WU 18 Mar

Hey Hey

 

Many times when things happen 4 days early it can be a little frustrating and can really throw a wrench into your plans. You count on things sticking to the schedule. I am a schedule guy. I can be spontaneous as long as I have a plan. I pride myself on being punctual and it bothers me when things don't happen when they are supposed to. Usually its not a big deal if something is a half hour late or something like that but 4 days early? As busy as we have been lately it very well could have been disastrous to see this happen 4 days early but in this case it was not. In fact, it was not met with disdain but joyous celebration and dancing in the streets. For the first time since November we got an official, no-kidding, send-the kids-in, stop-the-game, blast of a rain shower. There are few smells in the world that can compare to the few minutes of cool breeze that fill your nose with such sweet delight. Those tantalizing moments seem to linger on forever as you lean back and listen to the roar of the rain hitting the tin roofs in the distance getting closer and closer like a far-off train at night. Suddenly, it hits your roof and instantly becomes the highlight of your day. I know that may seem overdramatic to most of you. Rain usually means fixing tractors or watching a movie. To me today it was as welcome as a second slice of my Mom's pumpkin pie. I have lived in the desert and been through dry spells before but not like this. Waking up to the smell of burning trash every morning kind of sours a guy, you know? Our guards at our house said back in January that it would be March 15 when the rains came again. We were skeptical in thinking that anyone could predict rain 2 months out. Most TV weather guys get it wrong on the news the same day. The thought of 2 more months of dust clouds and searing heat seemed too much. The gray sky had been threatening rain for a few days but these guys stuck to their guns. I suppose being 4 days off in predicting rain is pretty good considering the seasons change here faster than Superman in a phone booth. We have had 4 really good rains since last Sunday and it makes a huge difference. We did get a sprinkle a few weeks ago but barely enough to wet the driveway. It greened up the lawn some. But I guess when your lawn is brown it wouldn't take much. We have another batch of mangos coming. Apparently the fruit trees here just keep going all year round. I am working on parts for a potato gun but I have yet to find good PVC. I have plenty of ammo hanging from the trees in my yard though.

I had the chance to spend some time with Rob Peterson from the US who is a pilot for SIL, the translation organization that runs things here. He has been in town for a few weeks and helps out coaching the volleyball teams a little. He was telling me about his latest adventure. A few months ago, the WWF (not the wrestling thing, World Wildlife Foundation) called and hired him and another pilot to do a spotting survey over Waza Park in the Far North. They take side jobs like this to keep costs down for SIL members getting back and forth to the villages. Betsy and I had the opportunity to go to Waza over Christmas break with the Smiths. It was fabulous from the ground so I bet it was even better from the air. What they did was fly a grid pattern over the whole park looking for elephants. The last time the elephants were counted was around 1997 and they estimated there to be about 1400 within the park. There have been so many problems with poaching up there that huge fines and jail time are handed out for anybody with elephant parts. In fact, any American trying to get any bones, teeth or tusks back into the country pays huge fines and possibly jail time. They were worried that the numbers were decreasing fast so they hired these guys to take a look. They found less than 250 left in the park. There is an old dirt airstrip in the park they used and went spotting at dawn and dusk to catch them at the water holes. Most of the time they herd together and stay around the water so he said it is tough to count the same ones twice. They have a few collared and were able to track them easily as well. It turns out that one collared elephant was shot in the afternoon while they were there. The blip stopped and they flew over and found the animal dead with tire tracks peeling away. I guess when you are dirt poor, don't care about anything and you see a big bag of money in an elephant suit standing there that will pay your bills for a year its hard not to pull the trigger. It's a shame. It's a good thing that giraffes aren't worth anything because they are so thick in there we practically had to drive around them. He did tell me about one day we spotted 2 animals running along with the plane on the ground and suddenly leaped into the air and landed in a tree. They were 2 full grown male lions and were apparently seeking shelter. We were told that there are a few lions in the park and we saw fresh tracks when we were there but no lions.

I have attached Rob's email he sent to me and his website if you want to take a look at his work. He is a lot of fun and he thinks I'm cool because he can talk about pilot stuff and flying and I can follow along. (most of the time) I would love to get a ride with him but he usually goes somewhere for at least a few days at a time and I can't miss school. I could get some really good pictures though.

There it is. Hope you are all well and warming up. Take care and God Bless.

Brian & Betsy

 

Here's Robs website

 

www.petersonfamily.info/robert/gallery2

 

Robert Peterson
Wycliffe - Partners in Bible Translation
Serving Bibleless Peoples through Aviation

 

 

Rob's Email

 

February 22, 2007

 

Dear friends and family,

 

Greetings from Waza in the extreme northern tip of Cameroon!  I'm flying for a national park survey this week. This is a special survey project in connection with the WWF (World Wildlife Foundation) of Waza National Park. Due to ongoing poaching activity, surveyors are particularly interested in an accurate elephant count. Although the vast majority of our flying is in direct support of missionaries in the bush, this survey provides subsidy to missionaries so they can afford to use the airplane. It also provides an important service to the local community and government.

 

Since the runway at Waza has been closed for several years, I flew from Yaoundé to Garoua (about half-way to Waza) on Monday afternoon.  Monday night and Tuesday morning I traveled by land to Waza to complete a ground survey of the runway before the second pilot came with the airplane. Although the majority of the runway was in great shape, this is the first time I've ever needed to evaluate an area damaged by a herd of elephants that crossed it several months ago! It's dry season and this region is semi-arid so it is extremely dry and rather warm (100˚ in the shade). We completed our first survey flight this morning. Although we didn't see the elephants we were looking for, I did see two lions that jumped into a tree! Once I return from Waza, I will work on uploading pictures to my website.

 

Life has been quite busy since arriving the end of January. When I arrived, the aviation group was focused on fielding the helicopter that has recently arrived here in Cameroon.  Initially I worked on completing an inspection on the airplane so that they could focus on the helicopter. The helicopter left Yaoundé for its home base in Banso on Feb. 7, and I did my first checkout flight in Cameroon on Feb. 9.

 

I'll share a bit more about my day-to-day living situation in a future update. For now, here are several praises:

1.         Continued good transition to life in Cameroon.

2.         Helicopter program is started and has completed several operational flights.

3.         My toolbox is here and back together (It's great to be using my own tools again).

4.         Good opportunity to visit a number of airstrips in the far north of Cameroon during this Waza survey.

 

Thank you so much for your prayers. Please join me in praying for:

1.         Safety during the Waza survey & ongoing flight checkout in Cameroon.

2.         Health & strength - I did have an upset stomach this weekend after attending a Cameroonian event.

3.         Wisdom as I consider other local involvements.

 

Thanks so much for your continued prayers, notes of encouragement and faithful support.

 

May the Lord bless you!

 

In Him, Robert