Jesus take the wheel: Namibia Edition: week 3 — Julita Kok

Julita Kok is once again handing the steering wheel over to Jesus — this time on a road trip with God through Namibia. Read Episode 1 of her weekly reports here.

Jesus take the wheel SA series  Week 1 Week 2

I am sitting on a bench on a beautiful farm in Namibia in the Bethanien district. What a sight this is. To some it will be an ugly sight and to others absolutely beautiful. This is desert area, but with a little bit of rain, it becomes a landscape with the most beautiful variety of grass you can ever imagine. Depending from which side the sun falls, the colour of the grass changes from green to yellow to white.

I was in Aroab last week and I told you how dry it was. The drought ruined most of the farmers. A day after I left, it started raining in Aroab and they are so thankful and happy. It rained for a few days and that is what they needed for this season in order for the next season to be a success. God is such a good God.

From Aroab I went to Luderitz, known for its diamonds. What a rich history this little town has. Diamond fever was a huge thing and this is also how neighbouring Kolmanskop, today a ghost town, was established.

They tell me in the early days, the diamonds were lying on the ground. They did not mine for them. They only sifted through the top soil. When bigger diamonds were found at Oranjemund, the miners left Kolmanskop just like that for the richer pickings. There is this whole town still today, empty with buildings filled with sand.

I had an amazing time in Luderitz. I visited one of the local pastors and spent time with his family, just encouraging them. Luderitz is truly isolated from the rest of the world, situated next to the largest lagoon in Namibia and surrounded by little islands. Shark Island has a terrible history as it was used as a concentration camp. You can imagine what happened to the bodies of prisoners.

From Luderitz I travelled back through the desert, visiting farmers on my way to the Bethanien district. These farmers are also suffering from the drought. Most of them sit with a dilemma of “should I let go off the farm or do I stay?” And this is terrible as most of them are third or fourth generation farmers. They grew up on these farms and the inheritance of these farms going down into the generations is very important to them, but at this stage, most of them cannot farm anymore as they do not have enough animals left. It truly is sad. But God.

So with the beautiful rain comes hope and hope stirs faith again. And that is all you need. I am currently on a farm close to Hammeringhausen. Situated in a beautiful valley. All of these farms have altars to God on them. It is amazing to hear the stories of what these farmers went through and how each and every one got to build an altar. My host farmer and his wife honoured me by taking me up their mountain to the family altar to pray and see the sunrise over this vast land. It was amazing. When they blew the shofars, it was as if heaven came alive.

I was also privileged to bring a message of hope to five farm workers this morning and what a special moment when they prayed for and blessed me. They also prayed the Our Father in Nama over me and that was truly special. Here in the middle of nowhere, I find God also has His children.

This is a vast country. Where I am currently, you travel for 30 minutes by car before you see the next farm. These people are so isolated. They do their shopping once a month in Keetmanshoop, a “big” town and then buy for everyone in the area who gives them list. Keetmanshoop is more or less two to theww hours drive for them. It is just too far to travel to town regularly. No doctors. If you get sick, it is you and God. They have another faith level here. Truly amazing.

There are a lot of wild animals on these farms and lots of snakes. To me, all of this is okay. My challenge is the heat and the dirt roads. I sometimes travel for 180km or even 320km on these roads and it is nerve wracking to me!

Tomorrow morning I am leaving for the next stop, travelling on their C14, recorded as one of the most dangerous roads in Namibia. But I am not alone. His angels accompany me. I have not been feeling well the past two days and am taking this day to rest a little before I continue my journey.

But to see God at work and to see His creation in this raw state is truly both beautiful and satisfying.

They have a living legend here in Namibia called Ouma Geraldine. They refer to her as the woman who swallowed the Bible. She is 94-years-old with a brain as sharp as a 20-year-old. She phoned me and said God told her that I should come and visit her in Walvis Bay for three days. According to the Namibians this is an absolute honour and I cannot wait to meet Ouma Geraldine. She is one of Namibia’s prophets and well respected by everyone. So in two more days, I will be there and in my next letter to you all, I will be able to share about Ouma Geraldine!! It is sooo exciting to me.

But for now….. I am enjoying sharing on the goodness of God with these farmers and just bringing some hope to them, reassuring them that God knows their names. They are so appreciative of the fact that I came all the way from South Africa, a woman travelling alne in this vast, outstretched land to bring Namibia a message from God. To me….. it is an absolute honour to be able to do this.

So pray for me on the C14. I am asking Jesus to truly take the wheel!