Walking around Mbingo

Hello everyone!! Greetings from Mbingo!

Elliott has finished school!!! Megan is almost done! She has Algebra for a few more days!! Elliott and I are still working on his multiplication facts just for fun! We have been enjoying the beautiful weather here!!! Warm with a nice breeze everyday!!! It hasn't been raining until late afternoon so we have been playing outside and taking walks! 

This past Saturday, we went to Noah's 7th birthday party! We met Noah and his family at SCA, the home school retreat. His family had his party up here at Mbingo at the resthouse. Some went for a hike on Saturday morning. Randy took Elliott, Megan, and Gretchen on the hike. Jen and I went up a little later! They had a homemade pinata that was a real treat for all the kids.

Some friends from SCA and some new friends we just met

The pinata!!

Elliott taking a crack at the Bull!!

Megan having a swing!

Even Gretchen got a turn!

The boys climbing a tree!!

The gang that went on the hike! They went to the back waterfall.

 

Gretchen having a snack at the waterfall!

 

The view!

The kids and I have been going on walks around the compound. We have enjoyed getting out and meeting new people and seeing all the sights.

Megan and Elliott with the hospital sign down by the main road.

 

Gretchen likes going to market and getting lollipops from Mercy's store!

 

We went on Tuesday to market. Tuesday is Meat Day!! This is why Randy is not eating very much meat over here.  When we first got here it was his job to go to get the meat for the week. Thankfully, Marlis took over that job!  I like that the head is laying there by the pole!!! I am sure that someone bought it and will use it!!!

 

This is one of the workers at the Bamboo shop.  They make furniture, side tables, shelves, and stools out of bamboo. Wish we could put some of these things in our trunks to bring home! It is so beautiful!

 

This is Susanne. She works in the Embroidery Shop here at Mbingo. All the embroidery workers live in New Hope village not far from Mbingo. They are all discharged Leprosy patients who have settled at the edge of the hospital property.  In the past, these people have been outcasts from society, but through education and treatment they have been accepted by everyone and are welcomed in the community. The opportunity they have to work has given them a sense of belonging and they have made friends. 

All of these women have come to know Christ and now have the hope of eternal life and know they are important to someone(God) and are never alone. They are able to accept their handicaps because of Jesus Christ and the opportunity to work and be part of the community has given them a chance to use their skills and have a sense of purpose in life. 

 

 

 

Today I found out what Jama Jama is made out of! It is huckleberry leaves! It is actually called Huckleberry Soup but the pidgin English name is Jama Jama!

The kids helping Marlis in the kitchen! Actually Elliott was playing with his Marvel action figures in the huckleberry leaves!

 Elliott and his friends!

Job, Americk, Jesse, Elliott, and Godlove

The kids were taking turns jumping off the bank! 

 

Elliott's turn!!

Prayer requests: Please continue to pray for the people of Cameroon. Prayers for the doctors and all the patients of Mbingo Baptist Hospital. Prayers for the Sparks family and the Browns as they travel to Kenya for a conference. Prayers for safe travels from Douala for Rick, Debbie, Lindsay, and Cathen! Gretchen is excited to see her friend again!!!

Continued prayers for Randy's dad Jim. 

Happy Birthday to my Grandma States!!! We love you and miss you!!! Can't wait to celebrate with you when we get home!! Also a Happy Birthday to Tracy!! Hope you both had a great day!!

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.     Philippians 4:7

Weekend Away

Hello family and friends!!! Well our visas were extended! Thank you for all the prayers! The past few weeks have been busy! The kids are almost finished with school!! Elliott will be done by the end of next week! Megan is a little bit longer yet! Well just Algebra!! They both will be done so they can enjoy our last few weeks here at Mbingo!

I went to Bamenda and stayed with friends for a few days this past weekend! It was nice to visit and see the rest of Bamenda! 

Our Mbingo family!! 

I stayed with Aunt Elsie and Geri when I went to Bamenda. Elsie took me shopping in the main market on Friday! She has been here for 16 years so it was neat to hear all about the culture and traditions! I rode in my first taxi!! On Saturday, Geri and I went to Bafut to a women's co-op! They make clothes and all sorts of different items! The drive there was so beautiful! 

Here is the entrance to the compound where the store was located.

Geri looking at all the different items to buy!! I could have bought one of everything! This is the room where the ladies work!

On Sunday morning I attended church. We went to the CBC church. It was huge!! When I took this picture I was only half way to the back of the church!!

Sunday afternoon I went to Holly and Jake Schilinski's house and then to the Helping Hands Children's Home!! I met Holly, Jake, and their children at SCA! They were celebrating April Birthdays at the orphanage. 

Helping Hands Children's Home

Holly and the kids! They are answering bible trivia to see who gets seconds on cake! :)

Audrey and Blessing

Audrey is here helping at the home and staying with Jake and Holly for 6 months!

 Some of the kids! 

This is one of the girls bedrooms!

 

Braiding the girls hair!

 Some of the boys playing soccer!!

There are 30 children at the home! They were so friendly and welcoming!! I loved spending time there and wish I could have stayed longer and got to know them better!!

While I was there I passed out faith bracelets and a little booklet! After I was done passing them out the children sang me a song!! It was beautiful!!!! Then as a special treat we watched a movie!

Some of the kids showing their bracelets!

 The wall around the home has some paintings that some visitors have painted! This one says "I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you." John 14:18

I have the information on how you can help the children at the home! You can make a donation or even sponsor a child with a monthly donation! The work that Jake and Holly are doing is really amazing!! The mission that they are with just bought land between Bamenda and Mbingo! The plan is to expand the home so they can help more children!!!

