Dream Fulfilled -- My Second Trip to Cameroon

Winding things up in Cameroon

2011-03-29T00:25:00.001-07:00

My heart is overflowing with the events of the last two days.
On Sunday I preached at Ruth's church, the Evangelical Reformed Church. Sam had preached in January. For awhile it looked like I was not going to have my chance because of the multi-week celebration of the ordination of the young pastor who has been an intern here for several years. But then this last Sunday opened up. Providentially, the Gospel lesson according to the lectionary was the Samaritan Woman at the Well. When it was thought that I might preach in February I had thought I would use this lesson and here it was the appointed reading for the day worldwide!

The women's group of which Ruth is a part -- and which I have enjoyed so much here -- was thrilled. They prepared two very special songs. One, "Toi le femme" (You the woman), is the song of the synod-wide women's group. It affirms the place of women before God and offers praise of God. In one verse it says that once we were slaves but then . . . and now we are in the pulpit. They sang this as I climbed the steps into the high pulpit that towers over everybody. In the chorus when "Toi the femme" is sung three times, they all point at another woman, so I pointed at women in the congregation, here, there, and far in the back. It was great fun.

I'll post my sermon shortly. It was translated by a lovely woman who had been educated in England. I started out by summarizing my experiences here including the celebration of International Women's Day. I said I hoped for the day when we didn't need a special day to affirm women because they would be free to become all God meant them to be, and thus would be affirmed every day. But alas, that day has not come. I summarized the exploitation of women here and around the world which led me into the discussion of the Woman at the Well, a woman who probably had few options open to her and had had to get by somehow. Most to the point, I talked about how open she was to Jesus and to facing her sin -- a suitable theme for Lent, I might add. And then this woman became the first evangelist.

The sermon was very well received. I received positive feedback as I greeted people at the back of the church and at the luncheon following. But the most amazing feedback came last night, Monday night, at women's group. Ruth hosted the group here at her house and the attendance was grand. First they had their usual Bible study. Two of the women prepare the study each week. These women's preparation was impressive and the discussion was lively.

Then one of the women arose to speak to me on behalf of the group. Of course it was in French, but I got the sense of it. I wish I had it on my video camera so I could listen again! Basically she said it was no small thing for me to have stayed with my friend for three months and to do all I have done. She said I should remember that when I return I should remember that I'm not visiting just one friend, but many friends. Most touching of all, she said that I had not mounted the stairs of the pulpit all alone but that in doing so I had elevated all women.

I was very touched. Praise God. What a day! Perhaps even some of the women will visit us in Arizona.

The day after tomorrow I will get on the plane to fly home. Needless to say I am very excited about re-joining Sam there, about seeing all the pets and the home remodeling that has been going on there, and the parish. But I will shed tears. Ruth and I treasure our friendship even more than we ever have -- if that is possible -- and praise God for the magnificent gift that it is to each of us and, we pray, to others.

It's Ash Wednesday

2011-03-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

A blessed Lent to all.

At dinner a few days ago Ruth asked, “Where are you from?” This was information that I thought she well knew. I said, “Well, mostly Idaho. Most of my growing up years were there, and ten years of Sam and the boys and my life.” Raphael said, “That’s what all Americans say. You ask them where they are FROM and they tell you where they have LIVED.” Ruth said, “My kids have never lived in Mangamba (Raphael’s home village) but if you ask them where they are from, they will say, ‘Mangamba.’ If you ask where I am from, I will say, 'Vanga.'" It’s the Congolese village that Ruth’s parents – who were both orphaned – were from.

I said, “Well, what am I to say? Three of my four grandparents were from England, with at least two ancestors on the Mayflower in 1620. The fourth grandparent’s parents came from Germany, but I don’t know where.”

I added that having been raised in the West of the U.S, I’m even more removed from somewhere to really be FROM. My father’s parents came from Vermont to Montana in 1903. My mother’s parents came to Oregon from Ohio before that, and to there from Connecticut before that.

In my experience we Caucasian Westerners are also far removed from our ethnicities. When Sam and I lived in Scranton, PA it was far more important whether you were Irish, Welsh, Italian, Polish, or Russian. As a “Smith” I always felt pretty vanilla.

Both Ruth and Raphael reflected how different Americans’ way of looking at their origins is – how different the meaning of the word FROM really is. Again, I was reminded of the Navajo. They are much more deeply rooted to a piece of land which is the place they come from – and the place they return to for major family events and ceremonies.

ORDINATION

I went to an ordination on Sunday. Since our arrival in January the church has been preparing for the ordination of its young pastoral interne. Raphael, as a church elder, helped plan the events. There was even a special theme fabric for the event, so I had a kaba (a traditional dress) made. There were eleven people (10 men and one woman) being ordained at the close of the annual synod meeting of the church. It was held at the larger Evangelical church where I went for New Year’s Eve two years ago. When Ruth, Raphael and I arrived in the crowded church yard, we were singled out and escorted past all the outdoor tents and chairs into the side door of the church and seated at the very front, in the row right behind the ordinands’ wives – and the one husband. (Though retired, Raphael is still a recognized important person.) As usual, the service started a good 45 minutes to an hour late. There were lots of choirs in the balcony behind us, including drumming and traditional “hooting.” Some high officials arrived late, including the vice prime minister of the country. Everyone cheered as a group of small children escorted the ordinands to the front. The sermon was preached by a German official of the church in English and then translated into French. Ruth and Raphael were again disappointed in the translation. The translator’s refusal to translate the part about corruption in Cameroon stood out like a sore thumb! It was nice, for once, to be able to understand the sermon. He spoke of the importance of clergy as servants of Christ and of the people.

When it came time for the ordination we couldn’t actually see it because 400 black robed pastors gathered around the ordinands. (Among the 400 there were only about a dozen women pastors.) The most touching part came after they knelt and had hands laid upon them. Our church’s young ordinand, very tall and slender, openly wept. He has been working towards this since he was three. All of them had completed at least three years of seminary following college.

Following the ordination, the service dragged on and on. They were actually closing the synod meeting so there were lots of closing speeches and thanks. It had become very hot. Churches are not air-conditioned and electric fans can only do so much. We came home and cooled off and then left for the second phase of the celebration – an event at our young ordinand’s sponsoring church. The Titis thought it was a feast but it turned out being another long church service, mostly spoken in Douala. I loved when the small children danced into the church in traditional Douala style. One high point for the ordinand was when he climbed the long steps up into the pulpit. As you see in U.S. colonial Protestant churches, the pulpits are “high and lifted up.” Raphael says that only ordained people are allowed to preach from up there, so it was a big moment and everyone cheered. When the service was over we just came home. Though there would have been some food served then, none of us were in the mood for another mad food line.

Festivities will continue for the duration of the month. Next week I think the ordinand will be preaching at our church and the week after that there will be a big party. We do not yet know to what church he will be assigned.

International Women's Day

2011-03-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

Wow! The International Women's Day parade here in Douala, Cameroon, was amazing. Fortunately, we got to sit in a covered place. For two and a half hours, groups of women paraded by, all dressed in dresses made of the pink or green theme fabric. Waves and waves of literally thousands of women. All the women employees of various companies, women scientific researchers, all the women police, the women in the garbage service, mosquito control women, women attorneys, members of various associations and political parties, and more and more and more. It was fascinating to see the thousands of different ways women rendered (or paid to have rendered) their fabirc. When I close my eyes I can still see the pink and green passing by. It was an amazing show of the number of women who work everyday here to make a living and to improve the society. (And I'm very proud of the pink dress I made for me, and the green one for Doris, Ruth's sister. I'll remember this day for a long time!) Humorously, one beautiful young woman who was carrying her group's banner wore a mini-mini skirt of the theme fabric with matching leggings that didn't quite reach as high as the skirt hem. Skimpy top. Spike heals. Blond wig. The crowd cheered, presumably at her unorthodox approach to the garb. Another interesting side event, as it were, was a gathering of albinos in the audience near us. Albinoism is quite common here. I don't know if this was a formal organization, informal, or even extended family. It was a great place for people watching and I had a great time. Ruth says that many women are now out in the bars and other parties, leaving their husbands to fend for themselves for the entire day (and most of the night). We're home safe and sound and comfy with Ruth's husband in their comfortabe, AIR-CONDITIONED home!

Another experience of culture!

2011-03-08T08:18:00.000-08:00

I've had some very interesting experiences in the last few days. The tasks of patient watching and waiting had to go into high gear.

Most interesting was a funeral in Aboland, where Raphael is from. It was a village farther into the bush than Mangamba. Ruth didn't actually know the person, but "The Wives and Daughters of Aboland" needed to be there because the deceased was a relative of one of them. It's important to the family to have lots of people at the funeral to say, "This was an important life." The funeral was in the yard of the home, which is the dominant place to have a funeral. It was a large home, though I didn't get to see inside. Ruth said one of the sons, who is a customs officer, built the compound for the whole family to come back to. There are several buildings. The most interesting was a separate, special room to receive the coffin. We didn't see that part of the service, but I understand the casket then went down, under this crypt sort of room for burial on site.

Anyway, we got there a bit late, of course. There were tents all around the house and hundreds and hundreds of people including many “notables,” traditional tribal chiefs and related persons. The service was conducted off of an elevated porch. It was very high and I couldn't actually see into it. Someone hustled around and found us some chairs in the shade of a carport sort of thing, a pass-through to the backyard. There were the speeches by family members that you expect at funerals most anywhere, tears, etc.. Mostly I fell into my stupor of not understanding anything since it was all in French or Abo. Then there was an offering. I guess it goes to the family to help pay the expenses of the shindig. Much to everyone's surprise and audible grumbling, the pastor said a second offering was being taken for the church's building plans. It was a sparse collection! Much to my dismay, in a prayer following the offering, the pastor asked God to make the people more generous next time an offering was taken!

I got a bit of video of the family processing to the backyard for the dinner. There was then a strange sort of solitary dancer passing by us, looking very traditional. I couldn't understand his role or purpose and neither could Ruth. By the way others received him, Ruth decided he was a deranged, uninvited visitor.

After the service we were contemplating leaving promptly (Ruth had said we would not stay long.) but then were asked to "come up higher" as it were. Ruth, always addressedas “Madame Titi,” her friend that had accompanied us and I were escorted to one of the covered banquet tables right next to the table of the notables. I was able to greet the Mayor of Souza to whom I had presented the microscope from Kearny two years ago. Beer was distributed and then, eventually, we were invited to the food line. Well, this is where my experience really gets dicey. As we moved forward in the line several people crowded in between Ruth and me. By this time it was getting more crowded, then chaotic. Come to find out, we had been led to the tail end of the serving tables, not the beginning. Other people were coming from the other end. So when the two groups came, there was chaos. Event coordinators tried to get my line to reorganize itself by going to the beginning of the serving tables. By this time Ruth and Elvire, six or seven people ahead of me, had gotten entirely through the line. People wouldn't cooperate with the organizers. The press of the crowd got tighter, and louder. So I stepped out of the line myself and went to the other end. But by this time, people at that end were crowding and cutting in, and reaching over each other, etc. Louder and louder. At first I said to myself, "OK, this is a cultural experience. I'll just join in this game, however it is played, and get some food." But with the press of the bodies, the heat, the loud voices, and my becoming increasingly self-conscious about being the only white person in the crowd, I said to myself, "I can't do this! I will not be a part of this food fight!" I took my plate with four tiny bits of food to the table. Ruth shared her meal with me. There was wine at the table and that helped!

A little later I saw another rude incident. A man who had been sitting at our table had left -- maybe to get in the food line, I don't know. Another gentleman came along and sat there. The first man left me with the impression that he was young and wanted to be treated importantly. The second man was much more interesting looking in some kind of a gentle way. Well, when the first man returned to the table he demanded for his place back. The second man very graciously left. Some time later, when other people at our table had cleared out, this second man came and joined us. Ruth introduced him -- a musician by avocation; educated in the U.S. I poured him a glass of wine and told him I had observed the incident -- and about my experience in the food line. He said, "Oh yes, part of our culture you have to experience." Raphael said that later, too. "Yes, the people do push and scramble for food."

I've reflected a lot on that experience. Where did this behavior come from? Were all these people deprived at some time, and therefore anxious about food? Is it just a quirk of culture? I don't know.

Reflections on Culture

2011-02-17T04:19:00.003-08:00

I have been reflecting a lot on culture these days. There are so many dimensions of culture, it's hard to unravel them. What is inherent in the culture here which is purely African? I have often wondered the same about the Navajo: what is a visible element of the culture that is basic, original, to this culture? Certainly the central importance of the family in both cultures. And what is inherent in the culture as a result of poverty, the sort of features that would not be there if poverty did not exist? Perhaps the expectation that you will receive payment for every little thing you do. (It's hard to conduct an informal market study in the village for our bakery because we would have to pay people to do it.) Volunteerism is not a common concept here. For a poor person here it takes your whole day, every bit of time, to conduct the daily affairs of your life.

What does amaze me is the way the Christian faith has planted in both Ruth and me a culture we share. Today at breakfast she told stories of the generosity and hospitality in her home growing up. Her father was a lay pastor at a Baptist mission in Congo. He and Ruth's mother were generous in their offering of food, water, and a place to sleep for people who came to the mission hospital and/or their family members. And they raised several children in addition to their own. In my own home, my parents were equally as hospitable and generous, though not as much was demanded of them. I can remember my father receiving transients who would plead for assistance. This is a layer of culture that transcends the other layers for the two of us. And of course, we share a culture as well-educated people. That's another layer.

I have also reflected on the "right" and "wrong" of culture. Generally, I believe that matters of culture are neither right or wrong. Just different. But sometimes you see things in a culture -- any culture -- that are just plain wrong wherever you see them. For example, so many cultures have an ethos of the possession and exploitation of women. That's wrong wherever you see it. That's clear. There are other features of culture that are much harder to discern the "rightness" or "wrongness" of. It's a slippery slope. One can slide right into a judgment that is not appropriate.

Lots to reflect upon here!

February -- Different focus

2011-02-15T04:56:00.001-08:00

February 13, 2011

I’ve been quite remiss at keeping my blog up. Less is happening. The pace is more relaxed. My focus has shifted from assisting the nursing students to assisting Ruth with her NGO. I’m reading and working on the business plan for the vocational center.

Last week we did get out to the villages to follow up on some of the people the Linfield nursing students had seen. One teen had suffered for several years from a scrotal hernia that had grown quite large. The students paid for his repair surgery, and he is overjoyed. So we checked in on him. He is doing well. He expressed concern for his little sister. She is 7, very small and sad. Apparently she had not been feeling well for sometime. She had a skin problem on her scalp and the inside of one of her elbows. But she also complained of itching all over her back. But there was no visible problem there. Ruth became quite concerned that she may be HIV positive, given the fact that her parents both died of AIDS (when she was 3), she seemed to be losing weight, and itching is a symptom. So the next day we took her to the hospital in Mbanga. They ran an HIV blood test on her and it was negative!!!! We were all so relieved. The doctor gave her some ointment the nursing students had left, and the girl was then a much happier child. You should have seen her eat bread later (very hungry!) and her smile was a major reward. We were not charged anything for this visit. Ruth wants to continue following both of them more closely since the care they receive seems pretty minimal (both in terms of food and clothing). I told the teen how lucky his sister is to have a big brother like him.

