Fire Engine Red

This one is specifically for you scientists . . . or moms who decorate cakes for their kids!

Kenneth wanted his birthday cake to be simply red and white; just a fire engine, with his name and age and "Happy Birthday" scrawled on it. As some of you might have guessed, the writing and even the rough resemblance of a fire engine wasn't the hard part; getting that bright red color was definitely a challenge.

Now when a daughter's birthday rolls around, things are pretty easy; you add that red food coloring, and the icing turns out pink, and you add more, and it gets a brighter pink, and eventually you concede defeat and pretend you actually meant it to be pink in the first place. But for a son, it's a bit harder to be flexible with that "not red" color.

So...back to my story. I added that red food coloring, trying two different brands in the hope that maybe it would make a difference; but pink it remained. Now I had to be creative, as Kenneth was looking at me very expectantly. I said, "Maybe we should make the fire engine orange." He readily agreed, so I added yellow to the pink . . . and the end result was a wonderful fire engine red! Of course, I knew that all along, right??!!!

250 Pieces of Popcorn

"Take one piece of popcorn. This represents one language - let's say the English language. Ok, now eat it... goodbye English! How about another one? .... How many pieces of popcorn would represent the number of languages in Cameroon? .... I have 10 "languages" (pieces of popcorn) in each of these baggies, and this plastic bag is full of little baggies, so that makes....? There are over 250 languages spoken in Cameroon."

So went my "spiel" 8 times today as we were part of a "missions fest" at Christy and Jenny's elementary school. How can you communicate Cameroon to these kids in a way that will grab them, and make them realize that they take so much for granted? You can't. You just do your best, and realize that God will use that for His glory in some way.

Pray for these future missionaries and the work in Cameroon every time you eat some popcorn....

Birthdays and Bunnies

Scene: Kenneth's preschool
Actors: 6 preschoolers, 1 teacher
Props: 1 pinata, lots of candy, Easter baskets, food, Rice Krispy bars with "Happy Birthday Kenneth" in icing on top
Occasion: Easter party and Birthday party

What a mixture! So Kenneth got an Easter basket full of candy for his birthday.... It's actually quite appropriate, as he was born on a Good Friday. But what a difference between the stark delivery room in Cameroon 5 years ago, and the well-supplied preschool room in Canada today! And yet isn't that appropriate too, as Kenneth was born on the day when the Christian world remembered a death. Hmmm....

Life is full of contrasts, isn't it!!!

Long time...

Well, it's been almost 2 months since I last blogged. But during that time I was in Calgary, Chicago, Philadelphia, Warrington (and lots of other places around there), Lancaster, Denver, Gunnison, and Crested Butte. And during that time lots of wonderful people took care of our 4 children for 2 1/2 weeks so Mike & I could have a great trip of business with a week of relaxation at the end.

But talking about a LONG TIME, that pretty well describes some of our delays in the airports. I'm not sure if it was just our particular carrier that was having a rough month, or if it is all the airlines, but I think 3 out of 4 of our flights had some delay. And when Mike came back this past weekend, he had an overnight delay. Oh well, time is all relative anyway, right??!!

Out of water

Well, isn't this quite a reminder of life in Cameroon! Here we are with no water coming from our taps, we're not flushing the toilet unless we really have to, and we're dipping from a bucket for essential washing. Yes, this is Canada, and yes, these things still happen. We're thankful for kids who know exactly what to do in this kind of situation!

Actually, we're very fortunate, because our missionary landlords had kindly alerted us to the possibility, and we DO have some washing water and drinking water stored up.

Ok, back to the Cameroon scenario. In Bekondo, if this happened, we might be out of water for 2-3 days or longer, depending on whether the "water fix-it guy" decided to push his low-salary agenda by going on strike or not. And eventually he and some other young guys would head out to the "bush", after coming to borrow tools, "rubbers" (to tie the pipe together again), etc. In the meantime, either we could catch rainwater from our roof, or we could get some of the village kids to carry water for us (or our house-help or yard worker would get it for us - they usually took good care of us!).

But here... you're talking -16 degrees Celcius (plus wind chill) and snow on the ground - yes, we're actually getting winter weather for a change! And there are men working on the pipes right now, and they will probably continue to work until it's fixed. So we only have the inconvenience of maybe 6-12 hours (it started around supper time). We're spoiled!

