(written Wednesday, December 5, 2012)
One thing I’m really enjoying about this self-blog-challenge is that I don’t have to think up a post title. I really am not a good titler (one who titles things). I often leave email subject lines blank just because I can’t think of what to write in. The most creative I get is usually “Hi” or “Hey.”
One thing I’m really enjoying about this self-blog-challenge is that I don’t have to think up a post title. I really am not a good titler (one who titles things). I often leave email subject lines blank just because I can’t think of what to write in. The most creative I get is usually “Hi” or “Hey.”
This week continues to be a strange, busy week. It’s strange in several senses; the main way being that Ellen and I are still babysitting the girls. In fact, we’ll probably have them through Friday if not longer than that. We’re plugging away at school, but sometimes I feel like I’m pulling tooth and nail (or whatever that expression is). The puzzle that we’re working on together naturally has a greater appeal than schoolwork or homework or violin practice, so that’s not helping matters.
When C found out that her aunt and uncle were coming, she asked if the pastors would like her uncle (who is a pastor) to speak at special conference for the churches. The men agreed to the idea and set up the details. The conference was scheduled for today from 2-6 p.m. However, C's aunt and uncle still haven’t made it to Cameroon due to visa complications. There just happened to be another pastor and his wife who are visiting Cameroon this week. When the complications with the first conference speaker arose, the men arranged for this other visiting pastor to be the speaker for the conference. I was able to attend all of the conference sessions today. The theme was the family—a very needed topic here since we have so few strong families in our congregations.
The Lord was so gracious in orchestrating events so that the conference could go on. We were even able to split up for one session, and the men and women were able to hear separate challenges. Unexpectedly, I ended up translating for the women’s session. I’m not entirely sure if the French speakers fully understand the message or not. But I am fully confident that God’s Word is not limited by my translating abilities. And the women were very gracious and understanding, helping me when I got stuck on a word or phrase.
And of course, no conference in Africa is complete without a little excitement. I could give examples of excitement from a conference I attended in Kenya, but I’ll limit this post to Cameroon for obvious reasons. Before the first session started, we were singing a few congregationals, and I noticed one of the men went outside rather quickly, looking around for something. He then came back inside and motioned to another man to come out. That second man then came inside, pulled a stick out of a closet, and then walked back outside. By this point, I had figured it out: there was a snake outside. I started laughing out loud; it was a rather amusing situation. Well, the snake slithered away before the men could kill it, and they both came back into the building. One of the men carefully positioned himself by the door, and I noticed that during the first session, he frequently glanced out the door, checking for the snake.
Between sessions, more men were made aware of the situation. The national pastor came inside and asked Ellen for her car keys. When she asked why he wanted them, he replied that it was probably best if she didn’t know. The men searched all around her car for the snake, even popping the hood to see if the snake had squeezed in there. All of their efforts were to no avail, however. The snake (a small green one according to reports) vanished to safety.
