Monday, December 19, 2016

A Few Lessons Learned Since Arrival in Cameroon

      We have been here almost a month and have been so blessed by the community around us at Mbingo.  The other missionaries are truly full of wonderful and extremely helpful information. The local people of Mbingo are also helpful, kind, and patient with us when we say things in a way that does not make any since to them.

I thought I would write a short post about some things that we have learned here since arriving.

1. You must hit the shower curtain before getting in the shower. 
a.       Micah had a terrible fright by a HUGE, I am mean HUGE, spider that decided to join him for a shower.  Which resulted in him running to his room stark naked and dripping water across the hall making me laugh. I then screamed when I saw just how big the spider was that I had to kill. (I did kill it!! But left it for Chris to clean out of the bottom of the shower.)

      2.You should check the toilet for spiders as well by looking in the bowl and lifting the seat.
a.       Caja had a similar story when a spider was in the bowl of the toilet when she went to flush the toilet.  This spider was fast however and took us 1 week to dispose of.

      3.  Lizards are not mean, for the most part, and can stay in the house per Chris.
a.       Some of you saw that we had a small lizard in the kitchen that was allowed to stay the night. I was   pleased to see that it was gone in the morning. 
b.       We had another one in the house on Sunday. It was caught by Micah by placing a bowl over it and sliding   it out of the house. Thank goodness for boys!

     

      4 .  Cleaning your own eggs is not fun and can lead to disappointment or great joy.
a.       My first time purchasing eggs was quite different than purchasing them in the U.S. I had to walk to the hospital shop to purchase then walk home.  I then had to scrub them clean to remove chicken poop, and other things I did not recognize.  While doing this I broke 1 egg.  Chagrined I very carefully wiped each egg off and placed them in a holder to go into the fridge.  I went to put them in the fridge and as I placed them on the shelf it fell to the floor breaking 5 of my remaining 11 eggs.  I literally threw the towel on the counter and cried.  However, Chris helped me clean the mess up while a pouted on the couch.  After 15 minutes I got up and prepared the eggs that remained for breakfast. I could truly enjoy the fruit of my labor.




      I am sure there are plenty of other lessons that I have learned, but I should save some for another post.  We are adjusting well and have not experienced culture shock to much yet.  I am sure that our time is coming, but we would be blessed beyond compare if God would see fit to spare us from this.

      Please pray for the people of Cameroon.  They are having strikes in the school systems and also in the court systems.  This is causing all the schools in the English-speaking areas of Cameroon to be closed. They have now been closed for 4 weeks. There have been some riots in Bamenda which have resulted in violence. This has not reached us here in Mbingo and we are safe, but it is affecting the people we are serving greatly. Chis is working in the hospital as the primary maternal care provider. Pray that he will make good decisions for his patients. Also, that he will have a positive relationship the staff that he works with where they can mutually gain skills and knowledge making the Maternity Ward a wonderful place to receive care and work. Please pray for our family as we continue to adjust to life at a different pace and in a new community. Please pray that I am able to teach the children during homeschooling all the material that they need to know in order to stay up to speed with other kids at their level.

                                                    We pray you all have a blessed Nativity.

In Christ,
Ashley


“The Will of God will not take you where the Grace of God cannot protect you.” 

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