enough to come to his house to see him made his day.
It was a very humbling experience for me, yet this is normal for a lot of people in Grootfontein. In the US this man would probably still be walking because of available health care and medications. But this was a reality check for us. Just to be thankful for our blessings that we, many times, take for granted.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Wheel Chair For Erma
Today I had the blessing to deliver a wheel chair to Erma who lives in the "Location" area of Grootfontein.
Erma has diabetes really bad. Two years ago she was given the incorrect medications and they had to amputate both of her legs. For two years she has waited for a wheel chair, but the group who was to supply her with one never came through. My home town church, Olive Grove Baptist, was generous enough to send the funds needed to purchase the wheel chair for Erma.
The physical therapist that has worked with Erma said that today was only the second time that she has ever seen Erma smile. The first time was when I went to meet her and tell her that she was getting a chair.
Now Erma has gained back some of her independence, can make it in to town and make it to her doctors appointments. The main part of our ministry is to work with youth and share the gospel with the people here. But the second part of our ministry is to love people like Jesus. To care for people, listen to people, and to help comfort people where we can. We certainly can not help everyone, but we can help a lot, and thanks to you we are doing just that. And God is getting the glory for it all.
Below is a picture of Erma before she got the chair sitting outside her tin house where she has sat for the past two years. The second picture is from this morning after delivering her wheel chair.
Erma has diabetes really bad. Two years ago she was given the incorrect medications and they had to amputate both of her legs. For two years she has waited for a wheel chair, but the group who was to supply her with one never came through. My home town church, Olive Grove Baptist, was generous enough to send the funds needed to purchase the wheel chair for Erma.
The physical therapist that has worked with Erma said that today was only the second time that she has ever seen Erma smile. The first time was when I went to meet her and tell her that she was getting a chair.
Now Erma has gained back some of her independence, can make it in to town and make it to her doctors appointments. The main part of our ministry is to work with youth and share the gospel with the people here. But the second part of our ministry is to love people like Jesus. To care for people, listen to people, and to help comfort people where we can. We certainly can not help everyone, but we can help a lot, and thanks to you we are doing just that. And God is getting the glory for it all.
Below is a picture of Erma before she got the chair sitting outside her tin house where she has sat for the past two years. The second picture is from this morning after delivering her wheel chair.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
German Hostel
Here in town there is a small population of Germans. So here in Grootfontein there is also a German hostel, or boarding school, for german kids from around the country. This past week the Director asked me and Kristen to come and spend some time with the kids and to give them a childrens lesson.
It was a lot of fun, a little more difficult, but fun. The small kids could not speak or understand English, so we had to have an interpreter help out with the lesson. But we started with some games, one being Chubby Bunny. It is a game where you see who can stuff the most large marshmallows in their mouth at one time without swallowing. This day we had a tie at seven! I have shared some pictures below.
We then sang some songs and had a lesson about Joseph and how God meant it for good.
The kids had a great time and want me and Kristen to come back again. Cameron joined us for the fun as well and had a good time.
It was a lot of fun, a little more difficult, but fun. The small kids could not speak or understand English, so we had to have an interpreter help out with the lesson. But we started with some games, one being Chubby Bunny. It is a game where you see who can stuff the most large marshmallows in their mouth at one time without swallowing. This day we had a tie at seven! I have shared some pictures below.
We then sang some songs and had a lesson about Joseph and how God meant it for good.
The kids had a great time and want me and Kristen to come back again. Cameron joined us for the fun as well and had a good time.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Garden of Eden
OK, so it is not the Biblical garden of Eden, but these are pictures from our visit to a Farm an hour north of where we live. This is also where we ran into the Elephants! A really neat place. It is a farm all year except for May-July. During these two months it becomes a Safari Hunting lodge.
Hunter from all over the world come here to hunt anything that moves, animals that is, except for the elephants. It is not a cheap place to come to. Depending on what you want to hunt, it could cost you as much as $15,000 USD.
