Joyful January!

There are lots of exciting things to be thankful for this January, God has been so good to us! I'll let the pictures do some talking:

(These are not in order)

I FINALLY have my Cameroonian license! Back in May of last year I took and passed my written and driven test. Although several of those who took the test the same day got there license just a couple of months later I had to wait almost 9 months!!! After many calls and trips to the office I have collected my license (without ever paying a bribe!) and now can legally drive here. YAY!!!

On January 21st our princess turned 8! The years sure don't slow down and we pray that one of the ways we can "redeem the time" is to "train up a child in the way of the Lord so that even when they are old they will not depart."

She had a small party during school, an after school party, an evening bonfire, AND

her annual birthday date with daddy. Building precious memories was our goal. <3

Hannah wanted me to do some French hairstyles since she will be going to France with daddy next month to do training for the "Let's Start Talking" program, Please pray that the program will go well and for there to be some daddy/daughter bonding time.

We already had a few rats here and there as we live in a dense vegetation area with lots of lava rocks where they can live and hide, but after coming back from Ghana our house and compound were infested with them! It's been a bit frustrating since I had to clean up rat poop out of the school room and store room each day and it terrified me because I didn't want any of the kids getting sick from the many diseases rats bring. Thankfully many of them are dying each day due to the poison Jeremiah put around. Pray that they can die out in our area to prevent sickness and  further damage to the house. 

On a more encouraging note, Jeremiah picked up on preaching in the village as soon as we got back from Ghana. We have decided to concentrate on a little Church of Christ congregation at Mile 16 for 3 weeks out of the month and then visit a different village congregation each 4th week.

This little cutie continues to be a handful but is oh SO much fun! 

Jonathan scared us with a 104 F fever, hallucinations and nightmares due to malaria. But after taking him to the doctor and getting an injection to bring the fever down (oral meds were not working) and taking malaria medicine for 3 days and lots of prayers from the Saints he is almost back to his normal playful self.

We are extremely excited that our coworkers Brian and Jael are finally here after 3 years of praying and preparing. They will fly back to the USA in April, have a baby in July (YAY!!!), and come back in September- Lord willing. They have already been such a joy and big help to us!

Trying some of the local food, Kwacoco Bible made with grated casava, palm oil, a little bit of meat, spices and salt wrapped in banana leaves and boiled. They didn't care for it too much but they have liked other local foods such as rice & beans and hotpot (much like beef stew).

Jael does story time for the kids which they love!

The kids have so much fun with their P.E. coach, Brian!

They are both helping with advanced sounds/special tutoring with 2 of our students. They also have helped with music and art.

Jael did a great job leading a devotion for the ladies gym ministry. Brian has done the verse of the day devotion with the men in the gym as well. We feel very blessed to have them here with us!

Jael has joined me and has contributed to a Bible study with sister Kate. Brian and Jael have experienced going to an outside market to buy food with the Cameroonian currency and so on. It's fun seeing them get to know the people and learning to pick up on their accent. Tomorrow already makes 2 weeks for them in Cameroon. They are doing great! Keep praying for them as they are in a new culture and land with different food, language/accent, and that as a team we can shine on Buea and all of Cameroon for Christ!

Here's their blog if you want to read their first post from Cameroon:  http://harrisinexile.blogspot.com/

New Year News

Hey All!

After a wonderful visit in Ghana, encouraging and being encouraged, we are back here in Cameroon. It has been a little busy since getting back, like stepping on an already-running treadmill is a little jerky at first, but we are finding our stride and with the help of God, getting things done. We wanted to take a minute and share some New Years News with you! Enjoy!

Our trip to Ghana was tremendous, and it was so good to spend time with some of the saints.

Brian and Jael are on their way! We are so excited to have them here for 3 months, helping out with the work, and discovering life in Cameroon. Please especially pray for Jael's pregnancy. She will be here for her 2nd trimester, and this is a big step of faith to come. Pray they will also have wisdom during this survey trip to see how they can be involved and to make the transition to a new culture and ministry environment.

You can read more on Brian and Jael's blog at http://harrisinexile.blogspot.com/ 

Speaking of trips, we have decided to postpone our trip to the United States until 2016 for a few reasons:

1- Primarily, we just don't want to drop everything and leave. We initially started planning a trip to the US this coming summer thinking that Brian and Jael Harris, our coworkers who have already begun their journey here, would stay for the summer while we were away. After they bought their tickets, they found out that Jael was pregnant (praise God!) with their first, and given our experiences, we advised them to plan to go back to the US for the birth. That means that if we left this summer, many things would just not be done. The timing is just not good without the Harrises here. When they come back in September and stay for the long haul, they would be here next summer when we would be able to come and see all of you!

2- Cost is also a factor, as the trip runs around $8000 for our family. Making the interval between trips 3 years instead of 2 helps us save for tickets.

3- I had intended to do my ACE Training in the United States this summer, to be certified as a school administrator. It would have made our trip very hectic. I have decided to do this training in South Africa rather. I can complete everything for about the cost of one adult plane ticket to the States. I will be making this trip some time in May or August. By doing this this year (which I need to anyways for our school) our next trip in 2016 to the United States can be a little less hectic, giving us a little more time to spend with all of you.

4- So, we have decided to our postpone this trip. We are sad that it will mean another year until we see many of you again, but we are excited to be able to keep working for the Lord and not lose momentum, as we keep trying to build up the saints here in Cameroon.

One final trip to mention:
Next month Hannah and I will be making a trip to Paris, where I will undergo training for the Let's Start Talking program. If you are unfamiliar with this program, it is a method of evangelistic outreach that uses a Conversational English and Literacy program as a vehicle for discussing the word of God. It is a program that we are really excited about here in Cameroon, as there are many Francophone Cameroonians who would like to improve their English, and so we see a potentially large field of ministry. It also dovetails nicely into our school/educational ministry program here, and is something in which short-term volunteers can also get involved. Their website is www.lst.org. We have booked out tickets and will be leaving on the 23rd of February. I decided to take Hannah with me as we will have a chance for some meaningful daddy-daughter time, and of all our ministry "investments" our kids are our most precious.

Well, that pretty much wraps up this update. Thanks for reading and HAPPY NEW YEAR!