Spring? Rainy Season.

Spring has come to Cameroon and that means rainy season!  No more dry dusty streets blowing red dust in through the windows, covering everything in a matter of minutes, no more hot days (just kidding), but now we have…. MUD!  Yes, mud season would be a better name.  Mud roads, mud clothes, mud yards.  Laundry of damp, muddy clothes (red clay is really hard to get out). And laundry that never dries:  Hang it, bring it in, hang it, bring it in, give up, hang it inside.  My sinuses and ears feel the pressure changing from hour to hour.  It is often steamy before it arrives.  Storms come from the east and blow in through our louvered windows and make puddles on our floor.  Thunder echoes off the hills and rumbles loudly all around.  It rains.  It sprinkles. It comes down in torrents. Forgetful people, who don't take their shoes off at the bottom of the stairs, track mud in the house. But it is indeed cooler and I am thankful for the thin blanket on our bed.  I even wear 3/4 length sleeves every once in a while.  

Skies are beautiful in rainy season.

He allowed me to take his picture.  He was selling sheets and towels.
He said he is studying to be a priest.

The change in season brings other changes.

Pray for missionaries coming and going. There are at least 10 families leaving from our neighborhood in the next few months - either for furlough, a different mission location, or retiring - many of them our the dear friends we have just made here in the last 8 months.  As we hear of them going, it makes us sad - not just to say goodbye, but also for the things we miss from back home. There are people coming too, but I don't know them yet!  My friend David Huizenga said it well in his latest blog post called missing and gaining.  Our list is not the same as his, but you get the idea.  (Of course I am not missing the political advertisements)  Mostly it is family, friends - you.  It's familiar faces, places, smells, sounds.  Not something that can be boxed up and sent.  This is not something that will go away.  Each place I live, new friend I meet, takes a bit of my heart.  Another way I am longing for Heaven.  

Birthday party for Bonnie.  All three of these friends will be gone this summer.

Heidi wiping mud of her sandals as we walk on a wet day.

The next section is  (mostly) copied from something I wrote to a friend back in Lynchburg in response to her similar feelings she shared with me.  We need to remember that we are not alone in our struggles and pray for one another.

Why is it that we the church struggle with Joy?  We are trapped in the monotony of life, the frustrations of sinful people (not me too?!), anger with things out of our control, loneliness even when we are not alone, and sadness from the longing for the relief of heaven.  Indeed I feel the groaning of creation here too.  Trying to keep our eyes fixed on the task before us, to love well, to have joy in all situations~ Oh, I feel the same here.  And I walk down our mud street and listen to the chattering in all the different languages, see people going to work or church or dinner or a club or home, all trapped in the meaninglessness of life.  I hear the words of Solomon echoing in my mind.  How can we share hope of the world with the world when we too often don't feel it ourselves.

It is hard to be the anchor- we really need to be in the boat, calmed by the creator, trusting in his care.  But as moms/wives we can't seem to help ourselves from taking care of 'life', managing the home - cleaning, caring, organizing, scheduling.  Where is our rest?  We need rest.  Rest in our shepherd's arms. But we have to take it, make time for it, pray for it, enjoy it, and not feel guilty for taking it.

The anger is another thing.  How is it that I can be just fine, going along, and then (once again) the water is out and I am bubbling over with anger.  I mean yell at you for looking at me funny kind of uncontrollable anger!  This is not in my control.  I know it is and will be a problem.  We do have ways of getting water.  I am not worried. BUT I HATE THIS.  It, like lying, is on my top 10 list.  Make that the top of my list.  Because when I am angry, I am sad and grumpy and whinny and selfish.  I do not think of anyone else really.  Woe is me.  I can throw a pity party with the best of them.  But I don't like me when I am like that.  I want to be happy.  I want to be content.  I want joy.  I want rest.  I want what I want when I want it. (see a theme….) Wait, that's the problem.  I want water.

Ok Rant over.  That's where I am today, but I don't want to stay angry.  Tomorrow is another day and it will be better.  Maybe there will even be water….

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Joshua 1:9

If you prayed for our friend Dan, he's home from the hospital, recovering, malaria is gone. Thank you for praying, as malaria can indeed kill. 
 Pray for Chris as starts the work of learning Makaa.  He has found a language partner to study with three days a week.  

Chris will be taking a trip in July to GCOMM (Global Consultation on Music in Missions) in Thailand.  Pray for the preparation as he will teach some of the classes, for the funds, for travel arrangements, and for God's glory in it all.  

Pray for all the changes in our lives.  They don't stop.  I bet they don't in your life either!

Thanks for reading this far down You are a trooper!