Birthday Fun

August 30, 2011

Today was quite a day of fete between Eddie’s birthday and the end of Ramadan. Eddie decided that the festivities of his day would include water balloon. Since the parents were going to be out for the afternoon, it was decided that all 10 of the kids would begin the birthday activities at the Loescher’s. I got to stay and have fun with the kids.

Eddie and Josh diligently filled about 60 water balloons, and then we all headed outside to have some fun. We started out with water balloon volleyball. While more water balloons ended up bursting on the ground than caught in the towels, we had a great time. After that, we decided to have a water balloon toss (the same idea as an egg toss). I got paired up with Kelsey the three-year old. Kelsey and I actually did fairly well on the first round—we were on of the top two teams! On the second round, however, we didn’t do as well and were the second team eliminated.

After those first games, the kids were ready to get wet and had a mini water balloon fight with the rest of the balloons. Their appetite for a water war was whet, so a full out water war ensued. No one was spared from the violent battle, not even the three year old. The kids really loved getting Miss Rachelle wet. And I had no problems getting them back!

After the water war, we were absolutely drenched! There were puddles all through the house from all of the kids trekking in to get changed. Thankfully they all had a change of clothes. J

I’m so thankful for the kids I have the opportunity to minister to. They are definitely a lively bunch, but I’m loving them!

And I'm working on getting some pictures. It's been a bit drizzly the past few days, so I haven't been able to get the best shot of the mountains around here. Hopefully in the next few days I'll be able to post some pictures.

Life in Africa

(written August 28, 2011)

Life in Africa continues with many unexpected twists and turns. The expected twists include things such as regular power outages and car trouble. The unexpected bring more excitement to the daily routine.

Yesterday morning I was able to go to the market with Rachel to buy food for the Loeschers. Thankfully Rachel was there to help me out—actually, she did the shopping, I just followed her. All African outdoor markets are probably fairly similar in most ways—crowds of people, unfamiliar scents, and food and wares at uncommonly low prices. On the plus side, most vendors at this market spoke French, so I could converse to a certain extent with them. I didn’t have to do any bartering because Rachel took me to her normal vendors. She knows the reasonable prices for each item, and they know her. The most disturbing sight of the morning lay on the ground in front of the butcher, bringing a new dimension to the concept of fresh meat. The meat we purchased was most definitely fresh, as evidenced by the cow skin we carefully stepped around.

Leaving the market, we passed by the palace of the local tribe’s sultan. As we approached the palace, several men motioned traffic to stop. Several vehicles exited the palace, including one carrying the sultan. The missionaries said it’s pretty rare to see the sultan, so I guess that was a big experience. 

Later in the afternoon, as I sat on my bed reading, I heard Walter call to his son, “Eddie, come quick. Lady fell into a well.” I have to admit that at first I thought he said “a lady fell into the well.” He actually was referring to their dog. Carol, who had been walking with Lady, came back to the house for ropes and the car. Getting the car was not quite an easy task as the car had to be jump started. Carol angled the car to roll down the hill in order to start it, but the car couldn’t get over some rather large bumps. So Carolyn and I rocked the car until we got it past the bumps. The car was not light.

 Eddie ended up being the hero of the day when he was rappelled into the well to help Lady out. He quite enjoyed the experience and all of the ensuing attention. This afternoon I heard him ask his dad if he could go back into the hole.

Our adventures continued into today, with us awaking to the power being out. The only real inconvenience to having no power during the day is having to use the restroom in the dark. Thankfully the solution to that inconvenience simply involves a flashlight.

This morning, I braved my first walk to church (which is also the school building). The walk involves downhill and uphill jaunts both going and coming. Much sweat (but thankfully no tears) was involved in the process. Needless to say, I was definitely out of breath when we arrived at church.

Unexpected challenges occur each and every day. I’m thankful for the great example all the families are of handling difficult inconveniences and challenges. But most of all, I’m thankful for a God who knows of this difficulties before they even happen. I’m privileged to be able to serve the sovereign God each and every day!

Settling In

(written August 23, 2011)

Yesterday a group of us headed up to the school to get everything cleaned and organized for the new school year. The school room is in the same building as the church. There is a large room when that I think is used for the institute and then three smaller rooms. Each elementary class will have its own room and its own teacher. One mom will teach one grade while the other teacher (Samantha Vanderwarker) will teach the other when she arrives. Until then, Rachel Barilla is having all of the 4^th graders watch their videos with her daughter.

My three girls came and helped, so we tackled cleaning the room first. Then we started pulling out all of the textbooks. There were so many teacher manuals—often two or three books per subject. And in 10^th grade, the girls don’t always have the same edition, so I have two entire sets of certain subjects! After all the teacher manuals were on the shelf, I realized that I needed to make sure I had tests for each girl in each subject. That also proved to be overwhelming. Around 5:00 we decided to call it a day. Since we had made so much progress, it was decided that the high schoolers would start school the next day.

