Sunday, December 30, 2018

We're in the midst of a honeymoon here at Shiloh.  It's such a special time for the new couple.  And we get to do lots of little things to make it extra special for each couple.  

Our current  couple is out on the balcony eating a lovely meal at this precise moment.  The table is set with our best dishes.  They've actually been on the balcony since lunch, talking, reading God's Word, praying, talking some more.  They are having a wonderful, relaxing time together.  We had to clear off the lunch dishes in order to set the table for dinner.  We don't normally do that right in front of the couple, but they didn't give us a choice.

The groom came downstairs at 7:30 this morning.  He found Papa Jim busy making breakfast for me.  When asked if he would like a cup of coffee, he said a resounding "YES!"  He was so cute.  He told Papa Jim that his wedding ring feels real good on his finger.  Said he's getting used to it, though he's clunking it into everything.  He went upstairs with his coffee and came right back down asking for hot tea for his bride.  

This particular groom is in our extended family.  We've known him for a lot of years.  In fact we all witnessed to him.  It was a thrilling day at Shiloh when we learned that he had given his heart and life to our Lord.  And we've loved watching him grown in grace and the knowledge of God.  And now God has blessed him with a lovely lady to walk through life with.  We couldn't be happier for them.

We actually never had a honeymoon when we got married 49 years ago.  But we've been on lots of honeymoons at Shiloh, so we're old hands at this now!

Friday, December 28, 2018

Mama Helen is so proud of her oldest son, Francis.  She pulled him aside the other day for a private talk.  She wanted him to know that he has taken his late father's place in every way.  He is truly the head of the family.  Francis was just a boy when his father dropped dead in front of his eyes.  While there was no autopsy, it surely must have been a massive heart attack.  Francis, his three older sisters, and his younger brothers and their baby sister have been without a father ever since.  

Fast forward all these years later to today.  Francis is a strong Christian and an elder in his church.  He is the loving husband of Ingrid, and a good father to their three young children.  Just four months ago, Francis moved his family into their very own home.  What a miracle story that is!  He has lots of space for the extended family when they come to visit him.  And now, tomorrow night, his youngest brother Donald is getting married.  Donald's bride is a strong Christian and a lovely gal in every way.  We are so happy for Donald, Mama Helen, Francis, and the entire clan.  

Francis just reported to us that Mama Helen is staying at his house right now.  All three of his older sisters are also sleeping at his new home.  As is their "baby" sister.  And his mother-in-law, his wife's older sister and her little boy, too.  There are also a couple of nephews sleeping with the clan. AND to top it off, Donald's bride and her older sister are also sleeping with her soon to be in-laws.  They are having a wonderful time all together as one big happy family. This is so very Cameroonian.  They love being together. His house is bursting at the seams with people, but everyone is so full of joy that it's not a problem.  He said that his wife and all the gals have set up several outdoor cooking stations in their new back yard.  Cameroonians love cooking outside.  Several of them went to the market together yesterday as well as the day before.  They came back home loaded with food.  They've spent this entire day cooking up a storm.  They will be working late into the night to get all the food ready for the wedding feast, which will be held tomorrow night.

Ten o'clock tomorrow Donald, his lovely bride, and a handful of family members on both sides of the house will go to the mayor's office for the civil ceremony.  Many will stay back at the house and keep right on cooking.  But at two o'clock in the afternoon the entire clan plus lots of friends will gather at Donald's church for the "Church Blessing".  This will be followed by the wedding feast.  Sometime around ten o'clock tomorrow night, and maybe much later than that, five or six of the clan, including Francis, will accompany the new couple to Shiloh for their honeymoon.  They will do what's called "install them in their room."  We've never witnessed this, though practically every honeymoon that takes place at Shiloh observes this ritual.  We're in the dark here.  We cannot tell you what they do.  Finally, finally, finally, the new couple will be left alone and nobody will disturb them for the next couple of days.

Weddings Cameroonian style don't have a whole lot in common with Western weddings.  It's a fascinating cultural experience which we have witnessed countless times down through these 27 years.

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

The morning of Saturday, December 29th the entire leadership team of a church in Daoula will be arriving here at Shiloh.  They will spend the day in meetings (either in our library or our living room, the choice is theirs).  They will be using all but one of our bedrooms, but they probably won't be spending a whole lot of time sleeping.  These kind of events tend to go late into the night.  Then before dawn they will load up their cars and pull out of the driveway, heading back down to Daoula (a 4-5 hour drive, depending on traffic).  They will drive straight to their church, arriving in time for their usual Sunday morning service.  Whew!  Cameroonians love these kind of marathon events.  As long as we don't have to keep their rigorous schedule, we are happy to make Shiloh available to them.  The Pastor, his wife, and various others from the church have been coming to Shiloh for many years now.  We know and love these people.  Shiloh exists for people just like them.

Monday, December 24, 2018

Merry Christmas from the Dark Side of the Moon.  How humbled we are to be able to pour out our lives for Cameroonians in order that they might know, really know the babe in the manger Who was born to die for their sins, too. 

Sunday, December 23, 2018

With Christmas just two days away, churches all over Yaounde held special Christmas events today.  One church that is walking distance from Shiloh had a Christmas concert this afternoon.  Another church, also walking distance though in the opposite direction, had a lengthy morning service, complete with a special program put on by the Sunday School children.  Some churches ate a special meal together.  Each church celebrated Christmas in their own way.  This evening Papa Jim was invited to show "Jesus of Nazareth" at a church that is a ten minute drive away from Shiloh.  There were about fifty people in attendance for this special Christmas Sunday event.  The movie has a strong gospel message.  It was a real treat for this group to have an American missionary show them a movie.  And the American missionary was honored to have an opportunity to help spread the Good News in this Christmas season.

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Our goal for the Church in Eyene for this year, which ends July 2019, is for the church to take on more and more responsibility.  In other words, we want to work ourselves out of a job.  We realize they may not be a fully functioning church able to stand on their own feet by July 2019, but we keep that goal ever before us.

So you can imagine our delight when we (minus me) were out in the village for a shorter than normal visit, and discovered what the Manguisa Church in Eyene was doing.  

Mama Clair's sister-in-law recently died.  Her older brother had died some years ago, and now his widow is gone.  They lived in the Manguisa village where Mama Clair was born and raised.  It is approximately four miles from Eyene.   On Friday the family sent a car into Eyene to pick up Mama Clair.  She spent the night with her side of the house.  But today, Saturday, the day of the burial, five men from the Church in Eyene accompanied Papa Pollycarp to the funeral.  All of these men are baptized believers who are active in the church.  What's more,  on their own they decided to give Mama Clair 10.000 F (approximately $20) from church offering money.  

Three of these men comprise a finance committee.  There is an offering box which is kept inside the house.  People know where it is and are free to give an offering or not, as they wish.  After the church service the finance committee open the locked offering box, count and record the money, and then give it to one man for safekeeping.  This is their system, their idea, their way of doing things.  They have the Holy Spirit.  They do not need us imposing Western ideas on them.  We give them teaching from God's Word, but the Spirit guides them into all truth.

In addition to the monetary gift to help with Mama Clair's financial obligations to a family funeral, the church leadership also decided to rent a car in which to transport Papa Pollycarp. This group of men hiked out to we don't know where to rent the car and then came back into the village with the car to pick up Papa Pollycarp.

This may not seem like much to Western ears, but this is HUGE.  We are humbled at what God is doing.  No outsider, not even Damien who is with them weekly, suggested they do this.  

God's Word says that it is by our love for one another that other will know that we are His true followers.  The Church in Eyene's love for Papa Pollycarp and Mama Clair was on display today for all the world to see!  We are humbled to have front row seats to this unfolding miracle.

