Day 7 - Monday, March 6
Ghost town day. Today was a chill day. Workers came to install extra security bars to our windows, we slept in then helped with cooking stew, then we knocked out a few hallmark movies. Tomorrow will be a full day. It's only 9:40pm and I am ready to crash. I sure hope I magically can figure out how to clean my laundry or better yet a fairy comes to do it for me. Aye yi yi.
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Day 8 - Tuesday
Today R and I went to the homes of two families to have the kids write thank you notes and speak on camera for a sponsor video. It is hard to explain how we went to the first house. Buea used to only have one paved road going up through the mountain so you were either traveling up or down. Now there are off shoots and traffic circles but they are pretty few and far between. If you go off the main road most likely you are embarking on a dusty rocky adventure. For both homes we went to today as we turned left and right down various alleyways that are mostly sandy dirt but have some large softball sized jagged rocks in them, we could nearly reach out and touch the walls of homes we were passing. Every once in awhile a child would dart across the "path" to which our driver would respond with a smattering of honks. The honking that created the backdrop to every ride in the car isn't so much a tone of road rage but of communication "yes I can take you to such and such a place" "watch out I'm coming up behind you" "let me pass" "hey friend!" And sometimes even an "I'm just happy and want to honk".
This evening rain poured down for about 30 minutes. The power went out and T explained that in the rainy season this is what can be expected for about four weeks straight. You can shout all you want but for the most part you will not be heard. I would probably go crazy.
Tomorrow is supposed to be Women's Day celebrations for Cameroon which would traditionally mean a big parade with all of the ladies in new dresses and all sorts of dancing. With the current political unrest it is unclear what will happen tomorrow. We are supposed to go to Tole, a town around the mountain a bit, to have our program. Tomorrow's lesson is David and Goliath. I'm curious to see what ends up happening. I've learned not to get attached to any plans.
In other news it was discovered this evening that our phone communication to the US has been cut off so even if I wanted to call home I couldn't. That's a bit more disconcerting than I would have anticipated. Hopefully after tomorrow they will reconnect them. Tomorrow might be a marathon day. Lord Lord.
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Day 9 - Wednesday
Today was International Women's Day. In the US (we watched CNN briefly) anti-Trump marches took place in major cities, citing his misogynistic comments as fuel for their dislike. In Cameroon, only the capital city of Yaoundé was streamed on TV while other major cities, including Buea, boycotted the event.
But our day really had nothing to do with Women's Day. Instead we went to Tole, a tea plantation town filled with ramshackle buildings and very poor families. Out in a huge open field with poles for soccer goals on either end we shared about David and Goliath, sang worship songs, memorized our Bible verse (1 Samuel 16:7b - "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at: man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart."), and played rugby. All through the morning more and more kids would show up, ranging in age from maybe 9 months old to 12 years old. I loved all of it and am very much looking forward to returning tomorrow.
My favorite moment was when Auntie Rachael was explaining to them all of the ways they can honor God even though they may feel too young, too small or not important enough. Actually, it was a tie because when we asked one of the kids to close us in prayer and she ended up leading the whole group (impromptu joining of voices) in saying the Lord's Prayer that was one of the neatest moments I have ever experienced.
Afterward we returned home to eat and relax a bit. Laundry was the project for the day and the saintly lady who does housecleaning helped us out. Hallelujah.
Oh! This morning it was clear enough we could see the mountain! Pretty neat for an active volcano. While the competitor in me wants to say I climbed the tallest mountain in North (or is it West?) Africa, the realist in me doubts that will happen :). But I took a nice photo!
Peace and blessings!
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Day 10 - Thursday
This morning was a tad chaotic but we went back to Tole for Day 2 of VBS. Today we taught about Jesus feeding the 5,000 with only 5 loaves of bread and two fish from the little boy. In order to get to the field, we must all take a taxi while the school bus undergoes repairs. It takes a minimum of two cars and that's with each car having 4-5 adults plus the driver and often a few kids on top of us. These cars are not very big either: think Volkswagen Bug size.
All disorganization aside (which I won't go into detail other than to say much of it was out of our control), it was a joyful sound to hear as the children sang songs, recited their verse, and replayed the skit of the Bible story. Because there has not been school most of the kids are loving the time to spend with teachers. One little girl came over to me while I had a toddler sleeping in my lap and quietly started writing in her notebook the numbers one through ten followed by addition problems. She was soon joined by two other girls. Slightly distracted, I missed most of the sign language lesson one of our teachers was giving. He was born hearing impaired and then battled meningitis at age 9 when he completely lost his hearing. When he came through that time he gave his life to Jesus and decided then and there to share with the deaf community about God. His name is Dennis and he now pastors a church for hearing impaired and works with a ministry traveling all through Cameroon teaching the Bible to the deaf population.
After VBS, we returned home with...a new puppy. Whom I'm sure will someday grow into a great guard dog. But you know me and animals so the fact it isn't the cleanest thing in the world only adds to the struggle.
R and I spent the afternoon at Hotpec where I went wild playing futbol for nearly 3 hours. The kids were awesome and we had a really fun time. I love them and can't really imagine not seeing them again. They remind me of my German kids...I hope and pray I can return again, however that is made possible.
Tomorrow is sponsor video work back in Tole. But first is an early morning wake up call to go wait at the police station for R's ID card.