It is a beautiful place, with a very nice lodge. The pictures in the slide show below has pictures of the kids swimming in the pool there and we had a cookout after chasing animals. Luckily it was free for us for the day.
Click on the picture below to see the slide show of pictures of the trip and some other pictures from the weekend as well.
Hunter from all over the world come here to hunt anything that moves, animals that is, except for the elephants. It is not a cheap place to come to. Depending on what you want to hunt, it could cost you as much as $15,000 USD.
It is a beautiful place, with a very nice lodge. The pictures in the slide show below has pictures of the kids swimming in the pool there and we had a cookout after chasing animals. Luckily it was free for us for the day.
Click on the picture below to see the slide show of pictures of the trip and some other pictures from the weekend as well.
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| Easter Time in Namibia |
Supposedly the World's Largest Meteorite
This past Friday night I built a fire in our back yard and we roasted marsh mallows with the kids, and the big kids had some also! :) As we sat by the fire, Cameron and I were looking at the millions of stars overhead and the milky way crossing the sky. I told him to watch for shooting stars. This led to the questions about how stars fall out of the sky, to the fact that they are really meteorites flying through space.
He said it would be cool to have one fall in the back yard!! I explained why that would not be a good thing to happen. It just so happens that in our bigger back yard, about 5 miles away, is the Hoba Meteorite. It is supposedly the largest known meteorite on earth. So we loaded the van up Saturday morning to show Cameron why it is not good to have these fall in your back yard. There is no telling how many animals were killed when this thing hit.
It is about 7-8 feet in diameter, 4 feet tall and weighs a whopping 50 tons! It is really cool because it looks like a big rock, but it is all metal! 80% iron, which is why it has a brownish red color from the rust. It also has a mixture of other metals as well.
Here are a few pictures from the trip!
He said it would be cool to have one fall in the back yard!! I explained why that would not be a good thing to happen. It just so happens that in our bigger back yard, about 5 miles away, is the Hoba Meteorite. It is supposedly the largest known meteorite on earth. So we loaded the van up Saturday morning to show Cameron why it is not good to have these fall in your back yard. There is no telling how many animals were killed when this thing hit.
It is about 7-8 feet in diameter, 4 feet tall and weighs a whopping 50 tons! It is really cool because it looks like a big rock, but it is all metal! 80% iron, which is why it has a brownish red color from the rust. It also has a mixture of other metals as well.
Here are a few pictures from the trip!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Elephant Hunt
This video was taken the Monday after Easter. We were invited up to a farm north of us to which have elephants and all kids of other animals. They told us that it is never easy to find the elephants, and when you do, most of the time you only see them from a distance.
Well we did find some fresh tracks and started to follow them. We followed the tracks and hunted for the elephants for an hour. We were getting ready to just leave and head for lunch when we stumbled across them. It was a family of around 8 or more with 4 babies. The mother was not very happy that we were around. Before I started taking the video she charged at us hard. She chased us for around 10 minutes before we left them alone and listened to her warning to leave. It was a great experience though to be so close to them in the wild.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Etosha Park
This week we went about an hour and a half north to Etosha Pan. It is a huge wild game reserve. They have lots of animals in their natural habitat. On any given day you can find lions, giraffe, elephants, rhinos, zebra, wildebeest, and a huge number of antelope and birds.
The kids had a great time. They really enjoyed being so close to so many different animals that in the past they have only been able to see behind walls and fences at zoo's.
We enjoyed some good rest and stayed at a place that was quite inexpensive considering the service and look of the place. The kids enjoyed getting away for a while also.
Here are a few pictures here, I will put more on another blog post through a slide show.
The kids had a great time. They really enjoyed being so close to so many different animals that in the past they have only been able to see behind walls and fences at zoo's.
We enjoyed some good rest and stayed at a place that was quite inexpensive considering the service and look of the place. The kids enjoyed getting away for a while also.
Here are a few pictures here, I will put more on another blog post through a slide show.
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