Friday, December 21, 2018




A family member wrote today and asked me what I like about being a woman/feminine.  (HINT:  Never ask a question of a missionary unless you are prepared to receive a sermon in reply!!!)  So here's my sermon:

The thing I like most about being a woman and being feminine is that this was God's idea.  At no time prior to my birth did I say to the Almighty (or to anyone else for that matter) "Please make me female.  Please, please, please.  I don't want to be male.  I want menstrual cramps.  I choose morning sickness.  I'm longing to go through labor and childbirth.  I want to experience all the mysteries of menopause."  God didn't give me that option.  My Father, the Most High God, my Master, my King, made me female.  And HE NEVER MAKES MISTAKES!  Not ever.  This whole notion of male and female originated in the mind of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in Eternity Past.  I wholly embrace being female, a woman, feminine because I wholly embrace the One Who hand picked me to be a woman.  He could so easily have made me a man instead.  I love all the marvelous privileges I have as a woman. I have the high honor of being the wife of a man, according to God's holy plan.  God has blessed us with an ever increasing love in our marriage of 49 years, and that quite in spite of (and sometimes because of) all of our humanness, all of our faults, failings, and just plain old fashioned sin.  I have the  high honor of being a mother to three sons.  I mothered them quite imperfectly, but God in his marvelous grace, mercy, and loving kindness both for me and for them, carried them safely through their childhood and out into adulthood.  I am in awe of all the ways God has used me, a woman, in His service.  At no time and in no way have I felt inhibited, held back, or restricted in Christian ministry because I am female.  Quite the contrary.  I have always felt that my role in ministry, though not the same as a man's role, has been extremely fulfilling.  I look back over 48 years in full time Christian service with a heart overflowing with gratitude to my Lord and Master for all He has enabled me to do.  As I, a feminine female woman, turn and look back over 72 years of life, 66 of which have been lived as a Princess in the Royal Family of the King of Kings, I am humbled at all He has done in me and for me and through me.  To Him be all the glory and the honor due His lovely Name.  And as I turn back around and look ahead to the end of my life as a feminine woman of God, I can hardly wait for the day when He calls me Home.  I love the day, the month, and the year of my  birth because my Lord selected that for ME.  I love resting in the confident assurance that He also has the day of my death all planned out.  He knows the day, the month, the year, indeed the exact moment when my time on this earth place will end.  As a woman, no as HIS woman, I must be about my Father's business.  I must work while there is day.  The night is coming when no man works.  I want to end my race well.  I want my Father to be proud of His daughter.  I want to hear Him say "Well done."  Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.

Thursday, December 20, 2018

We are blessed beyond measure with family in the U.S. and family here in Cameroon.  

Wish you could have joined us for our Shiloh Family Annual Christmas Party.  Our eight closest grandchildren (there are many others who call us Grandpa and Grandma) out performed themselves!  They sang, either individually or with their parents.  They recited verses.  Some of them had memorized entire chapters from the book of Psalms.  We're talking children ranging in age from one and a half to seven years of age.  They were adorable.  Each of them took the time to individually come and visit with Grandpa Papa Jim and Grandma Mama Alice sometime throughout the course of the four hour event.  Faithful, the little one and a half year old, chatted on and on in her private language.  We have know some of these children since meeting them in the hospital on the day of their birth.  What fun to watch them grow up in homes where God is honored and magnified.  

And our adult children and their spouses!  How they bless us to the very depth of our souls.  We watch them as the bring us the only gift we will accept from them:  the gift of music.  They sing solos and duets and entire family choirs.  You may be aware that the older we humans get the more we live in the past.  It's a fact of life.  So we spend our time remembering Christmas Programs past and marveling at how much our children have changed over the years.  All of them are becoming more and more like Jesus.  We are humbled.  We are in awe of the Almighty.  And we take no credit for what is happening right in front of our eyes.

Next came the banquet.  Everyone ate until they were about to burst. Meanwhile Mama Alice laid down in the living room to try and regain some strength for the last event.

Finally all twenty five of us gathered in the living room for the gift distribution.   Mama Alice remained in a pron position, but was so grateful to be able to be there.  

Over a month ago our next door neighbors invited everyone to their old fashioned American garage sale.  We wisely arrived first and were therefore able to buy some lovely American toys for our grandchildren.  Our neighbors asked incredibly low prices for their unwanted treasures.  

Wish you could have seen all the children's eyes bug out as they received an amazing American toy that was age appropriate for them.  Neither they nor their parents had ever seen such wonders in their entire lives.  

And all the adults received gifts too. We start right after Christmas planning for next year.  As we find things we can afford, we buy them and hide them in our room.  That's the only way we could possibly give useful things to twelve adults and three teenagers.  If we had to buy everything in December, it would never happen.  (Papa Jim is always glad he married an organized lady.)

While you won't be celebrating Christmas until the 25th, for us Christmas 2018 is over.  We are going to bed with wonderful memories plus many pictures that others took for us on our Smart Phone. We are blessed beyond measure.

Shiloh will remain decked out in all her Christmas finery until January 1st.  Drop over any time and enjoy.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Mama Alice is very weak.  We do not know why. It started right after Thanksgiving.  I get a bit better and then I get worse.  Sometimes I have dizzy spells.  Tomorrow is our annual Shiloh Family Christmas Party.  It's 7:30 p.m. the night before.  I have no idea if I will attend any or all or maybe none of the party.  This is me, trying to rest in the Sovereign will of my Father, Who does all things well.  The party will go on without me and it will be a smashing success.  That is not a problem.  How we praise God for our wonderful team who are well trained and able to step in and take over at any moment.

Monday, December 17, 2018

Here at Shiloh we get to do all sorts of things that are not, strictly speaking, in the job description.  Like right now for example.  Friends in the U.S. are considering coming out here to Yaounde and spending two and a half months exploring ministry opportunities.  They have called upon us to help they find some housing options.  Since Papa Jim and Mama Alice will never, ever forget being in that exact same situation back in 2002, we are more than happy to help others out.  We kind of had to discover things on our own.  It was a real challenge, but God was faithful as He always is.  We are eager to help others have an easier time of it than we had.

And of course there are the calls for Papa Jim's considerable Jack-of-All-Trades expertise. Unless he is out of town, he is most happy to drop everything and rush to aid or all sorts of people.  It could be a plumbing crisis, or an electrical crisis, or the need for a GOOD small or large appliance repair man, or maybe just someone needing a hair cut.  Make a note of this.  You may need his help someday.  Papa Jim is the man!

Currently we are helping a bride-to-be get a lovely wedding gown re-made to her size and shape. And we are also helping fellow missionaries who are living in exile right now due to the civil unrest, by letting them use our P.O. Box. They have one of their own, but it is in the heart of the war zone.  And of course there are the endless opportunities to counsel and encourage people of every size and shape, every walk of life, every color of skin, male, female, young, old, single, married, widowed.  Our door is always open to those in need of a listening ear, a hug, a word of encouragement, and someone to pray with and for them.

Well the list could go on and on, but you get the idea.  We have the high honor of doing all sorts of things here at Shiloh that are not, strictly speaking, in the job description.  And we are blessed beyond measure.

Sunday, December 16, 2018

What a fun, fun day!  And what a rare treat.  I have been a bit under the weather all week long.  Plodding along but not up to snuff.  They call it "change of season sickness" around here.  Most everyone is reacting to the start of the long dry season and the very beginnings of Harmattan.  The air is thick with dust.  Lots of coughing and respiratory illnesses.  A big increase in the number of malaria cases.  Lots of people dragging through the day.  That's me.  I fit nicely into that last category.