Here's to sound sleep.
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Day 11 - Friday
For all of the random times I have watched the Disney show "Jessie" tonight was my first time seeing the parents. Only the oldest child is theirs biologically, the rest are adopted from Detroit, India, and Uganda.
Adopting children from Cameroon doesn't really happen, it might not even be legal. I need to look into it more but even all those kids at Hotpec will most likely spend their entire childhood there unless they move in with a relative.
This afternoon we went back to Tole to talk to some of the kids who attend Destiny and Hope Academy. The living conditions are quite deplorable. Today we had a little boy with worm belly, we saw a child so bow legged, and one little girl had boils or burns on various parts of her arms and ears. Honestly I don't know how to write about what we experienced today because it's such a different world. As R just said when I expressed this feeling: "To know as you walk down a hallway that each different room is actually the home of a whole family. They say American kids are so 'petted'. These kids do things that parents in America would say "That would kill my child!" but nope, these kids are still surviving." And as we try and process the disease, hunger, and death while these children are singing and coloring and playing with us...it's hard to take it all in while having a grip on the reality of my life up to this point. "Around here people have to live in community and rely on each other because if they don't, they won't survive." Those are strong words from R but true.
I have only two weeks left and who knows if I will ever make it back--we can't predict the future. What will I do about what I have seen? How will it change me? How will I see the world differently? Even on both sides..."Like for them it's normal to be covered in dirt all day. Why would you be clean? It's dirty." And even if these people were to see those make-you-cry-with-sympathy-and-send-money-to-so-and-so advertisements, they would likely respond with confusion: we aren't like that, we aren't in despair, we take care of each other, we smile and dance and play.
Yes...but this little 8 year old boy named Stanley doesn't have a mother and his father doesn't make enough money to bring home food so he often goes without food for days on end. When I rub his back I can feel his bones from top to bottom. When I look in his eyes they are yellow and disengaged. When I try to get him to smile, he shows me love by wrapping me in a hug and leaning on me for support. That sure felt like despair to me.
But...given the opportunity to color and write, he did a wonderful job. Given a banana, he started to perk up a bit. Told he would have to go home if he was too tired, he shook his head firmly "no" and kept pushing through the fatigue and hunger to accomplish the task.
It would be easy to think of my kids back home and say "kid, you have no idea what hunger or pain or sickness is really like," but that is not always an accurate reaction either. My hope and prayer is that I will walk away from this time in Cameroon seeing pain as pain, hunger as hunger, and sickness as sickness, no matter who may be feeling those things.
Why?
Because that would be that reflection of Jesus we desire to share because we have received it ourselves. We are viewed in Christ as unique, created, image-bearers of a Holy and Living God...our feelings, our hopes, our fears are recognized and acknowledged, our history is to be remembered for it is a story of lessons learned, our future is to be anticipated because our days are meant to bring God glory and praise, not despair. Our present is to carry out His mission out in the fields, wherever He may have us.
My brain is overwhelmed...my heart is sad. I am thankful for today. I am thankful for the hugs and smiles. I am thankful for the child using the stick to push the wheel that I thought only happened in the movies. I am thankful for R and T who love these people unconditionally and treat them with respect and dignity, rather than looking down upon them or for only looking at them with pity. What Toya has done in that village is truly incredible. Ah. What Jesus has done through T and R and the school will truly change the lives of those children forever.
Wow.
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Day 12 - Saturday
Did Harvard make it to the NCAA tournament? Did Colorado? How did Arizona do? How did Montana State and Montana do? So much basketball happening all month and I will have to wait a week until I will even know a single fact...unless I get desperate and call Mom midweek. No no this boundary line created by a government restriction on internet in our region is actually helpful.
Today we went to Bova to have VBS at the Baptist church there. It is a pretty new building and nicely painted. About 20 kids came but many were missing because of it being a market day. We told about David and Goliath again. The best part of the afternoon was watching Dennis teach the kids sign language. They LOVE him and really enjoy learning the signs. The worked on our Bible verse and one of the older boys had it perfectly memorized--quite impressive.
After VBS we loaded up into the school bus (a 15-passenger red van) and headed back into town. Little Israel (age 3) and Victory (age 8) have become my travel buddies. Israel fell asleep on me today and Victory made it her job to look out for my backpack.
The driver dropped us off at home and T set to work on making spaghetti. R and I went on a walk to the Buea market to buy fish for the puppy at the cold store (fish are just kept in deep freezers) and to try buying lemons again. As we were walking back a church was dismissing and R pointed out ecstatically that the kids were all carrying Operation Christmas shoeboxes! It was pretty wild to see it on this end.
As I nor R are much for cooking, we make a strong contribution in the dishwashing and vegetable preparation departments. Tonight we washed and cut potatoes and then washed up the dishes from the evening.
This evening I called home and chatted briefly with Ma and Pa. Sixteen minutes costs about 1000 francs. Ugh. I miss my people. It would be hard to live this far away from home. Props to R and T.
Time for sleep. Tomorrow we will go to church with two of the staff members from school. Peace and blessings
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Day 13 - Sunday, March 12
(I didn't write this day. Church was good-Bueatown Baptist. Very pleasant and welcoming. After church we went home to rest and get organized for our sleepover at Hotpec.)
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