Yes, I actually am Britney Spears.

God Bless the rains down in Africa—it is pouring outside as I’m writing this, and the underlying coolness in the air all day has been wonderful. We started week two of cleaning/renovating the Youth Center, and it’s finally starting to look like a building! We even waxed and polished one floor, and it was gleaming as we left. Hopefully it still looks semi-clean in the morning! The problem is that most of the windows in the whole building have been knocked out and need to be replaced, so all the dirt, sand, and flower puffs blow in all day long and settle on the floors. And bugs…although we have yet to see any massive bugs or dangerous spiders. I did have a dream one night that there was a snake in my bed, which kept me up most the night. And I also have 28 itchy bites on my body—I am suspicious where they are coming from because they only seem to happen at night.

Working on the YC has been fun and tiring—we’ve had some people from the youth group come to help: Karl-Hines, Gevanni, and Marco. (I can’t put pictures up yet because of viruses on the computers, but go to Lulu’s blog and you can see some! http://africalu.blogspot.com/ ). They keep things interesting as Gevanni is a perfect match for Stephen, and they have come up with some pretty clever solutions to our cleaning problems as well as enjoyed climbing around on the roof, busting glass out of the windows, and basically just being guys. Karl-Hines is our cleaning guru and keeps us laughing all day…He HATES cleaning but comes everyday and tells us how we’re doing it wrong and how he is so much better at it. All three help us with our Afrikaans and laugh plenty as we scramble the sentences and accidentally say inappropriate things.

I’m feeling a little more settled here. Every time I meet someone and tell them my name, they go “Britney Spears!” and then chuckle and pat me on the shoulder, including me in their joke. Hmm. At least it is better than my teammate, whose name is Lulu. Everyone would laugh when she introduced herself until finally a school principal named Arthur Erasmus told her “Lulu” means “naughty.” She considered changing her name, but no luck so far.

A few nights ago when Siko (2) and Marthane (6) were over to visit, we took them and Kevanni and Hayley outside and played a game of chicken fights, but on land. We (me, Stephen, and Lu) each had a kid on our back and then ran around chasing the other pairs trying to kick each other in the butt. It was so fun! After a while of doing that, the kids all ran over by the house and huddled up and started whispering. We had no clue what they were doing until suddenly they broke into sibling partners, jumped on each others back, and ran toward us yelling! It was so cute and so clever! We would run around the house to hide and jump out at them, and it felt a little bit like playing “Capture the Flag” at camp. I am SO excited to be at camp for a while this summer…mostly for the access to a big, cold lake! There is a dam about 10 kilometers out of town here—I can’t wait for the first Saturday we get to go and swim and lay by the water.

We cooked for our host families yesterday—an “American” meal. We made pasta, a tossed salad, and very cheesy toasted bread. Lenie added syrup to her bread…They really like their syrup here. Reminds me a little of “Elf”…Which makes me happy since my family at home likes that movie so much (: I also bought a fan finally, and I slept with a comforter on for the first time last night! It was so great to be a little cool.

My mom sent me with a list of Bible verses to read each day, and I found this passage as a result of my daily verse:
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit…The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.”
-Psalm 147:3-5, 11

Great, powerful, limitless, unfailing…And we can call Him our God! He heals us, understands us, and He delights in us. I can’t imagine a God who counts and names the stars delighting in me. Stars—when there are no other lights around or buildings to block them—are magnificent. The other day we finally had a cloudless night sky, and the stars were beautiful. God knows each of their places, each formation, each constellation (I can always only find Orion’s Belt). And even more than just knowing, verse 5 says that “his understanding has no limit…” Of me, of my mind and body, of my frustrations and fears, of my dreams. He understands it ALL. And He also promises:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
And
“Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

He wants to give me the desires of my heart, and He has a plan to give me hope and a future…And I can trust that all of those will be good because His understanding of me, of Brittany Lee Bean, has NO limits! So I am here, I am a little homesick, and I am wondering what these next few months will look like. What is my purpose here? Will I be used? Will I be effective? Will I submit daily to the Lord so that He can use me in whatever way best serves His Kingdom? Even though my mind can’t see the answers, if I choose to trust in God, then the answer will always be yes. He has a plan and a future ahead of me. I believe I am here in Rehoboth for a reason, big or small.

Stars have splendor and an ethereal beauty—they are fit for a King. But not me. On my own, I am dirty and sinful. Praise God He loves me more than the stars and even delights in me. Oh that I could see my worth and my sin through His eyes.

Prayer Requests:
*that people in the community would get involved with the Youth Center, both with their skills and also with monetary and supply donations…Right now, we basically have a beaten-up building and a team of 4-7.
*For the children here…There is a lot of pain for various reasons.
*For my team’s involvement at the church—that we could be mentors and good examples to the youth there…That we would be bold and confident in the Lord

Have a happy week!
Thank you for your prayers.