Cameroon 7/13/12

What do waterfalls, balloons, babies, marriage proposals, pigs, big balls, mud, rain, potholes, and bucket showers have in common? They are all found right here in Cameroon!

Man, today has been crazy but so much fun and rather bittersweet. The kids get so excited when our rickety white bus bounces down the road to HBS. I love how close I have been able to get to my class of young ones. One of my kids came up to me yesterday morning and hugged me and said, "Good morning, Madame!" -- reminded me of Ghana! And oh my, if you could only see these kids' faces when they open their prize bags at the end of the day and they see a beanie baby, you would probably lose it right there. One kid came up to me crying after dismissal. When I asked him what was the matter, he choked out, "Auntie, a man stole my toy." Oh, if I had seen the guy that did it, I would have given him a piece of my mind! We gave the kid another beanie baby and helped him hide it in his shirt. In what world would a full-grown man steal a toy from a child??? In this one. It's a dog-eat-dog world over here. If you see something of any value, you take it. It is so sad.

The teen rally in Bambili last night was crazy! Some of us had probably 100 kids up the hill from the rally giving them the gospel, playing games, and getting nearly trampled to death while making balloon animals! At one point it was so suffocating that Caleb took off running and yelling. It was so hilarious to see nearly all 100 start chasing him through the field. When it was time to start heading down the hill back to the youth rally, we quickly realized that we could not go back to the church with 100 kids tailing us, so we started walking the opposite direction toward the house. Eventually the kids dispersed. Caleb and I decided to walk all the way back to the teen tally (I had left my bag in the church, and Caleb was watching one of the national's child). So there Caleb and I are, walking down the muddy streets of Bambili, carrying a little black kid. At one point we passed a group of 4 women, whose mouths were wide open in amazement. When we got close to them, we heard their conversation -- "How can that happen? How can that happen?" -- as they pointed to the child in Caleb's arms. We realized quickly that they thought Caleb and I (two white people) had somehow produced a black baby. We laughed and explained to them that we were just watching the child for a friend. One of the women, seemingly full of hope at this news, asked me if I would marry her son (not an uncommon question here if you are white). Caleb was quick with his reply, "Sorry, we are married." I think Caleb has, at one point or another, claimed to be married to every one of us girls.

Last night our good friend Hillary gave his testimony and thanked us for our willingness to come here. He then presented each of us with a necklace. These nationals have stolen our hearts.

Hilary and the guys really bonded.

It is hard to believe our work here in Cameroon is drawing to a close. We had 320 kids today at HBS. I was so thrilled to be able to lead 5 of my kiddos to Christ today. One of them was not even a child at HBS. She was just standing nearby when I was sharing the gospel. I could tell she was extremely interested in the good news of salvation, and was so excited when she approached me and asked if she could ask God to save her.

Emily and Caleb share the gospel with some kids at HBS.

Me and Hope, a girl I led to Christ.

This afternoon was spent chillaxing after a long, taxing week, then we headed out to the parents program in Bamenda. About 25 made a profession tonight.

These past two weeks have been so tiring, but it has been so fulfilling doing the Lord's work here in Africa. Now without further ado, I am going to bed. Tomorrow is gonna be a BLAST! Waterfalls baby!