Just a List, Memories added

In honor of my Dad's 80th birthday!! A few of those memories I promised. If you missed the whole blog the first time just read on to the end.


"Do you remember trudging from our house to yours one night during a blizzard. You said you would never do that again. Maybe that was why you decided to move south?????   


Remember the time the van started to drift down the driveway with us kids in it. You jumped in and stopped it! 

We enjoyed many years of camping with Don and Belva. Before the season would start we would go on day trips to scope out out new campgrounds we would like use when the weather warmed up. Don was the driver and Belva, with the help of a campground guidebook, would give Don directions to each campground we wanted to check out. There was no GPS available at the time so Belva had only a map for guidance. At one point she said the next place was 13 miles away and Don drove and he drove and he drove and there was no sign of any campground. After that when we were traveling somewhere we would laugh and say, "Well it's only 13 miles away!"

We finally found the campground up a dirt road, which had a five star rating in the AAA book. The "beach" mentioned in the book was a dirt area on the edge of the pond covered in tree branches. The indoor pool was so green you couldn't see more than a couple of inches into it. Needless to say we did not choose this campground for future use.

Thank you for teaching me to fish and play with worms. It has helped me here in many, many ways.

 

Do you remember this: One Sunday night at church, our Pastor, Mark Pett, decided to change up the hymn singing time. He asked for us to pick a favorite hymn. I raised my hand and asked for 'It is Well With My Soul.' Then he threw the 'curve ball', he told me to come up and lead it. I didn't and still don't sing well- I make a joyful noise to the Lord. I was so embarrassed but went up in front and began to sing. The next thing I know, you were there singing with me. Loved you for rescuing me!  'It is Well With My Soul' is still one of my favorite hymns. 

🎁🎉Happy Birthday Don Bailey!!❤️

I liked the this title so much I just wanted to use the idea again. I've revised this blog from a while ago and added a few memories, some mine and some my friends.
"This is just a list. A list of some of the little things my mom and dad taught me growing up. But most the things on this list have helped me survive 20+ years here in the sun and rain and busyness and beauty of Africa" is what I wrote the first time and today I'll focus the list on things I remember learning specifically from DAD. 

My Mom and Dad taught me...

Grammy and Pop

* how to love - everyone
* camping
* to persevere
* not to be freaked out by mice and roaches
* frugality- research before you purchase
* to be patient and "If you need an answer right now, the answer is 'no'"
* to drive a manual transmission
* to enjoy beauty and the sound of birds
* gardening

So, it is not the most flattering picture but it does portray Pop's patience and love of gardens and children.

* the essential power of prayer
* not to be scared of the dark but to take the opportunity to look at the beauty of the stars instead
* appreciation for the little things
* interest in travel
* to allow kids to be kids and fall out of trees and play soccer in the mud 
 
 * take your time and do it right the first time!

* since Dad played Tuba (or something like one was in our attic during my growing years) and Mom played trumpet I have to assume they were patient while I learned but never mastered music. So I learned to be encouraging and patient as my own kids experiment with and enjoy music.

* appreciation of sports - many and diverse: I remember watching "the Wide World of Sports", bowling, (American) football, golf, pool, Olympic sports of all kinds, and especially BASEBALL!!

*and because the list could go on quite a while, I'll end with the most important of all: to be 100% dedicated to the gospel of Jesus Christ so that others may live.

Yes, I've probably missed quite a few but his memory is still better than mine ever was! (Just ask Peggy or Kara, or my husband or kids.)

And onto a few memories: NO, WAIT a minute! I don't want to spoil the fun for Sunday when his Big Party is. So, I'll edit this post with memories later. Meanwhile, here's a few photos.

Pop's mother, Ethel Bailey; I'm pretty sure he learned a lot of the above from her. I only wish I'd have learned the fabulous skill she had with a crochet needle!

Dad, may you enjoy another 20 or so years!!

What Do You Do When it Rains? (Part 2)

More than once, twice or... well, let's just say every chance possible when it rains around here, you will find missionary children outside playing in it. Not the Cameroonians, usually - unless there is a soccer game involved. They tend to have more sense. Our mothers told us, "Get in out of the rain!" Not here; our children will rush out to feel the cool relief the rain offers. They will play soccer in mud and pouring rain. Yes, official games too, so the refs get the shower as well. In fact, many of the high school kids say they prefer to play in the rain; it's more fun, they say!

The local Cameroonian pedestrians, in contrast, hide from the drops. As soon as the rain starts, the walls and front awnings of shops along the roads suddenly burst with passersby who want to stay dry. In a sudden downpour the taxis, and, depending on how hard the downpour is, possibly most all motorists, will pull off the road, park and wait for it to let up.

What do I do? Well, in years past I'd rush out to get the laundry in. Some of us have been known to hang out and take down the same set of laundry three or more times in one day before we give up and wait for tomorrow or decorate the interior with all sorts of wet clothes. More recently, I've been praying that the rain is not too hard so it won't find the leaky places of our home and come inside as I go and make sure my laundry is protected on the porch or in the hallway.

The kids, after well-filling duty!

