The Houses We've Lived In

So, Charis, our curious little girl, asked one day, “Why do so many people in Cameroon live in unfinished houses?” Think about that while I tell you briefly about the houses we’ve lived in during the past six months or so. 

The Candy Cane House

We started in the Mission House at Liberty Church, affectionately named the Candy Cane House many years ago by Bradley and Josiah, because the first time we moved in (back in 1993), it had just been remodeled as a missions house; before that, it was used as a preschool classroom and still had a big candy cane painted on the outside wall right next to the front door. We first lived there back when there were only five of us in the family (though technically, we were only four when we first moved in, as Daniel was born while we were living there). It is a pleasant, welcoming house, a great blessing to us and many others, but a permanent home for none.

Our apartment at CTC

Next came Apartment 111, situated on the grounds of the Cameroonian Training Center (CTC). A safe place for kids and adults passing through Yaoundé for a brief period of time. For us, it was the landing place in January when we returned to Cameroon, our first new “home” here while we searched for a more permanent home for this season of our life in Cameroon. We stayed there for three months, feeling secure but enduring a lot of ambient noise since the Center also functions as a conference center and gathering place for many others.

The Hamrick House

The Hamrick House temporarily became our home in late March because we had to leave CTC to make room for another family coming in from the village. Quite a palace, this one. Multi-level, with four bedrooms, six bathrooms and way more space than we need (at least inside; there is practically no yard in the compound at all), it is a relatively safe place to stay, but for many reasons, not to our liking as a permanent place to live.

our new home (still under construction)

Home! Well, soon we hope to call this house our home. Situated about a four minute walk from the entrance to RFIS (where Kevin teaches and three of the children attend school), we love the quiet, peaceful setting and the price is affordable. We’ve had to add an additional bedroom to accommodate our numbers, but we are really pleased with God’s provision of this place. We hope to move in later this month, before school starts up again. Please pray that all the construction will be finished in time for us to do that!

All of this house hopping has really brought into focus for us, once again, that we Christians are not at home here – no matter how comfortable our house may seem, we are still living in enemy territory and won’t be home until the Lord calls us there at the end of this life.

Charis’ question… unfinished houses. The practical answer is easy. It’s warm here and so you don’t need nearly as much protection from the elements as you would in a less equatorial climate. Also, in this culture a common method of protecting the money that people have saved up is to “invest” it in a building project, even though they don’t have enough to finish the house. So they start building and finish what they can, leaving unfinished houses everywhere. Then, often a relative or family friend will occupy the unfinished home to protect it for the owner.

The people here aren’t nearly as attached to their houses as they are to the people in their lives or to the God they serve. We Westerners could learn from their attitude; this was a good reminder for us that it doesn’t matter how fancy or lavish or large a house is; it is the Lord of the house and the hearts of those that live there that make it into a home.

Mail Call

This mess is a blessing.

It may look like just a mess to you, but trust me, it isn't. Okay, well maybe it is a mess, but it is a very encouraging mess.

Let me explain.

As many of you probably already know, our second son, Josiah, recently graduated from Marine Corps Boot Camp in Parris Island, SC (if you want more details about that, check out our most recent letter on the newsletter page). While he was there, he was forbidden to use any form of "modern" communication. No email, no Facebook, no internet (he wasn't allowed to even have his laptop with him); no telephone calls and certainly no personal cell phones. His only means of contact with the world beyond Parris Island was through snail mail letters and postcards.

We, of course, wrote to him often; among the eight of us here in Maryland, I'm sure we averaged at least one letter per day, at least for the first few weeks. Josiah's girlfriend, Catherine, also wrote to him fairly regularly (I'm not even going to venture a guess as to how often!), as did his grandparents on both sides. So those letters make up a sizable percentage of the letters he received during boot camp.

However, we also shared his situation with everyone we could think of, asking for two things. First and foremost, we asked people to pray for him. Second, we asked people to write to him and encourage him during his time down there.

And this mess is the result. These are all the letters that Josiah received while he was on Parris Island, so many of them from our friends, people in the church and others, many who only barely know us as a family (and some who have never even met Josiah). These letters are a testimony to the love and support that the Lord raised up around us and around Josiah to help encourage him through the difficult trial of boot camp. This mess is a tangible representation of what it means to be a part of the Body of Christ, always loved, always cared for, always provided for.

