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.
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