So I didn't make it downstairs today until 11:30 a.m.  And then I only made it to the couch.  I spent the next six hours laying down and visiting with various and sundry people who dropped in.  Some Sundays are bigger days for visitors than others. This was one of the big ones.  About half way through my six hour vigil on the couch, to my complete and utter surprise, in walks Stephanie with little 1 1/2 year old Faithful prancing along at her side.  At that precise moment there were three others visiting with me.  We all know and love little Faithful, but none of us had seen her since she started walking.  

Wish you could have been here!  You would have loved this delightful, happy-go-lucky child.  She sings.  She "talks" a lot.  She dances.  She walks.  No make that runs.  She smiles continuously.  She's not afraid of strangers.  She is happy all the time.  Well they did admit that she has learned to cry...but only when she is hungry or wants her diapers changed.  She's nearly perfect in every way.  And in addition she is downright adorable.

I know, I know.  We sound like all those other bragging grandparents.  But in this case, you would have agreed with us.  Sorry you weren't able to get in on the fun.  Maybe next time.

Friday, December 14, 2018

There is a pastor who is staying at Shiloh even as we speak.  He comes up from Daoula every year around this time and spend either two or three nights with us.  He seems to be a true man of God, from all that we can tell.  But we don't really know him all that well, even though this is the fourth year he has come to us.  

You see, this pastor, like a number of other people just like him, is here to spend time with his Lord.  He wisely makes a reservation in advance.  Not everyone does, and those who just "show up" run the risk of being turned away at the gate.  Shiloh is a very popular place.  

But I digress.  This pastor registers in the office and is then taken to his room (whichever room has been reserved for him) where he disappears.  We do not see him again until his spiritual retreat is over with.  We can hear his room door open and close and the bathroom door open and close, but that is all.  We never see him in the library.  He never searches us out to interact with us.  He does not eat while he is here at Shiloh.  He is here fasting and praying and seeking God's face.  And typically, when we let him out at the gate at the end, he will have spent a wonderful time in the presence of his Lord and Master.

Shiloh exists for pastors just like this man, for church leaders, and for ordinary Christians who want to spend time with the Most High God.  And since we are not allergic to missionaries, they are welcome, too on a space available basis.  What a high honor to provide this place of spiritual retreat for pastors like this dear man who traveled all the way up here from Daoula.

Thursday, December 13, 2018

We have had a lot of fun watching the Miracle Worker in action today.  

Here in Cameroon when a young man wants to marry a young lady, he knows it is going to be pretty costly.  He has to pay the bride price which is set by her father and uncles and other members of the family.  They can basically ask for anything they want.  All young men are trembling while they wait for the "Dreaded List" to arrive (as it is affectionately called). 

But in our friend Donald's case things were different.  The lovely young lady he has fallen madly in love with turns out to be an orphan.  She is the youngest of seven children.  Her mother died when she was just a tiny tot.  A few years ago her father also died.  So Donald and his family members went before her five older brothers to ask for their little sister's hand in marriage.  They were very sympathetic as they are all young men who have not been married that long themselves.  They have no desire to be hard on Donald.  So they have (quite amazingly) told him that there will be no bride price.  A handful of years from now, when Donald is established in marriage, they will expect him to contribute to any and all future family crisis.  This is do-able.  Donald had no problem accepting their condition.  What a blessing.  He does not have to struggle to come up with lots of money before he can marry his beloved.  

We have known and loved Donald for over seven years. During that time he gave his heart and life to the Lord.  And now God is blessing him with a godly young lady to be his wife.  In a giant step of faith, Donald selected Saturday, December 29th for his wedding day.  (It's the Groom's wedding out here...the exact opposite of weddings in America.)  Little by little they are watching God provide all the things they will need for their wedding.  

For example, last week he brought his young lady to Shiloh for us to meet her.  (I would tell you her name, but it is quite unpronounceable and I'm struggling mightily to learn how to say it.  Besides which, if I could pronounce it, it is a guarantee that I would not be able to spell it and you surely would not know what to do with her name!!)  We asked the bride-to-be if she had a wedding gown, which she does not.  So we told her that we have two here at Shiloh if she is interested in borrowing one of them.  Today she came back to have some fun girl time with we the ladies of Shiloh.  She was immediately taken with one of the gowns.  But the bodice is too small for her.  Well, Mama Alice has all sorts of ideas so we went looking in my supply of fabric and guess what?  We found a large piece of satin that matches the wedding gown color exactly.  And that's not all...we also found a large piece of very fancy lace this is the same shade of off white.  It's like God had these things tucked away here at Shiloh for just this occasion.  We are sending her to a godly widowed pastor's wife friend of ours who will do the make over for the wedding gown.  She is an excellent seamstress.  When Donald's future wife left Shiloh, she was floating on air.  Never in her entire life has she ever imagined that she would one day wear a very expensive looking wedding gown from America!  A poor orphan girl such as herself does not entertain such dreams, though even they, like all girls all over the world, begin dreaming of their wedding day when they are quite young.  

What a joy and delight for we, the ladies of Shiloh, to have a small part in blessing this lovely, godly orphan girl on her wedding day.  We serve an Amazing God Who can do all things.  Nothing is too hard for Him.

 

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

We've had an exciting day.  Too much excitement.  Way too much excitement for these elderly people.  (We know that we are elderly now because we recently heard an American newscaster refer to someone who is 72 years old as "elderly"...so that is our new classification!)  But I digress.

 The day started out here on our side of the Big Pond with the discovery that our U.S. debit card had been skimmed at an ATM machine that we sometimes use.  It's located just down the road from Shiloh, and because of its proximity to us, is the most convenient to use.  Not any more!!  We've used it for the last time.  

Fast forwarding past all that excitement...way too much excitement for these elderly people...the day is ending on a grateful note.   We're grateful for electricity.  Without electricity we could not be in contact with  the outside world.  We've had electricity from the time we woke up this morning and we still have electricity even now as we are headed off to bed.  We're grateful for Internet connection.  Without access to the Internet communicating with the outside world becomes much more complicated and much more costly.  We woke up today with good, strong Internet and are  going to bed with the same luxury.  We are grateful for our son who co-signs on our bank account.  Without him, resolving this particular problem becomes extremely complicated from this side of the Big Pond.  We are grateful for our American bank who quickly replaced all the funds that the skimmer got away with.  At days end we are going to bed resting in the All Sufficient One Who faithfully takes care of us in ways seen and unseen.  How grateful we are to be in His forever family.

Saturday, December 8, 2018

A dear Cameroonian lady sat in our living room today and poured out her heart to Mama Alice.  What an honor to be entrusted with her story.  She was born into a large family in a remote part of Cameroon.  She got pregnant and delivered her first child when she was sixteen years old.  In shame she dropped out of school and raised her baby with the help of her father and mother.  Six years later she again got pregnant.  By this time she was active in her church.  Nobody could believe that SHE would do such a thing.  As with the first pregnancy, the father of this child vanished into thin air.  About a year later she came into contact with a family who were strong Christians.  The wife began leading her step by step into a deep walk with our Lord.  In addition to experiencing the mercies of God which are new every morning, she began basking in His everlasting love for her.  Today you would never guess that she is a lady with a "past".  She is full of the joy of our Lord.  She invests all her strength and all her energies in sharing Jesus with everyone around her.  She does not want anyone to have to go through what she has gone through.  Her passion is school children.  More than anything she wants to spare them the pitfalls that are just around the corner, as they enter adolescence.  What a trophy to the Grace of God.  What an honor to know her.  What a blessing to see a life becoming more and more like Jesus. 

Friday, December 7, 2018

Are things crazy busy on your side of the Big Pond, too?  Christmas has us running this year, even more than other years.  We started the end of November with four days of non-stop decorating.  As more and more missionaries leave Cameroon for good, we are GIVEN more and more decorations.  And occasionally we break down and pay real money for something they are selling that we simply can't live without.  Like our third (and final, I might add) Christmas tree which we bought from dear friends as they were leaving a short blur ago.  Not only did we know of the perfect place for it, but we knew it would be a lovely reminder of all those good times we shared together.  They would be prayed for more often during the season, we rationalized.  So we have installed our first and largest tree in the dining room.  And our second tree in the Library.  And now we have debuted our third tree in the living room.  (The prayer reminder tree.)  It is truly our prettiest time of the year here at Shiloh.

