(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 10th 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!
