We will hit the 4 month mark just after Thanksgiving next week-
The questions I get about Cameroon now are mostly about how
we like it and can we really call it home yet.
What makes a place home? Ponder that. Is it the neighborhood? Access to Target or Wal-mart? Being able to call whoever whenever? Drinking water from the tap? If being home is
those things, then no, this will never be home.
But it is home now.
My family is here and it’s been too long to be vacation.
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| Beautiful skies- |
My husband is working in an office or traveling to villages to work.
I get to volunteer different places and
occasionally substitute at the kids’ schools (okay, just once so far!).
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| Kristin's class learning body parts |
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| They were all labeled! |
I know my neighbors by name and all the grounds keepers and repairmen
and mechanics.
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| Silas showing his summer sausages |
We have a vehicle.
I can walk to the ‘boutique’ and get flour and a coke and
talk to the owner.
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| Kristin and Ben with Mr. Kato at Silas' store |
The vegie lady, Mama Lucy, is helping my son with his
humanities project. I know who to get to buy me a radio and a choir shirt for
my son.
I can talk to our house help in French and get her
laughing. She brought her 3-year-old son
to our home the day he was sick and I had the pleasure of playing with him in
between my housework and laundry while she cleaned my house.
The guard coaches me on my French and tells me stories. He also kills snakes and catches thieves! And
I found out that he is my birthday twin: same day, same year. How cool is that?
I know which grocery store has the best meat, the cheapest
chocolate, and the occasional bottle of Log Cabin syrup.
I can direct someone places, or catch a taxi.
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| 8 in the taxi that day... |
I have friends. And 4
months is long enough for several of them to have moved away already- back to
the Netherlands, to Switzerland, or the States. Some are short timers and I
will only have this year to know, others leave for furlough soon and then who
knows? The missionary community is very
fluid almost like a college town, but with goodbyes and hellos more often it
seems as people leave for 3 months, six months, a year, and then return from
furlough.
I know I would rather have water than electricity and drink
filtered or bottled water every day. I
know internet will always be finicky here.
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| Our kitchen with gas stove and water filter. |
I know where the lab is for medical tests and a good dentist.
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| This lovely selfie was taken at the dentist office. She was awesome. |
I can buy a grilled chicken down the street and reheat it
well before eating. Or buy my own, feet and all, and cook it myself.
I’ve learned to make substitutions in recipes (that started
in France and is even more important here).
I can make all my favorite recipes here.
I choose to eat meat and cheese, and other western foods that make my
shopping bill MUCH higher than your average Cameroonian. I can cook my own big batch of cinnamon
rolls and my moms' Sourdough English Muffin recipe!
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| MMmmmmm….. |
I remember worrying when my kids were little and wanted to
listen to music to sleep to if that was a good idea. But now as the music from the neighborhood
churches and bars comes in at all hours, I am thankful they are used to music
and not just white noise. (It is ALL kinds of music! Some I really like and some, well, you don’t
close the windows. It’s too hot!)
I have a prayer group to go to and friends I can pray with
anytime.
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| Kay Watts the Elementary Librarian |
I know who to borrow movies from to watch on my
computer. J
I know all the librarians by name and we are friends.
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| Stacey Cawley the RFIS librarian with her daughter |
We have been to the pool, been to festivals and seen amazing rainbows.
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| Noah |
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| Kristin and Anna at the pool |
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| Piñata at fiesta night |
We have celebrated birthdays and watched new plants grow.
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| Birthday hat |
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| The neighbor's 'farm' and the preschool class |
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| Being silly- |
So, is Cameroon home? For now, yes, Cameroon is home. This
is where we live, play, work, and love right now.
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| David would be 10 |
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| Our downstairs neighbor brought these- just because |
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| Only had shrimp once here, but we made it count! |
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| Lots of studying in 8th grade! |
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| Stuffed animal toss... |
And do I feel safe? Yes.
Safe in God’s will. No less safe
than in Lynchburg, but I don’t go out at night either.
It is not easy here, but neither is it truly difficult. I told my house help that in the States I
would be considered almost poor. Can’t
afford a TV or my own washer and dryer; I buy clothes and shoes second hand;
rely on the generosity of others; old fridge; terrible bed; ants I can’t get
rid of; no budget to eat out very often.
But no, I am wealthy here. I have
an oven, a hand mixer, a blender, running water, and a vehicle. I am rich. And I have SO much. Even with just 2 suitcases each and a carry
on, we have SO much more than the average Cameroonian!
Sometimes I start to feel guilty because I have so much and
my Cameroonian friends have so little, but then I try to remember to just be thankful and share what I can.
And so, keep praying.
Pray for us to help spread the good news through the arts. Pray for village leaders who don’t have the
bible in their own language and for those in the congregations who don’t want
it because it would allow everyone to know truth and they might have to
change. Because we all know that going
to church and calling yourself Christian does not change your heart or your
actions. Only God can do that with his living word.
Pray for the churches in the States who have the Word and
don’t want to hear it for the same reasons, because people are people all over
the world.
Continue to pray for our house to rent in Virginia.
We have changed realtors, but the weather is
COLD right now and that is not a good time for moving!
You can find it on
Lynchburgrenting.com.
Pray for our kids in school who deal with all the normal
growing up things in another country.
Thankfully their teachers are awesome and classmates generally nice, but
there are always those mean kids who make life difficult because they are unhappy
themselves.
Pray for good health. So far, so good. No malaria, just
minor colds, and stomach things so far. And
Ebola is far away, not in this country.
Yes Wycliffe/SIL has contingency plans just in case and yes, if it we
were afraid we could leave. But we are not.
Thanks for reading and for praying!
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| This is typical Cameroon |
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| Soccer! GO Kristin! |
Traffic. Big city living has never thrilled me, but the traffic here is, well, different. Often we are going less than 30 kilometers/hour (18mph) and when we get up to 40 or 50 kph (24 or 30 mph) I start to think we are going too fast and am a bit afraid! But that is because the way traffic works here. Your lane is the one with less potholes or obstacles. There are taxis everywhere who weave in and out and stop a random places (sometimes on the edge, but often not) trying to get a fare. Motorcycles really weaving in and out of anyplace they think they can fit. I think playing Frogger really helped my husband be a better driver here! But the visual and oral stimulation is overwhelming- people selling stuff: kleenex, drinks, snacks, fruit, socks, plastic containers, even Christmas trees, walking along or in between traffic; honking horns; motorcycles carrying 2 to 7 people or a couch or lumber; big vans (used as a bus) packed full of people (not American full, African full i.e. 12 seat belts = 22 can fit) with luggage on top; children (anyone old enough to walk) in and around the street; HUGE potholes; police 'directing' traffic; traffic lights and roundabouts where the person entering (or whoever is biggest) has the right of way; rain or dust or power lines and poles down in the street. It is crazy.
