Heat, dust, more heat, dust storms—all this in exchange for spring flowers, green countryside and mild weather at home. What had I done!

I had answered a call to come to Opuwo in northern Namibia for two months to help teachers establish a Montessori preschool. I have experience running a Montessori preschool and had come to train the teachers and help them make Montessori equipment for the school.

I started off with a missionary spirit, but as the days and weeks progressed, my spirit began to wane, and I asked myself if I was really making a difference in the lives of the teachers and children. As the days grew hotter and the dust became more intense, I must admit that I began to doubt that this was where the Lord wanted me to be.

To pass the time in the evenings, I read books that my hosts, Gideon and Pam Petersen, had collected over their years as missionaries. I was especially attracted to the missionary stories, which I found very interesting. As I read about missionaries in various remote parts of the world, I gained new insights into what it means to serve others. These missionaries endured illness, death of family members and tremendous hardships, and their faith only became stronger. I drew encouragement from these stories, and my faltering faith strengthened.

I realized that not only missionaries but all of us need to live close to the Lord each day. Only then will He become so real in our lives that we will submit ourselves completely to Him and let Him use us to reach others. I tackled my duties with renewed vigor and slowly began to see results. The teachers were using what I had taught them, and the children were becoming more receptive and showing improvement in many areas of learning.

As days flew past, I enjoyed the friendliness of the people, their incredible gift of singing and harmonizing and their happy faces. I even had the privilege of teaching several classes when staff members were sick. I couldn’t say much in the Otjiherero language, but I was able to manage, supplementing the few words I knew with gestures.

When it was time for me to leave Opuwo, the teachers presented me with a card in which they had all written messages. They invited me to return the following year, and I was touched by their appreciation. Only then did it dawn on me how much of a difference I had been able to make in God’s power, and I praised His name. This experience changed my life, and I will never forget it.

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