Why I think I'm camping...

(Well, I should be writing a newsletter but blogs are so much more fun!)

Why, After 25 Years, I Still Feel Like I’m Camping Over Here

It is not likely that you have ever been on a camping trip or a vacation excursion that seemed like it never ended. Probably more like the opposite – one that you WANT to last forever. Well, maybe you should consider mission work in a tropical country because that is what our life feels like sometimes. Let me explain.

1)      Well, it is warm. I never camped in cold weather. 

RFIS after a rain storm

2)      The scents and smells: The smell of where you grow up is… home. When you go on vacation you smell different things; plants, foods, even the air smells different. Yes, sometimes you have the smell of a port- a-john wafting through the air. The smells here are unique to this place: the grass, the rain, the flowers, the palm oil in food, the compost, and, yes, port- a-john smells in the streets. There is nothing like a hyacinth here and nothing in the world compares to the scent of this flower

                                or a Queen of the Forest tree in the evening. And the air is often laced with the smell of campfire smoke.

3)      What about odd habits people display when camping? Brushing your teeth outside; showering or bathing in a building outside of the house or tent; walking back inside with a towel wrapped somewhere visible, either around the waist or  draped on an arm, head; cooking your food outside. We see all of these things (and more) pretty much every day.

Pretty sure I have a pic of Emelda cooking corn at this fire pit but can't find it now!!

4)      Sounds: Can you hear the crowd laughing five campsites away? Can you hear a child being disciplined? Or the radio a little too loud? The shouts of an impromptu soccer match in the nearby field?

5)      Tasting and sharing: have you invited your camping neighbors over to share your fire and have a hot dog? I can stop at my neighbor’s and taste her meal almost any day. And that music I often hear from a distance – that is because people are sharing. They are happy with their radio and want to bless you. (Nope, I don’t often appreciate the blessing since I grew up in a quiet world.) The taste of a fresh mango! Nothing like it where I come from. Peaches are close, but, no.

Channah picking the mangoes pictured

      What about those interesting tastes you only got when you went on vacation or when visiting someone a distance away, what were they? Some for me were: a certain store’s ice cream, Aunt Betty Ann’s macaroni and cheese, salt water taffy. Well here, even the “normal” things taste different. Did you know that peanuts taste different, even from different regions within Cameroon? Garlic, onions, tomatoes, celery, chicken; they are all different here. Not to mention the rest of the exotic tropical fruits God put here.                   

  

Pineapple growing in my yard, spicy peppers above it

If you are interested, ask me about Josiah’s first trip to the U.S. and bananas.

6)      Sights: I sure didn’t grow up with Palm trees visible outside my window but here, they’re everywhere.

This one makes me think of Florida and a college evangelism trip.

These useful beauties are visible right outside my kitchen window.

 And now, whenever I see an evergreen here, no matter how often, especially the ones that look like white pine, I cannot help but think back to Wildrose Court. I also did not grow up with grasses four feet high all around me, though I did see that on our trips to the beach. I only ever knew poinsettias that were inside plants bought at Christmas time and though they are not very common, the beautiful plant does grow seven feet high in some yards here.  Ok, so maybe I never saw poinsettias growing wild around my campsites in the U.S. but there sure were unique plants I enjoyed in those locations. And now, even after so long here, the plants around me still seem so exotic. 

 And how many of you saw uniquely colored or shaped houses en route to your family vacation spots? The interestingly painted houses here certainly make me recall those drives.                                          

artwork on the entrance to a hair salon

businesses along the road

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I really wanted a picture of a house around here that has three shades of green (not complimentary) on it. Or another one from my old neighborhood that is... well, more shades of bright green. But I don't have those photos so here are two others.  

 When they began finishing the houses and businesses in the new developments along the road leading east out of Yaoundé, I swear there was nothing but pink (Pepto Bismol pink) available at the paint store.

7)      More sounds: outdoor sounds- constantly!  Crickets, wind, rain, other people’s barking dogs, certain bird sounds that always make me think of the beach, and oh, that season when the frogs are loud and annoying outside my window! More birds. (When I catch that lovely bird outside Channah's window that likes to come visit the guava tree I'll add it, in the meantime, enjoy some pictures below of birds in another region of Cameroon that our friend Bob has taken.)

