Trip to the Far North (pt. 1)

(Note: I am breaking this up into several parts, hopefully to encourage you to read it all. I know it's a lot!)

It’s so hard to sit down and describe how God blessed and worked through different people and events. I had the privilege two weeks ago to take part in a ministry trip to the far north part of Cameroon. There were six of us total on the trip, three Africans and three Americans. God provided an amazing unity between the six of us. Before I went on the trip, I didn’t know a single one of them. By the time we got back from the trip, I felt weird leaving them—we had spent nearly every waking hour together for two weeks. After traveling for three days straight, we had definitely seen each other at our worst!

During this trip, we encountered obstacle after obstacle. The first day of our trip, we had a seven hour drive. Our car broke down and we had to wait for another one to come. We crammed six people and luggage into a very small car. We had to pull over six times during that trip with various car difficulties. Our seven hour trip turned into a thirteen hour trip! But, we saw God’s hand of protection in every aspect of that journey. He stopped us in time to catch some potentially fatal car problems. He gave Pastor Julius the opportunity to lead a man to Christ. He gave us safety and protection even though we had to drive during the night. God was good!

We caught the train headed up north on the 1^st of the year then took multiple other forms of public transportation before we reached our final destination the night of the 3^rd. I’m not sure how many hours we actually traveled—I think I’m a little nervous to add up the total!

Our first day in M was a day of rest. We enjoyed a leisurely morning, catching up on sleep and such. I believe this was also the day that the men drove around to try to locate the nomads and see if we could spend the night with them. God allowed them to have success in this venture. Contact was established and plans were made for us to spend the night on Friday. In the afternoon, we headed to the market at a neighboring village to pass out some tracts. The difficult thing about passing out tracts in a market is that a mob can quickly form when people realize that someone is handing out something for free. The best course of action is to engage in a one on one conversation. The men were able to talk to many people and passed out scores of tracts. We ladies were looking for other ladies to talk with. None of the ladies, however, spoke English, and only a few spoke French. Most of the ladies spoke Arabic, Fulfulde, or another tribal language. Rosemary was the only one of the three ladies that could communicate in Arabic or Fulfulde. She did have some good opportunities, but overall, communication was a challenge.

That night we were able to share our personal salvation testimonies with the team. What an encouragement it was to hear how God worked in each of our lives. Despite our different backgrounds, God graciously drew each of us into His family.

On Thursday, the men headed into a neighboring Arab village to visit. The ladies were able to head over to the B's to spend time with mom and the kids. We had a great time just talking and cutting out flannel graph. That afternoon, we gathered back at the their house for their mid-week prayer service. There was a fairly good-sized crowd out (larger than their regular number of four or so), and one of the men from our group challenged us on the topic of prayer.

Recording in Africa

Recording in the States can be pretty grueling from what I’ve heard. Now, move the recording to Africa and imagine the added complications. The churches here in Cameroon really want to produce a CD with good Christian music (which is a great need here in Cameroon). Our choir in Foumban has been working diligently on practicing parts for this recording. Last night, the first night of “music camp,” as we have come to call these few days of recording, the only people at rehearsal were the six nationals from Foumban, the Barillas, Rosemary (who is coordinating the recording), and me. It was a pretty discouraging first night.

Today our numbers increased. We had a number of people show up throughout the day. We got some pretty good practice in during the morning, and then the children showed up to record a few songs the children choir had prepared. From 12:30 to about 5:00, the children ended up recording three songs, only half of what they had been working on. After that, the man working on recording us decided to try to record the choir. He really wanted to record each part (soprano, alto…) separately. We feel more confident as a group, but we decided to try it his way. On the first song, he decided to record each voice individually. Thankfully, I had not yet had to record my “solo” before it was decided that we need to try to record a larger group at a time. After having recorded individuals separately, we no longer mind recording each section by itself. Anything is better than a solo!

Tomorrow is our last day of recording (and really our only day of recording). Please, please be in prayer for us! We have had some grueling days, and that was just the rehearsals. Spirits were pretty low when we called it a night. We’re tired physically and emotionally, but we have a desire to fulfill this need for the Cameroonian believers. Ultimately, we want our Savior to be glorified and to receive all the praise. Please pray toward that end!

What I Have Learned So Far in Africa

Just a short blog today, but I wanted to share four things that I have learned in my first four months here in Cameroon. Please understand, many of these things are said in jest. I have loved my time here so far, every bit of it, and I am looking forward to the next five months that I have here!

1. I have a very, very sensitive stomach. Enough said.
2. Feet get dirty very quickly during dry season.
3. Cookies taste better with milk.
4. Teaching is more fun than being taught. (It’s also easier, typically.)