Today went much more smoothly. I decided that the girls would work on two subjects for the day since we got a later start than normal. A and Elizabeth (the 10^th graders) opted for World History and Biology, choosing to put off geometry until later—hopefully this isn’t indicative of their attitude towards geometry for the entire year. Carolyn (the 12^th grader) was able to work on Economics and PreCalculus. All I know is we’ll have quite an interesting year between the math (Geometry and PreCalculus) and science (Biology and Physics) classes. I know for a fact that none of those classes are my strong point.

This week will continue to be busy. Tomorrow a group of about five from Mexico is coming in. We’re not really sure how long they’ll be here. I’ll probably end up sharing my room—hopefully she speaks English, because Spanish (much like math and science) is also not one of my fortes. And then on Friday, we’re looking forward to two other missionary families joining us here for a cookout. Between all of the missionaries and the Mexico missions team, I think there will be over 30 of us! I’m working on planning some little games (Minute-to-Win-it type games) for us all to play. This will be a great group to watch!

Yesterday in family devotions, Walter Loescher compared Mohammed to Jesus Christ. The Muslims believe that Mohammed fulfilled the prophecy of a prophet that was to come that would be like Moses. The end of the book of Deuteronomy mentions that Moses was unparalleled by any other prophet of Israel in regards to the signs and wonders that he performed. In contrast, Walter mentioned that very few miracles performed by Mohammed are recorded in the Koran. The accounts of Jesus Christ, on the other hand, brim with exciting, never-before-seen miracles. Jesus Christ could control the wind and the seas! I’m thankful that we serve the God who is in control over nature and over all!

Arrival!

(written August 20, 2011)

I’M IN CAMEROON! And yet the strange thing is, I don’t really feel like I’m in Africa. My first thought as the plane as landing in Yaounde was, “Wow, this looks like South Carolina.” I guess I just can’t escape Greenville. J Cameroon boasts of beautiful, diverse scenery. What I saw of it included lush green forests and majestic mountains.

I’m so thankful for how God is guiding my transition over here. So far I’m feeling fairly comfortable understanding the French speakers. I’ve not been too surprised by new sights since I have visited Africa before. I know that I haven’t experienced much at all yet, but I’m thankful for even the little things.

On the 5 hour drive up to Foumban (the town the missionaries are based out of), the missionary moms and I were able to talk about the details of the ministries I’ll be involved in while in Cameroon. We’re planning on starting school sometime next week since South Carolina (the state from which the Loescher kids receive certification) requires 180 days of school. I’m planning on teaching the high school girls, so I’ll be working with two 10^th graders and one senior. I’ll be doing a lot of monitoring since the girls have videos for many of the classes they’re taking. Thankfully I don’t have to teach geometry or biology—I really don’t think the girls would learn too much if I were personally teaching those classes! I’ll probably get to actually teach English (including literature, grammar, and vocab).

In addition to my home school responsibilities, I’m planning on teaching the older girls French twice a week in the afternoon. I may be able to also teach the younger ones if we can find a good time. I’ll also be teaching violin to 4 or 5 of the kids. And there are so many church ministries I can get involved in! Right now it looks like I’ll be helping out with a Bible study for the teen girls at the church here in Foumban. I’ll be working with one of the missionary ladies here, Rachel Barilla. One of us will teach in French while the other teaches in English. I probably need a little more practice before I can do the teaching in French.

God is so good! I’m excited to see how He’ll stretch and grow me this year. Please continue to pray for me as I adjust. I want to be ready to go as soon as possible!

The Beginning of a Journey

I guess if I had to pinpoint a particular beginning, I would have to say that my journey to Cameroon began when I was young. My parents were missionaries to Quebec, Canada for the first 13 or so years of my life. During our time there, missionary families often came through Quebec to learn French before heading over to Cameroon, Africa. My fascination with this far off continent began with my acquaintance of these families. The most I knew about Africa at that time was probably from reading biographies about missionaries like Mary Slessor and David Livingstone. Africa, in my mind, was still a wild, untamable heathen continent. From those early years, a seed was planted in my mind. I dreamed often of going to Africa and using my French to share the gospel of Christ.


My journey then took a turn over to East Africa when I went over for a short 2 week ministry trip with my youth group in 2004. I knew the moment the plane took off to return to the States that I had left a huge part of my heart back on the ground. My friend and I vowed to return in 5 years, and by God's grace and sovereign working, we both returned with another ministry team from my church. This trip seemed even shorter than the first, if that could at all be possible.


Between those two trips, my journey stopped over in South Carolina for several years of college. My first year there, I attended a required principal's recruitment conference. Of course, most principals weren't looking to speak to a lowly freshman when they had pressing needs for the coming school year. Somehow that year I meandered by a missions organization's table and began talking to a representative about a teaching opportunity in Cameroon. He gladly would have signed me up right then to go teach after graduation. Obviously, I couldn't commit to anything that far in advance.


5 years later, with graduation quickly approaching, that conversation came back to mind. I, however, am really bad about keeping up with people and contacting them for any reason. My mother, on the other hand, has no qualms about taking the bull by the horns. She read in a friend's prayer letter about their family's need for a teacher for the following year. My mother immediately volunteered me for the task. For once, I was very grateful!


One thing led to another by God's grace, and now I'm heading off to Cameroon next week! I'm eager to see where God will direct my journey next. Please pray with me as I set off on this adventure!