Then we saw the mother whose little 2 year old has cerebral palsy. The nursing student who had taught the mother some physical therapy exercises for the disabled toddler would be proud to see this mother’s follow through. The child no longer cried when her legs were fully extended or drawn up against her chest!

While we were still in that village, two teenage girls dropped by. They are orphans approaching the age when they will no longer be in the country’s orphan system. They asked about the students’ concern for their vocational training -- sewing apprentice and hairdresser. It would cost only about 60,000 CFA ($120) for each of them so I do hope the students decide to follow through.

February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine’s Day – and Arizona Statehood Day. (Arizona’s 99th birthday) There is a French nursing student here with us in Douala for one month. She is mainly working at Souza hospital, but we take her to a village when we go so she will see that aspect of village life. She's learning to cope with late taxis and traffic jams! I like her a lot and she’s having a great internship.

The number of meetings we are having about WEH and our future bakery project is accelerating. Good meetings. Like many of us, Ruth has a board with several members who have lost interest. We met with one of them. It was good. I basically communicated this message: Those of us who want to help here in Africa in some way are totally dependent on you and on WEH. We need people here, working on the front lines, to do the work. If you don’t care about the poor here, why should we? I hope she got the message. Then we met with another board member who is still passionate about the work and excited about the future. We’ll be having a board meeting in the next week or two.

I keep working on the business plan for the barkery. We are going to hold several focus groups in the villages to assess bread consumption habits, preferences, and costs.

Seth, my second son, and his wife Tomomi are expecting the birth of their son Noah in the next few weeks in Japan. Sam and I are sitting at the edge of our seats! Seth has permission to call Ruth’s phone any time of the night or day when Noah arrives.

I’m using my French a lot. Ruth is impressed by my ability to express myself, but my ear still refuses to comprehend what it's hearing. With the French nursing student here, and me the only Anglophone, they don’t translate for me quite as often. That’s probably good in the name of French immersion, but I really don’t understand much.

AN AMAZING SUNDAY

2011-01-30T09:34:00.000-08:00

OMG!! I’m not swearing. I don’t take the Lord’s name in vain. What I mean is: Oh my God, what a totally amazing day you have given me!

Church was the usual – love the music, but don’t understand most of the French. The electricity went off several times so it was quite hot. But after church Ruth and her sister and I were invited to join her women’s association bunch of friends at the house of one whose son got married yesterday. She wanted to share the leftovers and celebrate with her friends. It had been a small wedding, a legal thing, because the boy’s bride is taking a job up north teaching computer technology. They needed to be legally married to start this chapter of their lives. There will be a church wedding later.

I have been looking forward to going with Ruth to her women’s association meeting (which we will do tomorrow night). Today was a great introduction to the group. Here was a small living room/dining room area in a pleasant, modest home, packed with women – about 25 in all. For two hours they chattered and laughed and sang songs and danced and laughed some more. The songs were all in praise of God; one was a thanksgiving to God for being women of love and wisdom. That was really cool. It’s hard to convey the atmosphere. Imagine 25 women of all personalities, some quiet, some loud, some sassy, some hilarious. Imagine songs of praise that turn into dancing, a few women at a time in the small space. I couldn’t understand the chatter, but they included me non-verbally, including teaching me to whoop like they do. Oh my goodness, did we laugh and laugh. Oh yea, and we ate: fish sandwiches and chicken wings and peanuts and beer. A total scream. I drank every moment in, and they seemed to enjoy my presence, too, and my responses to being among them.

Finally, the son and his bride arrived, along with their wee son. Everyone banged on the hood of their car and sang some more and cheered and hollered. It was apparent that several have seen this boy grow up and were very happy for him. After one of them prayed for the couple I was asked to bless them. Wow, what an honor. I thanked God that we were created with the capacity of mutual love and support, and that they would honor and support one another all their days, and that they would raise their son to know God’s love and grace and power in his life.

I am still cheering in my heart for a magnificent afternoon. The bad news of the day is that I didn't have my camera with me!!

I’m also pleased that I now have email capability here in Ruth’s house, and I heard from Sam and both my boys. Sam got home safely and spent the night snugly at his cousin’s in Phoenix; Josh and Christy and Sarah talked with him on the phone; Seth has Ruth’s phone number and tells me Noah will call me when he arrives (that is, when he is born!) later in February. Seth also promised me up-to-date photos of both Tomomi and Noah.

Tomorrow I receive some African dresses I have had made, so I can wear one to the women’s association meeting tomorrow night. That will be fun.

God bless all of you, wherever you are, and whatever you have done on this Sabbath day.

Saturday, January 29

2011-01-29T02:48:00.000-08:00

Sam left Cameroon night before last. I don't know if he was detained on the East Coast due to weather. He should be sleeping safe and sound at his cousin's house in Phoenix, driving home on Saturday morning. I can't wait to hear of his safe return and the enthusiasm of the dogs, birds, and cat to see him. I also look forward to a full report of the house remodeling going on back in Arizona.

The Linfield nursing students wound up their work and left last night. They were really a fine bunch of girls and will make fantastic nurses.

This afternoon I will go with Ruth to the burial of a friend of theirs. Last night she and Raphael went to the wake. This will be a cultural experience for me -- and being a friend to my bereaved friend.

Monday, January 27, 2011

2011-01-24T09:03:00.000-08:00

Monday, January 17

It’s very difficult keeping this journal up, knowing I can’t post to my blog on a daily basis.

There are several things that happened this last week that I must write down. They were moments of precious power and significance.

At the close of one day of hard, hot work, Saunders, one of our translators, came to me and said, “Sam is a very kind man. I like him. And every time he looks at you there is love in his eyes. I can see it. I can tell that he loves you very much.” We chatted about marriage for a time. I said a long marriage is partly gift from God and partly hard work. He said he hoped to find a love like we have. He is a fine young man, a journalist for a radio station here in the city. His beat is health issues. He will do a story on WEH, and he says he will stay involved. I think he has been moved deeply by our work in the villages, and by all he has seen of village life. Sam and I both like him a lot.

Another story is of the nursing student, Natalie. Last week the team had seen a blind 2-year old with cerebral palsy. She doesn’t look that old because she is so small and slight of build. She cannot sit up on her own, or hold her head up. Natalie indicated that she had experience with cerebral palsy. She has a young niece with it, and takes care of a 19-year old with it. So she wanted to visit this child and her family personally. So later last week the family brought her to see Natalie. I was in the car by stroke of luck. So was Ruth, who served as translator. Natalie lovingly lay the child in the back of the SUV and patiently showed the parents some physical therapy they should do with the child. She showed them how to stretch each of her limbs three times a day to keep them from pulling up tight, and she told them how important it is that they sit her up and keep her back straight so she will be more comfortable as she grows. She learned from them that the child eats only mashed food, but does eat well. And she told them that she could see they love her very much. She said the child is lucky to have them for parents and that they can give her a comfortable life. Natalie herself exhibited so much love and compassion for the child, and for her parents and their circumstance. (The brain damage was a result of some medications given to the mother early in her pregnancy.) She assured them that it does not mean their next child will be like this. After it was all over, Natalie said to me, “You were there watching me, and the warmth and encouragement in your face helped me to do what I was doing.” Natalie is a fine nurse! The students had me pick up a blender and basin for bathing for the child to give to the family. Though the family had been hoping for a miracle from the nurses, or a major intervention – like taking the child to America for healing – I could see that they were grateful to Natalie for the time and care and attention she gave them and their baby.

Another most moving experience was church yesterday and the lunch that followed. Sam was the preacher. He had taken a whole day to prepare his sermon but he was not at all confident about it. He said it felt like there was too much reiteration of the Gospel reading in it, and that there was not enough additional substance. And he felt constrained by having to actually write down the sermon – which he rarely does – and by the knowledge that he would be pausing often for the pastor to read the translation in French. Ruth and Raphael translated the sermon and Raphael delivered to the pastor on Saturday night. Sam was very sermon going to bed on Saturday night, and on Sunday morning. But, of course, it went well. The people clearly enjoyed it, even applauding at the end! Sam included a song in the sermon, and all the people joined in.

Following the service, the pastor and three elders came to dinner at the Titis’. The conversation at the table was rich beyond compare. They all said the sermon was great, and that the congregation was obviously fully engaged. They liked Sam’s point that the Church is the people, not the building, and that we are all called, like the disciples, to minister in Christ’s name. In spite of the fact that the pastor made an error in translation, those who understand English said they liked Sam’s point that John the Baptist had been a messenger and that Jesus was, himself, the message.

Ruth asked Sam if he would change anything in his sermon were he preaching at home. He said he would not. Then Ruth confessed to the whole assemblage that when I had become an Episcopalian she had felt that I betrayed our Baptist heritage. In the last three years since we were reunited she has asked me many questions about that transition in my life and I have assured her that I did not have to renounce anything, that my life was richer for that change. So Ruth said she is now confident that I did not betray our heritage, and that she is learning that the differences among denominations are pretty minimal. They all agreed. I said to Ruth, “I forgive you,” and to the others, “we are all the Church of Jesus Christ.”

At the conclusion of the dinner, the pastor asked one of the elders, a lay woman named Berthe, to say a prayer. Though it was in French, Sam and I both felt that it was a profoundly powerful prayer and that we were all united around the table in and through it. At one time during the meal I said, “When people truly want to understand each other, they find a way.” Indeed, in spite of the language barrier, we had understood one another.

And the pastor confirmed that he wants me to preach at some time before I go. I wasn’t sure but that some sexism might prevent that from happening, so I’m very excited about the opportunity. Perhaps I will be able to read my own sermon in French.

Today the students are off for the first day of their last week of work. They are going all the way to Penja, a two hour drive. I stayed home to go to the dentist. I have had my jaw dislocate! But it has improved a great deal and Raphael and I decided I probably didn’t need to go the dentist. So I had a day to go to the Internet café and to work on some ideas for the bakery cooperative. So be it. And thanks be to God.

Sam leaves on Thursday night. I have so enjoyed having him with me this time, to see all I have seen. I will miss him as I enter a new chapter of stay here this weekend.

January 18, 2011

2011-01-18T10:02:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how hard it is to get anything done here. The last few days I've been running errands for Ruth and the Linfield Health Promotion Team. One assignment was to get mosquito nets. Together, the Friends of WEH and the Linfield Team purchased 500. They were ordered last week and we had to wait for them to be impregnated with insecticide. Last week one of the drivers took me there to put down our first payment. Then we discovered we had been told the wrong figure and had to go all the way home again (20 min in congested city traffic) to get the right amount. Yesterday we went to pick up the nets as instructed, by noon, and were told they wouldn't be ready until 2. We couldn't wait that long, so today we set out again. When we got there we found our four humongous sacks full of nets, but a man was in hot debate about them. He wanted to buy two from our lot, even though there were others available on the shelf. But ours were prepared for three years safety; those for only 6 months. Well, we finally got that worked out, but then had to laboriously count all 500 to be sure of an honest count. Whew! It was all quite an adventure, but we got them, and can begin delivering them to WEH's assigned children tomorrow. No matter where you look, things are being done lo-tech and slowly. In a construction project near Ruth's house, they are hoisting mixed cement up three stories on a manual pully with a bucket on the end of a rope. Even in the city, low tech is everywhere -- but it is employing lots of people that way -- but of course at very low wages. Getting used to how work is accomplished is confusing. I asked Ruth if it was that confusing when she came to the U.S. in 1965. She said it was more so. A small town African 20-year old dealing with the Western world then.

Sam is going to be preaching this Sunday in Ruth's church, with Raphael translating. He is really looking forward to it.

I'll try to get back to the Internet cafe soon.

Tuesday, January 11

2011-01-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

Sam and I took the day off today. We needed a break from the incessant driving out to the bush, all over the countryside, and back to town very late. But we got lots of work done here in Douala, sort of. Ruth asked us to go with her nephew, Eric, to pay a deposit for the mosquito nets we have ordered. A driver took the three of us in his car (which had to have cost someone some money – probably Ruth). It took about 20 minutes to get there, where we found out they had been trying to call Ruth. They needed half payment, which was less than we had with us. It was nice that they had tried to get a hold of us, but we had to drive home again, get this large stack of Central African francs from our designated mosquito net money, and drive back. That errand ended up taking about three hours! Then Eric helped us find a camera store where Sam could replace a lost camera battery charger (we hope we find the lost one in Mangamba tomorrow, but we had to get all his cameras charged somehow.) It was an adventure checking out several stores and then finding one that actually had it. We were very fortunate, since his is a discontinued camera.

Ruth and Doris (her sister and WEH worker) have arrived home early today, 7:30 p.m. That’s great. She reported that they had a good day in Muyuka and are all set for us to all go to Miang tomorrow.

Monday, January 10

2011-01-11T10:29:00.000-08:00

Today, Sam rode with the driver who was taking breakfast out to the students. Ruth, the WEH workers, and I followed later, driving directly to a small school at Kotto Up. It’s an English-speaking community, made up of refugees from English-speaking parts of Africa. It was good that the students could try their wings in English. Fortunately we had a translator who could speak pidjin, a West-African adaptation of English. It really helped some of the kids’ comprehension. One group of students conducted health assessments of the WEH orphans, one group taught about malaria, including a lesson on how to reduce the mosquito population and protect yourself from the malarial mosquito. Then they would play a form of freeze tag where the persons who were “it” were the mosquitoes and the others had to escape from them. If you ran to the “net” you were safe. The kids enjoyed that.

The amazing thing was the apparent quality of teaching at this little country school. The information on the broken and ragged blackboards was quite sophisticated. I hope I can post pictures of this little four room school with no windows or doors. It is appalling that education must go on in such dilapidated buildings. I understand that there is a single donor somewhere who pays the teachers’ salaries.

It was really hot and there was little shade, so I was glad it was a half-day of work. We rode with the students in their bus back to Mangamba, shared dinner with them, and returned home to Douala. Several students expressed what a fulfilling day it was for them. They enjoyed working with the children tremendously.

We have pieced together more information about the shooting in Arizona. It was at a Safeway in Oro Valley where we frequently drive. And we understand that one of the dead was a member of a Methodist church there. I still can't find a coherent motive. Was it a response to hate rhetoric? Why Giffords?

Sunday, January 9

2011-01-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

Well, today is my oldest sister's birthday. The older set of twins celebrated theirs on the 3rd. Happy Birthday, you three.

Today we went to Mangamba again, this time for church. Ruth and Raphael had the church built several years ago to replace the original German-built church that was in ruins. It was a bit disappointing that the choir was gone, singing somewhere else, so we didn't get to hear them. Hence, the congregation was smaller than those of us who were visitors, but it was enjoyable anyway. It reminded me of the small churches Sam and I have always served. Most was in French, but the local school teacher provided us with a wonderful welcome in English.