And most recently, I was very grateful for my silly children who filled tubs or buckets with the water pouring from the downspout to dump into our depleted well. Yup, they stayed out there and exhausted themselves so mommy could have some more running water in the house, coming out of the pipes instead of the ceiling!

Gotta go, I hear the drops starting and that laundry is out....

What Do You Do When It Rains? (Part 1)

I'd considered just jumping ahead to tell the story of what some of my children did during a recent rainstorm but I felt rather strange skipping over  the significant story of the events surrounding my mother's funeral - or my mother's home going, as I prefer to say.  Because, after all, who likes to write about the death of a loved one? Then I realized that the rain was a common thread in the two stories.

 I cried. No, actually, I yelled when it became clear that it was soon time for her to go. But then God's peace rained down on me and the plan He made unfolded.

He already knew that my husband would be supportive of my family's decision for me to come back to the States to say good-bye. He already knew that my sister in law would be the best any one could ever hope for, caring for my mother (and father) though surgeries and recoveries, infections and healing and so much more, even to the very end. You see, He already knew that His church would buy the plane ticket and that my two eldest sons would be able to join me in GA. And He already knew what a sweet time of reunion I would share with them, my father, and many others. And, yes, He already knew that rain would POUR  down on Lookout Mountain and Chattanooga the day we buried her body. And He knew how the sun would shine again as we recount the wonderful memories and legacy that she gave us.

Did I mention it is hard to write about the death of a loved one? I guess He knew that already too, which is why He reminds us in His Word, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints" (Psalm 116:15).

The Shoes We Use

Sorry it has taken us so long to post another update here; for pretty much the entire month of March, we had someone (for several weeks either Mom or Dad) sick in the house, so we've been kind of in survival mode for a while. However, we're back on the mend now, so we wanted to post another glimpse into joys and trials of life on the mission field here in Cameroon...

Shoes Are A Hassle!! But they are important, as the armor of God describes. Generally the MKs around here (along with adult kids at heart) kick off their shoes at the first chance possible. Charis and Channah made the staff of the elementary school in MD laugh during our last furlough, because they were not two steps out the door before they bent over to get rid of those nasty inhibiting shoes!

One pair of our "gently used" shoes

Over here in Cameroon, we use shoes to death as you can see. We glue 'em, stitch 'em, and use 'em some more. And, of course, we also pass them down to the next smallest child if there is any life left in them when the current owner outgrows them. When coming back from the States, we try to bring along as many as possible for kids to grow into or anyone to use when their current pair disintegrates because it can be rather challenging to shop for them in the markets; the price is often high and the quality is always a mystery until you get them home and wear them for a while; sometimes they last for years, sometimes they fall apart in a week! One reason for this is the common practice over here of remaking shoes so they look like they're new. These remade shoes look like a brand new pair and won't cost as much as a new pair of Adidas, but they often don't last more than a few weeks (or sometimes even only for one hard soccer match!).

A pair of the kids' cleats

However, a few months ago I was pleased to become acquainted with a particular shoe seller in one of the markets downtown. He provided sport shoes for both the twins and later assisted in getting a pair for Daniel. One of the things I really like about this man is that it appears that his shoes are not remakes but more along the lines of gently used, like a good find you'd get at a second hand store. Therefore, they may last longer. I hope so!

Some of the dress shoes Kaiah has tried for dances

One more funny thing about shoes here. Periodically throughout the year, the high school holds semi-formal dances for the kids, but the girls often like to get as dressed up as they can.This includes finding the perfect pair of shoes to go with their dress. If one girl doesn't have the perfect match, she searches in her friends' closets, often trying on many different pairs, examining them with the dress of choice, asking opinions of said friends, finally deciding on the perfect match.....only to kick them off when it comes time for the first dance!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year?  In February? Yes, in February. This cultural phenomenon here in Cameroon has always amused us greatly; the practice of greeting friends, acquaintances and even strangers with 'Happy New Year' well into the middle of the second month of the year.

This is what the gentleman handed us

Last Sunday, we received a gift with this greeting. Shortly after our return to Yaounde last year, we discovered that a new restaurant in the center of town has great pizza, served with a delicious sour dough bread appetizer and a salad. So, of course we've gone there a few times :-). Well, after church this week, we decided to try their ice cream and while getting our order, one of the workers came over with a French pastry dessert, handed it to us and said, "Happy New Year". We repeated the greeting and expressed our thanks. Apparently, he had noticed that we were with Wycliffe (or SIL, as Wycliffe is known here), though why he thought we needed a pastry, we may never know.

I remember going into the city many years ago to get my shopping done and entering a store I'd been in occasionally. The clerk greeted me so enthusiastically with "Happy New Year" that you might have thought I was a long lost cousin come home. And, yes, it WAS February.

Our pastry gift. The nibbles in the top came from Caleb -
it looked so good he had to help himself in the car on our way home!

We don't get that greeting too often any more, certainly not like we used to. I guess the city has become too metropolitan. But it sure was refreshing and sweet this past Sunday to hear it again. And the pastry was delicious!