A whole new world...

As cheesy as that title might be, it is only fitting!

First let me back track a few days to catch everyone up!

Monday (Feb 6^th) was a looooooong day of traveling. I left Amarillo at about 8, got to Dallas and didn’t leave until 2. I got to Atlanta with a few hours to kill before my next flight. In Atlanta I got to meet up with Travis, Lorna and Jessie another volunteer. It was so great to meet Travis and Lorna, after hearing about them and reading their blog for so long I felt as though we were already dear friends! Our flight to Johannesburg left at 7pm. To explain the nerves I felt as I sat down on that flight would take words not even known by man! So much was running through my mind, my heart felt so many things, and as tears flowed down my face I knew this was it! I sat next to the greatest couple from Michigan! He is a publisher for Zondervan publishing company who just happened to publish the book I was reading on the plane, “The Circle Maker”, which I highly recommend. He publishes bibles and Christian reading material and was headed to South Africa to meet with Authors! We had great conversations and they offered a lot of advice on traveling through Africa. Surprisingly the 16-hour flight wasn’t that terrible! I watched a couple of movies and then popped a sleeping pill and was out for a whole 8 hours! When I woke up we were about 2 hours away and were flying right over the country of Namibia! When we arrived in SA we went through customs and got my luggage and headed to the guest lodge for the night! We stayed at the cutest little lodge with the sweetest lady running it. We had a wonderful dinner, had our own rooms, and there was free wifi!!

The next morning we began our travels to Namibia! And this day was FULL of miracles, the first being at the ticket counter checking in. Unfortunately, no one ever told me that you could only check one back on Air Botswana. I had 4 bags. The 3 others were going to try and check one bag each but since they had luggage already checked through they wouldn’t allow them too. If I had to pay for my luggage it would have been 2,000 South African Ran, in American dollars that is about $250. But as the attendant continued to check us in, he seemingly just chose to not charge us. Thank you Jesus! We did some shopping in the airport; it had the BEST African things ever!! I already know what I want to get everyone as souvenirs. Our flight to Kasane(pronounced, ka-san-ee) was on a type of plane I had never seen before. It looked almost like a cargo plane, and we had to ride a bus out to get on it! It was definitely an adventure. Our flight was about 2 hours, as we were flying we had an amazing view of the Botswana landscape. Surprisingly it looks a lot like the Texas panhandle! Flat, brown, and not much civilization!!

We landed in Kasane right as the rain was rolling in! It was a gorgeous sight from the plane! We went through customs and got our luggage and loaded up the van to drive to Namibia! The best news might have been the fact that our drive is straight through the Chobe National Safari Park. Travis and Lorna informed us that we would probably be seeing animals! I was so excited. We started our trek and not to far down the road, we saw a huge pack of elephants! They were soooo close to our car! It was unbelievable! We saw so many elephants on that drive! I was in heaven, considering those are my favorite animals ever!! We also saw, cape buffaloes, baboons, impalas, tons of warthogs, and more monkeys! I can’t wait to actually do the safari soon! Once we got to the Namibia border crossing, they informed us to be in prayer. You see Travis and Lorna have had a very hard time with their Visas, and crossing the border back and forth. As each one of us breezed through the visa process and were all approved for 3 months (the max you can get at the time) we knew God had answered our border prayers. And to all you prayer warriors at home praying for safety, know that the Lord was so perfectly guiding us!! Once in Namibia we had about an 1hr and a half drive to Zion!

Pulling up that first time will be a moment I never forget. The children were chasing after the car and so excited to see us and Travis and Lorna. We spent most of the day meeting the other volunteers, Heidi and Laura, and meeting kids and staff members. This first week has been full of starting to form trust and relationships with the children, and trying to get them to remember my name!!! Thursday, Jessie and I had the chance to go to town with the Currys. It was definitely a lot nicer than I expected!!! You can get everything here!!! So everyone at home, do NOT worry I will not be going without! It is a little strange! Hey Ingrams, remember when we looked up on google earth the town and we joked about naming the buildings, there is no way you would have ever guessed these places!!!

I observed in the 1^st-3^rd grade class on Friday, the day was a little shorter than normal because there was a qualifying sports event for next weeks relay races in town! Let me tell you what, those kids can run! I am excited to be in the classroom soon! Hopefully it will help me learn the kids names a lot faster! The way the class is set up is so different! They use the Pace system, and curriculum that is basically like a Christian homeschooling program. It is not a normal classroom setting where a teacher gets up and teaches. It is a program were each child is at a different level than others in the classroom. That is why the classroom is 1^st thru 3^rd graders. All the kids are on different levels, even into the older classrooms.

We spend most afternoons just playing with the kids! We play a lot of capture the flag, volleyball, simon says, and duck duck goose! They are buckets of energy! The children have bath time at 5pm, followed by dinner at 6pm, and then play time until time to go inside at 8pm. Once the kids are inside we have time to eat dinner and then relax!!

On the weekends it is very relaxed. The Aunties get a chance to sleep in, which I know will be a huge blessing! Then most of the day is just playtime or going on walks, which the children love. Especially when we go down by the river! Bible study is in the afternoon and I am excited to start teaching that next week! Saturday night is movie night or game night! Sundays we have church in the morning and spend time playing, and some time relaxing.

Myself and the other girls eat dinner at Travis and Lornas house a few times a week, trading off who cooks and who cleans, and the other nights we have dinner on our own in our house! Our house, known as the East house, is great! We have a whole kitchen, 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms! And we have a fan in our room, which is a Godsend! It is very humid and hot, which I am SO not used to!

I am loving all the things the Lord is showing me daily. The time I get to spend with him early in the morning, by myself, is so precious. And I am so lucky to be in a place that it is so easy to find and meet with him. It feels as though He is here with me always. I wish you all could feel the presence of the Lord as I feel him now. Sure there are times that are tough, and moments where I feel overwhelmed in this new life but I think that is why that this cheesy title and some of the lyrics work so well. And we know how I love Disney music.

…A whole new world

…A dazzling place I never knew

…A new fantastic point view

Thank you for your prayers, thoughts, and emails. Love to you all! I miss you guys so much, but I know how much I am growing here.

Please email, fb, or mail me!! The address here at zion village is:

Makinsey Allen

C/O Children of Zion Village

PO Box 218

Katima Mulilo 9000

Namibia

Email me at cozv@mweb.com.na and put my name in the subject line! This will work best until I buy the modem to hook up to my own laptop! Soon I should be able to operate normally, but for now communication is a little difficult and limited! So please be patient in waiting for my response!

Continue to pray “Adopt” over me.