We thought we'd be visiting the chief in that village but he apparently was not in town as planned.

What is this about a shooting in Arizona that we saw on French TV? We'll try to get info on the web.

Saturday, January 8

2011-01-11T09:55:00.000-08:00

What a bizarre day! Nothing turns out as we think it will. I do remember that from last time, but it does get frustrating. When we went to bed last night I thought we’d be leaving about 11:00 a.m. to go to Mangamba. We couldn’t go earlier because there was a funeral in the village, and there was no point in having any kind of a clinic until the funeral was over. Next thing I knew, we wouldn’t be leaving until 2 or so. We left about 3:30. There were just a lot of logistical delays. When we arrived out at Mangamba, at about 5:30, the decision was made to go see the hospital in Mbanga. I thought it was a little late to do that, but at least the students would have been able to do something that day. On the way we took a detour to Kotto Up to try to track down Monday’s translator. Ruth couldn't find him. When we got to the hospital, it was getting dark. Unfortunately, then, no one was at the hospital with the authority to give the students a tour. We are learning that communications are very difficult. Sometimes you don't have a phone number so you can't call (no phone book) or you call on a cell phone and it isn't working at the moment.

So we drove the half-hour back to Mangamba. On the way Ruth bought some kerosene from a roadside vendor for the lanterns at Mangamba -- in case the electricity goes off. We didn’t get back to Mangamba until nearly 9. Then there was dinner and gathering up the serving dishes that needed to come back to Douala. We got home about 11. It was all pretty frustrating. We see first hand how hard it is to get things done here. It doesn’t pay to get heavily invested in what we think might happen because things always change.

Friday, January 7

2011-01-11T09:42:00.000-08:00

Well, I missed a few days. We enjoyed semi-relaxation awaiting the nursing students from Linfield College. Their travel was uneventful. It is unfortunate that one of the students couldn’t come though. She had lost her passport, and though it was quickly replaced, there was no way to get a new visa. That would require mailing the passport to Washington D.C. and having them stamp it and return it. No way to get it done. She must be so disappointed. I really like them all. They are a great bunch. Several have international experience and are very curious about all they see. They do not judge what they see by Western standards, but seek ways to understand the what, why and how.

The students spent a couple of days getting oriented here in Douala and then moved out to Mangamba, Raphael's home village. Ruth and Raphael have a second home there. They figured out who was going to room with whom and how to install their mosquito nets. The coolest thing was that Ruth had planned a surprise. In the afternoon a group of children and several men arrived in their back yard and began drumming and dancing. They were really good. Raphael later said he was very impressed that the children had learned traditional dancing. It reminded me of Native American dancing in Arizona, but the beat is very different. Later more grown men came, and a couple of women. They got all the students dancing. There was lots and lots of laughter and exchange of appreciation. I hope I can figure out how to post a snippet of the dancing!

We got back to Douala rather late. The election in Sudan on whether to separate the North and South is all next week. That is very much on our minds and in our prayers.

Monday, January 2

2011-01-11T09:32:00.000-08:00

Well, darn, we slept in again. The shutters on our windows make it impossible for us to know when daylight has arrived. We had hoped the tailor would come today, but she did not. Barb and Joe and Sam and I went to the new grocery store around the corner, a real treat for us westerners. There were unusual foods of course, but a “real” meat section, refrigerated section, etc. And lots of miscellaneous merchandise upstairs.

In the afternoon, Raphael and Ruth and Barbara went out to Mangamba to take the mattresses for the students’ beds and to think about arrangements out there. I worked on the knitting machine some more. A delicious peppery beef soup for dinner.

We are getting to bed about 10. The plan is to go walking in the morning with Raphael at about 6:30 before it gets too hot. He has a plan about a good place to take us so we can really stretch out our legs.

Sunday, Jan 2

2011-01-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

We went to church a bit before 10 a.m. It was to start at 10 but couldn’t because the earlier Douala-speaking service got out later than scheduled. Ruth was in her Christian Women’s Union dress and processed in with her women’s group to form one of the choirs at the front of the church. Raphael was sitting up front somewhere with the other trustees. We got a good seat right in front of a fan. The service lasted nearly three hours. There were announcements and welcomes. They asked all the guests to stand up and introduce themselves. Sam had been asked to say a few words on behalf of all of us and he did a very nice job of it. The pastor didn’t get everything translated, but our pleasure at being there was communicated. The sermon was only about 20 minutes long, but there was lots of singing. One of the guest singers from the entertainment the night before was there and led the congregation in some “happy clappy” kind of Christian songs. Like in the U.S. there seems to be discomfort between those who advocate for more praise music and those who prefer classical Christian worship. And communion in a church of nearly 800 people takes a long time. We all enjoyed it immensely.

Relaxing Sunday afternoon. Joe and Barb and David and Sam and I played UNO. We got to bed at a time more to our liking, around 9 p.m.

Jan 1, 2011 - Saturday -- New Year's Day

2011-01-08T02:59:00.001-08:00

We all slept late. Breakfast at 11. Lunch at 3. Dinner at 10 p.m. We are definitely on French time! The lunch was magnificent. Foie gras. Chicken. Pork. Tons of vegetables. Fine wine. Lots of conversation split between French and English. Ruth and David kindly translated what was going on from time to time. The Ivory Coast continues to be a point of conversation and concern.

December 31, 2010 - Friday, New Year's Eve Day

2011-01-08T02:57:00.001-08:00

Friday, December 31

New Year’s Eve day. We had a relaxing day. David Groff, one of the Linfield group leaders, arrived. Church started at about 10 p.m. Lots of great singing. After midnight we went outside for hours of entertainment. Lots of youth and children singing, and a couple of professionals. A skit. Food. The most fun was when a group of women went at the jitterbug with great enthusiasm. It will be a kick to tease people back home about the Africans we saw dancing in the night. We went home at about 3 a.m.!!!

December 30, 2010 - Thursday

2011-01-08T02:56:00.001-08:00

12/30/2010 - Thursday

Sam and I both awoke about 6 a.m. Good! We’re getting back on schedule. Breakfast was not ready on the veranda, though, so we went back to sleep. We awoke again at about 9 and joined Barb and Joe for breakfast overlooking the wharf again. Then we packed our things and got a taxi to move to Ruth’s. Actually, we had to take two trips because we had too many suitcases for the taxi.

Eloi served us a wonderful brunch of papaya and crepes and coffee. In the afternoon Josephine and Djiva, two of the women who work with Women, Environment, and Health (WEH) came by and we had a grand reunion. Ruth set us to learning how to use a knitting machine she had picked up in the U.S. She’d like me to teach some women how to use it for making baby blankets for sale. It was fun working collaboratively through the language barrier to assemble and learn to work the machine.

In the late afternoon Mark, an old friend of Raphael’s from his childhood, came to also be a house guest for a few days. He speaks some English, which is helpful. At dinner the French speakers got into a discussion about the situation in the Ivory Coast. Ruth and Raphael and the house guest and Ruth’s sister really went at it! It seems that here the style of debate is to talk all at once, with great enthusiasm, louder and louder. It was really quite hilarious to behold. Earlier in the afternoon, Ruth and Raphael went out to get a promised new puppy from a litter of 11 Rottweiler pups. They brought home a precious male. I think they will train him well and he will be a nice Rottweiler. They are still working at coming up with a name for him, in consultation with their adult children around the world.

When dinner was over I said, “Je pense que le temps pour le lit est arrivee.” (I think the time for the bed has arrived.) That was funny – and fun.

December 29, 2010 - Wednesday

2011-01-08T02:55:00.001-08:00

12/29/2010 - Wednesday

The next “morning” we awoke at about 1 p.m. All of us slept long and hard. We ate a leisurely brunch on one of the hotel’s verandas. There was a breeze off the wharf so we were very comfortable. After the long, relaxing time there we walked up the street to see the city. We promised Ruth we would be careful, stay together, and watch for pick-pocketers. The street was as I’d remembered from last time. Traffic is all helter-skelter. Cars are parked on and across every curb and sidewalk they can find, and there are many obstacles everywhere. Sidewalks are intermittent and rubble and trash collect here and there. Generally the businesses are very small with tightly focused merchandise, but we came upon one large shop that you might say is a department store. It is the first such store I’ve seen. There was something for every room in the house, including appliance and furniture sections. The prices in kitchenware varied widely from a beautiful pewter creamer for about $60 to very inexpensive “dollar store” sorts of things probably made in China or Korea. I have been reading about business and retail in Africa, so this was very interesting to me. At about 5:30 we took a taxi to Ruth’s for dinner and returned to the hotel in time to be in bed by 10.

December 28, 2010

2011-01-08T02:53:00.000-08:00

12/28/2010 - Tuesday
We are in Cameroon. Our 4-legged flight was quite uneventful. There was, of course, all the stress of baggage check-in (the four of us had eight large suitcases in addition to our carry-ons). We had to go through security-check several times, and our departure from Zurich was delayed an hour. But these are "uneventful" things.
From Zurich to Douala my seat mate was a lovely young Cameroonian woman coming home to visit for a few weeks. She just finished college in Iowa and is taking a job as a corporate internal auditor in Omaha. We discussed everything under the sun including development issues, her Islam heritage, etc. etc. I'd love to stay in touch with her! (Hello, Fatima, if you are reading this.)
The "event" of our trip was our experience at the Douala airport. Ruth had told us that she would not be returning until two days after we arrived, so we had made arrangements to stay at Foyer du Marin, a hotel of the Seaman’s Mission, for two nights. Ruth had said that she would try to arrange for a driver to pick us up, but we also had phone numbers for Foyer taxis in case we needed them. After we had had our passports and yellow fever cards checked we moved on to the large baggage claim room. We didn’t find anybody looking for us, so we went into “Plan B” mode. I knew I needed to change some money to CFAs in order to call and pay a taxi. The whole situation was complicated by the fact that we brought eight huge suitcases and all our carry-ons. And then Barbara couldn’t find one of her suitcases. So as she went searching for it along all the baggage carousels in this tightly packed room of travellers, I went looking to figure out how to accomplish my tasks. I could find neither a phone nor a money exchange. Then, at the far side of the room, I saw an office of tourism. Here was someone to help me! It took awhile, but she got us and all our luggage out past the customs officials without having to have our bags searched and without having to pay “duty” according to those official’s whims. In the middle of all that, Ruth appeared. She had come home in time to meet us. She negotiated a reasonable fee for the tourism lady and her associates and all their trouble. In so doing, she was establishing important ongoing relationships at the airport. There was a scramble to get all our luggage loaded and to get out of there before officials got overly curious about all our bags. Finally we were back at Ruth’s marvelous home, greeted by Raphael and the house staff whom we were so happy to see again. After a fine, late dinner we were taken to our hotel. All four of us slept for 12 hours!

Maybe we'll have visas after all!

2010-12-21T20:04:00.000-08:00

It's been a tense couple of weeks. Like last time, we've had to wait for our visas/w/passports to be returned at the last minute. It must be a habit of the Cameroonian embassy in Washington DC. Like two years ago, my colleagues and I are breaking our necks at the last minute to get our visas. Like two years ago, we learn that no one ever answers the phone there. So I emailed them. (My colleague did that last week to no avail.) They provided an extension number so I thought I was in luck. Problem is, nobody answers that line either, and the message box is full! So I took a chance and entered a different extension number than the one I was given in an email and it worked! The fellow said the visas have been ready all along but that we should have included a self-addressed envelope. Both my colleagues and I did! I tried to stay nice. Had to give a credit card number and the gentleman is supposedly FedExing them to us. (That on top of the first postage I provided.) Grrr. Supposedly they were going out today. He said he'd confirm with an email. I haven't received an email. If they don't come Friday, we can't get on the plane on Monday.

Social Entrepreneurship

2010-12-16T11:19:00.000-08:00

I've really been fascinated lately reading about social entrepreneurship. It always amazes me when I happen upon a line of inquiry that others have been discussing for some time. Social entrepreneurship is a movement of the last twenty years, especially, whereby the non-profit sector crosses over into the business sector to both assist itself in achieving its social goals and to provide a revenue stream for itself. I happened upon it once when I was surfing on the solar bakery coop project we are planning in Cameroon. We want to create jobs -- careers, really -- while we discourage deforestation, and take some initiative to earn money for projects. So I landed on the book Social Entrepreneurship. It really provided me with an understanding about this phenomenon. I could hardly put it down! I like it so much that when my husband gave me a Kindle I bought it again so I could have it with me in Cameroon. Kindle edition. Since then I've found other great resources. More on them some other time.

A week and a half to go!

2010-12-16T10:06:00.000-08:00

The time is almost upon us to leave for Cameroon. Needless to say, we are a bit harried, trying to cover all bases for our absence. Here's an article I wrote for our local church newspaper about the trip:

On December 27, Pastor Carol and Sam will depart for their trip to Cameroon, a Central African country near the equator. Sam will stay for one month, returning on January 27, while Carol remains for two more months. During that time, Sam will serve as supply pastor. Six weeks of Carol's time will be counted as her 2010 and 2011 vacation, while the other six weeks will be considered unpaid leave.
     Carol is returning to Cameroon for the second time, though this will be Sam's first visit. As most people in the congregation know, they will be working with Ruth Titi Manyaka, Carol's beloved college roommate. Ruth and her husband Raphael have visited in Arizona on a couple of occasions, so a number of Good Shepherd folk have had the opportunity to meet them.
     During January, 14 nursing students from Linfield College (Carol and Ruth's alma mater in Oregon) will be conducting medical assessments on the over 500 orphans and vulnerable children that Ruth's organization -- Women, Environment, and Health (WEH) -- monitors. The children continue to reside in villages with extended families or friends following their parents' deaths (usually from AIDS), but the government has arranged for non-government organizations throughout the country to monitor them and to assure that they are in school and sufficiently clothed and fed. WEH has a social worker and volunteer contact persons in each village who see the children regularly. For three weeks, the nursing students and their supervisors visit these rural villages. They set up medical clinics in town halls or schools, or even under a canopy of trees, and patiently run physicals on each child. WEH provides French translators for each team of nurses. When there are problems beyond the capacity or authority of the students to address, the children are referred to one of their supervisors or to Barbara Stone, a nurse practitioner from Lakeside who, with her husband, also take the trip to Cameroon.
     Carol, Sam and Joe are considered support persons in these efforts. Two years ago Joe provided coordination and tactical support while Carol held babies and played group games with waiting children. She also had them sing songs for her which was very enjoyable. She said during much of the time she simply prayed over all that was going on. Joe and Carol took many photographs, but this year they will have Sam's photographic expertise on hand for both still and video documentation. Additionally, Sam looks forward to spending more time with Ruth's husband, Raphael, as they continue to develop their own mutual-admiration friendship.
     Two years ago, the Kearny Clinic sent a microscope with Carol, which was given to a rural maternity clinic. This year Carol is proud to be taking nearly 300 toothbrushes donated by Dr. Jim Celis and his staff. She is also carrying a large quantity of sample-size toothpastes, some gathered by Dona Wittwer and others donated by Carol's sister-in-law's Eastern Star sisters in Payson. That group also donated motel soaps they had gathered, and Virgil Thompson donated another good-sized box of soaps he had on hand in one of his yard sales. Carol's local fundraising efforts for funds to buy mosquito nets yielded around $250 and Good Shepherd is donating a comparable amount from its Winter Wonderland sale, fulfilling her goal of raising $500 for nets. Linfield student nurses have also conducted fundraising for the purchase of nets, so the team is optimistic that it will have many nets for distribution.
     "Tropical people know how important it is to protect young children, the elderly, and pregnant women from the mosquito that carries malaria," said Carol. "But they often cannot afford the insecticide-impregnated nets which provide the best protection. A single net (costing between $7 and $10) protects several children because the children often share a bed." She explained that the particular mosquito that spreads malaria is a nightly-active mosquito, so nighttime protection is the most critical. In time, people do develop at least partial immunity to malaria and so healthy older children and adults are not so much at risk. And there are medications to treat mild episodes of the blood-borne disease. Visitors to the tropics, including Carol and Sam, take a prophylactic antibiotic during their entire stay in the country to protect them from malaria, but this is not an option for locals because of the long-term side effects of of this option.
     Pastor Carol says that when the students' work is done and they return to the United States, she will continue to assist Ruth in her work including assisting local women in learning to use a knitting machine for the making of baby blankets, studying whether there is a market for home-made, washable sanitary napkins, and developing a business plan for the solar bakery cooperative that WEH wants to build and inaugurate. In February they will visit a solar bakery elsewhere in the country to learn more about it.
     "I can't wait to worship with Ruth again at her church," said Carol. "It's a huge Reformed Church (similar to Presbyterian) where the singing is very powerful. I hope that my comprehension of French improves in this extended immersion experience so that I will be able to understand more of the sermons and of general conversation." Carol said that Ruth now belongs to one of the women's circles in her church, so she will participate in these women's Bible studies and choral rehearsals.
   "Each church club, men's, women's, and young peoples', takes turns being a choir during worship," she said. "And each has its own unique uniform to wear to church. Ruth is having a dress made for me so I can be a full partner in her circle. That will be great fun!"
     When Pastor Carol returns at the end of March, she will continue serving as pastor for the remainder of her appointment, to June 30. She asks that the congregation remember this mission trip often in its prayers. To keep track of their activities you can read Carol's online journal at http://mycameroontrip.blogspot.com .

Three weeks to go

2010-12-07T06:08:00.000-08:00

Only three weeks before Sam and I leave for Cameroon. I can't wait to be back there, learning new things and enjoying my friend Ruth and her husband Raphael. This time I'm staying for three months, so packing is a really big deal. Have you ever noticed that when you are heading for an important deadline that the TO DO list just gets longer and longer -- no matter how many things you cross off as completed. Since I get back at the end of March I have to do as much on our taxes as I can. Another task weighing on me is figuring out how many of my files on social entrepreneurship and solar bakeries I can take with me! Clothes may have to be sacrificed. (I'll enjoy having a few dresses made there, of course.) Wish us luck that we will be able to get it all together.

How is Cameroon like Arizona?

2010-06-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been over a year since I got back from Cameroon. Haven't written since. But the following won't fit on Facebook. Maybe y'all will come here to read what I have to say:

When I was in Cameroon last year, we set out on our first trip to a village and my dear friend (college roommate 40+ years ago) said, "Do you have your passport?" "My Passport?" I asked? After all, I had gotten into the country just fine. We had to drive half an hour back to her house get it. Yup, sure enough, later we came to a roadblock. Had to show our papers -- citizens as well as non citizens. Ruth even had to show a document explaining where we were going and why! This happened often in the 6 days I was there. ONce we were told we had six people in a car for five. Fortunately, my friend's husband is an important, well-known person. I don't know how our hassles would have gone if she had not been with us with the name she has. THese road blocks are mostly illegal -- people trying to convince you that you owe a fine for this or that. But they are allowed, out in the open, all over the place.

I remember Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu saying years ago, before apartheid was over in South Africa, that the blacks had to carry papers (not the whites as I recall). One day, when he walked across the street to get a newspaper, he was apprehended. He'd forgotten his papers, so he was hauled off to jail and harassed.

There's something deeply wrong about having to show papers anytime, anywhere. Especially if the rules are different depending on your race. If this law goes into effect in Arizona at the end of next month, I'll surely want to see how many white people are asked to show their papers!!!

Prayers for Shalom

2009-03-03T18:29:00.000-08:00

It's my hour to be in prayer for shalom in the world. This Lenten prayer vigil is sponsored by the Desert Southwest Conference of the United Methodist Church. Somewhere in this conference, 24 hours a day, for the duration of Lent, someone is praying for shalom. This word is being used rather than "peace" because the latter is so narrowly understood in the English language, or at least in the U.S. Shalom, on the other hand, has the potential for communicating so much more. It is about being in right relationship with all of creation -- the earth itself and all living things and the Creator of it all.

I turned off the TV and entered into the silence. Then my Indian ringneck parrot, Papagayo, did what he always does when things get quiet. He started chattering, running through the Spanish vocabulary we have taught him in his three short years of life.

Alo! (Hello)
Papagayo!
Que tal, Diana? (How are you, Diana? -- the cockatiel in the cage next to him.)
Buenos Dios (Hello! Good Day!)
Te amo, Carolita (I love you, Carol)
Quiero comida, Carolita (I want food, Carol)
Quiero comida, por favor, Carolita, pronto! (I want food please, Carol, right now!)
Pajaro bueno (good bird)

For Papagayo, you see, it's all about him. Now, I don't know how much of this chatter he really understands. He does say "Alo" whenever I come into the room, sometimes before I get a chance to. So that seems to be appropriately understood and used. And sometimes he says, "Quiero comida, pronto," before breakfast, as though asking for me to get on task. But then, here, like tonight, he says it even after he has just eaten.

Sam and I started a week or so ago beginning to teach him, "La paz del Senor." (The peace of the Lord.) Too bad it's not a part of his repertoire yet, in time for this prayer vigil. No, he just wants his own needs met. And so his innocent chatter, using his limited vocabulary, makes me think of how much focusing on our own needs is the opposite of wishing shalom for another.

As a clergy person, I'm amazed how wide the range of people I see really is. Some only speak of themselves and their ailments and issues. They can relay every ache and pain and sadness of their lives with little or no prompting. Others are truly saints of God whose lives are about ministering to others. They know themselves and what's going within their own hearts, souls and minds, but choose to turn their focus outward. They truly care whether another person is in right relationship with his or her self, family, community, the earth, and most of all with God. And they know how to bring healing and reconciliation. These are the shalom makers of the world. Jesus said they are very blessed. I think so too.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

2009-02-08T05:47:00.000-08:00

There are so many things left unsaid in this blog, so many stories left untold. I think they will come out in my sermons. Today the Gospel is about Jesus going from village to village healing the sick. I can see the anxious crowds pressing in on him, smell their perspiration and feel their desperation. I'll use Jesus's healing of Peter's mother-in-law as our call to "pick people up."

My letter to the Board of the Friends of WEH

2009-02-07T06:21:00.000-08:00

I just sent the following note to the Board of the Friends of WEH. It expresses some things I haven't said before.

To the Board of Friends of WEH,

Whew, Barb and Joe Stone and I got back from Cameroon on Tuesday night and are trying to get our hearts and souls caught up with our bodies. A piece of us will always be in Cameroon. It is so difficult to try to describe my experience. I'm still pondering what to say to my church tomorrow. It will take a long time to tell all the stories. Have you kept up with my blog? (http://mycameroontrip.blogspot.com) I'm so thankful to my sibs who gave me a little netbook (miniature laptop) to take with me. It came in so handy. Even the student nurses appreciated it as they checked their email at every opportunity. On my blog you will see links to Barb's blog (which she regrets she was not able to keep up very well) and to the nursing students' photo site. You'll see most of Joe's and my photos there.

Bottom line is that my commitment to WEH is stronger than ever. I wish you could see the high level of activity of the WEH workers, and the scope of what they do. They work long and hard hours for the sake of the orphans assigned to WEH and the population in general in the villages where they work. They are committed to improving village life by improving the lives and status of the women. We found the Cameroonians to be an open, gracious, appreciative people. Also, in the villages, a desperate people. When you can't afford a mosquito net for your baby, or to take the baby to the doctor, desperation is palpable. Behind the story of the abandoned baby is the story of some anonymous girl or woman who was desperate, having no hope for that infant. And we saw first hand the benefit of anti-virals for people with HIV. Theoretically the meds are free, thanks to worldwide support of the program, but identifying those who are eligible for the drugs and teaching them how to use the drugs is another story. And though the meds are free, the periodic blood tests required are not free. That's an ongoing problem. And we saw the virtually total absence of dental and vision care in the villages.

I also wish you could have seen the commitment and hard work of the Linfield nursing students. For some this was a first exposure to "the world out there." Others had considerable travel experience. Either way, they expressed how life-changing this experience was for them and the path of their careers.

Speaking of the students, the Friends of WEH board members on the ground in Cameroon (Carol, Barbara, Sherry, David, Ruth) chose a new member for our board from this Cameroon Team 2009. (Jennifer is our board member from Cameroon Team 2007.) She is Katie White. I'll post her photo on the Friends website. (http://wehfriends.pbwiki.com). Katie will help us stay connected with Cameroon Team 2009. Welcome, Katie.

WEH still doesn't have its hands on the pickup. After all our hope that as a non-profit shipping to an NGO, we wouldn't have to pay high fees and taxes, the bottom line is that WEH needs $4100 to get the truck off the dock. Darn. I bank-transferred what we had -- $3100 -- and a donor (anonymous until I have her permission to name her) came up with the other $1000. Still, it will take a week for the bank transfer to go through. This has been a major headache for the folks in Douala. Sometimes I question whether it would have been more economical to buy in Cameroon, but when you see the insane traffic there, and realize that there is no requirement for openness on the accident history of used cars, I'm sure the truck we've sent will guarantee a truly good vehicle for WEH. We saw first hand the need for 4-wheel drive, and for a vehicle that is consistently available to the WEH staff.

So our account is down to about $100. It's (almost) time for us to celebrate the achieving of the first goal and to set new goals for the future. Certainly the first is to develop a consistent revenue stream to fulfill our promise to pay for the insurance and gas on the truck. A couple of board members give to the fund on a regular basis. WOULD YOU CONSIDER DOING SO TOO? I do not yet have a budget estimate on the monthly cost of the car. I will let you know when I know.

As to the future. A life skills center is the next big goal for WEH. But this note is long enough. Would you each respond to let me know you are out there and that my email dress is current for you? We can talk about the center after that.

Have a good year!!! Carol

Saturday, February 6, 2009

2009-02-07T05:36:00.000-08:00

Oh my. WEH still doesn't have its hands on the pickup whichthe Friends of WEH shipped to them. After all our hope that as a non-profit shipping to an NGO, we wouldn't have to pay high fees and taxes, the bottom line is that WEH needs $4100 to get the truck off the dock. Darn. We bank-transferred what we had -- $3100 -- and a donor came up with the other $1000. Still, it will take a week for the bank transfer to go through. This has been a major headache for the folks in Douala.

Tuesday, February 3

2009-02-06T05:04:00.001-08:00

We got to Brussels without incident, made the transfer to our flight to Newark, where I now am. We have a five-hour layover before flying to Phoenix.

I just talked to Sam. His voice sounds so good! He'll be at the airport. I can't wait to see him.

It was so hard leaving Ruth. What a miracle it is to have such a friend. The years that we've been apart instantly vanished. All the trust and enjoyment of one another was still there. And Raphael is totally delightful. We had lots of good laughs together and “in” jokes developed quickly and were often alluded to for additional laughs. They hope to be able to come to Arizona in the spring, if they are able to get their visas renewed without a wrinkl

Monday, February 2

2009-02-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

There were some last day things to do today in the village. We needed to deliver left over medical supplies to the hospital in Mbanga and to the village clinic where we had left the microscope last week. While we were at the latter, a family carried in an older child whom we could hear crying out in the “ER” room. We had to leave before finding out what was going on with her and whether she was OK. At the former we got to see a baby which had been brought in as an abandoned newborn three weeks ago. Some of the Linfield students had been there at the time. I understand that this sweet babe had been found in a toilet, covered with feces. This is something that happens all over the world. It always makes me ill, especially when the circumstances are so disgusting – a baby left in a toilet like a bowel movement. The baby is on a regimen of antibiotics but doing fine. The hospital staff is taking care of him there at the hospital until he is transferred to Yaounde for processing for adoption. Ruth and I both noted that he had a grownup sort of face, more distinctively formed than in the case with most babies. The staff named him Emmanuel. Ruth also referred to him as Moses, though the mother of the first Moses abandoned him in a much more careful way than this guy was. When I was holding him I silently blessed him.

When we got home we finished our packing. Just before dinner we gave Ruth's house staff a gift and thank you card. Plantains and the local fish for a closing dinner. Then it was time to go to the airport. Check-in was pretty easy and we then waited for the flight to leave Cameroon. Good byes were difficult.

Sunday, February 1

2009-02-06T04:58:00.000-08:00

This was my last Sunday to worship with Ruth on this trip. And it was communion Sunday. Once again, I loved the music the most. I recorded the several choirs and congregational singing on my little SANSA recorder, but wouldn't you know that now I can't get it from that device on to my computer. I really want to use it as partial soundtrack on the video I shall make of the trip. The computer is not recognizing it as another drive or USB devise. Hmmmm. Ruth's sister Doris and her children, Prisca and Joel, were there again. Once again, Prisca chose to wear the Congolese dress I had made with Ruth so many years ago. It looks good on her, though she is a bit smaller than I even was then, and I'm so proud that she is so proud of it. They came back to the house for lunch so I had a chance to give Joel the calculator watch Sam had found for me for this trip – in case I needed a calculator for money exchange or whatever. He seemed truly pleased to receive it.

Ruth said that after lunch we would need to go back out to Mangamba, Raphael's home village. It's something that they do every Sunday afternoon, to check on their house there and whatever matters need attended to by this villager who made it big in the outside world but who still wants to stay connected to this small, humble piece of his life story. Another of our purposes was to take a box of meds and such items (left over from the Linfield students' visit) to the health clinic there. And Raphael said he hoped to be able to visit with an elder about the possibility of there being property available in the village for the WEH vocational center. Because Joe's health had not fully returned, Barb and Ruth stayed behind for the rest of the day.

We succeeded on all fronts. Most important was the visit with the village elder. We spent a good two hours with him. He came to Ruth and Raphael's house, and then we all piled back in the car to go look at some possibilities. We saw a couple of possible sites. And in the process Ruth and Raphael got their fill of village stories and gossip. Ruth translated some of it for me later. Sometimes they spoke in Abo, Raphael's native language, and sometimes in French. It was a delight to hear even if I didn't understand most of what was said.

