French Hostages

For those of you who may not have heard, on February 19th, a French family that worked in Yaoundé (the political capital city of Cameroon) were vacationing in northern Cameroon. They were visiting the Waza National Park; a dad, mum, 4 kids (ages 5-12), plus an uncle. Early one morning their vehicle was stopped at gunpoint and they were kidnapped. Later Boko Haram, an Islamist group, claimed they had taken them and were making demands for prisoners to be released in Cameroon among other things. This family is friends with two of our good friends in Yaounde; their kids went to the same school, hung out together, run races together, etc. So this was the closest I had ever been to something like this, where it was personally effecting people that I know and love. Cameroon is a relatively safe country (compared to our neighbors) but we still have to take precautions. We have bars on our windows, we have guards dogs, we try not to travel after dark, etc. In the North were Islam is stronger, people have to be even more careful. Personally, we have never felt threaten or in danger in all our nine years here. 

For the "white" community, hearing things like this does stirs up worries and fears.  We were actually discussing going to the precise spot next year for our family vacation. The French children were almost the exact ages of our kids and it is hard not to picture yourself in the same situation... how would I be feeling? how would Jude and the rest of our children handle those sort of circumstances? what are they going through at this exact moment? Through it all we just decided not to be led by fear (worry wasn't going to help anyone anyway, right?) and just lean and trust on Jesus for their safety. We lifted them up in prayer every night and encouraged our kids to do the same whenever they thought of them. I know that hundreds/thousands of other people were praying for them too.

During the first few weeks after their capture, a couple of youtube videos appeared of the family surrounded by mask men with machine guns. They were increasingly looking more thin, drawn, and worn.  For the last month there had been no new news of them and I must admit I was starting to wonder what was going to happen to them. How were their faring? The North of Cameroon is extremely hot and they had mentioned in a video that they were suffering from the heat and they didn't know how much longer they could hold out.  France had declared (and rightly so) that they would not negotiate or pay a ransom for the family.

Then on Friday, exactly 2 months since they were taken, we got news that they had been released!! I told the boys and everyone in the house at the time and we all hooped and hollered and offered up thanks to the Lord ( I also shed a tear or two). Aside from being extremely thin, they had been unharmed. They flew home on Saturday and we are just so thrilled that this story had a happy ending. I know they will have a lot of recovering and healing to do, but still, I get a skip in my heart every time I think of their release. We do serve a mighty God!

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8

If you want to read more about it all, click below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22213125

The little things (or not so little things)

Since we shipped a 40' container this time we had plenty of room to bring things back with us. Normally when we're back in the States we have to be concerned about every ounce as we are so tight on space. Walking around garage sales was torture as things were so cheap yet we had no way of getting them over here. Well, this time we didn't hold back, we went garage-sale-crazy and people gave us a ton of stuff too. Here's a list of some things I'm really happy and grateful that we brought back to Cameroon.

20ft step ladder: Jake had made us a wooden ladder which I couldn't use as I could hardly pick it off the ground let alone get it upright as it was so heavy. In the States we found the step ladder at a yard sale and toted it across the country on top of our RV which was highly embarrassing but totally worth it. I can now trim all my bushes, change light bulbs, and paint the ceiling without the risk of breaking my neck by standing on piled up chairs.

American size refrigerator: My fridge here in Cameroon was on its last legs as we bought it secondhand over eight years ago. The thermostat was gone and it couldn't get fixed so it was on timer which never really worked; everything inside was either frozen or spoiling. We weren't planning on shipping another one but a few days before the trailer was shipped we still had extra space. We ran around for a morning looking at different appliances on sale and finally found this one at Best Buy of all places. It was super cheap as it has a scratch on the front and it was a display model. I stilled hummed and harred about spending the money but Jake insisted that we get it. I am sooooo pleased we did, it has been such a massive blessing. We have lots of people over all the time so I need to stay well stocked with food. It is also awesome to have a top freezer (my last fridge didn't); we can have cubed ice now (if we make ice in our deep freezer it tastes like the dog's fish in there). Little things like ice make life much more pleasant! I thank the Lord for the fridge each time I open it. If we had bought it here it would have been at least triple the price (if you look closely you might see your picture on it :D)

Chainsaw: Someone blessed us with their chainsaw. Jake has had his eye on one for a while now and he's enjoying choppping unwanted trees and limbs down in our yard. I have to watch him or we'll be treeless in a moment! This is proving HHCH with plenty of extra firewood too. 

