Hannah's Happy Birthday!

On Tuesday Hannah turned 7 years old! This blog post is in honor of her.

Hannah is such a little princess and she chose a homemade princess cake to make together, how fitting!

We had a party for her in the evening. Here they are playing hot potato... but with a stuffed animal.

Musical chairs is a dangerous but fun game! :-D

Canteen time!

Hannah is blessed to have friends from Cameroon, America, Germany, etc! Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world!

One of Hannah's Cameroonian Aunties gave the kids Cameroonian outfits.

Daddy took his princess out to eat on their annual birthday date. She is blessed to have such a good daddy. 

She's a cutie!

She likes carrying babies on her back, African style.

Hannah when she was a month old.

I think she was 2 months here. She looks a lot like Carys!

Our princess at 4 months old. 

She was such a happy baby and is now a happy 7 year old!

Here's a few fun facts about Hannah:
- Jeremiah and I were in India when we found out we were pregnant with her.
- She was born in Ghana, Africa. My water broke, contractions started, about an hr later she was born in a little clinic.
- The nurses thought she was breach b/c she was bald therefore they thought it was her tushy coming out. HA! Good thing Grandma Sherrie was there to tell them otherwise!
- Her middle name was given to her b/c her grandma Sharon's middle name is Ruth.
- At 3 1/2 yrs she could quote James Chapter 1, 2, & 3. There are people who heard to prove it! 
- A month before her 4th birthday she started to read.
- At 5 she ran a mile in 12 minutes without stopping. She's not naturally athletic but when she sets her mind to do something- watch out world!
- She is my strong willed child and wears me out e-v-e-r-y day. But I know as we keep training her up in the Lord she will use her strong will and be one awesome woman of God. She is already a big help in the ministry!
- She picks up on languages and accents very quickly and can make friends anywhere.
- She is the most talkative and persistent little girl I know.
- She has a big heart and is very compassionate. She will give you the clothes off her back if she thinks you need it...literally.
- She has taught me more than she will ever know and I love her with all my heart. Though she wears me out everyday I look forward to seeing her smiley face every morning.
- The world would not be the same without her! 

Celebrating 2014 with Prayers, Praise and a Pig!

2013 was quite a year for us- we had many exciting and encouraging things happen, including the arrival of Carys, a trip to the US of A, seeing many of you, and getting back to Cameroon and getting involved again in our ministry here. On January 4th, we had a get together at our house, to feast and fellowship, pray, praise and preach, and thank God for 2013 and look forward to a great 2014. We were blessed to have about 40 friends and fellow saints come for a great time together. 

The main course of the evening- a pig! We bought a pig and had it butchered. Pork is hard to find unless someone butchers a pig a particular day. It was actually the best meat I've had in Cameroon. Beef is extremely tough and too lean because it is never fattened up.

George and Abel were big helps getting things set up. We rented chairs and canopies to sit under. 

Jonathan with some of the drinks and food for the party. 

Hannah and Jonathan helped out a lot with the preparations. Brittney was also very busy cooking. Cooking together was also a nice time of fellowship.

Some of the spices and ingredients for the Pepper Soup.

Many hands make light work. We could not have had the program successfully without all the help we had from our friends and fellow saints here.

Another huge help was Nelson, in the middle. He is a medical student and a good friend who is always a big encouragement to me. Here, he and Abel are peeling plantain to accompany the pepper soup that we made for the pig.

We cooked outside over a fire as is traditional here in Cameroon. Sister Ruth and Sister Laurencia were big helps. 

A pot full of pork. 

I barbecued for the party- about a quarter of the pig and 2 large barracuda. It was quite delicious.

Serving up some good food. 

George looks on as we have a Bible quiz game. 

Everyone had fun during the Bible quiz game. 

Akoom, one of Hannah and Jonathan's friends, answered a question as well. I gave out cookies as prizes. 

Our landlady, a catholic, had a surprise appearance at the party. She enjoyed all that we did, and we had an opportunity to reach out to her. 

Carys was of course a hit with our landlady, and sister Esther Omam, who both spoke the same dialect. 

Sharing the Word. As people think of the new year, we should also be reminded that we walk in newness of life. We are part of a New Covenant, have been given a New Commandment (Love!) and have been made into New Creations. 

Nelson helped lead us in some songs.

Brother Tanjeck Paul sharing from Romans 14- what we do, do it from faith. 

Brother Omam encouraging us to make the most of the time we are given. After this, we had a time of singing and prayers to close the program and sent people home with stomachs full with a delicious feast, and hopefully, minds full with the Word of God and encouragements. We also have to say a big thanks to all of you whose financial support makes it possible for us to have such programs and thus provide encouragement, comfort and edification. 

New House 2014

Happy New Year! We hope that you had a great 2013 and pray that you have an even better 2014 as you continue to grow in the Lord!

We are so thankful God has blessed us with a house to rent that is in a safe neighborhood AND has a good water supply! We are excited about using the house for the Lord and hoping that having a good water supply will help cut down on sicknesses. 

This is our new house. It's actually over 50 years old but the older houses in Buea are built better and are able to withstand the earthquakes from the active volcano, Mt. Cameroon.

Porch area

Living room. Yes, we have a fireplace in our home in Africa! The further up the mountain you go the colder it gets.

Living room from a different angle. The door on the right goes to the kitchen.

Kitchen. We are still making some renovations on the house.

The door on the left is the door to a nice little storeroom.

Hallway. The storage room in the back has a water heater in it. If we can get it to work it will be the first time we've has hot water flowing to the bathrooms since we've been married. (Today is our 8th Anniversary!)

Bathroom

Kids room. There is a room just like this on the other side that we will use for the guestroom/Jeremiah's office.

Master bedroom. There is another room this size (but without a bathroom) that I would like to use for the school room.

Master bathroom

Hallway

View to the road from our porch. So excited about living on a paved road. It will be safer and less wear and tear on our vehicle.

Garage

Back yard. The guys have been doing LOTS of work removing the volcanic stones to help make the yard a little less snake friendly. Green mambas, black cobras, night adders and vipers are all common in our area. 

Side view on one side of the yard.

The yard is really big but we are fencing only part of it to cut down on costs. This is a picture of our boys quarters. It's not in good condition right now but one day we may fix it up and use it as a little guest house.

We hope to start moving in on Saturday!