Once again, we didn't get home until after 9 p.m.

Saturday, January 31

2009-01-31T08:58:00.000-08:00

Today is a day for winding things up. Barb and Joe and I prepared our thank you gifts for the WEH staff and the Titi's house staff. Then Ruth and I figured out why we haven't been able to video conference on SKYPE. I think we're set to go now. Then I helped Ruth set up a blogspot site so she can keep news of WEH very current.

Our schedule is quite full for Sunday and Monday, and we fly out at about midnight on Monday night. I can't believe six weeks has passed so quickly. I want to post photos for these last few entries but am not sure I'll have the time before I get home.

Friday, January 30

2009-01-31T08:54:00.001-08:00

Ruth and Barb and Joe and I were all going to go to Yaounde today but this morning Ruth woke up sicker, coughing a lot, and Joe didn't feel well either. So Ruth put Barbara and me on a bus to go. I had made an appointment to meet the head of Methodist missions in Cameroon there. Don't worry, it wasn't the general populace bus which people pile onto with their chickens and all sorts of other produce. We have been warned about the danger of these buses to “strangers” in the country, especially one's vulnerability to expert pick-pocketers. This was more like a Greyhound bus in the U.S. We were told it was a three hour trip but it was really over four. On the way, as on so many occasions during our visit, we were stopped by the police. Everyone had to get off the bus and show their I.D.s, then walk forward on the highway several yards and wait for the bus there. It was explained to us that this is so the police can make sure that they did, indeed, see everyone's I.D., and that no I.D.s were shared amongst people. In order to walk that short distance we had to run the gauntlet of vendors who gather there because they know they will have access to travelers. Having accomplished that task, the bus pulled forward and we all boarded again.

When we arrived at Yaounde, two gentlemen were there to meet us, the assigned missionary from the Methodist Board of Global Missions and his assistant. We were delighted to make their acquaintance. They took us through Yaounde to the home of the former where we met his wife and one of the women who work there. Both were very dynamic women and a joy to chat with. The missionary and his wife are Congolese, who recently completed 10 years of service in Senegal. It was interesting to learn that in six short years Methodist personnel has created an extensive presence for the Methodist Church in Cameroon. They have over 20 congregations and an active ministry in AIDS and malaria prevention. They are hoping that 10 of their lay pastors will be ready to be ordained by the end of this year. They also hope that I can return to the Southwest Conference of the Methodist Church in the U.S. and build interest in a work party coming to Cameroon sometime to help build a church. At this point all the congregations meet in rented facilities.

The bus ride home seemed longer than the one to Yaounde though it is, the same distance both ways! We got home at about 9 p.m.

Thursday, January 29

2009-01-31T08:22:00.000-08:00

In the morning Ruth and Barb and I visited a bilingual elementary school in Douala. Ruth had arranged for us to take letters from students at Show Low Elementary School in Arizona to children at this school. The director, an amazing woman who started this private school many years ago, took us on a tour. We were impressed with the “extras” she had there over the public schools we have seen. The facilities and equipment were much better. In each classroom we were introduced, and in each one the children sang us a song in English including several songs that we knew. I asked the older children if they knew who the president of the United States is. They always did. In several cases a child would stand beside his or her desk and say very precisely, “His Excellency Barak Obama.”

After lunch Joe joined us and we took a road trip. First we went to the village of Kotto-Up and distributed food bags. Once again we saw that in the villages the powers that be need to know who you are and what you are doing there. Joe and Barb and I sat in the shade on the front porch of a home and watched Ruth and the WEH staff work so effectively with the people. When we gave children our “Yes we Can” pencils, Ruth made sure that they remembered to say, “Thank you.” Many spoke English as in this village there tend to be newcomers from the northern Anglophone areas of Cameroon. Then we drove to the northern most reach of WEH's region of responsibility to Penja. While there we visited a hospital which hosts an AIDS community in a portion of its facilities. These are people who, for whatever reason, frequently ostracism, can no longer live in their villages. We left food bags for WEH's orphans there. I talked to several lovely teenage girls. Knowing that they are receiving retrovirals, I encouraged them to have hope for the future and to study hard. I talked about Obama saying, “Yes we can.” Once again we came home long after night had fallen.

Wednesday, January 28

2009-01-31T03:15:00.000-08:00

Things were mighty quiet around here without the Linfield Team. In the afternoon we went with Ruth to the artisan market. The vendor who decided to call me “Mama” saw me and greeted me warmly. I called, “Mon fils!” We laughed and laughed and I moved on. I've spent enough money in his shop. I really wanted to see the whole honeycomb of shops, so we made our way through aggressive hawkers just to see whatever there was to see. I learned that when hawkers step in my path and say, “Madame,” all I have to do is deliberately and resolutely keep walking and they will step aside. I would do a lot more browsing if the hawkers would just leave me alone! I bought a gift for my parish which, of course, I will not describe here to the whole world before I have even presented it. Barb was smart and did some tough dealing to buy 20 small ebony elephants to take home as gifts. (Oh my, maybe I just gave away a surprise to a reader or two!) Barb and Ruth sorted out left over medical supplies to distribute in the villages. Joe started feeling poorly and Ruth has a dreadful cough.

Tuesday, January 27

2009-01-31T03:06:00.000-08:00

Today the students finished their report. The faculty polished it off, including a report regarding the mosquito net distribution. We all piled on the bus to visit the branch office here in Douala of the American Embassy in Yaounde. The head of the office, an American recently posted here, was very informative about the mission of foreign embassies. He started by asking, “Who is our boss?” I popped off with “Hillary Clinton.” So I won a little pin of American and Cameroonian flags crossed. One of the students took this picture of Barb and Joe and myself standing in front of the branch embassy. I'm wearing a "ready-to-wear" dress I bought at the market.

There was a lot of coming and going to the market and the students went swimming at a motel. In a gathering of all of us, Ruth thanked the students eloquently for all they did. The students expressed something of their learnings and how much the experience has meant to them. Several of them said they hoped to return here or to another developing country to provide nursing care. After dinner they all loaded up and left for the airport. I hope they have a good time in Paris for a couple of days, in spite of the 36-hour transportation strike there.

The tailor came back with our dresses. This is the second I have had made, one of a violet color, with a top and flared skirt. I ordered another dress with my last piece of fabric. It will be done before we leave next week.

Monday, January 26

2009-01-31T03:01:00.000-08:00

We got to slow down today. The students worked on their report. It will include a data base of the sorts of health problems they addressed and how they responded, and will also include a narrative of the work they did. This report is extremely critical. Copies will be distributed locally and used for future planning.

Sunday, January 25

2009-01-26T06:20:00.000-08:00

We went to church in the morning. Again, the music was the high point in an all French service. In the late afternoon, Ruth had several WEH board members over and we – our Arizona bunch and the Linfield students and faculty -- had a time of reflection about the last three weeks. Ruth was spectacular! She knows just what to say and how to say it. She thanked the students with eloquent words. Several ideas came up for future student nurse trips, and ideas were shared about what might come to pass in the future. Dental care was identified, for example, as a critical need. Can we add a dental clinic to the project and get volunteer dentists out here? Whew, wouldn't that be something. It occurred to me that I could have been conducting tooth brushing demos with the kids. That would be a fun project next time: toothbrushes and toothpaste for them all and toothbrushing practice together. Whew! What a scene that would be.

I'm going to have to start thinking about how I can possibly communicate all this back home. And how to help the vision for a life skill center come true. In this recession I'm just not sure where the money will come from, especially for construction. I checked out the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation guidelines. I don't see construction there. But we'll eat the elephant one bite at a time. This recession can't last forever.

Saturday, January 24

2009-01-26T06:19:00.000-08:00

Today the students continued their data entry work. They did take some time off to do some more shopping, so Barb and I also returned to the artisan market. We went back to the same shop. They had said they would find some CDs for us. They had and I bought one. I asked for the most traditional. I hope it is. Then Barb negotiated long and hard for us to buy several of a traditional game here for our families. It's played with seed pods in an ornately carved wood box. She was very tough on the shop keepers and got us a good price. Then, while waiting for the others to be ready to go, we escaped the “honeycomb” of shops to have a beer. I would have loved to browse more, but the shop keepers are such aggressive hawkers that we just wanted out.

We joined Dave and the man he had arranged to meet there. We had an interesting discussion about this man's project to create small self-insured co-ops for medical insurance. Earlier Ruth had explained to me that she is part of a circle of women who together save money to meet the needs of the women as they arise. It's a traditional Cameroonian practice. They each give a certain amount of money each month. One month of the year, each has the right to receive a lump sum for a particular need. If there is competition in a particular month, the option is auctioned, with the proceeds fed back into the collective account. She said that no one dares to fail to pay her share in this system. It's a system of mutual honor and respect, administered by the women themselves. It sounds like this insurance system would work in a similar way. As the number of members in a group increases, the medical conditions it would cover can expand. It sounds like an excellent system.

Friday, January 23

2009-01-26T06:17:00.000-08:00

Today the students all gathered at Ruth's house to begin work on their final report. The first step was to design a spreadsheet for entering the data they recorded in over 500 health assessments. That completed, they divided into small groups and began the work. They used Joe's and my computers. It's a slow process. I hope they can complete them all in a reasonable length of time.

Thursday, January 22

2009-01-26T06:16:00.000-08:00

I took the day off again from going to villages with the students. I've really wearied of that routine, having little to do while there, and it being so hot. Ruth arranged for a colleague to come by to talk with me about the dream of a life skills center. His name is Yav. He had done some quick calculations for the project based on the ideas that Ruth had shared with him. The cost was estimated at $300,000. We talked about the importance of designing the project in phases, and having clear projections about what the cost of maintaining each phase would be, and what the revenue stream would be for each phase. In subsequent thinking the dream has fully expanded so that the whole project will be far more expensive than that – and the whole world in a recession. Hmmm.

The Linfield staff visited Kake, another village, to deliver nets. It's not far from Souza. They were extremely impressed with this neat and trim little village and its leadership.

Wednesday, January 21

2009-01-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

The highlight of my day today was the delivery of a microscope to the maternity clinic in Souza. It was donated by the clinic in my hometown of Kearny, Arizona. Here is a picture of me with the mayor and the microscope. Ruth is on the left. And here are some pictures of the clinic!

The mayor was there so I got to make a formal presentation of the microscope. The Linfield Team presented many boxes of gloves, and nets enough for every bed in the clinic, and the Friends of WEH, through Barbara, presented some medications.
Sherry, the Linfield nursing professor, had told us about this clinic. Because of insufficient funding, it lacks basic equipment and supplies. The pharmacy is clearly under-supplied. They don't generally use gloves, even in deliveries, because they don't have them. The microscope we saw there was borrowed from another clinic. They gave us a tour. Like most buildings we have seen in the villages, it was “open air.” Because it is never cold here, there is no need for glass in the windows. Louvers are the norm. In one room, with about four beds, there was a man hooked up to an IV, suspended from the wall. We were told that he and the other two in the room had been in an accident, so clearly they accept others besides maternity patients. The surgery room, used for suturing and other minor things, bore no resemblance to our surgeries. There was a single table, something like we might see in a doctor's exam room, and a single table with a few instruments on it.

In the maternity ward one woman had not yet delivered. There were two women with their new babies. One was being assisted by an older woman, perhaps her mother. The other had the father of her baby there with her. Like new moms everywhere, they were so proud!

The lab was a room like the others – no sparkling white walls and sterile ambience. There was a refrigerator and a sink. The borrowed microscope was on the counter.

We were very pleased to help this clinic out. The nursing students had brought dozens of boxes of gloves which delighted the local nurses. And mosquito nets to go over every bed in the clinic. The mayor spoke. It surprised me when he firmly promised – as translated by Ruth -- that these things would not be sold, but would be used right here. Apparently it's a real problem, that staff sell such things for personal gain.

As usual, we were warmly received and warmly bade farewell.

Tuesday, January 20

2009-01-20T23:44:00.000-08:00

Inauguration Day! In the morning we went shopping, an expedition that extended into the afternoon. First we went to the fabric store again. I was looking for some beautiful white material I would like to use to make an alb. Didn't find it. Then we went to the artisans mall. We didn't begin to explore the extent of its shops before I had spent all of my money! I purchased gifts for my family and bought myself a couple of African dresses.

Then we returned to the house to watch the inauguration with Ruth and Raphael, their staff, and several Cameroonian friends. Raphael and Ruth had rented a large screen TV, so we all gathered in the large living room. Everyone was so excited. Obama's speech was amazing. We observed that it was clearly addressed to the whole world, not just the United States. He challenged everyone in the world to live the change.

Ruth and I gripped each other's hands as Obama spoke. It is astonishing to me that we are together on this day. We cried together on the day MLK was killed, and we were together today. Words cannot express the meaning. Afterwards I shared this with the Linfield students. They confirmed Ruth's and my sense that this is, indeed, a very special and amazing day for the two of us.

Monday, January 19

2009-01-20T23:42:00.000-08:00

I took the day off. Well, really half the day because the Linfield crew didn't get on the way until mid-day. I finished my novel and took a nap! It is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an amazingly appropriate day preceding the inauguration tomorrow.

The Linfield students mostly distributed nets to villages we visited when we didn't have any.

Sunday, January 18

2009-01-19T05:33:00.000-08:00

What fun Ruth and I had in the middle of the night in our hotel room! At about 2 a.m. I woke up to discover she, too, was awake. She said the air conditioner had gone off and it was hot. After we got that sorted out and the air conditioner back on, we turned out the light and talked in the dark for over an hour! It was like old roommate time. We filled in lots of the gaps in the years that our communication was scarce. We finally got back to sleep.

There was no way we could get to church this morning so we had a very leisurely breakfast on the patio of the restaurant, overlooking the bay. There was Ruth and Barb and Joe and me, and the three Linfield faculty/administration members. We got to brainstorming the long-term vision of WEH and the role of Linfield and the Friends of WEH. It was very exciting. The hope is to develop a master plan for the vocational center and related buildings, and then develop a strategy for the bite-by-bite eating of the elephant! All along the way, Linfield and the Friends of WEH want simply to support and promote WEH. There will be major fund-raising, grant-writing, and opportunities for volunteers to come.

After checking out of the hotel, we took the long way around coming home. We got to see a huge tea plantation. Unfortunately, there was no retail outlet there to buy some Cameroonian tea.

As the day ends I'm feeling very excited about the possibilities for future development of WEH and its programs.

Saturday, January 17

2009-01-19T05:31:00.001-08:00

We roused ourselves, ate breakfast, and headed for Limbe with car and driver. We got to see Buea, an early German capital, and then Limbe. On the way we crossed the river that marks the boundary between the former French and English sections of the country.