But it still makes us anticipate heaven, when we'll be with the Living Water, and never have to thirst or wash again!!!

A passage I love

Well, this is a bit late for Valentine's Day, but it is still true, so bear with me.

I John 4:18a (NLT) "Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear."

In context, this is talking about a fear of future judgement, which we as Christians do not have to worry about. Why? Because Jesus Christ has taken that judgement on Himself, and has already paid the penalty. Wow! What love!

On a more practical level, because we know that God is in control and LOVES us so much, we do not have to fear. Period. End of discussion. He will not let anything happen to us that He does not want to happen. Yes, this may mean that at times, something "bad" may happen, but He has a reason; we just don't have His perspective on the situation.

This verse really started "coming home" to us after armed robbers broke into our house in our village in Cameroon, less than a month after we had moved in (1998). While we watched, they stole a lot of our stuff, then tied us up and drove off in our vehicle. Talk about fear after that! It took quite a while for God's Word (and many loving people's comfort and support) to soak in. And yet today we can say that we KNOW this verse is true. While we are still human, and still fear at times, we can always come back to this promise - perfect love DOES expel all fear.

What greater love do we need?

Youth Group

Scottspiel
Hmmm...how do you define "youth"??

A couple of decades ago, I was in a "youth group" that consisted of high schoolers or college aged kids.

In Cameroon, "youth" can be anyone from 13 or so up to in the 30's.

And last night, Christy and Jenny went to a newly established "youth group" for kids in grades 5 and 6. Interesting. By the way, they loved it. It is an "inter-church" youth group (kids from all churches in town can participate), and it is a time when Christy can see one of her friends who is home-schooled (who she usually only sees in church).

It is so encouraging to see churches work together for a change - after all, are we not all the body of Christ? Tomorrow I, too, will enjoy this, as I will be attending an inter-church ladies' retreat :-)

Mouse Control

This isn't about the capture and demise of little furry rodents, although that probably still needs to happen in this house. Rather, this is about the manipulation of a computer pointing device.

Why talk about such a mundane subject? Because our youngest, Laura (2 1/2), was finally able to control a computer mouse enough to play a game (coloring) all by herself last night. What an accomplishment! That was the first time she had tried to use Mike's mouse, which is a wireless and smaller than usual, and that is what she needed for her small hand.

Now, this may be a moment of triumph for Laura, but I am ecstatic for another, more selfish, reason. This means that no longer do I have to sit down at the computer WITH her - she can play by herself!!! No, this doesn't mean I'll abandon her to the computer babysitter, but it does allow for some respite in hectic days.

So YEAH for mouse control!

Sleepovers

Another cultural experience is happening tonight - our two older girls are both having sleepovers. Christy is at Angie's house, and Amber is over here with Jenny.

One teacher told me a pessimistic view of sleepovers - it's a time when little girls tell each other secrets, and then spread each other's "classified" information all over the playground the next school day. Wow! I'd like to think that doesn't happen, but it probably does to some.

Regardless, we've decided that sleepovers are a great bonding time for kids, as long as they are old enough to avoid doing something extreme. You have to trust friends at some level, and sleepovers seem to be a good expression of that trust.

So... here's to hoping we get a decent night's sleep tonight :-)

Family Meals

How did you eat your last meal? Think about it. Ok, Sharon in Bekondo, you don't count :)

I've heard (and read) that the average North American family does not sit down and eat together at a table. Food is often eaten in the car on the way to yet another event, or grabbed on the run before heading out the door. Or, eaten in front of the TV.

Being out of North America for years at a time makes us unaware of how the average family functions (or dis-functions??), but this was vividly brought home to me tonight when one of Jenny's classmates came over after school. First, she and Jenny discussed over the phone who would go to whose house, and I recommended she come here, as I don't know anything about her family (we'll make an effort to meet them), and then I said she could come for supper if she wanted, but I didn't know if she liked tuna (tuna pot-pie was on the menu). She said she didn't like tuna, so she would bring her own supper. Ok. Well, when supper came, she sat down with the rest of us (we always have family meals, unless there is something else specifically planned, like a DVD movie). After a while, she politely asked, "Um, is this kind of, um, a tradition?" We were a bit confused, but she explained. "Is it a tradition for you to eat together as a family?" She said that her family never ate together; she always grabbed some food and ate while watching something on TV. Well, there's the proof; the books are right!