And then there are all the people who come to Shiloh on spiritual retreats during this season.  We're busy most any old day of the year, but even more so as the year winds down to a close.  Many like to get alone with God during this season.  Sadly, we have to turn several away. 

Romeo wants to lead the Friday night Bible study in Eyene this month.  We promised him we would all go to the village with him when Guy is on Christmas break from seminary.  Romeo is coming tonight to do a trial run with us.  Papa Jim, Mama Alice, and Dorothy will all sit down and listen to his Bible study.  Maybe Theirry will be back home from university by that time and can be part of the audience, too.  Romeo is scheduled to lead the Bible study on the 21st.  So we will be going out to the village for that eagerly anticipated time.

But first we will have our annual Shiloh Family Christmas Party on the 20th.  A lot of planning and preparation goes into this event.  We have a program, eat a Christmas feast, and give a gift to each one who comes. We send each family back to their homes with a shopping bag full of all the fix-ins for a Christmas dinner at their house.  This enables them to put on a feast at their place.  And each year our team comes back to Shiloh after Christmas full of stories of how they were able to share the true meaning of Christmas with their friends and family members.  

To make this Christmas season extra special, one of our many Cameroonian children is getting married on the 29th.  We are giving he and his soon to be bride the gift of a three day honeymoon here at Shiloh.  We have known and loved this young man for over seven years.  To say that we are overjoyed with his choice of a wife is to put it mildly.  She is lovely in every way and a perfect match for him.  Cameroon needs more godly couples like them.  We are rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord.

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

We're sure enjoying having our dear friend Dorothy living at Shiloh.  

Shortly after arriving out here in Cameroon more than 27 years ago we began learning that there are differences between the English sector and the French sector.  Cultural differences.  Language differences.  All sorts of subtle differences.  Some of them are actually visible to foreigners such as ourselves.  But it is only now with Dorothy living with us that we are seeing life in the French sector through her eyes.  We are amazed at just how many distinctions there are between the two groups.  

So here at Shiloh we are a mixture of Americans, English speaking Cameroonians, French speaking Cameroonians, young people, young families,  singles, old grandparents, a middle aged widow lady, people with black skin, people with white skin, males, females, to say nothing of all the different tribal groups represented in our Shiloh Team.  But God has put us together.  We are a family.  We are one.  Our commonality is found in our relationship to the risen, living Lord of Lords and King of Kings. All Glory and Honor and Praise be to His lovely Name!

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

We met him for the first time seven and a half years ago.  The occasion?  The wedding of his oldest brother.  Donald, their mother Mama Helene, their little sister, and a couple of other people all stayed here at Shiloh during the days leading up to the wedding of Francis and Ingrid.  Donald did not yet know the Lord, but there was just something special about him.  We began praying that he would join God's forever family before it was too late.  And we can honestly say that we loved him right from the start.  A handful of years later he DID give his heart and life to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  And he's been growing in grace ever since.  In addition we began praying for a wife for him.  And today, this very day, Donald brought his future wife to us.  We have been hearing good things about her from Francis, but we have finally seen her with our own eyes.  She is everything we have been praying for and more.  She completes him.  We couldn't be happier for him if we tried.  And on December 29th we will be at their church for their wedding with bells on our toes! 

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Death is so final.  In the U.S.  In Africa.  Wherever, whoever, whatever age you are.  There is no going back and having a second chance at life.

We just received word that a Cameroonian man whom we know has died.  He will be buried this Saturday out in his village.  He worked for our former mission for ten years.  I was his last boss.  Sadly, it was discovered that he had been stealing from the mission for many years.  One of my first jobs when we arrived out here in 1991 was to participate in an investigation into this suspected theft.  Another lady and I did all the research and unearthed the fact that he had stolen a great deal during the last five years of his employment with the mission.  We were too sickened to dig through the records of his first five years.  We didn't want to know. As his direct supervisor I was part of the group of six who had to confront him with all that we had uncovered.  He declared that "the Judgment Seat of Christ will reveal my innocence."  And yet his guilt was all there in black and white.  He had to go.  

It was a dreadful way to begin working in a new country.  While not new to missions, we were new to Cameroon.  The better part of six months later, with the coaching of another, this man wrote a letter to the mission detailing all that he had stolen.  Amazingly he confessed to everything we had uncovered.  His motives were not pure however.  He had mistakenly been told that the mission would certainly hire him back if he were to "tell all".  This did not happen.

Fast forward to 2018...27 years later.  Sadly his life ended without his ever coming to know our Lord and Master.   How tragic.  For him Eternity in Hell has already begun.  There is no going back and having a second chance to accept our Savior.  Death is so final.  And we ache all over when we think of him.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

It's amazing how God works.  He's in all the details of our lives.  

We learned from Dorothy that when she has to go to her relative's house to spend the night because Shiloh is full, she joins them on a double bed mattress.  There is her sister's 20 something year old daughter, 15 year old daughter, and 5 year old granddaughter, all sleeping on their double bed mattress on the floor.  So when Aunt Dorothy shows up she gets to sleep cross way on the bed, down at their feet.  

When we learned of a missionary family leaving Cameroon for good who was selling their queen size bed frame and mattress for an incredibly low price, we jumped at the chance to buy it.  We thought we would be buying it for the three sardines.  When Dorothy learned of our plans, she immediately claimed the bed.  She said that she would tell her nieces that it was her bed but they would get to use it, too.  

Today when we picked up the bed, we brought it first to Shiloh.  Papa Jim wanted to set it up and check it out.  He wanted to be sure there were no problems with the bed before it went to the nieces tiny studio apartment.  So he and Dorothy set it up on our side porch and she laid down on it to try it out.  Was it ever comfortable!  As she was getting up off the bed she told us that if there was a way to enclose the side porch she would turn it into her bedroom.  That way she wouldn't have to be moving from one room to another inside Shiloh, depending on the needs of our guests.  Sometimes she even moves to the living room floor and sleeps on a single bed mattress.  And sometimes it is off to sleep with the three sardines. After much discussion and considering the pros and cons from every angle, we have come up with a way to make a make-shift bedroom on the side porch for Dorothy.  She is delighted, excited, overjoyed, and ecstatic, and is certain she won't sleep a wink as she dreams of having her very own room.  And we are going to bed in awe of the Almighty.  Once again He goes before us, providing for us in ways we could never imagine.

Monday, November 26, 2018

On Thursday little Samuel was sent home from school.  Turned out he had come down with malaria.  On Saturday his mother Ingrid and baby sister Blessing both contracted malaria.  And now today, Monday, big sister Deborah is in bed, sick with malaria.  Francis is the only one in his family who is well.  Somebody has to stay upright.  

Last night Joseph came to work not feeling too well.  In the middle of the night he spiked a temperature which broke a few hours later.  He's not at work tonight.  He has malaria.  

'Tis the season.  That's right, the long dry season is officially underway.  It's a time when many people get malaria. 

Sunday, November 25, 2018

We are in the midst of decorating Shiloh for Christmas.  One of our guests came back into the house this afternoon, saw a tree being decorated in the living room, and said "Long live the decorations!"  He's a professor at a local seminary and has stayed at Shiloh many times over the years.  We've never known him to be demonstrative before.  He gave us a good chuckle.  Tomorrow we are going into the library to see if we can decorate that tree.  We're saving the really big one which lives in the dining room for the last.  We have a group coming on the 29th so our goal is to have the house completely decorated before they arrive.  In addition to the three trees, we have four nativity sets, red bows for our giraffe to wear, poinsettias, garlands for the stair banister, and other festive things as well.  By the time we are finished decorating, Shiloh will be at her prettiest.  And Shiloh will remain breathtakingly beautiful until January 1, 2019.  "Long live the decorations!"
 