Larger generator: Someone also gave us a much bigger generator than what we had before. Our last one would either run the fridge or freezer and a couple of lights. The new one can run both appliances, the washer, hot water heater and my tea kettle (makes this English women happy!) without any difficulties. This is truly helpful for when we have those long power cuts of a few days at a time. Our old one is heading down to the bible school so they can have lights and the projector on nights that the electric goes out.

Popcorn seasoning: Jake's cousin bought us a ton of popcorn seasoning. Popcorn is probably one of our top snacks here as corn is cheap and abundant. We generally sprinkle sugar or salt on it. Well, life has become a little brighter with the discovery of these little shakers bursting with flavour. I thought ranch was may favourite till we popped open the jalspeño one the other night. Only downside is that we're eating popcorn most nights now!

Flossers: need I say more?!

Cooking supplies: Jake's mum took us Christmas shopping and I picked out nuts and different chocolate chips (toffee, white, dark, light, mint, etc) as my pressie. So nice to be able to make yummy chocolate chip cookies or throw a couple of handfuls into homemade ice-cream. Also lovely to have almonds to toss on top of our salads or into our granola. 

Grinder and sausage stuffer: this was donated by our butcher friends along with lots of other butchering supplies. We plan to open up a butchers by the summer as another WON business to provide steady jobs and bring in extra income for the orphanage. Of course we wanted to test out the new grinder and sausage stuffer before we train someone on them. The grinder was so quiet and fast (15lb a minute!) and the sausage stuffer made the whole process incredibly quick. I think back to 4 years ago when we did 80lb of sausage meat by a hand grinder, now that was a workout! 

Handing out clothes at HHCH

Since the container came in, we have been sorting and boxing up all the clothes that we're donated for the orphanage. It has been quite the project, let me tell you! Last week I went through all the older girls closets at HHCH, took away things that were spoiled, passed garments down, and give out new clothes. It was a lot of fun, girls sure do love clothes! This afternoon I finally got a chance to sit down with the boys and go through their clothes. It was a different story with the boys, they weren't quite so willing to give up their old-stained-tight-clothes, but they were excited to get some new duds too. 

Godwill looking smart in his new church clothes

Nestor's muscle shirt. This was a big hit!

So what are we doing with all the stained, stretched out, old clothes you ask? Well, I am making my first rag rug with them! I youtubed it and am on my way to a beautiful rug. Once I have mastered it (or at least can make it look like something that resembles a rug) I plan on teaching the technique to the girls. It will be a good skill for them to know, it will give the orphanage some floor coverings, and who knows, maybe we could sell some to generate some extra income for the Children's Home. I'm thinking a rug made from scarps of African material would be pretty awesome!

Blessings and Aruna were also busy this afternoon, they got a fence up around the new tomato garden that has been put in the front. The guard dog, Samson, loves to lay in the cool soil so a fence was in order. Jake got them started and told them he would be back in an hour or two to help but by the time he returned they were all finished. 

Looking good!

Sweet Farawa!

Tahirih and Blessed

Godwill ready to work on the farm!

Jake literally being "petted"

Audrey

Meet Audrey, a young lady that is volunteering with Win Our Nations Cameroon for six months. When we were back in the States we got an email from her explaining that she had seen our website and that she was interested in coming to Africa to help. She is a friend of a friend; that is how she initially heard about us. Audrey had a bunch of confirmations about coming to Cameroon and one of the biggest ones was when she went to meet the missions director of her church to discuss her trip. Audrey found out that we were good friends with the director. In fact, she was a leader on a mission trip that Jake took to England back in '96. It sure is a small world! As we could not get the same exact flight on the way back to Cameroon in December, we met up with Audrey at Brussels Airport for a few brief minutes before we were herded into different parts of the plane. Then we were reunited on African soil about nine hours later. 