On Monday, Jen, Megan, and Elliott came to Bamenda to pick me up!! We also spent the day shopping and sightseeing! 

Megan and Elliott trying on hats at Joseph's shop!

We ate out at PressCafe!!

Elliott and I had the Hamburger! It had onion, tomato, lettuce, and a fried egg!! 

Our first hamburger since we left the States!!!!

Jen had the noodle salad! Megan had the tuna melt! Both were very good!! 

 The traffic and roads in Bamenda are crazy! Well, just not Bamenda but all of Cameroon! Traffic laws do not really exist over here! The motorcycles pretty much go where ever they please! Cars drive two wide or on the wrong side to pass someone! I finally got some pictures!

This is looking down on of the main streets in Bamenda! We take this road to get to the CBC. 

Stands like these line both sides of the roads!

Gretchen outside church!

On her way to church in her new African dress!

They are growing up way to fast!!!!

Elliott found another BUG!!!!!

This one was 5 inches long!! So big and gross!

Please pray for accreditation for the CIMS and PAACS programs from the Cameroonian government!  Prayers for the patients and doctors here at Mbingo. 

Praise God and Thank God for the release of the French family that were kidnapped in northern Cameroon a little over two months ago!

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. Ephesians 6:24

We did it!!!! We climbed Mbingo Hill!

Hello everyone!!

We did it! We climbed Mbingo Hill!! It was amazing! It was a goal from the first day we arrived in Mbingo! I could never have climbed it back in November!!! But since we walk everywhere here and I lost a little weight, we decided it was time to try it!! It was crazy hard but so worth it! The view from the top was amazing! Everyone went even little Gretchen! She did so good! She was climbing like crazy! The way up is very tiring and pretty much straight up, but coming down was scary!! On the way up you leaned into the hill but on the way down I was so scared I would tumble forward!! A couple of times I sat and scooted down on my butt!

Here we are at the top!!!

Starting out on our journey we had to go through a small village at the bottom of Mbingo hill.

Houses in the village

A gate that is held open by an engine block!

Gretchen leading the way!!

At the base ready to go up!!

 

Starting our climb!

About half way up we took a little break! 

Picture of the hospital at about half way!

Picture of the hospital from the top!!! Market is on the right side of the road and the hospital is on the left! 

 

Fields on the side of the hill! Mbingo is all hills and mountains so they must farm on the side of the hills and mountains!! I went with Nancy to visit some ladies working in a field! They were on the side of a hill turning the soil over getting it ready to plant! I could barely stand on the hill, but the ladies were digging with their shovels and hoes like it was nothing! They call them hills! I call them cliffs or drop offs!!!

The view from the top was beautiful!! God is good!!

Here we are coming back down!! This shows how steep it really was!! This was one of the many times I got stuck and Jen had to tell me where to put my feet or which path to take!!! I am way up the hill and Jen and Elliott are waiting for me!!!

Elliott waiting in his chair!! The whole side of the hill was like this! It was like climbing a rock wall. You would but your foot on a patch of dirt and grass and look for the next sturdy patch to place your next foot or to pull your self up!

On the road back to Mbingo!! Which actually was the dangerous part of our trip!!! Cars and Motos everywhere!!!! Cameroon is not like the United States where the pedestrian has the right away!! If you don't get out of the way or even off the road they will run you down!! There is no slowing down either!! Notice how we are hugging the side of the road!!! Also the Motos (motorcycles) here turn off there engines as they travel down hills and coast so they can save gas!!! So now you can't hear them coming to get you!!!!

Gretchen is so funny! When we go for walks she is always looking out for Motos! She will yell "Watch out! Here comes Moto guys!!" I think one of the scariest things I see on our way to Bamenda is the children walking along these roads! We drive on a road that is so twisty turny and people go so fast! The motos weave in and out of traffic while kids that are Gretchen's age (she is 3) are walking along the road by themselves! The children must walk to school and they have to walk along the roads!! There have been a couple of times when I have held my breath and cringed because I thought I was going to witness one of them getting hit!!! We all just look at each other and hold our kids a little tighter! It is their way of life here! They start school when they are 3 and that is how they get to school! They don't have a big yellow school bus that stops to pick them up!!! I should say that most of the really little ones have siblings that walk with them! But most of the siblings are only a few years older! It would be like Elliott and Gretchen walking to school on I-99!!! I know this road is not a 4 lane highway but people drive like it is and go just as fast!

Okay sorry back to our hike!

 

 On our way back these boys wanted their picture taken! They saw our camera and kept turning around and posing! I finally said can I take a snap! They laughed and posed again!! If you want to take a picture you should ask first and they say snap instead of picture!

Here are some close up pictures of our market! 

Well it was a fun and busy week! We didn't hear anything about our visa extensions yet! Maybe by the end of this week we will know something! We just ask for continued prayers! Prayers for safe travels for our friends that are going to Kribi tomorrow! Prayers for Lindsay and Cathen as they travel back to the states for a little vacation! We will miss them! Gretchen wanted to go on the airplane with Cathen!! I told her very soon we will be on the big plane!! Prayers for Elliott who is having all kinds of emotions this week! One minute he is very homesick and missing all his family and friends, but then the next minute he is sad to leave Africa, Mbingo, and the friends and family we have made here!!! I think we are all feeling this!!! We really miss our family and friends (and I can not wait to hug my mom!!) but we have enjoyed our time here so much we do not want to see it end!!!! 

Jen is going to post the next blog! She is going to give everyone a glimpse into what she has been doing at the hospital!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.  Psalm 136:1