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Cameroon culture is about as far from American culture as you can get and still be on the same planet.  In some ways that is.  Of course there are similarities, too.  But if one is going to move between the two cultures one must learn some basics about the major differences, or it isn't going to work.  We have a friend who has just won the visa lottery.  He has an opportunity to go to America and ultimately get a green card.  This is a young man we knew briefly twelve years ago.  He was approximately ten years old at the time.  Now he is back in our lives via email (he's living outside of Cameroon, studying to become an airline pilot) and he's making every mistake possible.  Since we cannot sit down and talk face-to-face with him, we are not able to accurately discern what kind of person he has become.  There isn't that give and take that is so vital to relationships.  I know that in these modern times of social media, people don't really worry about deep relationships, but we are old fashioned.  Frankly we refuse to keep up with the modern trends when it comes to superficial relationships.  So here we are with this young man writing to us several times a week.  He's our new best friend.  His English is limited so we are not always sure exactly what he is trying to say.  And now after less than a month of this, he has started asking us for money for this, that and the other thing.  You can do that in his culture.  It's not offensive.  There is a way to handle that direct approach in the culture without breaking the relationship.  His requests could be genuine, or not.  There is no way of knowing since we cannot talk direct to him.  It is very easy to get sucked into his pleas for financial help.  Been there, done that.  But we are much more cautious today as a result of many bad experiences.  We have no intentions of responding to his every request for money.  Now that we have learned he has won the visa lottery, we are choosing to give him advice on how to function in American culture without being offensive.  That is all the "help" that we are giving him.

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Happy Thanksgiving!  We've had a wonderful time with our friends around the table.  The food was extraordinary, the fellowship uplifting, and the pies to die for.  We went upstairs for a thanksgiving service in the library after stuffing ourselves with turkey and dressing and all the trimmings.  We focused on our Lord and all He has done for us this past year and beyond.  We talked about His mercy and the many ways it impacts our daily lives.  We sang a number of wonderful hymns and enjoyed a variety of special music, including a flute quartet.  And then it was back downstairs to feast on four kinds of pies.  Yum!
  
One of the high points of the day was a pint size pumpkin named Miracle.  She was her mother's eighth child and had a twin brother.  The mother died in childbirth.  The family could not keep her, so a fifteen year old pregnant sister and her father took she and her brother by boat across to Nigeria to an orphanage.  Sadly, part way across the river the father and the brother drowned.  She was saved by her older sister and brought back to her village.  Her family still didn't know what to do with her.  When our friends learned of her plight, they took her into their hearts and home.  She has the biggest eyes and the biggest smile.  She is a delightful child.  They promptly named her Miracle because her life is one big miracle.  

 We will eat breakfast together in the morning (including waffles) and then our friends will travel back home to Bafia.  They are missionary refugees from the village of Sabga, up in the mountains above Bamenda.  Everybody is busy learning French and asking God how He wants to use them now.  After they leave we will pull out the Christmas decorations and officially begin the Christmas season.  We have three trees to put up this year.  Fun!

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Many, many years ago, when we got married, I knew how to boil water.  Oh, and I could also make a Thanksgiving dinner from scratch.  That's right, everything from the turkey and dressing to all the pies.  

When my oldest sister was nineteen  she asked our mother if she could make the Thanksgiving dinner all by herself.  Our mother was not a cook so she was happy to turn the chore over to someone else.  The following year when my middle sister was nineteen our mother let her know it was her turn to cook the Thanksgiving dinner.   This was now our family tradition.  So that next year when I was nineteen of course it  was my turn to cook the big Thanksgiving dinner.  I pulled out all the stops.  I cooked for an entire month and froze things.  I made place  cards and menus.  I posted house rules and made everyone dress for the occasion.  I invited relatives.  You see, I was trying to impress everybody with my new found skills.   I had inherited my mothers cooking skills, or lack thereof.  My meal was a smashing success.   But I still didn't like cooking so reverted back to boiling water.  Period.  

To this day cooking is still not my thing.  Except for Thanksgiving dinner.  I just love preparing that feast.  So we are having lots of fun getting ready for the big event on Thursday.  We are right on schedule.  It should be a smashing success.  

Monday, November 19, 2018

Dorothy is soooooo happy to be home.  She is embracing all of us.  Today she got word that the village where the wedding was held was attack by the government. They flew over in a helicopter, dropping grenades.  It is a dangerous place to be.  She has no plans to return any time soon.   

We spent the day getting ready for Thanksgiving.  We've got lists of things to do each day in order to be ready on time.  We are having a grand time working and visiting and preparing for a wonderful feast. Now it is time to take our tired bodies to bed.

Sunday, November 18, 2018

She arrived back home around 8 p.m. tonight.  We have been praying and praying and praying for her the whole time she has been gone.  And she came back with a story to tell.

Dorothy left Shiloh 4 p.m. last Tuesday.  She caught the night bus to Bamenda and arrived safe and sound the following morning.  Some were trying to get cars up to the village where the wedding was taking place (not her parents village) but she decided to wait until the morning.  But on Thursday morning taxis were simply not going that far.  She managed to get as far as four corners in Bambwi.  She was with four of her younger cousins.  They decided to start walking since they could not find a car going their way.  So they walked and walked and walked and finally arrived at Mbingo Baptist Hospital.  Dorothy was worn out by that time and called it quits.  They all agreed that she should not continue.  They kept hiking and finally found a moto to carry them into the village.  They arrived just as the wedding was breaking up, so they missed the whole event.  But the bride was glad that they had tried, and she knew that Dorothy had made the grand effort, too.  

While at Mbingo Dorothy discovered that a pastor who was a close relative of her late husband had died and was going to be buried there the following day. But her main concern was getting into Belo to visit her elderly mother.  Eventually she found a car that would take her to the entrance of the village but no farther.  She discovered that all cars and motos were charging double on the price.  When she arrived in Belo she was shocked at what she discovered.  How quickly the jungle had reclaimed the village.  Tall grass (taller than her head) was growing everywhere, even into the road.  Cars could not drive through the grass.  She began walking up the mountain on the paved road, but mostly she was walking on grass.  It was not easy.  Finally she arrived at her mother's house.  

The next morning she discovered that a young lady had died and the body was being brought back into the village for burial.  She walked down to the compound to see if she could help.  When she arrived the word reached the family that the girl's father had been killed by the Ambazonians.  In fact they killed five other young men too.  There was a war going on between them and the military.  The military managed to find and kill a man the Ambazonians called "Colonel".  He was their big leader.  He was the one who had killed a pregnant military lady at the last check point before Mbingo along with another military officer some months ago.  The officer was a child of God.  The military has been searching all over the mountains for the Colonel, and now they had him.  They took pictures of his body to show the General in charge of that area. He confirmed that this was indeed the Colonel.  So they shot him some more and cut his body into pieces.  They did all to prevent the Ambazonians from getting his body for burial, but in the end they captured the remains.  

Meanwhile Dorothy ran back to her mother's house for safety.  A lot of fighting was going on.  She said they were using automatic guns.  Finally a shot penetrated the walls of the house.  Dorothy was very disturbed by that.  She told her mother that she needed to get out of the village.  She is causing all of her children to worry.  She has no business staying in the village.  Her mother said that she didn't like it that Dorothy came to visit her.  It was too dangerous for a visit.  But she personally is just fine.  They will not kill her because she is an old lady.  Their war is not with her.  Dorothy pointed out that if the bullet had entered the house lower down, the mother would be dead.  But she would not hear it.  She is confident that she alone is safe because she is old.  She does not want her children coming into the village any more.  So Dorothy remained pinned down in her mother's house all of Friday.  

