Hostetter's Summer Update!

Hey All!

It has been quite a summer! There have been challenges and victories, tears and laughter, and many things happening both in the US of A and back home in Cameroon. We wanted to (finally) take some time and update you all about some of the things we've been up to the last few months!

We had a chance to get more A.C.E. Training for our school. Brittney did the Supervisor's training down in Springfield and I did the Administrator's training out in Tennessee. It was a great opportunity and really helped refresh our knowledge on running an ACE School. We pray God gives us many opportunities to be involved in shaping kids' character and leading them in the ways of the Lord. 

 We also have had the opportunity to travel as a family to visit some dear friends and family and to share with brethren in Oklahoma, Illinois, Virginia, and North Carolina.

We really cherish the time with our family. Being in Cameroon means we so rarely get the chance to be with them. We had a great time with the Thomas' family in Virginia. 

We also had a wonderful time being present for my grandparents 60th anniversary. Here they are with their great-grandkids! A great example of love and devotion.  

Brittney's Grandpa Lacy was a hit with our kids, and it was so good to have an impromptu lunch with our good friends the Reijgers as we traveled! 

We even got to enjoy a few days at the beach with some of the kids cousins! 

We really enjoyed visiting Brian and Jael Harris and family as well in Illinois! We sure miss doing ministry with them. 

As we traveled, we also had many opportunities to share about the situation back home in Cameroon and the things God has helped us to do there. It is encouraging to see the concern and encouragement that people offer us. We are blessed with so many who love us and care about the work in Cameroon! 

An example of the great generosity of the brethren in America. Our school's back up water supply (very important as we often have no flowing water for weeks at a time), was in a dire state. The wooden tower had collapsed ruining the piping and tank. We mentioned this need on Facebook and within minutes, had been promised the funds to get a metal tower and replacement tank set up!!! 

Another great project that we were able to help with back in Cameroon... hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the violence in Cameroon. Many brethren in the churches there have been hard hit, even loosing their homes. We were able to partner with a donor organization here in the United States and with a non-profit organization run by a sister in Christ in Cameroon to offer relief to almost 100 families! It was a huge blessing to them, not only the physical relief and help, but also to know that they matter to people outside of the country and that brethren in the United States care about them and are praying for them. 

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After finishing out the school year,  an excellent awards ceremony, and summer school to end the school year last year, school in Cameroon resumed this week! We have some new teachers, many new students and new challenges. There are a number of needs, one of the biggest of which is a school bus, but we know God can supply in the proper time. We also desperately ask for prayers for peace in Cameroon and for the safety of our dear teachers and students. Things are still very very dangerous there. 

Our initial plan had been to go back to Cameroon this past month and be there for the resumption of the school year. Unfortunately, due to the violence and insecurity in Cameroon, we have been unable to return at this time. Things in Cameroon continue to deteriorate. Our plan for now is to remain in the United States for some time as we hope for a resolution to the crisis. Jeremiah will be doing some schooling to help with the running of our school (a Masters in Education) while working at a gym and also keeping things going in Cameroon with our school, gym and home Bible studies. If you would like to know more details about our plans, what we are doing and why, please drop us a line and we'd love to talk! God bless you all! 

Stateside 2018

Hi all! We thought we would give you a little update on how we have been doing stateside since arriving at the end of February.

Jeremiah has gone to several doctors appointments concerning his on going health issues. In additions to the h pylori, typhoid, eroded esophagus he was previously diagnosed with they found that he also had c diff. After taking a few rounds of  strong antibiotics the nausea, dry heaving, etc stopped for about a month. He is better than what he was but is still scheduling appointments for further treatment. 

When we arrived in the states several people gave household items and a vehicle so we had everything we needed to settle down in the states for 6 months. Praise God for His provision through His people!

There was an unusual amount of snow when we came and we believe it was because the children were praying for it. :) It was the first time Jonathan and Carys saw snow. They all had a lot of fun playing in it.

Shortly after arriving we were able to meet up with our old co workers in Cameroon, Brian and Jael Harris, for their daughter Zeal's birthday. It was encouraging seeing them and how the Lord is working in their lives.

Hannah has been enjoying helping out a young mother in the Church with her twins. She absolutely loves it!

It's been nice getting my cup filled and overflowing with different Bible studies.

Jeremiah always enjoys cooking for others and is a great host! Come on out and we'll feed you! 

He has also been busy studying for a test to become a NSCA Certified Personal Trainer. This will help him be more effective in the gym ministry in Cameroon if we are able to go back.

Carys loves having her daddy as her soccer coach. 