Josiah with Lori and Kevin right after Boot Camp Graduation

We want to thank all of you who helped contribute to this blessed mess. We are so thankful for your love and support for our family and for Josiah as he went through boot camp, and we praise God for all of you!

The Games We Play

Creativity and imagination are wonderful gifts.

The girls playing Wipeout

I was invited into the twins' room this morning to witness them playing Wipeout. Some of you may be familiar with the game Wipeout from television; the show features a series of huge obstacle courses which contestants must navigate through, seeking to win $50,000 in the final round, the Wipeout Zone. Failure in these courses usually involves a short (or sometimes rather long) fall into the water below the course, and these falls are called Wipeouts!

The twins have greatly enjoyed watching this program, and today they decided to build their own Wipeout course. So, on the floor of their room, they put together a mini-Wipeout course using leggos and plastic toy dogs as contestants. They would roll the dice to move forward through the course, and roll against each other to see if they successfully passed an obstacle or if they got a wipeout

Caleb beating Daddy at Football

I'm pretty sure they got the idea for this from Caleb, who, the day before, had put together his own version of football using various G.I. Joes as players. The rules of his game are far too complicated to outline here, but it also involves moving the men around the "field" based on the roll of the dice, which determines if blocks are successful, whether passes are caught or intercepted and if the extra-point attempt is blocked (among many other things; I'm simplifying greatly). He played his mother in this game last night, and she managed to beat him 14 - 7; apparently she is a better football player than I am because in my match with him this morning, he managed to squeeze past me to win 7 - 6 (my extra point attempt was blocked). Hopefully later today we can have a rematch and I will fare better!

It was fun for us to see these bursts of creativity, to watch the children finding joy in the moment even in the midst of the busy, hectic and stressful season that our family is living in right now. That was a good reminder to me that we ought to always seek contentment, no matter what our circumstances, because He is working all things together for our good and His glory.

So take a moment right now to relax and find the joy that God has built into this moment. And if you think of it, pray for my kicker; he's got a history of being blocked and we've got a big game coming up!

Bible Translation: The Video!

A friend and colleague from England posted the following video on his facebook page; it was published by Wycliffe UK on September 10, 2013, and it gives many different statistics about the state of Bible translation throughout the world today and about Wycliffe's role in providing Scripture for the Bibleless people of the world. It also shares some testimonies from people whose lives and walk with Christ have been greatly impacted by having the Word of God in their own language.

The video is about 3 and a half minutes long, and I hope you'll take the time to watch it. I was inspired and encouraged by this reminder of what God is doing around the world through the work that we are a part of, and I hope it will encourage you as well.

In case the video above doesn't work, click here for the direct link to it on YouTube.

And, in case you are like me and have trouble following all the statistics that they throw at you, here are some of them:

Number of known languages spoken around the world: 6877
Number with a complete copy of the Bible: 518
Number with only a complete New Testament: 1275
Number with only smaller portions of Scripture: 1005

Clearly, there is a lot more work to be done, before all the people of the world have access to God's Word in the language of their heart! Please continue to pray for the Bibleless peoples of the world.

And, if you'd like to pray more specifically for the Bibleless, check out Wycliffe's Bibleless Peoples Prayer Project!

The Goals of the Misaje

Recently, Bert Visser, the General Director of our branch in Cameroon, visited the Inter-Church Committee in the Misaje area. Just to give you a little background, Misaje (pronounced "miss-a-jay") is a cluster of six related languages located in the North West Province of Cameroon; the Inter-Church Committee represents leaders from several different church groups (and denominations) within the Misaje cluster, and this Committee is critical in making decisions and guiding the course of the various translation projects that are in progress or that need to be started within the Misaje cluster.

Bert spent some time talking with the committee, and in particular, he asked them what they would like to see in fifteen years time, particularly in relation to Bible translation. Their answers are, I think, very significant. Some of their responses were that:

* People [of the Misaje cluster] would be able to understand the Bible in their mother tongue, and that their lifestyle will be changed.

* People would really experience the presence of God, like they did, for example, when a pastor was recently reading from a portion of the translated Scripture in the mother tongue; during this reading, the entire church was silent, focused intently on what was being read.

* People would see God as being closer to them (rather than impossibly distant, as is taught in many Animistic traditions) and that they would live by the Word.

* The church among the Misaje peoples would become the Church of the Word, as they receive the Word in their own language and are thus better able to understand what it has to say to them.