Then on Saturday morning at 6 a.m. she began walking out of the village.  She joined a group of others who were trying to get out any way they could.  They took trails through the forest and finally reached Mbingo at 11 a.m.  Dorothy went to every car and asked for a ride to Bamenda.  Nobody wanted to take her as it was not safe.  Her husband's relative was being buried at that time.  She learned that the cars travel in a caravan for funerals and will not take off alone.  Finally someone suggested she talk to the driver of the hearse.  Once the body is removed for burial, the hearse will return to Bamenda empty.  She made arrangements with the driver to leave immediately for the city.  She had to pay an awful price to get out, but she was happy to do so.  There were five of them who squeezed into the back of the hearse.  Finally she arrived safely in Bamenda, spent the night at her brother's home, and took the bus to Yaounde this morning.  

She is just so glad to be safely back home at Shiloh.  She's exhausted, well traumatized, and regrets that she tried to go to the wedding.  I told her to sleep in in the morning, but she is eager to get back to work and back to normal.  She said the guns were the worst.  The people up there have gotten used to guns going off any old time, but she does not want that to become normal for her. 

Saturday, November 17, 2018

You should have seen the celery in the market today.  It was fantastic!  Normally we get these spindly things that are a sorry excuse for celery.  But today they were perfect for making stuffed celery.  Which is why I needed them.  We were contacted yesterday by a group of five adults and one baby to see if they could stay here at Thanksgiving and share the meal with us.  So of course this necessitated a quick run to town for turkey and all the trimmings.  I went to three stores to find little packets of walnuts for the Waldorf salad.  That comes from my families Thanksgiving dinner.  The turkey is not a butterball admittedly, but it is better than nothing, which is what every other store was selling.  It came in from France and will have to suffice.  I may add a chicken just to be sure.  We are going to have apple, pumpkin, mango, and lemon meringue pies.  Yum!  I can hardly wait.  Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday.  You cannot celebrate the day with anyone but Americans.  So Happy Thanksgiving all you Americans!

Friday, November 16, 2018

I've been praying for her for several years and today we got to meet her.  Ezekiel brought his wife of less than two weeks over to meet us.  She is from his village and is just lovely.  She was a student in Bambwi, but her school closed down because of the fighting.  But God brought her a husband instead.  And yesterday a miracle happened.  They were granted visas to go to America.  That is an unheard of gift from God.  He was in the states two years ago when Daniel got married, so he can easily get a visa to go back.  But for her, that is really an impossibility.  They reported that over twenty people were applying for visas and only five were granted.  So you see, it is not automatic.  You pay an awful fee to apply and then get turned down.  We are very happy for Ezekiel.  He is a lovely brother in the Lord who works for a group of missionaries.  He is often here at Shiloh.  And now he comes with wife.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Today was my monthly cooking club.  We had a man demonstrating for us today.  This is the first that a man has been in attendance.  He taught us how to make a recipe that he sort of made up.  He calls it pork  and prunes in cream sauce.  He added a couple of tablespoons of whiskey and let it catch on fire.  It was all very exotic.  The alcohol all burns off but it gives a nice showy effect.  I think I will pass on this one!  I can see myself burning my arms and my eyebrows and then all my hair!!  We'll stick with nice tame things.  But it did taste good.

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Yesterday we went into town to update our immunizations.  We went to the Louis Pasture Center first and were able to get meningitis injections.  They were very expensive, but the good news is that there is a new kind of shot that is once for life, so that's the last we will ever have to have.  Then it was on to the Red Cross to get typhoid vaccinations.  This has to be repeated every three years.  Typhoid is pretty awful so we don't mind the inconvience.

Today I went across town to the dentist.  I had a 40 year old filling fall out of my mouth last month.  Since there was no pain associated with it, I was able to wait until we could fit this into the budget this month.  The dentist removed the part of the filling that was still in the tooth and put a provisional filling in.  I will return on Monday for the actual filling.  Forty years from now I plan on being in glory, so this should be the last time I have to deal with that particular tooth. 

So I guess we've had our thousand mile check-ups.  We should be good to go now until the next breakdown!

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

She left at four this afternoon and already Shiloh seems empty. Dorothy has only been with us for five months but she has worked her way into our hearts and our lives.  She is such a valuable worker.  She does so many little things to make our lives easier.  For example, she is always up by 5:30 a.m. so she lets Joseph out the gate at 6 a.m.  That means we get to sleep in.  And she is here after four when everyone goes home, so she opens the gate every time until the guard comes back at 6 p.m.  She makes early breakfasts for our guest.  And then she gets breakfast started for our team.  She takes the cloths off the line after hours if they haven't dried by quitting time.  And the list goes on and on and on.  But her niece is getting married this weekend and she wanted to be there for the event.  First they will go into the village to pay the bride price, or in this case, receive the bride price.  The following day they will go before the mayor for the civil ceremony.  And then there is the church blessing.  Dorothy will get to see lots of relatives.  And her mother.  She wants to see her again and sit down for a long talk.  She asked for an advance on her salary but we gave the money as a gift.  Not necessary to pay it back.  Just before she left I gave her additional money so she could buy food on the trip up to Bamenda.  She was overwhelmed.  Told me I was a good mother.  We gathered in the living room for a time of prayer for Dorothy.  You see, it's not just safety on the road for this long and sometimes dangerous trip.  There is still a war going on up in the North West Region.  They were burning houses and crops in her village once again last week.  But her brother has advised her to keep phoning the family to see how things are.  If at any time during her trip they tell her that fighting has broke out again, she will get off the bus and come back to Yaounde.  We wish her the best.  She has earned this time off.  And she needs to connect with family and friends and her mother.  But we are eager for her return.  She is so very valuable.

Monday, November 12, 2018

When it comes down to it, it's a clash of culture.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  Don't know if others are seeing it that way or not.

Last Friday Charles Wesco was buried in a private, by invitation only, event.  However both his church and the funeral parlor were inundated by phone calls.  People were insisting that they had to know when, where, and what time he would be buried.  The church and the funeral parlor politely invited them to the memorial service that was held at 1 p.m. today at his church.  But this was not satisfactory news.  People insisted that they had to be at the burial, too as they were family.  Cameroonian family that is.   Mind you, they did not know Charles Wesco.  Had never heard of him prior to his death.  But they are family.

 Here in Cameroon it is very important to see the deceased.  Or at least a picture of him in his casket.  And to attend the burial is extremely important.  They need to show their respect and the family needs to see them there.  A memorial service is outside of their cultural norms.  It just doesn't cut it.

So these Cameroonians were viewed as obnoxious and rude by Americans.  But really, it was just a clash of culture.  In the end they had to content themselves with the memorial service.  While we haven't heard, I am sure they were there in number.  In fact the word went out on social media that all Ambazonians should attend in order to prove that it was the Cameroonian military that killed Charles.  How that would prove anything is beyond me.  Hopefully they were not disruptive.

Sunday, November 11, 2018

This morning we served breakfast to two guests at 7:45 a.m.  At ten a.m. a family of five left Shiloh to return to their home.  We then cleaned the three bedrooms they had occupied last night.  And throughout the day we have washed six loads of laundry.  It's Sunday.  The day of rest!

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Last time we saw him he was an eight year old kid with an older and a younger brother.  Now he's 20 years old!  It was amazing talking with this young man.  We remember him very well, now that we see him.  We worked with his parents briefly, doing evangelization in the Manguisa village of Nkolinga.  He has grown into a strong believer.  It was delightful talking with him.  We did wonder how we might use him in the future in Eyene.  Maybe he would be able to help us with another Bible conference.  It remains to be seen what God has in store for us.  