Limbe is a beautiful sea-side town, actually at the base of a pretty bay. Though tourism is not well-developed here it is clear that this town realizes that it is a good tourist destination. Ruth showed us the port from which slaves were shipped. She related the story of a friend who stood here and cried, “Oh, the hundreds of our people that this sea swallowed.” It was a sad and moving place to stand.

There was a monument that Ruth wanted to show us about a pioneer missionary of the Evangelical church. We hopped out of the car and I went straight to the monument. A man who had been sitting there spoke to me in French, so at first I couldn't get his meaning. Then I realized that he was saying I should have asked his permission to approach this monument! So I asked permission. He granted it. When I got out my camera he again became angry. He wanted money for the photo. We left. Ruth said the man does not own the monument or have any authority to do that. He was just looking for a buck.

We met up with the Linfield students at the hotel just in time for lunch. It was an excellent buffet. Then we got on our swimsuits and the bus took us to a wonderful beach. The water was amazingly warm. I practiced drawing for awhile and then we “older” women, five of us, all went into the surf together. We had great fun bobbing on the swells and splashing in the surf. Dinner was again delicious.

Friday, January 16

2009-01-19T05:28:00.000-08:00

This was a fun and relaxing day. The Linfield students came over for breakfast and then we prepared to go to the fabric store. It has been interesting to learn that Ruth has most of her dresses made. “Pret a porter" (ready to wear) is available, but not universally common like in the U.S. So Ruth had her seamstress come over and we described the sort of dress we wanted and she measured us – that is Barb and me and the Linfield faculty. The students had chosen to go with a different seamstress – the wife of the bus driver.

Then we all piled in the bus and went to the fabric store. We were most disappointed to see that the large one Ruth recommended was closed for a couple of hours until 2 p.m. Fortunately, there was a smaller one close by. It had a huge assortment of precut yard goods. Rather than buying off the bolt, you buy a chunk precut. The seamstress had told us that one chunk would be plenty for what we wanted made. There were so many gorgeous fabrics! It didn't take me long to land on a blue and gray fabric for the dress, another chunk of pinks and purples I liked, and a red chunk for a table cloth at home. It looks very southwestern, with petroglyph-style drawings. It will go great in our house.

Then we all came back to Ruth's house for lunch. After that the students got on the bus to go to Limbe. Our plan is to follow them tomorrow. So we had a quiet and relaxing afternoon. I even took a nap. In the evening Ruth and Raphael went out to a dress-up engagement (Women dress up all the time here. Just more so at night. Even in the day we feel shabby next to the color and style of the women's clothes. I can't wait for my new dress!) Joe and Barb and I continued to enjoy the quiet of the day.

Thursday, January 15

2009-01-15T22:48:00.000-08:00

For the last couple of days we've been sitting on the edge of our seats wondering about the arrival of the pickup. The estimated time of arrival was Monday but we haven't heard a word. The shipping company emailed me and said they had sent the original title and bill of lading by TNT to Ruth's address. Well, Ruth's address is a PO Box. It hasn't come there. She's never heard of TNT, so now she's calling the customs broker to try to figure out where this thing is. The tracking process shows it is in Douala and waiting for us to pick it up, but there's nothing on the site about where we are supposed to go to get it, since it's not at the post office. Aaargh.

LATER
The broker knew where the TNT office was, so we started a morning of errands. We got the title from the TNT place and took it to the customs broker. He said he'd try to find out if the truck was on some ship in the harbor. We went to the doctor's office and talked about the drugs we needed, and he called a pharmacy wholesaler. So then we went to the wholesaler. It took quite a while there. When errands were down, we again met up with the students. This time we went to ______. (Shucks, I can't remember the names of these villages.) This one was unique. While most of what we have seen are houses paralleling the road on either side, this one had a real town center with a “green” and a community gathering place. The students did assessments in what I believe was the town hall. Everyone was so tired. It's been a very long week, and out at the hotel they had the typical problems with shower water disappearing and the electricity going off frequently. And they got mighty tired of the cooking in the little dining hall there.

Ruth and I continue to marvel that I am actually here. And the time is going so fast.

Wednesday, January 14

2009-01-14T12:49:00.000-08:00

I hear the student with malaria is better. She is staying in the motel and returning to the hospital several times a day for IV treatments.

Once again we got a late start because Ruth couldn't get a driver. (Sane people don't drive here. The traffic is too crazy!) At least we weren't as late. We went to two places today. At the first one I started reading “The Cat in the Hat” in French to some of the children. Their teacher joined us, so I turned the book over to him. After each page he talked with them about it. He was great and they all enjoyed the book very much.

At the second village I occupied the children who were waiting by asking them to sing songs for me. We had a great time. For nearly an hour they each remembered different songs, and the others would join in – a good old-fashioned songfest for sure. At this location Barbara even was able to do some gynecological sessions with some women.

When we got back to Douala, by then after dark, Ruth and I had to stop by a pharmacy to order a bunch of drugs Barbara wanted. Ruth's pharmacist friend wasn't there, but Ruth found out she'd be there tomorrow morning. As we were leaving, there was her doctor coming to the pharmacy. He said he could get the drugs cheaper for us! What amazing timing. Thank-you, God.

Tuesday, January 13

2009-01-14T12:34:00.000-08:00

My, what a frustrating day. We had thought that we could be back out in Mangamba working by mid-morning, but it was not to be. Ruth's driver arrived late and when we were well on our way, she remembered the bags of food that we needed to have with us for the WEH orphans. So we had to come back into Douala to get the bags. By the time we joined the Linfield bus they had been waiting for a long time. We got the assessments going and managed to get a great deal done. With a couple of the Linfield students, I helped lead some games for the children, to keep them occupied. But it was very hot, playing in the sun. The heat was really getting to me. I don't know how much more I can sweat! Later I got to give each of the children one of our “Yes we can” pencils. I had them all say together, “Oui Nous Pouvons.” The nurses assessed many and gave out lot of malaria nets. But as always, at the end of the day there were many disappointed people. As the days come to a close and people realize that not everyone will be seen, anxiety goes up and people try to crowd in. At least today we had adequate mosquito nets to pass out.

One of the nursing students has come down with malaria. All of us know that it can happen, in spite of the anti=malarials we take. She was hospitalized for IVs and quinine and whatever else they do.

Monday, January 12

2009-01-13T12:37:00.000-08:00

We started the week with a team meeting. We were delayed getting out of town and didn't get to Mangamba until nearly 4 p.m. But the students set up shop and accomplished a number of assessments of WEH kids before we had to go. Ruth and I came home to Douala while the rest stayed out at the hotel where they stayed last week. After a dinner in front of the TV, I'm going to bed.

I wish I could adequately describe our drive today. We went from the bustling streets of Douala – some modern, most cramped – to the hub bub of the road-side stands and the horrendous pot-holed filled road that goes through that part of the city, to the long, winding, narrow, dirt roads through the countryside. We drove through a number of villages, each with a variety of homes from very nice to the poorest of mud homes, now losing the mud chinking that should hold out the elements. Everywhere there are people carrying things on their heads; everywhere there are children playing – and watching our bus go by. We passed through areas of thick vegetation on either side of the road, rubber tree plantations, and palm oil plantations. It is all so interesting.

Sunday, January 11

2009-01-13T12:31:00.000-08:00

We went to Ruth and Raphael's church again today.

In the afternoon we again packaged rice and salt and soap and oil for food distribution.

The Linfield group returned from their holiday weekend and we heard some of their stories about the great time they had at Kribe.

Saturday, January 10

2009-01-10T12:55:00.000-08:00

We had fun today continuing the project of creating 430 sacks of groceries. Today we bagged 10 kilos of rice for every sack we had begun last night. Help came from some WEH volunteers and staff members of the Titi household. In the afternoon some of the staffers began measuring and bagging 2 kilos of salt for each bag, and we added a jar of cooking oil. Then they were carried off to storage by staff members and the watchmen of the house. Ruth's niece and nephew also came and pitched in. The watchmen will continue working in the night.

Sometime last night or in the early morning the staff showed their loyalty to the Titi family. Rain came down in torrents and it was the staff who covered all this produce on the veranda to protect it. They are truly amazing.

Friday, January 9

2009-01-10T12:50:00.000-08:00

Today is my eldest sister's birthday. Happy Birthday, Lois.

The Linfield nursing students went to the hospital today here in Douala, so Joe and Barb and I all stayed here. The morning was nice and relaxing. As usual, Ruth had many errands to run. She is astonishingly full of energy. The government has given WEH its quarterly check to buy food to deliver to the orphans it has been given oversight of, so Ruth had much to do. She had to calculate how much beans and rice to get and order that, and salt and bars of soap and cooking oil. Later a truck arrived with humongous bags of beans and rice and stacked them all on the veranda. By evening we all began the long task of preparing 430 sacks of groceries which we will deliver to orphans' caregivers next week. We weighed out 2 kilos of beans and bagged them, and wrapped 2 large bars of soap in newspaper for each sack. We hardly made a dent in the task!

Thursday, January 8

2009-01-09T04:29:00.000-08:00

Today is my second son's birthday. Happy birthday, Seth.

Today we were supposed to get out to Souza in time to meet up with the Linfield team for a meeting, but the car and driver didn't arrive until almost noon. When we got there the students had already set up in the city hall of Mbanga which we had visited on Monday, doing assessments. By mid-afternoon they split up into groups and set up assessment clinics in three different locations. (Later, two of the groups went to two additional sites.) I accompanied the group to the chief's house and three assessment sites were set up there. I had the great pleasure of holding one of a set of twins, helping the grandmother (I assume) care for them. The baby slept for a long time. When she awoke she was very tranquil and I continued to enjoy caring for her.

Things got very hectic at the end of the day when it became apparent that not everyone could be seen. Again, difficult decisions had to be made. Who would get mosquito nets the Linfield students had raised money for and who not? They were given to the youngest babies.

Wednesday, January 7

2009-01-09T04:25:00.000-08:00

Today I accompanied the Linfield nurses as they were doing nursing assessments at the Catholic school in Souza. In pairs they set up a table and chairs in several of the school classrooms. The students desks and chairs had been moved outside as a place for waiting. The nursing students assessed persons one by one and made referrals as necessary. Many People gathered in the courtyard of the school and people continued to come all day.

I occupied myself some of the time by simply praying for whomever I observed. Once I gathered the children in the courtyard and played a yard game with them. My goodness. Children came out of the woodwork! Whenever fun things are happening all the children gather. I couldn't communicate the rules of the game so I tried to demonstrate. I failed to teach them the exact rules but what we did was very fun, running and laughing. Barbara and Joe and I had brought pencils for the WEH children which said, “Oui, Nous Pouvons” on them. Everywhere we go, people say, “Obama.”

Late in the day people became more anxious about whether there would be time enough. Then I occupied some children with finger games. Whatever silly thing I did with my fingers, they would copy. I was sitting at a student's desk, so then I began playing rhythm games on the desk. The children would repeat whatever I did. I asked them to sing, too, and then we really had fun. One teen was a very good drummer and beat out a wonderful riff. Then they asked me to sing. I couldn't think of anything so they suggested, “My bonnie lies over the ocean.” I forgot the words, but they remembered! We had a wonderful time. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of them all gathered around.

We were very hot. I dripped all day. I've learned to take a towel with me.

I haven't had a chance to listen to many of the students' stories. But one student saw a six month old child that didn't look over 2 months old. She couldn't hold her head up. And her mom is HIV positive. This baby has been brought to the hospital in Douala. I hope she makes it!

Once again, at the end of the day, the Linfield team and Barb and Joe stayed in the hotel in Souza. The Cameroonian staff, Ruth and I came back to Douala.

Tuesday, January 6

2009-01-09T04:21:00.000-08:00

Today we made numerous visits, seeking permissions in the villages to conduct health assessments. Here's a photo of our visit to the priest at Souza. I'll post more details when I verify them.

Monday, January 5, 2009

2009-01-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

The students arrived for breakfast at about 9:00. Now, with 18 additional diners, it's quite a production. They set up another table in the dining room and the meal is served family style. Some of us spill over into the family room – generally Raphael and me and others from time to time. It's more peaceful!

Several of our company including Barbara and Ruth and the Linfield staff people went to the Department of Health to introduce themselves and familiarize the department with our plans. They reported back that it was a good visit. Then, after lunch, the students and faculty went to buy mosquito nets to give away; they had had numerous fund raisers to earn money for the nets and to help in other ways. I got to take a nap! The work really starts tomorrow.

Sunday, January 4, 2008

2009-01-05T09:29:00.000-08:00

Sunday, January 4

We had another new and wonderful experience at church today. We went to a huge church, the “mother church” of the one we attended last week. Again, there were several choirs and magnificent singing. Of most interest to me was that it was communion Sunday. Not being acquainted with this denomination, I was curious to see where on the scale of Catholic to Evangelical the worship would be. I guess I would say that it was very much in the middle. The prayers were said in a way I imagine to be similar to Presbyterian and the elements were handled in the manner of those churches who understand communion to be a remembrance only. What really interested me was that real wine was used and it was distributed by sipping from a chalice. Real wine vs. grape juice is such an important debate within the Methodist Church back home that this rather surprised me. I expected grape juice. Again, it was a very uplifting service, though I preferred the small church the week before even more, with its friendly informality and the full participation of everyone. From what I could understand and what Ruth translated to me, the pastor handled very well the matter of “Do not worry what you shall eat or drink. . . He made it clear that Jesus did NOT say “Do not do anything about what you shall eat or what you shall drink.”

Here is a photo of a precious child at church last week. I post it especially for my 3-year old granddaughter who would surely agree that this is a magnificent dress!

When we got back from church, the students were at the house. We had lunch and there was much discussion throughout the rest of the day regarding plans for the coming week. It's hard, when resources are insufficient to provide services to all the people in all the towns, to decide how to “triage” the need. Since there are insufficient funds to buy mosquito nets to entirely meet the needs, and insufficient funds to do HIV/AIDS testing in all the villages, decisions needed to be made about how best to use the limited resources. It was decided that nets would be generously distributed in one or two villages where the area is more marshy, and the testing will be done in three or four villages. Health assessments can be done in as many villages as time allows.

In the evening, the students opened all the suitcases of supplies and sorted them.

January 4 in summary

2009-01-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

We didn't go to Edea. The hotel owner who would host us had had to leave town. We had a very relaxing day while Ruth handled many errands. In the afternoon, Joe and Barb and I decided to take a walk around the area. We had not done this yet. About five blocks from here we found a ready-to-wear dress shop. Inside, it became evident that we wouldn't buy anything.There were western clothes which didn't appeal to us. There were also some attractive blouses that interested me but I felt the price was more than I wanted to pay. The exchange rate is not very good just now. I started up a conversation with the young clerk. She knew a little English, but my French was better so we did fairly well. I told her what we were doing here, emphasizing that we are not tourists. She said, “I am a Christian. I would like to do that someday.” It was so good to hear such a clear declaration of her motive. It was as natural in her conversation as saying, “It's raining.” And she would like to come to the U.S. Someday. I told her not to give up the dream. She was a good salesperson. She showed me a black blouse and I said, “The sleeves are too puffy,” partly with gesturing. “Oh no, she said. “This is you. I can see what you are wearing and so I know this is you.” Delightful. I wish I had favored something enough to buy it from her!