* The Church would grow physically, as evangelistic efforts (such as the Jesus Film) become more effective by incorporating mother tongue Scriptures.

* People would be able to be Christ centered, and be able to put God first in their lives.

Dave and Cindy Lux in front of their Misaje home

Hearing these goals and desires articulated by these people who are still waiting to hear God's Word in their own language helps to remind me of the importance of the work that we do with Wycliffe. These church leaders desire to have God's Word fill the lives of the people they serve, and the only way they see that happening is for the people to hear God's Word in their own languages.

Please join us in praying for the people of the Misaje cluster who are still waiting to hear God speak to them in the languages of their hearts. And also, please pray for our friends, Dave and Cindy Lux, who have recently begun working in the Misaje cluster as consultants; pray that they would be fruitful in their work and that God would soon make the desires of the Misaje Inter-Church Committee a reality.

A Taste from Home

We all have tastes and sights and smells that bring up precious memories, don't we? For example, I love the scent of the boxwood plant. The other day, I smelled one and it immediately evoked a sense of happiness and contentment as I recalled the long-gone summer days I spent playing with my brother in Mrs. Cox's pool.

For my kids, apparently the taste that "takes them back" is Coca-cola. Now, I can't say that I love the taste of Coke but some of my kids certainly do. They are particular, though; they don't love just any Coke. They are partial to the particular flavor of the Coke that we can buy in Cameroon (in case you didn't know, the makers of Coca-cola use a slightly different formula for different countries, tailoring the taste of their cola to the particular tastes of the target culture).

It is always a challenge to take kids to the grocery store (no matter what continent you are on!), because they are always so good at spotting the "bargains" in the store that you miss; they also tend to be very vocal in their attempts to persuade you to buy the "bargains" that they've found. Usually, I can manage to say "no" to their suggestions, but this time, it was different.

Our "Taste of Home"

Because this time, Caleb pointed out a particular treasure that he had found: Coke in glass bottles. "Mom," he exclaimed excitedly, "it's like the kind from home!" I was skeptical, but had to see for myself. Sure enough, there they were, Coke bottles that looked just like the ones we often buy in Cameroon. And at the top of the display was this enticing advertisement: "A Taste from Home: Coke from Mexico."

With an ad like that, how could I refuse? So I bought some, primarily to discover if they tasted anything like our Coke from Cameroon. And sure enough, everyone agreed: they tasted like home. And as a result, for a while I had happy, peaceful children reminiscing about Cameroon. That lasted until something else, a stress or concern or annoyance from the world around them, distracted them from their peace.

In all of this, I was reminded of how we need to keep our hearts, minds and bodies focused on our eternal home, rather than on the world that currently surrounds us. Only when we focus our attention on our Heavenly home are we able to truly enjoy this present, physical world as God intended us to. Even more than that, it is only as we turn our eyes on Him and the promise of His Kingdom that we can find true, lasting peace.

Berry Blessings

     Seeing my friend, DeAnna's web page with short, interesting stories about everyday, average activities has inspired me to renew my efforts at blog posts. We had started a series about the various Cameroonian New Testament translations that we have been privileged to support during the years of our ministry, but, after the first post, it became difficult to get all of the details we needed to continue that series. I do hope that Kevin will soon be able to acquire the necessary information so that we can continue the stories of those translations, but in the meantime, my stories will have to do.

     I love how God provides for some of the "little things" in our life. I love picking fruits (and eating them!), and there are several farms here in Maryland that allow people to come and pick their own fruit. However, just when the Maryland fruits were getting ripe for picking at these local farms, we became too busy to get out and pick them! Most of the activities centered around getting Josiah ready, both physically and emotionally, to ship out to Marine Corps Basic Training.

Don't they look yummy!

     But in the midst of all that busy and very emotional preparation, the berries right here in our own backyard were beginning to ripen too. We discovered that there are a LOT of berry bushes, of various different types, scattered about the woods on the edges of the enormous property where we are living at Liberty Church, PCA, and all of them were there, waiting to be picked! So I have thoroughly enjoyed escaping the confines of the house, feeling the summer heat, getting pricked here and there, and getting a bit of exercise too. I suppose we all enjoyed eating the berries as well!

Caleb being silly while "helping" pick berries.

     Thanks, God, for Your "little" blessings! Keep us ever mindful of them, that we would always know how blessed we truly are, no matter what our circumstances might be.