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.