Well folks, this could be one of the last blogs from Cameroon for 7 months…
Time, as we knew it would, has absolutely flown by. We find ourselves amazed, baffled and at times overwhelmed at wrapping things up in the next 5 days. We are trusting God with every step and are even asking Him to multiply the minutes.
We are trying to get the rest of our running around done tomorrow so we won’t have to take the car in town again. Here in Cameroon, if we are involved in an accident, even if we are not to blame, because of our skin color, they could cause us some great troubles. We don’t want to have any additional challenges before leaving. A friend of mine just left on Saturday for a year’s furlough with her family. She said that once she got on the plane and sat down she would finally be able to take a deep breath and begin the “letting go” of Cameroon for awhile. Then she added, that because of the recent tragedy of the Kenya airlines flight, it might be best to wait 15 minutes after take-off before we take that deep breath. (finding humor and light heartedness in the midst of stress…thanks MEK)
Please pray for these next few days for us…we don’t need any stitches or broken bones, malaria, amoebas, or car accidents to deal with before Thursday. We are passing the baton to Donatus and Hedrine on Wednesday and Thursday and we hope to answer all their questions before then. Just checking in at the Nsimalen airport (with 5 people, 3 trunks and 3 suitcases) can be a whole other adventure that we are just so not wanting to experience. I know however that there will be issues and may God please give me GRACE to deal with these in a way that will honor Him.
The kids, as is normal, have mixed feelings about our departure. They are very excited to see grandparents, cousins, friends and family (along with the Batman store, Chik-fil-A, snow and Target). They are sad to leave Smokey (our dog), their friends here, plantains, ‘real’ papayas and grilled fish. I would really ask you to pray for the kids in this transition…they can’t yet grasp that the world everywhere outside of Cameroon has not been put on hold since January of 2005. My mother’s heart so does not want them to be hurt to learn that other friends have ‘moved on’ to new friends. I’m sure this is part of the journey of the life we are called to, but it doesn’t make it smoother. We do know though that He who calls is faithful to provide…and so we are trusting that even in this seemingly insignificant thing, He will provide all that we need to parent these 3 gems as best we can. When we moved here, Sam was 4 years and just 4 months old…he is now 6 years and 7 months…almost ½ of his life already has been spent in Cameroon…he will surely be the most African of us all.
This was evidenced yesterday when we got in the car after some dear, dear friends’ wedding. We were all dressed up in our fancy clothes and the boys even had to wear shoes and socks! As soon as he was halfway in the car the shoes and socks were stripped and he sat in his Sunday’s best and barefeet…I love it!!! I can probably count on two hands the number of times in a year that the boys wear shoes with socks…our feet with have their own transitioning to do, I suspect.
I said this would likely be the last blog from Cameroon, but I sense already that won’t be true…I will probably post at least once more to keep you posted. Please pray and thank you in advance…we love you so.