Rainy Season's Coming!!

It’s a hot, muggy night here in Foumban. The temperature got up to the 90s today—seriously. Apparently, it also rained during the night. I love the rain storms here in Cameroon; unfortunately, I missed the entire show. I got sick yesterday morning. In fact, while I was teaching, I told my kids that I had to go lie down. I ended up completely emptying my stomach in the span of about 3 hours. It was not pleasant. I was feeling better by evening, but I was still very weak and dizzy. C ended up giving me an anti-nausea shot that night which knocked me out. All that to say, I couldn’t enjoy the rain at all. I do remember at one point thinking that it might be raining outside, but I didn’t have enough brain power to process that thought. Don’t feel badly for me, though. I’m feeling much better, and I’ve been able to catch up on a lot of sleep. I’ve enjoyed being lazy and having an excuse for it!

It’s hard to believe I’m nearing the 2-month mark until my departure. My time here has absolutely flown this year! It’s interesting that everyone here is in a transition period. The missionaries are looking to transition to a city about an hour away. They’ve been doing a lot of house-hunting lately; in fact, I was able to join the fun last weekend. We’ve seen God at work, and we pray that he would continue to show us his will. Our prayer for all of us of late has been that God would show each of us his perfect plan for us, that he would make the next step abundantly clear. I’m looking into some exciting possibilities for next year. Please pray with me that God would show me where I can best serve him.

Another Post!

Wouldn’t it be nice to say just once, “Life has really slowed down recently. I’ve had so much free time to myself!” Of course, that situation would be rather unusual. In case you haven’t been able to tell from my lack of posts, life has continued to be very busy. I feel like we’re falling back into a routine at school which is a nice thing. The 7:30 a.m. start no longer seems ridiculously early. J

 

This past week, we had a couple variations from the normal routine. (And truthfully, beyond our school routine, due to all of the transitions we’re facing, we no longer have a “normal” routine to our days.) Tuesday, we had a 5-year old birthday to celebrate. That was a lot of fun. We spoiled the birthday girl with gifts, and she seemed to have a great time being in the spotlight. After opening all of her gifts, the birthday girl gave a little speech: “Thank you everyone for coming to my party, and thank you everyone for all of my gifts. Now, I would like to share all of my gifts with you.” (Yes, that is truly what she said!) All who were listening to her speech started laughing and jokingly claiming certain gifts—the important ones like the Pringles and the Skittles. I wish I had gotten that speech on camera!

 

On Thursday, Valentine’s Day, the single ladies entertained the kids for the evening while the parents went out to eat. Per the kids’ request, we made pizzas. The older girls came over earlier in the afternoon to help us make the pizzas. We had a great time in the kitchen. When the rest of the kids arrived, Ellen took them out to favorite “picnic” spot where they played games and wore themselves out while I finished the pizzas. They returned filthy but hungry, so the pizza was almost all consumed. We finished off the night with a few rousing rounds of Mafia. Everyone agreed—the evening was a blast. The only downfall? The evening was too short!

 

Friday after school, several of the ladies headed out to Bandjoun to do some house hunting. Most of the group returned back to Foumban later that afternoon, but Ellen and I stayed to continue the search on Saturday. Despite the fact that I spent over 11 hours being jostled around over bumpy roads as we searched for houses, I had a wonderful, relaxing weekend. I got better sleep than normal and enjoyed hot showers (with running water!).  We saw God answer specific prayer as he led us to houses we had not yet seen. In fact, we were able to find a very good possibility, and we were even able to talk to the owner (who was in town for the weekend). It’s so neat to see how God works all of the details together in his perfect timing.

 

This morning, I got a call from one of my parents saying that their kids were both sick. So, unexpectedly, I got this morning off. Without that unexpected blessing, this post would have been much more delayed in coming. I’m going to try to do better next month with posting. In fact, I’m going to set another goal for myself. It won’t be as lofty as December’s goal, but I’ll still have the accountability of a number. I’m not going to reveal that number yet—mainly because I don’t yet know it.

God's Promises

I’m so past having any good excuses for failing to blog. I think I should set another goal for number of posts in a month. Maybe next month… Lately, I’ve been seeing all kinds of updates on Facebook about the snow that many back home are enjoying. I have to admit, I’ve been rather jealous. I miss seeing the snow (and everything that comes with it). I haven’t enjoyed snow in a few years now. But, as I was feeling sorry for myself, I began to realize all of the great things that we get to enjoy in Cameroon because of the climate here. How many of you who enjoyed snow recently also got to enjoy FRESH watermelon, pineapple, and passion fruit. You can feel sorry for me at anytime!

 

I feel like the theme of this year has been transition. It’s an odd stage to be in. Many of the missionaries are looking for housing with the possibility of moving in the next few months. Consequently, the ministries are also in transition. We have national pastors leading both of our churches, but the missionaries are still involved. Last month, the Loeschers returned from furlough, bringing about another stage of transition, particularly in the arena of school. As I mentioned last post, we did have a short-termer teacher here for a few weeks as the Loeschers transitioned back to Cameroon. What a huge help that was! When Tia mentioned to me while we were in the bush that she was thinking of staying, I told her, “Are you serious?! I would love you FOREVER!” And indeed, I feel I am forever indebted to Tia for her invaluable help and servant’s heart.

 

This week without Tia was yet another time of transition. I decided I needed to start school with the Barillas earlier in order to have more time at the schoolhouse with the other kids. I am not a morning person, so this has definitely been an adjustment to me. I am so thankful for God’s promises to me. His mercies are new to me every morning. His grace is all-sufficient. He is with me wherever I am. I could go on and on, because God’s Word is packed with his promises. What a wonderful, personal God I serve!