Triumphs, Trials and Thanks!

 Greetings All! We hope you all have had a great Thanksgiving weekend and that God continues to bless you as you live for Him. Here's a quick update on various activities of the last few weeks. We hope you will be encouraged and enjoy this blog post!

We have had the opportunity to visit and revisit a couple of congregations this month. We visited the brethren in Bomaka, as well as in Bonaberi, which is in the city of Douala (around 3 Million people). I was blessed to have the opportunity to share the Word. 

The roads in Bonaberi left a little to be desired. 

The trip to Bonaberi was one of the last for our green machine, the Toyota Prado. It's been a great car for the last 2 and 1/2 years, and we were sad to say goodbye, but it was becoming quite expensive to keep running and maintained. Please keep us in prayers as we look for a new(er) replacement vehicle that we can find something that will serve us well at the right price.

The gym ministry continues to go well. We even started a Facebook Page for it! You can check it out by searching for Faith Builders Gym! 

Our house church services continue to move along. We are now doing a survey of the entire Bible, trying to do 1-3 books each week, to improve basic Bible knowledge and help people be able to put things in context of the rest of the Bible. 

Brittney and Elizabeth, two super workers in our school. Brittney runs the upper learning center (with my help) and Elizabeth helps as a monitor for the school. 

School continues to go very well. We finished up our 1st Quarter on Wednesday and the kids enjoyed being able to have a merit sale. If you ever want to send stuff for this (small school supplies, dollar store toys, etc... ) the kids really enjoyed this, and it helps them stay motivated. 

November has not been without its challenges. We have dealt with some health issues, as almost everyone in the family came down sick. Carys was the most affected, with both Malaria and Typhoid, but seems to be improving. Hannah and I also had a number of painful boils. We are grateful for your continued prayers and encouragement. 

After everyone being sick, and pushing hard to finish up the 1st quarter of school, we were so very grateful to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with good friends, the Schilinskis, and to have a few days off of school to rest and recoup. As we strive to thank God in times of sickness and challenges, we are also so grateful for times of abundance, times of fun and family. 

Thank you all so very much for all you do for our family, for the work in Cameroon, and for the family of God worldwide. We really could not do what we do without your backup, your support, your encouragement, your financial aid, and most of all, your prayers. Thank you so much! We love you all and think and pray for you. God bless you all! 

An Eventful October

Greetings All! We hope this update finds you well in the Lord. Our last blog post, we shared about our first two weeks of school. A lot has happened since then. Right after we shared that post, things started to really heat up here in Cameroon. The discontent and civil disobedience that has been boiling under the surface for the past year now, boiled over in a very violent way. Protesters here in Buea and all over the Anglophone part of Cameroon decided to march and demand their independence from the rest of Cameroon. It culminated in terrible violence and many deaths on the 1st of October, as the government brutally cracked down on those who marched. You can read more about what happened here: https://www.ft.com/content/b656d706-a847-11e7-ab55-27219df83c97 and elsewhere on the internet. It was frightening times indeed, as we heard much automatic gunfire from our house, helicopters flying overhead, and intermittently received messages about ongoing violence.

As many had anticipated violence leading up October 1st, we hosted a number of people who's homes were in areas prone to violence. Our neighborhood remained peaceful even as other neighborhoods were rocked with violence. We thank God for keeping us safe and continue to pray for Cameroon. Things have for the most part calmed down, at least for now, but we pray that God will let there be an actual solution and resolution to the crises that has gripped Cameroon for over a year now. 

In the face of all this tension and uncertainty, we received visitors! Rhys and Sharon, Brittney's parents, came from Missouri for a visit of 4 weeks. We were also especially excited, as they brought our Hannah Ruth back with them as well. 

Dad had an opportunity to lecture at a nearby Bible school. 

There was much for our visitors to do. They shared in our home assembly. 

As well as teaching at Mile 16 on Sundays. 

They visited and shared with many who came by to speak with them. 

And we also enjoyed some wonderful family times together. We are so grateful for their visit and for the time they could spend with us. It was a very encouraging and helpful time. 

Once things calmed down, we were able to resume school. Things have been very busy, as we have more students and less teachers this year. We are grateful for the strength God provides. It is truly wonderful to have an opportunity to help these kids grow and develop in body, soul and spirit. Maybe next year, YOU or someone you know could come volunteer??? 

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Our gym also continues to go well. Until next time, stay strong in the Lord and the power of His might! God bless!