News of Our Move and an Updated Financial Report

The beautiful view of the valley from our back porch

  We praise God for the beautiful setting and nice new home that is not quite finished, but is finished enough for us to have moved in three weeks ago. We are also grateful for a seemingly nice landlord. (We haven't know him for very long yet. He's friendly though.)

We have always depended on God for all our needs. And we struggle to just tell people when we are lacking something. However, we've been told that supporters and interested people want to know exactly what we need so here it is. Please pray that God would lead those able to give to do so rapidly as we have the money listed below has already been spent; if we hadn’t paid for these things we would have had to stay in a house that was too expensive and too full of irksome quirks for us to stay in for a long time.

 These are all rounded numbers for simplicity.

Front view of our new house

  $300 – Pump and pipes to get water from the well into the house

  $200.00 – screens

  $1,000 – kitchen cabinets

  $600 – water heaters and other plumbing fixtures

  $4,000 for an extra room so we have sufficient space

  Future needs – closet shelves, exterior washing sink,

  Hopes for the far future – water chateau, generator

 $14,300 – basic expenses to finish this house (this includes things such as tile for the floors, blocks and cement for the security wall, wood for the ceilings, windows, bathroom fixtures, electrical fixtures and labor costs)

the well in the corner of the front yard

  The things listed at the top are those things that we have chosen to add and are therefore being paid for by us. They are not standard in a Cameroonian home. They are terribly important for us to be comfortable but the people here manage without them and therefore don't build their houses with these things included. The final figure is large and is the amount, roughly, that will be applied toward our rent for about two years. But we had to pay that money up front in order to have the house finished because owners generally don't have the money in hand. (It is normal practice to start a building and just leave it for years while getting money bit by bit to finish it.)

  Unexpected costs of life: medical costs for Kaiah – $4500

  * MRI in Cameroon

   * probable surgery in Kenya

   * airfare for two (couldn't very well send her alone now, could I?)

   * Although she didn't need surgery after all to our surprise

   lodging, food and transportation in Kenya nearly totaled the estimated amount for surgery.

  

Since we didn't need to stay at the hospital for treatment but we did need to see a physical therapist we took the opportunity to go to Tenwek hospital on the other side of the Rift Valley where Steve and Theresa Manchester (Kevin's cousin) work and live. That was a refreshing visit. 

Thanks for joining us in prayer that the Lord would quickly supply the money we need to cover all of these expenses!

The location of our house on Google maps - search for "Rain Forest School, Yaounde" to  look us up!