Weekly Update 12jan08

Bonne Annèe

 

We certainly were ready for a break from school. Conie came on the 24^th with all her luggage and on time. A sure sign that her time here would be well spent.

 

We spent Christmas day at Newland with the Morton family. Two of their sons are at RFIS and we have gotten to know them all well. Marta is from Portugal and Ken from Missouri I think. They are a lot of fun and we ate and played cards until after dark. Another couple from Newland was there as well.

 

The ladies went off in search of the elusive incredible African print material bargain the following day while I worked on some things at home. Conie's luggage consisted mostly of stuff for us it seems so she had plenty of room to fill for the return trip. We left for Kribi and the warm sandy beach on the 27^th.

 

After a 30 kilometer drive south of Kribi on a road that seemed to enjoy gobbling up loose mufflers and wreaking havoc on front-end alignments we turned into a small "road" leading down towards to beach. We rented a small bungalow a stone's throw from the surf and brought our own gas cooktop and grub. We were on a stretch of beach not far from the E.G. border where a bunch of missionary families rent small campsites from the same guy who owns the place we were staying. We spent our days swimming, snorkeling and playing beach football and ended up playing cards with Ekstrands and others after dark. We had one electric light that was mostly working until 10pm but had to gather our own water from a small reservoir they had set up. It was very nice and cheap. We were there when the tides peaked at about 4am so the waves for surfing were not too good. The snorkeling was really good though. There was an outcrop of rocks about 100 meters out and we saw all kinds of tropical looking fish. There were some rainbow fish about 14 inches and some other neon looking small ones and even some eels. I got out fishing with Dan Grove and his son. We had gone out the first day but the boat was leaking so bad we had to head in after just an hour. We fixed it up the next day and then on the 30^th we went out early. We had some bites but then Caleb tied into a nice little barracuda. It was about 24 inches and feisty. Dan then hooked a monster Jack Crevalle. It took about 20 minutes to get it in but finally I got a net on it. The net broke it was so heavy but we got it in. It ended up being about 30 lbs. We went back down to the south for a few miles and it was pretty rough water. Just as we turned back to the north I hooked a big Carp Rouge. 29 incher and about 12 lbs. I have caught carp before but this one fought real hard. A few minutes later Dan pulled in another barracuda about 30 inches long. We headed back in to show off our fish and Dan's wife was a little disappointed I was the one who caught the red carp because she wanted that one for dinner. Since we were leaving and had no way to freeze it for the 4 hour ride home we gave it to her. I guess it was pretty good judging by all the people camping who told us upon their return to the city.

 

New Year's Eve is a really bad to travel anywhere so we planned to go to the Nwest on NY Day. Our bus was a little late departing but not too bad. Betsy taught Oliver and Alfred how to play "War" with cards and they spent most of the trip dong that. To our surprise, we found a bush taxi in Bamenda willing to take us all the way to Binka. We left Bamenda at about 5pm and arrived Binka about 1am. Not too bad. After 15 hours on dry dusty roads in crammed buses and bad music blaring in our ears drowning out the sound of babies crying, Binka was a welcome sight. We were to stay with Oliver's mother who lived about a mile on the other side of town. We hoofed it up the hill and through the fields in the dark (no electricity) and got to meet everybody. We hit the rack about 2am and it was very quiet and cool. There was a little breeze and you could see a bazillion stars.

 

It seems that everybody there is related or connected somehow and very friendly. We met Pastor Lawrence and arranged a get-together for the following morning to present the 50 bibles and other gifts. Expecting a small gathering and a 5 minute greeting, we were surprised to see the whole women's group along with the men's group singing worship songs in Limbum awaiting our arrival. We had about an hour long ceremony and after just about everybody finished thanking us in turn, we had a group picture outside. Most of the people there know some English but services are in Limbum so the Pastor translated for us. Only about 1 in 10 people there have their own bible and there are over 400 in regular attendance. The Pastor suggested that we ask to have the bibles remain at the church so everybody could use them. Some people wanted one for themselves but Pastor Lawrence was very diplomatic and it turned out alright.

 

We packed up on the 4th and got a ride to Nkambe just in time to not make the only bus leaving for Bamenda. After 2 hours in search of an alternative ride, Oliver talked a guy into taking us as far as Banso. They usually pack 4 in the back and 3 plus the driver in the front for these trips but we left with only 7 total in our Toyota Corolla. After an hour and a half as a sardine, Oliver moved to the back giving Alfred and I a little more room on the front seat. In Banso we spent 4 hours trying to get a bush taxi that would take us to Bamenda for less than a small fortune. Meanwhile, Conie went off in search of an impromptu bathroom. She came back and I noticed something different about her. She was soaking wet from head to toe. Apparently while making her way to her chosen privy, she fell into the creek. Ecology having not been invented yet here in Africa, we suggested she change and wash up as soon as she could. We had some water left so she and Oliver went off to find a place she could change.

 

Now, being the only 3 white people in this hot dusty parking lot of a "bus station", we found it nearly impossible to not attract attention. Attention is not so good when you have hundreds of roaming people eyeing your bags wondering what valuable things you may have. It certainly does not help to have one of us dripping wet, covered with grass and leaves and the rest of us laughing hysterically. After what seemed like an eternity we finally got loaded up and on the road.

 

The SIL center is on the north end of Bamenda and we had rooms and hot showers waiting. About 10pm we got dropped off there and in a jif we were in the quaint little guest house. Alfred taxied down to the bus station to get tickets for the morning bus to Yaounde and Betsy and I started on dinner. The only things we had left were a big can of ravioli, some Ramen noodles and 2 cans of tuna. I had my doubts but the "hotdish" wasn't all that bad. Oliver asked if this dish was American and what we called it. Betsy was very forth coming but Conie's and my laughter was too loud for me to hear what she told him. After dinner our hot shower dreams were quickly dashed when we found out the water was turned off. Another cold bucket shower.

 

The bus pulled into Yaoundé around 5pm and we were glad to be home. We brought Conie to the service we attend at the Hilton Hotel downtown on Sunday morning to meet some of the people we work with and some kids. All in all I think she had a very good time. It was hard to see her go. It was very special for us to have somebody come and see where we work and what we do here. To Conie…. We thank you very much.

 

School started up again last Wednesday and things are going well so far. We had the annual Run-a-thon last night. The RFIS Running Club hosts this event to raise money to pay for their trip up Mt. Cameroon. It is about 450 meters around the school loop which is a little up and down and all gravel. They are required to complete at least 23 laps (10K) without walking to go on the trip. They get paid by the lap and 3 or 4 of them did 50 laps. That is just short of 14 miles. Our favorite former neighbor from the Nwest did 35 laps and kept pace with the fastest boys the whole way. She amazes me with her athletic talent.

 

We only have 5 months left here and it seems to have gone by so fast. It will be hard to leave behind all the kids we have gotten to know and spend time with. There are so many good kids here. We ask of you to pray for our continued financial support and health. We are still short of our budget goal by a little bit and ask that you pray for continued partnership with those who have already given so much and those who are willing to help support us. We thank you all.

 

I will send along some pictures as soon as we finish sorting them out.

 

Take Care and God Bless.

 

Brian & Betsy