Later some of WEH's colleagues came and so there was much discussion with them.

Now we have been here a full week. In the evening the Linfield students arrived. Only one of their 30-odd suitcases could not be found. They reported it missing. Otherwise, their trip was relatively uneventful.

Half of their luggage is full of medical supplies which the Friends of WEH paid for. We purchased them from an American missionary organization that collects and sells meds at very low prices. Then we had them mailed to Linfield so all the students could bring a second suitcase full.

January 4, 2009 -- Generous donors to WEH

2009-01-03T23:38:00.000-08:00

There are several people here who provide incredible support for the work of WEH. Ruth's husband, Raphael, has been paying the rent for the office since WEH was started a decade ago, and transportation. Leopold Ekwa Ngalle is regular in his giving of cash and sometimes provides transportation. He also donated a grinding mill for cassava and corn. Mme. Viollette Pency Soppo Priso provides cash to pay for children's schooling and school supplies and food. Jean Francois Cartier, the restaurant and hotel owner in Edea, provides used sheets, towels, curtains and food and soap bars and notebooks. Mme. Laurent Esso has donated fabric for the women. (On March 8 of every year Women's Day is celebrated with a lot of pomp and circumstance. Each year a fabric is made for the celebration and many women acquire it to make themselves dresses. Special fabrics for dresses here are the rough equivalent of specially printed t-shirts in the U.S. Ruth has shown me a dress that was made from specially imprinted fabric for her church women's group.)

A French football player donated 96 pairs of shoes for the children!

In America there are some amazing donors, too, who give to the Friends of WEH. Both the Church of Our Saviour in Lakeside and the Church of the Good Shepherd in Kearny made significant gifts for the truck. When Sherry Archer, a nursing professor with the Linfield students, and a member of the board of the Friends of WEH, married Bob a couple of years ago, they asked that in lieu of wedding presents they be given donations to WEH. And Sherry's Jewish humanitarian community in Portland made a significant contribution for orphans' schooling and sent clothes and other items as well for the children. Other significant supporters include Kenneth and Deborah Wood in Minnesota, David Groff of Linfield College, and Allan and Margaret Anderson of Washington state. Allan is the President of the Friends of WEH. All the board members of the Friends of WEH solicited donations from their family and friends for the truck. My large family gave gifts to the Friends of WEH rather than exchanging gifts, and then my cousins joined in the fun. On the website of the Friends of WEH there is a long list of donors all of which donated for the truck.

Joseph and Barbara Stone (and I) paid our own way to come here, nothing to be sneezed at. Barbara has invested a huge amount of time getting up to snuff on tropical diseases and HIV/AIDS.

January 3, 2009 -- Linfield students come today

2009-01-03T02:59:00.000-08:00

Today is my older brother and sister's birthday -- Happy Birthday, Judy and Rich.

We didn't go to Edea. The hotel owner who would host us had had to leave town. We had a very relaxing day while Ruth handled many errands. In the afternoon, Joe and Barb and I decided to take a walk around the area. We had not done this yet. About five blocks from here we found a ready-to-wear dress shop. Inside, it became evident that we wouldn't buy anything.There were western clothes which didn't appeal to us. There were also some attractive bloused that interested me but I felt the price was more than I wanted to pay. The exchange rate is not very good just now 12. I started up a conversation with the young clerk. She knew a little English, but my French was better so we did fairly well. I told her what we were doing here, emphasizing that we are not tourists. She said, “I am a Christian. I would like to do that someday.” It was so good to hear such a clear declaration of her motive. It was as natural in her conversation as saying, “It's raining.” And she would like to come to the U.S. Someday. I told her not to give up the dream. She was a good salesperson. She showed me a black blouse and I said, “The sleeves are too puffy,” partly with gesturing. “Oh no, she said. “This is you. I can see what you are wearing and so I know this is you.” Delightful. I wish I had favored something enough to buy it from her!

Later some of WEH's colleagues came and so there was much discussion with them.

Now we have been here a full week. In the evening the Linfield students arrived. Only one of their 30-odd suitcases could not be found. They reported it missing. Otherwise, their trip was relatively uneventful.

Half of their luggage is full of medical supplies which the Friends of WEH paid for. We purchased them from an American missionary organization that collects and sells meds at very low prices. Then we had them mailed to Linfield so all the students could bring a second suitcase full.

Today is the birthday of my older brother and his twin sister. Happy birthday, Judy and Rich!

January 2, 2009

2009-01-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

Another amazing day. I didn't wake up until nearly 10 a.m. We all sat around over breakfast, chatting for awhile, then two of Ruth's colleagues came to conference with us about HIV testing. One was a social worker from the government and the other was a social worker who works with Ruth. We discussed many issues relating to HIV testing including how to raise people's interest in being tested, how to follow up with a second test if the first is positive, etc., etc. We also brainstormed ideas about the future educational and vocational center for WEH.

Then we had the great privilege of going to lunch to the home of the doctor and his wife. You will not believe how royally we were treated. The lunch included fish, duck, frog, and a kind of anteater! They were all delicious. But I happened to serve myself one of the frog's feet! This I could not eat – but I did take a picture of it. There was also cous cous and white yam. Ah yes, the first course was soup, and dessert was the sweet in-season pineapple and papaya. We always squeeze a slice of lime on the papaya. Very delicious. The meal was a huge compliment to us because, as Ruth explained to us, these are menu items for royalty! It's been a long time since Ruth and Raphael have eaten such exotic things. We were deeply flattered. The family is in the process of building their house around them (which made me feel better because that's sort of what Sam and I are doing in Arizona--- not building, but perpetually remodeling.)

Earlier we had all decided that Joe and Barb and I would go to Edea tonight to take advantage of the offer of Jean Francois Cartier to stay at his hotel. But by the time we got to the lunch, and then enjoyed these people for a long time, it was decided that it was too late to go to Edea. So we came home to Douala. When we arrived here, the two colleagues had returned. During the day they had worked hard to create a budget for HIV testing in 10 villages. We have to hire a mobile unit and three staff people for each of the 10 days, and the gasoline for the unit, and publicity including banners in seven villages announcing that we are coming, radio advertising on two stations, each in three languages, and tipping some traditional messengers (employees of local government). All of this totaled about $7000. The Linfield nursing students who are coming raised a lot of money to bring with them, but probably not that much. We will have to see after they arrive tomorrow. There is still some money in the account of the Friends of WEH but we may need that for customs when the truck arrives, or even for “a little gift” to get the truck released at the port. And there will be the valid fee for the work of the customs broker. So we can't budget any of that for anything until we have the truck – which potentially might not be complete before we leave.

We are not eating dinner tonight. We don't need any more!

I think that tomorrow Joe and Barb and I will go to Edea and simply enjoy the day there. Next week we will REALLY roll up our sleeves and get to work.

2009-01-02T03:56:00.000-08:00

At church on Sunday a large group of children sang.

Evening of January 1

2009-01-01T12:25:00.000-08:00

'Well, what a feast we had today! -- a multiple course French meal with Barb's turkey. First we had foie gras (a very special sort of chicken liver pate), cheese, salmon and tripe! When I tried the foie gras and the tripe I was amazed at how delicious they both were. Then there was the turkey. We ate and ate. For dessert we had a yule log cake and an apple tart. And there was a bordeaux vin magnifique.

The company included the pastor and his wife, their son, and two daughters. One of the daughters had several children. I got out my jax and played with the two girls, ages 8 and 5. The younger was named Ashley, and the older Carol!!!!!! Then there was also Ruth's sister Doris and her son and daughter.

The conversation at the adults' table was very lively. The amazing thing was that when the pastor said the grace in French I understood nearly the whole thing, while during the conversation, translation was always necessary. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that one expects certain phrases in a prayer; perhaps it was that he spoke quite slowly, perhaps because God was in the mix. Ruth and Raphael and the pastor and I, with comments of others, engaged several questions like creationism vs. evolution, and the conflict between the two creation stories in Genesis. I was simply amazed. We were in accord on practically everything. And he was a Baptist.! Ruth and I marveled at how, through the years, our theology has moved in a similar direction – and so has the theology of the Baptists here, or at least of this man. It seems that the Baptist church here has moved away from the conservatism that remains in the U.S.

Before I forget, I must remember to tell the story of my Congolese dress. In college Ruth and I made matching Congolese dresses. There was a simple wrap-around skirt and a tight fitting bodice – no sleeves. They had a pleated ruffle sort of decoration from the waist, five or six inches long. At home I have a picture of us together in these dresses. I wish I had brought the photo. But I did bring the dress. When I saw Prisca, Doris's daughter, I knew it was for her. She is a petite young woman. I was afraid it might be too large for her, but it was OK. I can't believe I was ever that small. She said with delight, “It is Congolese?” She was so pleased and that pleased me very much.

Well, now we've all taken a nap and we're sitting around watching TV. The situation in Gaza is very fragile, very grave.

New Year's Day, 2009

2009-01-01T04:23:00.001-08:00

Bonne Annee!! Ruth awakened me at about 9:30. She had company downstairs she wanted me to meet. One was the wife of Raphael's cousin, and another older woman, and a young boy. The second woman hugged me extremely warmly when we were introduced. I asked Ruth why. She said that it is the custom here to treat a friend's friend just as you would the first friend. Being Ruth's friend here is an amazing portal.

We had breakfast (coffee, papaya, and croissant) and now preparations for lots of company this afternoon are underway. Barbara got up early and was given the honor of entering Robert's kitchen so she could dress a turkey. (Robert is an amazingly gifted chef; the kitchen is his domain.)

So I'll write about yesterday. We had a relaxing morning again. Ruth said it was a day of preparing to go to a party this evening. We would go the party at about 8 pm, then go to the church to ring in the New Year. Then they would bring the three of us home and they would return to the party which would include dinner and celebration into the wee hours. They have come to understand that we are not used to these late night hours!

So in the midday Sarah, Ruth's manicurist/pedicurist/masseuse arrived. The family room was turned into a beauty parlor. Ruth had her hair set on curlers and a complete facial and then a manicure and pedicure. I asked if I could also have the manicure. I explained that I had never had a professional manicure, nor a pedicure. So I got the whole treatment of my nails. Sarah knows little English so I worked hard at speaking in French and she was very patient with me. After doing my nails -- hands and feet – she did Barbara's. In the “women's room” yesterday we became very fond of her. When it came time to pay her, the charge for Barbara and me was about $24 each, but we each paid her $30. She wanted to give us change but we said, “Bonne Annee” and hugged her. As she left, she told Ruth that she was so excited because now she could go to the market and buy food for a real celebration at home. We felt deeply gifted by her even as she felt deeply gifted by us. That was so cool.

In the afternoon we continued to primp. What a fun day.

Things don't always play out as you had planned. Rather, we went to the church first (not the same church as on Sunday.) From about 8:00 until midnight there was scripture reading in both French and Douala, and several choirs sang in multiple languages including Lingala, Ruth's Congolese native tongue. One of the songs was “We are marching in the light of God,” sung over and over again in several languages including English. There was also a sermon. (Again, the pulpit was very high, like a reformation pulpit.) The church building was very large with people filling the nave and the pews at both ends of the crossing. Most everyone wore white. (Ruth wished we had known that. We were in our party clothes.) The worship lacked the intimacy of the Sunday service we went to, but was very interesting in spite of the fact that I don't understand French speakers!

As midnight approached, a prayer for the new year was said and then they began to sing another song over and over again. Ruth said it was about God's blessings for the new year. As the hands on the clock moved on, the pace got faster and faster, and the volume increased. Then everyone rang in the new year by breaking into cheers with all hands in the air. I took a video clip of this which I hope to post when I figure out how.

As we came out of the church, fireworks were exploding in the air. Ruth and Raphael's friends greeted them and there was kissing all around. The parking lot was, of course, very crowded. I couldn't help myself. I had to open the car window and wave and holler “Bonne Annee.” People hollered back, “Bonne Annee!” Ruth and Raphael and Barbara and Joe all laughed. Ruth said, “Oh, Carol. Always enthusiastic."

We came home then and Ruth and Raphael went to the party. So that was the day we spent primping for a party we didn't attend. But we didn't mind. It was a full and rich New Year's celebration and we didn't want to get stuck at a late night party only to see ourselves fade away!

Once home, they broke open a bottle of wine for the three of us before they left. We had our own toast-for-three, overwhelmed by the warmth of everyone and the hospitality of Ruth and Raphael, and the people who assist them. We have become very fond of all of them. (Ruth feels very fortunate to have several staff members. People need work and they have the means to provide jobs.)

So it was a blessed day and now, today, we will again be blessed by God with the warmth of our ever-expanding circle of friends. Ruth frequently expresses how baffling it is to be so largely blessed, a feeling I share. And she continually reminds us that receiving great blessing requires great giving. Back in the U.S we sometimes take our great blessing for granted, and hence forget the part about great giving.

All of you who read this, have a New Year full of both receiving and giving blessing.

December 31, Ruth's house

2008-12-31T17:24:00.000-08:00

It's actually 2 a.m. on Jan 1, 2009. But I'm way too sleepy to write about it tonight. So when I awake in the morning I'll write all about our preparations for a New Year's party we didn't attend, church on New Year's Eve, and about the local congressman in the Moungo Division who has promised to give WEH land for establishing a vocational center. Good night and Bonne Annee.

Tuesday, December 30, Ruth's house

2008-12-31T17:23:00.000-08:00

We asked for a slow day today and we got it. Ruth had much to do and sort of came and went all day. It's amazing how many people come and go from her house.

They have been battling multiple problems with the house related to electricity, plumbing, and Internet (!) so various repairmen came and went. The Internet repairman was a delightful young man named Chamberlain. (That should interest my friends back home whose last name is Chamberlain.) He was very adept at the processes necessary to isolate the modem problem, and then to get my laptop and the Stone's laptop onto Ruth and Raphael's wireless network.

Amongst the many visitors was a friend of theirs who is a pastor, and his wife. And there was a doctor (MarcelNgom) and his wife (Marceline). She is the treasurer of Ruth's NGO -- “Women, Environment, and Health” (see http://wehfriends.pbwiki.com). We shared with her how much we hope that we can find a way to ship many sewing machines. She asked how many. For some reason the number 100 popped out of my mouth. Woudn't that be amazing!

It was a great, relaxing day. I love the papaya and the fresh pineapple. It is so sweet and perfectly ripe. We've also had plantain, and lunch today was African: lamb stew and fufu and slices of white yam and a wonderful caramel custard. We feel thoroughly gifted in every way.

Same day, in the evening

2008-12-31T16:14:00.000-08:00

Ruth said she was very surprised and impressed with my French. My confidence is increasing, and I try to think about how to say things in French even when we are chatting in English. But I can hardly understand anything a French speaker says.