I think this is one "cultural norm" that we're not going to adopt as our own....

Tired in Three Hills

It is 2:10am, and I'm sitting at my desk, bleary-eyed, as Laura (2 1/2 yrs. old) energetically does puzzles, "reads" books, and colors. She can't sleep, and actually, I couldn't fall asleep either before she pulled me out of bed at midnight. Maybe it was something we ate?? So here we are....

Hey, maybe we're on Cameroon time. I think it's about 10am there.... We were at Mrs. Taves' house for supper tonight, and she was reminiscing about her years in Chad, so maybe our internal clocks reset.

Who knows. All I know is that I'm tired! Good night!

Stocking Up

The Christmas season has just ended, and we have had a terrific time with relatives and friends, and an over-abundance of food. In fact, I think I ate enough Christmas goodies to cover the years in Cameroon when we might be "deprived" of all this sugar and cream and chocolate stuff.

But I don't think there is ever a way to "stock up" on time with friends and relatives to cover that time away. For me, that is truly the one negative about spending time overseas. Some people might be surprised that I would say that, as on the surface I might not seem to care, but I do. And I think that is ok - after all, isn't life, isn't God, all about relationships? Shouldn't that be the core of our existence? (Yes, I think I've been in Africa "too long" - long enough to realize that the overworked, hectic American lifestyle that so many people lead is worthless).

So this is for my relatives and friends - thanks for so much, and I miss you already!

"Busy"

Another day and a half, and we will be out of town, "busy" spending time with relatives and friends. Think of it - a Christmas "holiday" or "vacation" with people of your own culture (we're talking both North American and Christian). Is this selfish or what? But I'm really looking forward to it!!!

A Child's Hug

A tight squeeze from a child ... a blown kiss ... a little body burrowing into your arms ... nothing equals it here on earth.

I just finished putting my two youngest kids down for their naps; the youngest had to be disciplined because of disobedience, but was very willing to cuddle afterwards; and the older one hung tightly to my neck and then blew kisses.

I'm trying to learn "intentionality" - and one aspect is intentionally looking for things that are more important than the hustle and bustle of "normal" life. Things like the snowflakes sparkling like stars as they fall in bright sunshine; the wonder of the weekly garbage truck; and hugs and kisses from little kids who will very soon grow up.

Guest or Family?

How do we treat people in our house, and how much of this treatment is culturally influenced? And would you rather be treated as family, or as a guest?

I personally am a bit confused on this - over the past couple of years, some people not of my immediate family that I have decided to invite into my "inner circle" and treat "as family" have complained of their treatment. Do I treat my family that poorly? They don't seem to complain.

I'm inclined to think (self-righteously??) that we want all the benefits of being "family" - familiarity, run of the house, ability to drop in whenever, etc. - without the responsibilities - doing some of the work, serving others instead of getting served all the time; and we also want the benefits of being the "guest" - politeness, being served, being entertained - without the awkwardness and time limit (at least the polite time limit imposed by North American culture).

So where does that leave us? I'm not sure. When we first visited our neighbors in Cameroon, they treated us as guests - talking with us, giving us a gift of some fruit even when they didn't have much food in the house, etc. Now, I think my neighbors, my friends, treat me as family, or at least like they treat their other friends - when I drop by, I have to go find them, they don't come to see me; and I need to sit with them and talk with them where they are, as they continue on with their daily tasks; and I'm welcome to stay as long as I want to, as long as I let them keep on with their work. You know, I think I've adapted to this part of the Oroko culture, as this is how I prefer to treat my good friends and family.

But what if they don't like it? I don't know. Time will tell. Maybe I'll find a better balance eventually!

Christmas shopping mania

Well, we get to experience, once again, "Midnight Madness" - that shopping extravaganza that continues until midnight, with many stores having bigger and better sales the later you want to visit them. Having small kids, we'll go experience this cultural festivity, complete with special music and a bonfire, but we'll come home well before the "big" sales begin.

And you should see all the advertising that goes along with this. Half of the weekly newspaper seems to be devoted to it, plus all the store advertisement flyers in the mail. How many trees were cut down for the sake of Christmas advertising?