So, there you have it. I have spent the last 25 years camping.

Bob's photos

Make Your Broom

I’ve never made a broom. Have you? 

I’ve been here in and out of Yaounde for more than 25 years, and I’ve never seen anyone make the effective brooms they use.  I see bundles of them carried on seller’s heads. I’ve seen them used to kill a mouse and plenty a cockroach. I’ve watched them be used quite skillfully to sweep out every particle of dust and I have used them not nearly so effectively to clean my own home.

I do love the efficiency and effectiveness of this tool. It is easy to beat furniture with and get into corners as well as crevices to clean them or retrieve lost items. But, I’ve never watched the process to make one until now. Follow the directions.

                Cut branches from a palm tree such as these.        

 

Remove the “leaves” to trim to create the broom. 

Pictured here is what is left of the branch after the wanted pieces have been removed.

Remove the soft, green part. 

                                                Remove the harder part right next to the “spine.” This requires careful scraping with a knife as seen in the next picture. Those are Emelda's hands doing all the work. The following photo is what's left from the scraping and the spines ready to gather.

Gather the spines. 

Use one of them to make a ring and insert the spines together in the ring. 

Well, it is a lot easier to say than do! So, why did Emelda choose to cut the branches in the first place when one can easily buy one from the market? (Some people make their living creating and selling these fantastic tools.) Simply because she loves the fresh smell of the palm when we sweep with a new broom! I do too.

Our finished product next to an older one

When God Whispers

When God whispers and idea….listen!

I’m happy to say I did that last time and the result was amazing! We ended up  blessing more than 30 women coming from a variety of nationalities. I say, “we,” because it certainly took a team. I had 7 translators, a few language checkers, a media guy, (He probably had no idea what he agreed to either! But I’m sure glad he did.) 1 tech gal, a decorations team, 1 gal to purchase chocolate – very important job in the end! -  1 lady bringing supplies, 1 musician, 1 volunteer beautician, several center managers and janitors for room preparation and meal preparation, and a host of prayers!

But, I have gotten ahead of myself.

The idea: Back in March, I shared in a personal retreat day with other missionary women using an online retreat presented by Velvet Ashes. Anybody could register for this retreat but it is specially designed with missionary women in mind. Sometime in that day the idea occurred to me that this could work for the larger group of women in the mission community here in Cameroon. At the time I had NO IDEA what an undertaking I was about to begin.

Since we live and work in a bilingual community the first thing I had to do was find translators. God provided, of course, but then he just kept bringing people to me, some of them before I even knew I needed them. I’ll just tell you about our star beautician because there are photos of us showing the result of her work. Fun!

Included in the retreat package is a video of a DIY beauty enhancement. Well, I certainly wasn’t going to lead that! (not having time or experience) But God knew that Helene was the right gal for the job! He put her in my path 3 X in the day when I was deciding what to do about this part of the retreat. So, I asked her. Helene is already pretty but some of that beauty is brought out because she covers her face with lemon juice grey clay, and some other interesting things on a regular basis! She explained to us what this variety of God-given items (honey, tomatoes, milk, avocado…) could do for our complexion and then we gave it a try. Yes, I put grey clay on my face! It was a great way to end the day.

I must tell you about one more person God brought to me. Since she’d already done this retreat, Abby, our worship leader, came to me to offer her skills leading music. This was fantastic so we didn’t have to use an impersonal CD. It was a blessing to her as well because she enjoys leading worship for just women. She says that there is just something special about it. It is just one more example of how God moved to bring this retreat together.

 Yes, most of the photos are from our facial experience. After all, that was the most entertaining part to photograph!

And I sure couldn’t have done it without my tech gal, Jodi. Anybody who knows me knows that I am NOT the tech person! Thank you, Jodi, for your willingness to give time and energy.

I hope you and I will remember to listen when God whispers.

A time of relaxing in the afternoon

A visit to the Ngomba New Testament dedication via photos

When one cannot attend an event in person.... 




























We rely on the photographs of others.

   

These were all taken by our colleague, Joe Rider.