Animals, and more animals :)

2 chameleons release earlier this year

K examining an insect

The one male (as far as we could tell)
- released earlier this year

Most of our family members really enjoy animals.  You've seen some posts about K's interest in animals, and some pictures of his pets - mostly chameleons.













For the past couple months he was down to 1 chameleon,

1 tortoise (about 4" long), and the 3 chickens (more an egg-project than pets).  Recently he released the chameleon and the tortoise back into the wild - while we're grateful for being able to enjoy the animals, we like to see them enjoying their natural habitat :).

When our family of 6 was complete for a few weeks, one of our excursions included a visit to the Limbe Wildlife Centre (see http://limbewildlifecentre.wildlifedirect.org/).  We saw lots of primates - even had one who had escaped from the enclosure follow us around for a while :).

The centre is NOT a zoo, but rather a safe place for animals, including injured animals or those being rehabilitated so they can be released back into the wild.  They also try to do some educating about the wild animals in Cameroon.

And of course, we have our own "wild animals" in our house - our kids were able to watch kittens being born.




We were also able to help a neighbor by taking care of his 2 orphan kittens - L made a good kitten "mom" :) .  Lots of kitten fun at our house!

Back from the Break...

Our older girls doing dishes in Yaounde;
 C is wearing a "wrapper" as an apron
to protect her clothes from bleach splashes.

No blogging for a few months... part of which can be "blamed" on wonderful times with family!!  More in other posts to (hopefully) come, but I thought I'd put up some quick food pictures for your enjoyment :).

A delicious guava

Plantain chips,
bought from vendors
 coming to the car window

Raw plums - picked by
K and his friends!

Cooked plums - an acquired taste :)

A variety of fruit, sold at our door.  Pineapple, oranges, lemons (bumpy),
and pomelo (which people here call shadok/shadof).

Delicious banana bread
baked by J!

Pink shrimp chips (they also come in white) :)

And the unusual foods....  K's friends showed him some palm grubs they had collected; and after they cooked the grubs, they kindly brought some for K to eat :).  Since I encouraged him to try this new food, I figured that the second time they brought him some (which he graciously accepted and ate), I should be willing to eat one too - and I did :).  Just to say I did....  And then I saw this article which says that these palm grubs may be the answer to world hunger :) .  http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/29/world/africa/can-a-palm-weevil-cure-world-hunger/index.html .

Then there is the process of harvesting the egusi which we grew in our garden this year.  The melons were gathered, split open, and left to rot until the seeds were easily removed.  Then the seeds were rinsed off and spread out to dry in the sun.  Ground up, the seeds make a very nutritious addition to sauces etc.

Mangoes, Mangoes, EVERYWHERE!

The first batch...

The second batch.

In the middle of the busiest week of work this month, mangoes have been arriving at our door by the bag - children of all sizes making a bit of money by picking mangoes and then selling them.

We have taken advantage of the opportunity and have been eating lots, and canning even more.  The first time we ended up with 6 quarts; the 2nd time we had 4 quarts and 15 pints; and the most recent batch (today) was 19 quarts!  And we're stopping (though the mangoes are still coming to our door).

I am SO thankful for a husband who does the actual canning, and for two willing children to help with the process.

 I am also thankful that the culture here promotes people of ALL ages working together - it is perfectly normal for children of similar age to do work projects together, so our kids enjoy having their friends help with the process (don't worry - we often have these friends in to share food with us, so it's not a one-way street :) ).

"Pears" (avocados) are also in season; when I was cutting one open, the seed split and I thought the inside was picture-worthy :)

Contrasting beliefs at Easter

"He is risen."


"He is risen indeed!"

These are welcome words, reminding us of the reason for our Hope.

And yes, we have our Easter traditions of decorating eggs and hiding/finding eggs.



Here in the village, another tradition reminds us of the false hope of many religions.  During this school break, the "jujus" (young men boys covered from head to ankle in a variety of costumes, meant to represent the spirit world of African Traditional Religion) have come out.  And there are many young men who see nothing wrong with sitting in church (and participating) on Sunday morning, and wearing a juju costume (and chasing people) on Monday.

And yet there are people, like our kids' friends, who requested to see the Jesus Film (for Children) this weekend.  It was very encouraging to overhear some of them out on the porch afterward, discussing Jesus vs Satan, jujus, etc.  They are old enough to think this through for themselves; pray that they would have wisdom and discernment, these future leaders!!

Birthday Boy (young man)!

We have a male teenager in the house now!! Celebrations included:

--a meal with friends (plantains and njama-njama, along with sliced oranges)








--a family meal of tacos (homemade flour tortillas)










--an experimental cheesecake made with homemade cream cheese (milk powder, water, salt, vinegar) using basic cookies for a base (no graham-crackers here!)

Older sister C. was able to be on Skype at the right time to watch K. blow out his birthday candles!!




--And the rare event of having bacon for breakfast - bought over a month ago in Bamenda and saved for this special occasion; well-enjoyed by this very (ahem!) mature 13-year old :).