Hannibal, Missouri

We have this awesome little app on our phone that shows us where all the free RV dumps sites are (a necessity, let me tell ya). As we were traveling up from St. Louis to East Iowa, I noticed that there was dump site in Hannibal, MO. It sounded so familiar yet I couldn't think why. Thanks to google, I soon discovered that it was the home town of Samuel Clemens, one of my favourites. I have pretty much read everything Mark Twain has written, I love his short stories but A Tramp Abroad is probably my favorite.  And of course I have read Tom Sawyer to the boys and I must have talked to Josh about him before (I didn't remember) but he knew a bunch about him. The joy of being on the road, especially in an RV, with no strict deadlines, is that we could pull over and spend the afternoon in Hannibal. First we went to the Mark Twain Museum and then his childhood home.

There was a lady there (Gladys Coggswell) that was impersonating a slave during the civil war. She was pretty captivating and as we were the only ones there she really honed in on us. She even taught the boys a song (The Three-Eyed Cat).  We all really enjoyed it. 

There was a bunch of original Norman Rockwell sketches and paintings in the museum... very impressive!

Giving Tom a hand....

Mark Twain's House

Afterwards we had homemade root beer floats at a little diner, delicious!! So if you ever find yourself in Hannibal, Missouri, I highly recommend you stopping and checking out the museum.

"Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry" Mark Twain

Bible School Mini Reunion

At the end of August we headed to our good friends that live just outside of St. Louis. We went to Bible School with Genevieve back in the late 90's. Her house is a central point in the US; an optimal place to have a school reunion. As you can see, none of us have wasted time in "multiplying" (and there were two kids missing that couldn't get out of school!). Thankfully Genevieve has a massive house and we had the RV so we all managed to fit in. It was so nice to have a few days just hanging out, drinking tea, playing guitar, hiking, playing games, being silly, enjoying some girl talk, and just having fun. I don't think we went to bed before 1:30am (which is super late for people with kids!). All the children got on great and had a blast running around and exploring. My boys got introduced to geocashing while there and enjoyed hunting locations (we have been searching for more since). 

Geocashing

After everyone left we had a couple more days at our friends. We had a lovely day out and about in St. Louis. I got to check something else off my bucket list; going up the Arch (I need to sit down and make a new list as I'm nailing so many of them this trip!).

Going up!

Jake looking a little queazy (he doesn't like heights!)

Being up in the arch is so unique as you are suspended over nothing. It's pretty incredible!

Jude enjoying the view

After having a picnic in the park we headed to the St. Louis Zoo (which is free!!). 

We also visited the Lewis and Clark Museum. Both the boys have studied their expedition (and been a little obsessed with it) so it was great for the history to come to life for them. The museum had a treasure hunt for the kids that got them to really read all the info and pay attention to the different displays. They had an awesome time (and I don't feel so guilty about not getting as much school done as I should be).

They had fun dressing up

And we had another picnic by their statues.

Genevieve also set up an evening for us to share with some of their friends from church about our ministry in Cameroon. We were blessed and made some great new contacts, always a good thing while on furlough! I praise the Lord for these "down" times that we have had on the trip, the Lord always knows what we need at the exact right time. 

Missouri

Toward the end of August, we stopped in the town of Washington, Missouri for a few days to visit our good friends, Ed and Roberta Simons. They have run their own "Ma and Pop shop" meat market there since they were first married at a young age. Ed has won a massive amount of awards for his sausages and bacon. Needless to say, they know the butchery business! 

We first met the Simons in Cameroon in 2008. They came to Africa a few years before that with an organization that sent craftsmen to Cameroon to train people in different trades. Even though they never got to teach their skills on that trip, it was a time where they fell in love with the country and the Lord put a real burden for widows and orphans on their hearts. Since that time they have been working hard all year long, then closing up shop for the summer so they can come to Cameroon and work with the needy. They have a real passion and are extremely hard workers.

