A rather amazing thing happened on Saturday morning (the day after Theirry's birthday).  His parents phoned to tell him that they were leaving Daoula and coming up to visit him and all of us, AND they were bringing his youngest sister and brother.  Theirry is number two in a family of eight children.  He excitedly told us the good news at breakfast, and we became excited right along with him.

Hours later when the family arrived, they surprised us by bringing us lots and lots of food.  Not just some fruit as they have in the past.  There was an enormous basket full of all types of tropical fruit (and they gave us the beautiful basket, too!)  They brought us five chickens and a whole slew of fish from Daoula, all kept cold in a covered tub filled with ice.  Daoula is the seat of commerce in Cameroon and it is right on the Atlantic Ocean.  It's a seaport city. They have access to fish that we rarely get here in Yaounde.  So our upright freezer is bulging with quite a treat!  They came bearing a regime of plantains, a large market basket brim full of potatoes, and a double handful of baton de manioc (which you've probably never eaten but which we LOVE!) And if that wasn't enough, they brought us a five liter bottle of cooking oil, a large can of whole powdered milk (they even selected our favorite brand!), and various and sundry other staples, too numerous to mention.

I'm sure by now this is all sounding rather amazing to you too, but until you know the back story, you cannot possibly understand the depth of our amazement.  And yes, we quickly shared the back story with Theirry and his parents.  This month, the first month of the year 2019, our support for the month is what one would call minuscule.  We have  enough to pay all of our regular bills, but there is no money for frills like grocery shopping.  That's not to say that we can't buy ANY food all month long, but each time we think we need to buy something to eat, we examine that thought from every angle to make sure we really need whatever it is.  There will be NO day long trip into town to do the monthly grocery shopping.  And we declared that we would watch our Father take care of us, faithfully providing our daily bread and so much more, as He has done for all of the 48 years of our missionary experience.

So now you are starting to catch a glimpse of the depth of our gratitude to our loving Heavenly Father, Who laid it on the hearts of Theirry's family to provide some of the very items we are out of here at Shiloh.  What an amazing, adventure filled life we life out here in Darkest Africa.  We  wouldn't trade it for all the tea in China.