WOW

  Well, this is crazy. It's about 30 degrees Celcius during the day here, and there are scattered lightning and thunder storms. This isn't typical Christmas weather, and I am actually in disbelief that Christmas is 4 days away.

Fortunately, I did all my Christmas shopping before the holiday season, which is pretty mad here too.

The other "difference" from typical Christmas, is that it's a holiday, so everyone goes on vacation. There's family gatherings, sure, but a LOT of people go to the coast and lie on the beach for Christmas. Jo'Burg kinda shuts down, especially anything in Industry. We bought all our bricks, cement, and sand 3 weeks ago, cause, we couldn't get any now, or anytime before January 15th. It's bizarre.

I'm off on another adventure for the holidays, hopefully I'll get some good pictures. In any case, pray for this Christmas season, that people would Stop and Think. About why they're here, and what Christmas means, or used to mean atleast. Christmas is also a boom time for crime in these parts, so pray for God's grace in that. Thanks everyone who reads this.

2006: It's been an incredible year for me, and God has grown me in really good ways, stretched me out, and taught me a lot of hard lessons, mostly about my own stubborn heart. I'm so glad I could come to africa. My last month will be somewhat bitter sweet. To paraphrase a friend, "How do you leave home to go...home?" I'm not sure, but that's what I'll be doing on January 18th. I won't be able to update again till the new year, I'm gonna be out backpacking in Lesotho, but I should update once or twice more before returning to Seattle. January 19th, I'll be in the Emerald City.

Also, in case you access this blog through www.mattinafrica.com, I think my domain subscription is going to run out, so put www.xanga.com/matty_obrien in your favorites. Cause the mattinafrica address won't work after Jan. 10th or so. I think. ...but I still love technology...

And now, some cool pictures:

Quad biking in Namibia

At the train station.

Beauty, eh?

Walking with the Giraffes.

This is kinda random. In Africa, no less.

I'm bad at this...

 online updates, and keeping in touch. It's not my style.

So, Justin Key,  (pictured below) a friend from back home, and often a partner in crime, came to visit me for 3 weeks, and we went on two trips.

1) a 10 day trip through Namibia. This country is very hard to get around, it's a massive desert, and everything is spread out, and most of the roads are unpaved. But it's beautiful. We rented a car and drove out to the Dune Sea.

2) We also went to Malawi for 5 days, and visited Kwacha and Kondi, our Malawian missionaries. We went to one of the villages and played soccer with the kids there.

We ate mostly backpacker type food.

It was a lot of fun. Justin left on the 6th, and in the past 10 days, I have just been working as usual. Trying to get lots of things done, and I was also able to preach last night at church, so that was a real treat. For me atleast.

We had a christmas concert last week with the Lambano kids and I got to help with that. I'll have a video of it to show then I return to the states, so, anyone that wants a DVD, just email me.

The cutest thing ever,