So what is our response? Human nature says, "Great, a sale; let's see what I want to buy." Most of it looks pretty good. Fortunately for common sense and our budget, we're limited to what can fit into our suitcases going back to Cameroon! But it is hard not to get sucked into the blatant materialism, especially when we have been away from it for a few years. It's important to remember the focus - on CHRISTmas....

Eastern Christianity?

I spoke for probably over an hour a few days ago with a Chinese man who was my classmate in high school. One of his opening comments was, "you probably think I'm a heretic...", but as I listened to him, I really don't think so.

We are so used to our "Western Christianity" with all its terminology, and this man wanted to get back to his Eastern roots and how Jesus applies to his culture. He has "turned away" from all the terminology that we are used to, such as "accept Jesus into your heart", and even words such as the names for God and Jesus that we use; instead he tries to use as much Aramaic and Hebrew as possible. Is that "turning away" from God? I don't think so; in fact, it might please Him more than our Western trappings.

And if my friend is willing to help our translation project in Cameroon with whatever research he does (he enjoys digging into original texts to explore meaning), all the better. Go for it, Ben!

Is it "Bad" to be "Different"?

For those of you "mature" adults, the answer might be "Of course not!"; but how about if you are in grade 5 or 6?

Last week we had parent/teacher interviews, and we came away with the following impressions:
*Our girls are doing very well academically, in fact they know more than most of the other students.
*Our girls are very young for their grade (probably the youngest), and sometimes it shows.
*Our girls are not afraid to raise their hand if they know the answer to a question, and they are willing to "sing out" the national anthem when the rest of the class might just be mumbling.
*The fact that they are not "TV-ed" (we don't have a TV in our house - at least not one that we can watch TV programs on) is very obvious.

So what do we do with this information? Some of it we can't do much with (like their age), some of it we are happy about but didn't necessarily have a choice about (TV is not practical on solar power in Cameroon! But it IS our choice not to have it here), and some of it we have worked quite hard on (giving them a good education and trying to teach them to participate as much as they can). But the fact remains that they stick out a bit from the rest of the class. Is this bad?

You know, it kind of reminds me of myself. Funny thing... I was an MK. And I felt like I really stuck out when we came back to Canada. And it was really hard at times, and yet I really didn't want to be just like everybody else. After all, this world isn't our real home, you know; we're just strangers passing through. When we get to heaven, we'll all fit in, and we'll all be ok with that!

Dryers and Static Electricity

I'm not sure what the change in humidity is (in numbers) from rainforest to Canadian prairies, but it's pretty drastic. You can tell the difference in not-so-subtle ways like:

1) In Cameroon our clothes could take 3 days or more to dry, depending on how much room you had in the house to spread out your damp clothes while there was a tropical rainstorm thundering outside. Here in Canada, even jeans and sweaters dry relatively quickly. And when you add in the component of a clothes dryer, which was definitely not feasable with solar power, it is no contest! (note: in Canada you might have to worry about clothes becoming too small from shrinking in the dryer; in Cameroon, we worry about clothes getting too big from the elastic disintegrating!)

2) Celebrating birthdays can be done wherever you are in the world, but certain things don't "translate" into a different climate. One big example is the age-old tradition (for some) of rubbing a balloon on some unsuspecting child's head (hair is definitely needed for this!) and then sticking the static-electricity-charged balloon on a nearby wall. Try that in our tropical setting in Cameroon, and you will a) not get any noticeable static electricity, no matter how hard you rub the balloon, as there is too much humidity, and b) pop the balloon as you attempt to stick it to the wall because the bricks or painted walls are very rough. There goes another tradition!

Chinese Food on the Canadian Prairies

Well, I'm certainly not Asian, but after having gone without Asian food for many years in Cameroon, the Chinese food we ate tonight really hit the spot! Let's see... Mike had egg rolls and ginger beef with rice, and I had ginger beef and brocolli, and sweet and sour pork with rice. Mmmmm.... Is your mouth watering yet?

Our grey-haired angel dropped by again today, with bread, salad, fruit, more eggs (I think we'll have to freeze some - oops!), and lots of yummy dessert-type things. And people wonder why I don't bake very much here...!

We also have a long black-haired angel who babysits for us for free - a wonderful grade 12 MK! Thanks, Lord!