Christmas Festivities

We have had a very full weekend of Christmas festivities here in Foumban. On Friday night, we had our missionary Christmas party with all of the missionaries from here in Foumban and from Bandjoun, a city about an hour away. Events for the night included a Christmas skit put on by the elementary kids, a few rounds of charades by the adults, and a white elephant gift exchange. The highlight of the charades game was definitely when Uncle R acted out Frankenstein, only to discover that he had misread his card and he was really supposed to act out “frankincense.” It’s probably a good thing he misread his card. I have no idea how he would have acted out frankincense. The white elephant gift exchange was also immensely amusing. The most stolen prizes of the night were a mini mp3 player and a thumb drive. The most entertaining moment was after Walter had his gift stolen and he had to grab a new gift from the pile in the middle. There were two gifts there. Carol, his wife, specifically told him not to grab one of the bags since it was from them. Walter must not have heard, because he went straight for the bag … and got some Bath & Body lotion and body wash.

Tonight we had our Christmas recital with the missionaries here in town. All of the kids were involved in at least one song. Five of my students played a violin piece. I’m so pleased with the progress they’ve made this year. We’ve had some difficulties with the changing humidity. Going from the rainy season to the dry season is having a major effect on the instruments. Last week I changed three strings from three different violins in two days. But, despite all of that, the music tonight was a blessing and definitely reminded us of the real meaning of the season.

This coming week we have school through Wednesday. The girls keep trying to get me to lighten their load. I don’t think I’m going to give in, though. 

The Unexpected

Today I experienced something I never in a million years anticipated. We were driving around in Yaounde trying to get to the immigration office. We were trying out a new route because traffic was so bad. We ended up stopped in traffic in the middle of the market. This market, as most markets are on market days, was very busy and crowded with people. We were driving with our windows down since the air conditioning in the Barillas’ car only lasts about 45 minutes at a time. People were passing right next to our open windows, staring into the car at the spectacle of white people sitting in it.

I was sitting in the backseat with two of the Barilla kids. My window was rolled all the way down. We’d been in traffic for about 30-45 minutes, so I had pulled out my Kindle and was reading a book. I think one of the guys passing made some sort of noise, an exclamation or something, and I realized that I probably shouldn’t have my window all the way down. I rolled my window up just a few inches, wrapped my purse strap around my arm, and continued reading. Less than two minutes later, an arm reaches into my window and tries to grab my Kindle. Yes, someone literally reached into the car and tried to steal it out of my hands. It happened so quickly, I didn’t have much time to process what was happening. Only by the grace of God did I manage to grab onto my Kindle. I’m so thankful for God’s protection over us—and that I still have my Kindle. Needless to say, I rolled up my window after that incident. And I’ve learned my lesson—no electronics should be exposed when the windows are rolled down!

Yaounde

(written December 12, 2011)

We’re in Yaounde again this weekend. This time, we’re here to drop Sam off at the airport. What does Yaounde mean for us? Yaounde means pizza, Chinese food, ice cream, and shopping … lots and lots of shopping. I had some success in shopping—today I found both real Dr. Pepper and Arizona raspberry iced tea. I was very, very excited. The only pop easily found where we are is Coke, Orange Fanta, Top (a grapefruit pop), Djino (a fruit punch pop). Once in a while we can find Sprite. I don’t really like Coke, and the other drinks get a little old. Last time we were in Yaounde, I found an off-brand type of Dr. Pepper. It was okay, but it tasted more like a vanilla Dr. Pepper. Finally, tonight I had my first taste of Dr. Pepper in several months (maybe even six months). It was amazing.

Sam got off okay tonight with just a few complications. The lady at the check-in counter couldn’t find her name on the list, so she sent Sam over to the airline office. They couldn’t find Sam in their system either, so they sent her back to the check-in counter. After about waiting an hour in total, Sam was able to check her bags. She’s probably still traveling as I type this, so please be in prayer for her.

The Familiar and the Not-So Familiar

Part of the not-so familiar here in Africa has been the stars. I don’t know too much about stars, but in the States, I can almost always find the constellation Orion. That’s probably the main reason that Orion is my favorite constellation. During rainy season, the stars here were very bright and numerous. Sam and I looked and looked for Orion until we realized that it was too low on the horizon to see. And then finally last week, we spotted Orion. Seeing the familiar once again was very comforting. Of course, since that night, the sky has been too dust filled to see much beyond the moon in the night sky. But that glimpse was enough.

School continues in a very familiar pattern. We’re looking at two more weeks of school before we take a week or so off for break. I’m hoping to head up north to see a different part of Cameroon (and a different side of ministry) at the end of the year, so that will be part of my Christmas break. Since I’m the teacher, I guess I have more liberty with my days off (which is a rather backwards mentality from the States, but I’m enjoying it!). If you get a chance, check out a map of Cameroon. We’re located in Foumban. For the trip I’ll be taking, we have to drive from Foumban to Yaounde (about a six hour trip) where we will then catch a train heading up north. When I say north, I mean north—we’ll spend most of our time in a village just a few miles south of Lake Chad. I think the trip getting there will take about four days! I’m so thrilled for the opportunity to head up. Please pray that all the details work out!

I’ve recently started a file called, “You Know You Live in Africa When…” This document contains many not-so familiar habits to the typical American which have become routine to the missionary in Africa. My personal favorite on the list is “You know you live in Africa when you openly stare at every white person you see … and he stares back as unashamedly.” I think staring is part of the culture here. No matter where we go, we white people are stared at by everyone! I’m sure that by the end of my nine months here, I will have accumulated quite a list under that file. J