Audrey has been such a blessing to have here. She is a preschool teacher by profession so she is great with kids. Everyone at the orphanage absolutely adores her. She is such a hard worker and I don't think I have heard her complain once (being a farm girl really helps!). It is a blessing to have an extra pair of hands around the house, she helps out a ton with our brood (particulary Jude's preschool). I do feel sorry for her sometimes as Jude and Jordan are constantly at her door when she is in her room. 

At the orphanage, Audrey is tutoring three specific children that are struggling in school. She is also doing some preschool with Blessed and Godwill, our two youngest. The girls at HHCH have LOVED the sleepovers that Audrey's had there. She is also helping out at the youth group at church and has even had the opportunity to assist another missionary family with their kids for a week in a village. She is willing to try anything!  

And above I appreciate the spiritual maturity of this young lady, she has a real deep and intimate relationship with Jesus. She has been fearless in her street evangelism and the love of the Lord shines out of her. She has already hit the half way mark which is hard to believe as it feels like we just got back and are still settling in. We are planning on spending a few days at the beach before she flies out on the first of June. 

You can check out her blog below:

http://www.audreyincameroon.blogspot.com

Out in a village

Helping out with my christmas cookies that go out to our neighbors.

Audrey was also a massive blessing when the container came in. She pretty much solely sorted the hundreds of books that were donated; whether they went to the orphanage, bible school, church, etc. She organized most of the clothes too. I would have to tell her to go to bed at a 11pm at night!

So, having said all that, we are ALWAYS looking for more volunteers/interns... whether for a month or a year. There is never a lull in work here and we can always find you something to do. 

New Library Books!

The last few weeks have been super busy as we just finished our missionary home schooling co-op, Sonlight Christian Academy. It was an awesome two weeks where about 7 missionaries families came from all over Cameroon to the Baptist Center here in town, and us parents taught the kids different subjects. I had the privilege of teaching LA to the 3rd and 4th graders, helping out in music class, and instructing the dolphin swimming class (I got a lovely tan!). As always the kids had a fantastic time hanging out with all their friends and having someone else other than "boring ol' Mum" teaching them. It was also very tiring as we are out the door at 7:30am and not back till 5:30 most nights (I was hitting the sack at about 8:30pm). So it is nice to be back to normal schedule again. Pictures will be coming soon. 

Today I finally got the chance to take down the hundreds of children's books that were donated to the orphanage while we were back in the States. It was a lot of fun to sort through them all and then get them up on the shelves. Of course the kids were very happy to have some fresh reading material and library time went extra long today. 

We filled almost another whole shelf up today. A massive thanks to everyone that donated books! And this isn't all of them, I pulled some of the bible story ones out to use at our church for kid's club. 

All these books have been donated over the years. I'm thrilled that even outside kids are now coming in and borrowing them. In a culture where reading it not a normal pastime, it is great to see kids excited about books.

Library time comes right after out weekly kid's club at the orphanage. Karen Jackson, a Wycliffe missionary in town, has been helping out with the younger class. She brings lots of children from her neighbourhood, it is great to see HHCH so full. 

We have been working on the rubbish system at the Children's Home. When we left in June there was a massive hole in the back yard that had been dug to throw trash into. When we got back it was more than overflowing. There is a truck that comes around once a week to pick up trash but you have to be at the  side of the road as it passes to hand them your rubbish. So it is not the most reliable system, but at least there is something. But now we have a three bucket system; compost, scraps for the chickens, and fire. It has taken a bit to drill it into everyone but it seems that it is finally working and the kids are sorting their rubbish accordingly. The compost is overflowing and giving us plenty of good, rich soil to add to our farms.

A few weeks back we turned all the compost of the last 6 months.

32 bags in all!

We trying something new, using inside-out tires as planters for herbs and spices

Today we have a bunch of tomato plants, garlic, leaks, and onions sprouting. Looking forward to our first harvest!

All caught up (or just about!)