And the older and younger brothers?  The older one is learning to fly planes.  He is in the final stages of his training and doing very well. The younger one is seventeen, living at home, and going to school.  All are walking with the Lord. 

Friday, November 9, 2018

Bits and pieces:
  • Four people (two couples) have returned to the U.S. to attend Charles Wesco's funeral.  One of the missionary men will speak at the occasion.
  • The week long conference ended today.  It was a very productive time.  Five people are staying over; two for one night and two for two nights.
  • We turn Shiloh right around.  A smaller group comes in tomorrow afternoon.
  • An airport official was directed to Shiloh today.  He was seeking housing for friends who are returning to Cameroon for the wedding of their son/brother.  A lady and her three adult children will spend twelve nights with us.  People come to Shiloh through all sorts of contacts.
  • Dorothy is going to the NW Region on Tuesday for her nieces wedding, Lord willing.  If the roads are open and travel is permitted.  We will certainly miss her.  She is the backbone of Shiloh.  But she will come back.  This is not permanent at all.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

He called me Mama Alice.  Asked about Papa Jim.  Wanted to know if we still had Shiloh.  And were we still going out to Eyene and Polo to evangelize?  Inquired about Guy and Emil.  (That dates him...Emil has not worked with us for more than ten years.)  Kept insisting that I knew him.  I supposedly know his father and mother.  But he was just a boy the last time he saw us in the village of Polo.  Talked about going around with me and Elie who later died.  Said I took his picture.  Yeah, everything is there.  The right names.  The right places.  But WHO IS HE???  Well he is so excited to be back in contact with us.  He's coming over to visit on Saturday.  Maybe we will know him when we see him.  Hope so.  He will be super disappointed if we have completely forgotten him.

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

It was kind of sad really.  The phone call came mid-day.  One of Francis's older sisters phoned to say that their brother Christophe's wife had just delivered a baby girl.  It was the first that anyone knew she was even pregnant.  No communication.  No opportunity to share in their joy.  Nobody praying for her through the pregnancy and particularly during the delivery.  Nothing.  It's as if they don't count.  Which frankly, they don't.  The family is mighty awful tired of this kind of treatment.  The new mother has yet to visit any of her in-laws.  She saw the ones who attended the wedding at the wedding.  Period.  What a sad state of affairs.

Monday, November 5, 2018

Go on line and look up Charles Wesco February 5, 2017 if you want a blessing.  This is a message he preached just 21 months before he was ushered into the presence of his Lord.  He had some powerful things to say, more so in light of how his life ended.

Sunday, November 4, 2018

She's quite a gal, this Dorothy of ours.  She didn't get much education, though she is very smart.  One of her brothers has a doctorate.  She is smart enough to have earned one, too, given half a chance.  But she is the one the mother took out of school to help her at home.  So her formal learning stopped.  But she is learning every day.  Soaking things up like a sponge.  She's a type A personality.  Always seeing things to do.  Always jumping in and doing things.  You just have to show her something once.  And if she needs to be corrected, she catches on immediately.  She's quick to please.  Works until she drops.  Does not know when to quit.  Truly, she is the most like me of anybody I know on either side of the Big Pond.  At her husband's funeral many people talked about her and how well she took care of him during his five years of illness.  She treated him like a king and never once complained.  She has laid up much treasure in Heaven.  And she is Heaven bound.  She loves the Lord with all her heart and serves Him fully.  She's a real treasure.  We did nothing to deserve her.  We were not looking for her or for anybody for that matter.  God just dropped her in our laps and we don't know how we ever made it without her.

Saturday, November 3, 2018

He phoned to thank us.  Said they had been praying for this very thing.  Last weekend he paid the bride price.  Lots of missionaries were there.  Including the man who had just three more days of life before a bullet would usher him into Glory.  Charles and his wife and their eight kids were at the event.  Things went south after the missionary lost his life.  Lots of missionaries fled the area.  They're down here in Yaounde or in Bafoussam.  So when he went to the mayor's office for the civil ceremony yesterday, and when he had the church blessing today, no missionaries were around.  But God was there and He blessed their wedding.  And now our gift of 25.000 F arrived.  Exactly what they had been asking God to provide.  What a great faith builder for this young couple as they begin their life together. 

Friday, November 2, 2018

The cat and the mouse are very good friends.  They scamper through the tall grass all day long.  They hunt for food and share everything they find.  One day they realized that food was getting scarce.  Finally they were down to their last yam.  They had learned that there was plenty of food on the other side of the river, so they decided to carve their yam into a canoe.  The cat and the mouse entered the canoe.  The mouse began paddling hard.  Finally the mouse was so hungry that he began eating the yam canoe.  Before long the canoe began filling with water and sinking.  The mouse gave a mighty leap and landed on the river bank.  The cat did the same.  But the cat was very angry with the mouse.  He shouted at him and said that if he ever caught the mouse, he would rip his head off and eat him.  So the cat began chasing the mouse and that is why cats chase mice to this very day.

Mr. Tortoise was good friends with Mr. Pig.  One day Mr. Tortoise asked Mr. Pig if he could barrow a large sum of money.  He promised to pay it back on a certain day.  So Mr. Pig loaned him the money.  When the day to pay the money arrived, Mr. Tortoise did not have any money saved up to give Mr. Pig.  He discussed the problem with Mrs. Tortoise and together they came up with a clever solution.  Mr. Tortoise lay on his back and Mrs. Tortoise used his stomach for a grinding stone.  When Mr. Pig arrived she told him that Mr. Tortoise was not at home but would be back later.  The following day Mr. Pig returned but it was the same.  He found Mr. Tortoise not at home and his wife using her grinding stone.  The third day when he returned, Mrs. Tortoise told him that Mr. Tortoise was not at home while she calmly continued using her grinding stone.  Mr. Pig was so mad that he picked up her grinding stone and threw it into the forest across the street.  Mrs. Tortoise began crying with a loud voice.  Mr. Tortoise picked himself up off the forest floor, brushed off the dirt, and calmly walked across the road to his house.  When Mr. Pig saw him, he began demanding his money.  But Mr. Tortoise said he had to talk to his wife first.  He asked her why she was crying.  She explained through her wailing that Mr. Pig had thrown her grinding stone away.  Mr. Tortoise told Mr. Pig that he would pay him everything he owed him just as soon as Mr. Pig returned his wife's grinding stone.  So the pig immediately began rooting through the dirt in the forest.  And that is why pigs are rooting in the dirt to this very day.

These are stories which are taught to children in their schools.  They are very entertaining and well known in Cameroon. It provides an interesting natural explanation for behavior that can be observed.

Thursday, November 1, 2018

In the end we decided to hold the baptism on Saturday afternoon.  It's a good thing we made the change.  It was raining on Sunday morning.  We baptized both Romeo and Theirry's fiancee Rosalie.  Jim preached on Sunday and then again on Monday evening.  We learned that in reality, Mama Jean had never been baptized herself, though she said she had.  Turns out that her former church preaches that the time for baptism has past.  It is not for this age.  Strange!  

We also stumbled onto the fact that Jean Claude and Chantal have never had the church blessing.  He paid the bride price and they had the civil ceremony.  So we discussed a plan for taking that final step.  Chantal would like to be baptized in conjunction with the church blessing.  They are going to save money as they sell their annual cash crops at this time.  Then sometime after the first of the year they will have the church blessing.  We hope that takes place before we return to the U.S. in mid-July.

