These shoes were made for walking... and walking... and walking...

These are my first pair of TOMS shoes I got about two years ago at a Style Your Sole event to raise funds for my trip to Uganda with my church.

These shoes have taken me many places.

All over southern California,

All over Uganda,

They have even gone down the American River in Northern California on multiple white water rafting trips.

Now they take me all around Namibia,

Or in todays case on my walk to work.

I love these shoes.

TOMS shoes are not only comfortable but they are a great organization that donates a pair of shoes to a child in need everytime you purchase a pair.  Its a one for one concept.

I wonder what it would take to get them to donate to the OVCs here in Northern Namibia?  Most of the children walk around barefoot or in some type of 'China Shop' flip flops.

Shoes are very important here.  Earlier this year I learned just how important.  I got a parasite in my foot in the form of a worm because I was walking around barefoot in the sand.

My learners look at my shoes funny every time I wear a pair of TOMS because they think they look like slippers... they just don't understand why I wear them.

I know this is kind of a random post, but I am random, what more would you expect from me. :) 

Aside from my TOMS shout out, I am doing well.

School is going great.  The learners are taking their term one exams this month and we get the month of May off.  I plan to travel a little and work at my OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children Org- Oonte OVC Org). 

Easter weekend was great.  I got a four day weekend and visited Ruacana Falls about 3 hours NW of here.  It was gorgeous but the 500 stairs to the bottom really sucked when we had to climb back to the top of the falls back to the bakki.  Anyone that knew me during my college waterpolo years knows what happens to me when you mix in lots and lots of stairs... it isn't pretty.  :)

Life is amazing and I feel very blessed to be here.

I'm happy.  :)

Easter Adventures

Happy Easter!!!

So this weekend was an adventurous one. I had good Friday off work so a few friends and I journeyed about 300k north/west almost to Angola to Ruacana falls.  It's a beautiful giant waterfall that flows on the Zambezi river... and its the biggest waterfall I have every seen... I haven't seen many. It was beautiful... except for the 450+ slippery stairs you had to walk to get to the bottom of the falls and then you had to climb them to get back up to the road/cars. It was straight up and so tiring... Anyone that ever played polo with me in college knows what happens when I run stairs... lets just say my stomach doesn't like them! :) That night we camped along side the river at a campground called Hippo Pools, they don't have hippos but they do have crocodiles. Rick, my fellow volunteer/friend that lives in town near me, had never been camping and the collective group of us were not very prepared. We arrived with two hammocks and a tent. The town we were dropped off in had no grocery store so we bought cans of beans, a loaf of bread, and a jar of peanut butter from the gas station to eat for dinner and breakfast. We arrived at the campsite after climbing the waterfall and set up our tents then we went in search of firewood, or in our case twigs that Rick set up into a fire-less stack of firewood. hahahaha. We had no matches.  Thankfully there was a nice Afrikaner family staying nearby that gave us some matches and fire starters. We sat around the fire and had a great time. The next day we started our journey back home. We started walking what we thought wouldn't be too tough of a walk back to the falls... wrong... it was uphill at about a 30-40% incline and was killer... thankfully I flagged down a truck driving towards the falls and a nice man drove us to the falls and to town. It was a short weekend trip but it was a great one. I also got to see a few friends I haven't seen in a while which was super nice.

Today I arrived back home to my own bed... there really isn't anything that feels more like home then your own bed. :)

I got home and started uploading some pictures from my trip and then started going through my old pictures. I found a copy of a video all of my friends and family made for me right before I left for Namibia... watching the video made me realize how truly blessed I am! I live in a beautiful country and have amazing people here and back home who love and support me. This wasn't my traditional Easter holiday of egg hunting, church, and tons of food spent at home with my family, but it was a great one filled with gratitude for my God who died for me and loves me and has blessed me with sooooo much in life. I am eternally grateful! I pray that all of my family and friends are happy and healthy. I know I am. :)