Well, I told myself I wasn't allowed to write another blog until I got caught up on everything I needed to get done in the last month (in January we took back all the responsibilities that we had given to the Borns, our co-workers, when we left.). Praise God I have finally caught up on ministry finances including closing out all the accounts for 2012, completed all the sponsorship and update letters for the orphanage, got the HHCH animal records back in order as well as the HHCH kitchen records up-to-date and the shelves all stocked and inventoried. I also had a day of prayer and planning with all my children's workers from the church and we planned out the year.  And I have just about replied to all the emails in my inbox. I feel a great weight has lifted on my shoulders as I'm not playing catch-up anymore. So I hope to be more faithful with my blog now!

December was getting over jet-lag, getting our house back into working order, getting our truck going, getting all our utilities and contracts back up, and the other million personal things that needed to get done. Oh, and Christmas of course.

Since getting back it has definitely taken a while to get into our normal routine. Finally, finally I am waking up at 5:30 again and it isn't like torture to drag myself out of bed. Jake is back to managing the two car washes, teaching at Faith Bible College, preaching at church, getting projects at the children's Home finished up, and making sure that the new bus for the orphanage is getting fixed and painted the way we want it. Home schooling has been going Ok and is definitely getting smoother each week.

The much needed bus for HHCH. It is currently having an "extreme makeover." Should be finished this week.

So, some photos of the last month:

We had a lot of fun setting up decoration at the orphanage for Christmas, the kids had an awesome time.

Sandrine got some new earrings!

Creative Kingsley

Beautiful Dorcas

Norbert getting into the Christmas spirit :D

On December 20th we celebrated Seth's 10th Birthday! He had a bunch of friends over, Jake made a big slip 'n slide in the back yard (thankfully the water was on!).

Seth's Angry Bird's B-day Cake (the Cameroonians had no idea what it was meant to be of!)

I was wondering if we would be able to pull a party off as we had so much going on, but it all came together and we all had a great time.

Then it was time for us to find our own Christmas tree. We usually find a big Cyprus tree in someone's yard and ask them if we can lop the top off. This year we just couldn't find a good one. So finally just a day or two before Christmas we found a little one in a garden. It was more of a ball than a triangle but it worked. I let the kids decorate it all themselves this year (with the help of some of their neighbourhood friends).

Before...

... and after

Christmas morning was spent at the orphanage. The Borns and us made a massive breakfast for everyone. We read the Birth of Jesus, sang Christmas carols and gave out presents. As always, it was very special.

Christmas morning

Yum!

Sardines are always popular on their eggs (Seth and Jude have gone native as they love the combination)

Blessed enjoying his breakfast

One family from the States sent new bibles and cases for all of the older children. They even had their names embossed on them! The kids were SOOOOO excited with them.

Jake's Dad's church, Grace Baptist Church, in Henreitta, Texas, sent presents back with us for each of the children. They were full of little goodies like candy, pens, coloring books, skip ropes, and balls as well as some practical things like toothpaste and toothbrushes, socks, soap, etc. It was so cool to see the kids faces light up when opening them. For five of our children this was the very first time to ever celebrate Christmas!

Happy Kids!

Pa helping Blessed open his presents (Jude looking on!). Once again I have to say how impressed I was with my kids on Christmas morning. They had to wait till about 11am till we got home to open their own presents. I didn't hear one complaint from any of them. Once we did get back, we opened presents and then I got in the kitchen. We had some friends over for Christmas dinner and then we headed to our missionary friends for dessert. It was a really lovely Christmas day.

Usually we go camping on the beach for New Years with a bunch of other missionaries. We didn't feel we should go this year as we had just got back, so our awesome friends who we usually go with, decided to come up to Bamenda and celebrate the New Year with us here. We had a fantasitc week with them, hanging out, staying up way too late, eating way too much, hiking and picnicking.

The Young family; Daryl is a pilot with Jaars/Wycliffe. A beautiful family inside and out! We miss them so much since we moved from Yaounde. 

Going for a hike at the incredible Lake Awing

The kids traveling in the funnest way possible. It's so nice to be back in a country where we're not bound by a bunch of safety laws!

New Year's Eve we made a massive fire, sang songs, played charades, and ate smores. 

So, I think that catches me up to just about now. Phew!