Having the kids in soccer has been a good tool for learning how to be team players and develop other character traits. They have learned to win & lose gracefully and have had fun improving their soccer skills. 

We have had much joy spending time with other Christian families such as the Osebreh's next door and the Reijgers who traveled from North Carolina.

And also the Keikkala's who flew from Oregon and brought much encouragement. We are blessed to have such loved ones to encourage and motivate us.

Meanwhile back home in Cameroon the ministry moves forward. Home assemblies are held at our house. Abel is doing a great job leading these. 

The school is able to run most days in spite of continued troubles in Cameroon.

It's comforting knowing the kids are in good hands.

Please keep Jeremiah's health in prayers, that he can continue to improve and be well. Also please pray for their to be peace in Cameroon. Things seem to be getting more and more volatile. Many homes have been destroyed, people are being killed, an losing so much. We hope to be able to help with some projects to alleviate the suffering, even while we are here, but pray for a lasting solution to the crisis.

Finally, thank you all so much! We are overwhelmed with the love and support that has been shown to us and words cannot fully express our gratitude toward you, but we thank you and pray God continues to bless you. 

December to February Update

Hey All! It is hard to believe that it has been 3 months since we last updated our blog! Things have been quite hectic these last few months and there is a lot we want to share with you all. For one thing, this blog post is coming to you from the US of A! (More on that in the next post, which will hopefully come out next week.) But let's take a moment and review some of the stuff that happened since the last time we posted in December.

We were so happy to see our staff member, good friend and faithful disciple, Elizabeth, graduate from the University of Buea. I was honored to be asked to speak at the reception in her home. We thank God for some of the wonderful people with whom He has brought us into contact. 

Thanks for those who helped send money for our school kids' Christmas gifts. I think you could say they enjoyed them! 

We had another competition with our gym guys as the year drew to an end. The turnout was great and the guys really enjoyed it. Michael was our winner for the 3rd time in a row, squatting over 500 pounds and deadlifting 550. William, in the blue beside me is one of the faithful saints in Cameroon, and is a tremendous encouragement to me. 

We were greatly blessed to have my parents out for Christmas and the New Year. The kids really enjoyed having grandma and grandpa around and we appreciated them coming in spite of the tense situation in Cameroon. 

We had a fun barbecue/cookout for a large group of missionary kids from Rainforest International School who had come to climb Mount Cameroon in January. We really enjoy hosting people and encouraging through hospitality. 

Brittney, Alima, and Hannah had a chance to travel to the West province of Cameroon to take part in a women's retreat in January. 

Brittney got to teach and as always did a great job. Many were greatly encouraged by her presence there and also by Hannah, who was there for her 11th Birthday! 

We received messages that schools were being threatened in early February. People were rushing to take their kids home, as we were told rebels were in the area. We brought the school kids down to our house, closed up school and had parents come and bring a change of clothes so the students could return safely home. Thankfully the threats never materialized and school could resume that week. 

In February, we had a great opportunity for some of our staff to get trained in the ACE system that we use for our school.Elizabeth, Rosette, Lucy, Sophia and Mary all did a great job at the program.

Monday-Friday, our staff worked hard from 8 AM to 5 PM in an intensive Supervisor Training Program. It was such a blessing that this opportunity was available. 

Our staff got to experience the life of their students, raising their flags, working on PACEs, taking tests, using a goal card, scoring and more.  

A gentleman from Nigeria came and did an excellent job conducting the training. We are so grateful that God helped work this out, and for those of you who helped sponsor the training. 

We also had a wonderful chance in February at the end of the 2nd quarter, to take the school kids to the zoo, and it happened on Jonathan's birthday too! We hired a bus and went town to Limbe. 

The kids (and staff also) were fascinated by the animals at the zoo. God surely made some amazing creatures both great and small. 

I may be biased but I think we have some of the cutest school kids around. 

The Limbe Wildlife Center takes in animals that are illegally kept as pets and tries to rehabilitate them. Cameroon's wildlife is actually quite endangered as illegal hunting means we hardly ever see a wild animal. In fact, aside from birds, a few squirrels, lizards and snakes, I don't think I have seen any other wild animals in Cameroon in the past 6 years. 

After the zoo, we went down to the beach at Limbe and had a yummy meal of roasted fish. It was pretty delicious. Many of our students had never left Buea, and few had been to Limbe, which is only about 20 miles from Buea. 

We thank God for the chance to spend some fun time with our kids and enjoy the wonders of God's creation. So much happened in the last 3 months, we are humbled and grateful to our God who makes all these things possible. We also thank you all who help sponsor our students and school. You are making a difference!