Today Ruth awoke me at about 8:30. I have slept so well. It was time for breakfast which we ate in the formal dining room, like all the meals. We took our time getting going, letting Joe sleep in longer. Finally, we got in the car and departed for Edea, where they lived until about 15 years ago. We drove in busy traffic for some distance, through a large vendor area with many people walking among the heavy, slow-moving traffic to peddle their wares. After about half-an-hour Ruth said, “You all do have your passports with you, don't you?” We didn't. She apologized for not having asked us at home but said we had to go home to get them. She said we may not need to identify ourselves, but that we should have them just in case. She has frequently said that often police will set up seemingly official check points and ask for a fake fee to let you through. She said we needed to protect ourselves in as many ways as possible against such things. On several occasions we have seen our driver just confidently drive through such stops. The police are there to “take” the innocent. So we had to drive all the way back to the house to get our passports. Then we were off again.

It took over an hour, after that, to get to Edea. When we arrived it became apparent that Ruth had reserved a place for us to have lunch. When we went in, we realized it was the same place that Raphael was having lunch. He had told us that he would be meeting with a large group of village chiefs. They wanted to talk with him, before he retired, about the expectations they had for assistance from Alucam. We stopped for a moment at their table; Raphael introduced us all around. Then we were led to our table in a wonderful “boucalou” with a straw roof, looking towards the river.

Interruption. Monsieur Jean Francois, the owner of the restaurant we went to yesterday, has just arrived at Ruth's house. What a pleasure. His English is very poor (much poorer than my French!), so we couldn't converse very well until Ruth joined us. He told Ruth to tell us that if we want to take a couple of days off from our work with Ruth's NGO, we would be his guests at his hotel.

Anyway, yesterday he came and had lunch with us. He's a Frenchman married to a Cameroonian. But the Cameroonian wife is in France, while he is here. They visit from time to time! The lunch was magnificent, beautifully prepared. A salad, which included celery greens, and then a plate of local fish from the river. It was not at all “fishy.” I think Sam would really like that fish – and the one we had for dinner the day before, too. When Raphael was done with his lunch he came to our boucalou to say good-bye. I joked, “Raphael, nous avons une personne tres important ici!” And I gestured to Jean Francois. Everyone laughed. It was great fun.

When I finished my first French CD course a few weeks ago, the teacher – Michel Thomas – said, “Congratulations. You have learned a great deal and you will find that now you can express yourself with confidence.” I didn't really believe him at the time, but it's true. I'm so pleased. I'm very unclear about past tense, and my vocabulary is limited, but I really can express myself.

After the magnificent lunch, we drove some distance through rubber tree plantations and rural vegetation. Ruth wanted to show us a Catholic mission where many German missionaries died in the late 1800s from dysentery and malaria, some very young. We were given a tour of the mission and we signed the guest book. I expressed that in England I had celebrated the mass in a church which goes all the way back to the days of the Catholic church there. The priest smiled. I could not tell how he felt about that.

We got away at about 5 p.m. So it was dark by the time we got home. Once again, we drove through the part of the highway with vendors on all sides. Frankly, I can't believe that we haven't had a fender bender already, or at last seen one. Yesterday we drove by a couple of damaged vehicles by the side of the road.

We rested a bit at home until Raphael got home from work. We ate dinner at about 9:30 p.m. A wonderful soup again, and then fish. Once again it did not taste fishy. Sam would like it. Afterwards we retired to the “family room” and ate fresh, locally roasted peanuts. Delicious.

Time to go to bed, nearly 11:00 p.m.

Journal entry on December 29, 2008

2008-12-31T16:10:00.000-08:00

Ruth's house

Ruth awakened me this morning at nearly 8:30. I haven't felt any jet lag. For breakfast we had papaya and bread and eggs. It's been a slow morning so I was able to unpack my clothes and clean off the desk for my computer.

Some more about church yesterday: There were three different choirs, plus a marvelous group of Sunday School kids. The kids each recited a portion of the Gospel of John and performed a skit. Most of the service was in French, but Ruth said that sometimes the choirs sang in a Congolese language. The service lasted three hours. The pastor's baby was baptized. I enjoyed that literally all the people were doing the work of worship. I felt like I was dreaming. The music fulfilled all my expectations of joyful African singing. Sometimes I was nearly in tears. At the end they introduced us and asked me if I wanted to say something. I used a lot of French in what I said. The pastor did some translating. Later I was told that he was not doing a good job. Raphael stood up and clarified my story. I started out by saying I had wanted to come to Africa since I was a child. I tried to describe how a missionary in Congo brought Ruth and me together. And how we were roommates in college. I thanked them for being the church, so joyful and lively, and that we were blessed to the bottom of our heart and soul. And with Ruth's go-ahead, I said that the Stones and I want to give them a baptismal font. The young people had given a lectern which had been locally made. So I took a picture of it and we 'll figure out how to have the font made. They were very pleased and very grateful. I took some pictures of the exterior of the church.

After a short time receiving refreshments--including beer!--in the yard outside the church building, we left. We came home and had a wonderful lunch again. Then we left to go to Raphael's village. It took several hours to get there. It takes great skill to drive in town or in the rural areas. Traffic is crazy and there are vendors by the side of the road, especially before we left the city. Eventually we got to dirt roads, and went through several wide spots in the road, each of which was a village. When we finally got to Mangamba they took us to the house they have built over the last ten years. It is a lovely home and I took pictures of it. We had a beer and they showed us the church next door that they had built in the village. There had been a church there since German days before the first world war, but it had fallen into disrepair or collapsed or something. So a number of years ago they had this church built. We met the pastor there and had a delightful time.

We returned to Douala. As we travel and I see the people carrying produce on their heads, and cars overloaded with people and produce, and the bananas and pineapples and lots of children, and vendors by the sides of the road, I think, “Wow, that looks like all the pictures I've seen of Africa.” The same with the open air churches and the schools, also open air.

We had a hilarious time over dinner. We had a wonderful spicy soup. (It seems that they serve wine at lunch, not at dinner.) We got on the subject of Raphael's retirement and how, as the General Manager of Alucam (a large aluminum processing operation), he really is an important person. He's a very modest man, but he did concede, during the conversation, that he will be missed. Ruth joked with him about how he was tooting his own horn. He said something like, “It's OK for me to say these things to friends.” Joe quickly responded, “With your horn.” We all burst out laughing. I guess you had to be there. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Later when someone else tooted his/her own horn, Joe pantomimed playing a trumpet. It's become a great joke re-shared many times.

Journal entry on Sunday, December 28

2008-12-31T16:06:00.000-08:00

Ruth's House, Douala

We've been here a little over 24 hours. How can I possibly describe everything? The flight from Brussels to Douala passed pretty uneventfully – except that we were kept on the ground for nearly an hour, so we were late getting into Douala. I slept several times, much better than the night before. My seat mate was a young Cameroonian man who has settled in Chicago. He wants to bring his whole family to the U.S. He was very angry at Cameroon and all its corruption and just wanted to get out. Such a contrast to Ruth and Raphael who want to help make it different.

When we finally landed in Douala, I signaled across the aisle to Joe and Barbara to hurry with me off the plane. I was so excited to see Ruth, and I didn't want her to wait too long. So we were among the first off the plane. Then they remembered that they had not filled out their disembarkment card, so we had to stop to do that. By the time they finished we were at the end of the line! First we moved slowly up a line to show our passports and yellow fever card. Then we had to wait again in a long line to show them to another person. Finally we were able to move on to the place where we greeted Ruth. We were the very last to come out. First we hugged and hugged, and she laughed and laughed. She said she had started to worry that we had missed that plane or something. Then we had to collect our nine bags plus our “personal” bags. Fortunately, Ruth had brought a man with her to help and he was a genius. For awhile we couldn't find several of the bags, but eventually every one was accounted for. Then we realized there was another long line, and maybe our suitcases would be opened. Before we knew it, Paul and Ruth were saying, “Come this way.” We were ushered out a side door and outside without even going through that other line! It was obvious that Paul and Ruth were well known by airport personnel. Paul got several porters to help carry our suitcases down some pretty steep steps to the parking lot. All around me were the colors and smells and sights of Africa! I still could hardly believe it.

When we got to Ruth's home, Ruth and Raphael had to rush off to a wedding party, so the three of us were served dinner by ourselves. It was beef well-prepared, delicious, with a fresh fruit cup for dessert, complete with papaya. Finally we went to bed and we all slept well. I can't believe I have not been more affected by jet lag.

Ruth woke us all up this morning when it was time to get ready to go to church. She had explained that their assistant pastor was having his baby baptized in a brand new church recently started by their church. Again we had a lovely meal of papaya and a scone. Then we drove quite a distance to this new church. The traffic was absolutely anarchic! But Victor, the driver, was extremely competent. Paved roads soon turned into dirt roads, even while we were still in Douala. When we got there, I couldn't believe it. It looked like all the pictures I've ever seen of African churches. There were four walls and a roof in this case, but all the windows were wide open to the outdoors, and even though it was only recently built, we could see where the rain had come in and stained the wood. The floors were cement. The chancel area had a plain table and lectern, and there was a pulpit the preacher had to climb many steps to get up into.

I'm getting sleepy. I'll have to explain this magnificent day more tomorrow. Hopefully we'll go at a bit slower pace.

December 27, 2008 -- Brussels International Airport

2008-12-31T16:01:00.000-08:00

We are on our way! Sam (my husband) went with us to the airport in Phoenix and he and I said our farewells. This is so much easier for me than for him because I'm off on a big adventure while he has to continue the routine of our lives. First we flew to Newark and waited there for several hours. Overnight we flew to Brussels. Barb and Joe and I are now sitting in the Brussels airport waiting for our connection to Douala. In about six hours we'll be in Africa. Last night I had a delightful seat mate – a 24 year old MD student who is on winter break. We talked in French and she said I wasn't doing too badly.

I slept very poorly. When I finally got to sleep, all too soon Barbara was awakening me because we were getting ready to land. While waiting, a sweet toddler named Micah took a shining to me. He climbed up in my lap and nearly fell asleep.

We are on our way

2008-12-26T06:13:00.000-08:00

Sam accompanied us all on the shuttle to the Phoenix airport and snapped this picture.

We are sitting in the Phoenix airport waiting to get on the first leg of our flight. I still feel like this is a dream. I won't believe this is finally really happening until we get there. A tiny zipper on my shirt set off the metal detector and I had to be searched! Oh well. We allowed plenty of time.

I DO have a visa with passport!

2008-12-22T11:28:00.000-08:00

Well, my visa did get here, five days before my departure. What a relief. I'm now winding up things here, packing, weighing the suitcase, repacking. My parish gave me a cash Christmas gift which will really help with expenses. I still haven't heard where the pick-up is, or when it will arrive in Cameroon. Much has yet to be revealed.

When Ruth and I were roommates in college I bought this lion piggy bank to save money to go to Africa some day. I still have the bank

OK. I'm Nervous

2008-12-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

Five more post office days before I go and my passport/visa have not been returned by the Cameroonian embassy yet. My colleagues got their yesterday, so I still believe it will get here, but I can't help but be nervous. I have tried to call the embassy many times, but no one answers.

My Siblings are the Best

2008-12-12T05:38:00.000-08:00

I am simply stunned. My five siblings and some of their kids got together and decided that rather than drawing names for the annual Christmas gift exchange, they would all donate to the Friends of WEH. Together they donated over $500 so we can pay for the maintenance and gasoline for the truck. We plan to do so on an ongoing basis.
Speaking of the truck, I hope to hear this week about an estimated time for its arrival in Cameroon. We do so hope it will get there in time for us to use it. Two weeks from now I'll be on the plane from Phoenix to Newark, then on to Brussels and Douala. I'm nervous. The embassy hasn't returned my passport with visa yet. I'll have to call them today.

Visa app accomplished

2008-11-12T19:39:00.000-08:00

I mailed off my application for a Cameroonian visa today. Six weeks to go. I'm starting to pack the little things that I could forget later, and making lists. Excitement isn't the word for it!

Obama!!

2008-11-04T20:40:00.000-08:00

Obama is our new president! I feel like I can hold my head a little higher when I travel outside the U.S.!

If anyone sees a silver Dodge Dakota on a truck going to Baltimore, it's ours!

2008-10-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

Today I got word that the truck is en route to Baltimore. Tim Howell, our car dealer in Willard, Ohio, at Sharpnack Motors, was unable to get a photo of it being loaded up, though. Shoot. I'll post a photo of it when I get to Cameroon.

This is my first son's birthday. Happy Birthday, Josh.

We have a shipping date

2008-10-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled. Today I got the phone call from our shipping company, FID International of Florida, telling me that our truck for Cameroon will ship on Halloween, October 31! This is really happening. We actually bought a truck to help Women, Environment and Health, and it's almost on its way. I'm thrilled.

The truck is ready to ship!

2008-10-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

My college roommate 40 years ago was Ruth Musunu. She graduated the year after I did, then got a master's degree in public health from Loma Linda University. She met and married a Cameroonian, and they made their lives there. They had four children and she taught high school science for a time. But she wanted to do more, so she founded a non-government organization called Women, Environment and Health (WEH).

A bunch of us who knew Ruth 40 years ago established the Friends of WEH. With some other friends who caught our vision, we spent a year and a half raising funds to buy and ship a 4X4 truck to Cameroon for the use of the folks in the NGO. They really need this truck to reach the villages where they see to the needs of over 500 orphans. A wonderful car dealer in Willard, Ohio, gave us a Dodge Dakota at cost. That was $12,265. And now we're raising another $3500 to get it shipped. We're waiting for a shipping date and the details from our customs broker in Cameroon. We pray that the cost of customs will not be the 30% of value of the truck + shipping which it would be for a commercial product! We also pray the truck will be in Cameroon by the time we get there on Dec 27, or at least by January 3 when a team of nursing students arrive from Linfield College for their 3rd world immersion experience.

My 2nd son's first day of college

2008-10-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

Through all the years that my two sons were growing up, I often told them the story of my African roommate and how one day I would go to Africa.

I cherish a moment in the eventful day when my husband and I dropped our second son off at Grinnell College in Iowa for his freshman year of college. We all unpacked the van and then wandered the campus a bit. When it was time to go we hugged each other farewell.

As I tearfully crossed the street to get in the van, Seth said, "Hey Mom!" I looked back. He said, "Have a good time in Africa!"

That was about 15 years ago, but I will always remember it as his acknowledgment of my dream and his blessing of it. I think he was also saying, "I'm fine; you can get on with your other life goals."

A Dream coming true!

2008-10-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

I've wanted to visit Africa since I was about 10. Having a college roommate from Congo reinforced this dream. Now, 43 years after I promised her that I would come and see her, I'm going to do it! I leave on December 26. It all became real for me when I got my travel shots last week: Tetanus, Diptheria, Measles, Polio booster, Hepatitis A and B, and of course Yellow Fever. And I'm all set with my anti-malarials. I was really prancing!