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

It just took one  shot.  Only one.  And his life was over.  To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  For the believer.  Which he was.  Husband.  Father of eight.  Son. Son-in-law.  Brother.  Friend.  Fellow church member.  And now missionary.  But it is all over.  His mission was short.  Eleven days.  And then glory.  Not what he planned.  Not what his wife planned.  Nor the children.  Not what the church thought of as they sent him off to Africa. He was to live out his days as a missionary.  Well, he did.  But not according to the plan.  But it was God's plan and God does all things well.  Even when a bullet penetrates the body of a missionary and snuffs his life out.  They were traveling into Bamenda to buy groceries.  He, the missionary who was driving them, his wife, and their second son.  Suddenly as they arrived at Four Corners, gunfire started up.  And one of the multiple bullets that  pierced the car (Swiss cheese comes to mind) penetrated his body and it was all over.  

Since the missionary was able to identify the assailants, his life is in danger.  The U.S. Embassy warned them to get out quickly.  Don't spend the night. Said he would go to Bamenda for the night and then on down to Yaounde in the morning.  NO! said the Embassy.  Bamenda is too close.  They will find you.  Their plans have changed.  They are coming on down to Yaounde immediately and will stay with us.  Soon they will go with the new widow and her children back to the U.S.  They plan on staying for three month, letting things calm down.  Hopefully they can come back at that time.  Two men are coming from America to help the grieving family get back home.  Life can change so fast in a moment of time.

Friday, October 26, 2018

We leave in a handful of hours to go out to the village.  Back on Tuesday.  There are ten of us going out in two cars.  There will be a baptism on Sunday first thing, followed by communion.  Then Jim is preaching the morning sermon.  Guy will translate for him.  We are looking forward to a good time in the Lord. 

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Praise and Blessing were a hit from the start.  Blessing was not the least bit afraid of Praise and Praise loved licking her little face.  But Ingrid, Deborah, and Samuel were a different story.  They stood wide eyed a safe distance from the furthest end of Praise's chain and tried not to tremble visibly.  Francis, who spent the last week and a half visiting Praise each day after work, had mostly gotten beyond his fear.  Mostly.  He had  to put on a brave face for his family.  He admonished his wife that she was next in line after him.  She had to be the mother of the dog and she had to take charge when people visited.  She had to learn to take hold of her collar and not let her lunge at people.  So she is trying.  And he insisted that Sammy and Deborah had to pet Praise.  It was hard, but with effort, they managed a pat or two.  Bit by bit their new dog will work her way into their lives.  It's a good thing that Blessing is too little to know to be afraid of the big scary dog.  She will teach her siblings that she is OK and Praise will slowly fit into the family.  It's a process. 

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

He grew up in Congo.  She did too.  MKs, they went to school together all the way through high school.  Then they did university training in the States, got married, and came back out to Africa.  He as a family practitioner doctor and she as a school teacher.  They are one of at least three couples in their class who did the same.  All returned to Congo to follow in their parents footsteps.  When things got hot in Congo, they moved to Central African Republic.  Now the doctor and his wife have come back out to CAR for their last term before retirement.  They brought eight large pieces of luggage out with them for their hospital.  They are here at Shiloh for a few days, taking care of things prior to going to CAR.  In fact all their friends will be retiring at the same time.  It's going to leave an awful big hole out here.  But life marches on.

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

It's official.  Cameroon has a new president.  He will serve for seven years.  At the end of which time he will be well into his 90s.  You see, he looks a lot like the old president.  As in very old.  It came as no surprise to anyone that he won.  But they went through the charade anyway.  It was announced that they would declare the winner at 11 a.m. on public radio.  So at 1 p.m. they finally got around to reading off the results in each polling section.  It was a real kick as they made it look like a serious and honest election.  And then at the end, surprise, surprise!  Paul Biya won!!!  I know it was because I wore my Biya watch and hat.  Must have had a great influence on the outcome.  Yesterday every big city in the country was on lock down.  Police were out everywhere in riot gear.  Word had gone out on social media for planned protests, but the President put a halt to that.  So in the end he was peacefully and duly elected, if not without a little help from his friends.

Sunday, October 21, 2018

We're just back from a quick trip out to the village.  Left Shiloh 2 p.m. yesterday.  Returned 2 p.m. today.  Jim preached this morning.  Otherwise ever part of the service (including the translation into Manguisa) was carried out by Manguisa themselves.  It was a real honor to be there.  And tomorrow night Jean Claude will be leading the Bible study. Damien is at his brother's funeral so we filled in for him.

On our way back into town Eric entertained us with a steady stream of jokes.  Here are the best two:  An older Cameroonian couple took a trip to Israel.  While there the wife suddenly died.  The husband said "Praise God!" and began checking his options.  He discovered that it was exorbitantly expensive to ship her body back to Cameroon for burial in the village.  Conversely it was not costly at all to bury her in Israel.  As he considered these options, he suddenly declared that he didn't care how much it cost to ship her body back home, that was what he was going to do.  He remembered that one time they buried someone in Israel and the person rose from the dead.  He didn't want to run the risk!

So this group of Cameroonian men were standing around talking when the Devil suddenly showed up.  The crowd dispersed as the men ran in all directions.  Except for one man.  He just stood there.  The Devil came up to him and asked why he didn't run away.  "I've been living with your sister for years, so I'm not afraid of you!" he replied.

Saturday, October 20, 2018

The house is hopping.  We've got the staff from Guy's seminary here for the weekend.  We're doing three meals per day plus coffee breaks.  These are quality people.  They've taken over the living room.  But when they go to bed, Theirry transforms it into his bedroom.  And Dorothy goes to her nieces to sleep.  

In a couple of hours we are going out to Eyene for the weekend.  Damien's brother is being buried today, so he cannot preach tomorrow.  Jim is taking his place.  Guy can't be with us as Pastor Ken is here from Brazil and he is translating for him.  So Jean Magloir will translate Jim's French into Manguisa.  Doris will lead singing.  Jean Claude will give the announcements.  And one of his announcements will be that he is leading the Bible study on Monday evening. Little by little they are taking charge of things and we are delighted.  We are hoping to discover how many plan on being baptized next weekend.  Two car loads of us will be going out for that event.

Friday, October 19, 2018

The Epler Butt.  Probably not in your dictionary.  Unless you are related to Edmund and Lela Mitchell.  And truly, I never discovered if it came down the Mitchel side or Lela's ancestry.  Lela Mae Hoyt was her name by the time she died at a ripe old age.  She had five or six husbands.  Used to say she only married them to bury them.  Course that wasn't true of Mr. Sullivan, hubby number two.  They had one son and then she couldn't take the drinking anymore so she divorced him.  This was way back in the Dark Ages when NOBODY got divorced (though we all know someone in our heritage who DID divorce).

But I digress.  We were talking about the Epler Butt.  As in hind end.  Lela Mae's three girls, Allie, Vera, and Mame used to laugh their fool heads off about their Epler Butts!  They were grown women when I witnessed this behavior...Grandmothers even.  Fast forward thirty years.  We were visiting my cousin Judy and family in Michigan.  She's the family historian.  One evening during our visit she asked me if I had ever heard of anyone called Epler.  Grandma (Allie) lived with us so I  grew up absorbing family history.  I laughed and told Judy that she was famous for her butt.  I told her how Grandma and the old aunts used to laugh about their Epler Butts.  She was amazed.  She had never heard of anyone of that name and neither had her father, but her research had turned up an Epler in the family line.  I told her that the only thing I knew about this poor lady was that she had a big butt and she passed it on to all of us.  So we laughed about our Epler Butts.

Fast forward many more years and we ended up out here in Cameroon.  Before long we discovered that a girl with a large behind is very marriageable.  Somehow the culture has determined that if you are broad in the beam, you will be able to carry children without problems.  And now Dorothy, our dear young widow friend from Bamenda who is living with us, arrives on the scene.  And let me tell you, she has a true Epler Butt!  It would make the Epler family proud.  The theory must work cuz she has two children.  And she did get married.  Who knew the Epler Butt would be an assert?!