When we first met them I asked if they could butcher a pig for us; it is very iffy buying pork in Cameroon as it is all open air market. You have to be so careful with pig meat as it goes off so quickly. Ed told us he wouldn't butcher a pig for us, but would teach us how. They took three days with us and our co-workers and really explained the whole butchering process, from selecting the pig, to make sausages, to how to cook them. It has been a huge blessing and makes life a little more comfortable overseas (we try to butcher a pig about every 4 months). It is alway a blessing to have ribs, chops, roasts, lard, and sausages in the freezer! We also sell some to other missionaries who enjoy them immensely as well (we can never keep up with the demand!).

It was so nice to meet them at their own home and see their business first hand. They spoiled us rotton with all the amazing food that they process (no less than 3 types of meats per meal!). We also had a lovely time of fellowship and it was great to talk and reminisce about Cameroon.

Some of the goodness they shared with us

Waiting expectantly for my steak :D

One of our goals for Win Our Nations in Cameroon is to make it more self sufficient. Cameroon has wealth in it and we know that there is more than enough to sustain orphanages and bible schools. This is one of the reasons that we started the two car washes out there. They serve as a two-fold purpose: providing stable jobs for about 12 people as well as increase funds for the Children's Home. Because of the car washes we are able to put our elementary children into one of the best private schools in town (not quite what the West would picture as a private school, but far better than the government schools here). 

So we are always praying and thinking about other business ideas that would serve the same purpose. A few that we have tossed about are an internet cafe, taxis, and bus rentals. Since learning how to do the butchering, we have been toying with the idea of a "Helping Hands Meat Market". Now the city we live in has 350,000 people yet you can't buy any meat that is precut (we have to choose our lump from a side of cow and then it is whacked off with a machette!). There is no reliable place to buy frozen chicken or a place to buy sliced ham or orther deli meats. All of the other big cities in Cameroon do have supermarkets that sell this kind of thing. For example in Yaounde I could buy ground beef, frozen chickens legs, sliced salami, and pork chops from a store (made life a little easier). And these places are usually busy so we don't see why it wouldnt work in our town. So when we go back we are praying about the possibliy of opening a place up. Something small to start with, where one can buy frozen chicken and rabbit (provided by Helping Hands Children's Home of course), as well as some sausage and ham. Of course a lot of work and training would be involved  and it would be vital to find a good manager. 

Ed and Roberta are blessing us with a lot of butchering things to ship in the container (knives, seasonings, casings, etc.), that will be a big help in the starting up process. I ask that you would join in prayer about this whole venture. 

One of the car wash businesses in Cameroon

In the Lone Star State (with internet!)

Well, we made it to Texas safe and sound! We actually arrived a day early as we decided to just drive on through the night and get here. Jake's Dad, John, was expecting us Wednesday night and we pulled into town at noon on Tuesday. Jake called him up to asked him what he was up too, he said he was down at the taxidermy shop (we are in Texas remember). John asked Jake where we were at and Jake responded that we had passed Albuquerque now (no lie, we had!). As soon as we hung up the phone we walked into the shop, it was so much fun! Needless to say John was happily surprised. It was also very special as it was the first time he got to see Jordan. Thanks to Skype, Jordan already recognized him and they had big hugs straight off, so sweet!.

Praise the Lord John has internet at his house. The last four places we have stayed at during this past month have had no internet. We have felt a little disconnected from it all (we have internet on the phone but hard to write long emails, blogs, Skype, updates, and all the rest on it). Thankfully our good friend Ronald McDonald helped us out when needed, but it is lovely to be able to sit in your PJ's and write a blog again. Hoping to have another Skype session with all the kids at the the Children's Home soon too (miss them sooooo much!!).

We are here for three weeks (with a few days of travel to south Texas) so I'm planning on catching up on all my emails and this blog. So much to post about; Yellowstone, Oregon, Redwoods, California, the Grand Canyon, so stayed tuned for some pretty amazing photos. Well, I'm sure you can guess where the below photo was taken, thought I would add it as they say you should never post a blog without a photo. So here she is: