Pictures of our first day

Levi and Jon preparing for birding in Cameroon

Loading up in Yaounde

The other van:  Alyssa looking out window.

Kaley, Ellie, Marie

Blake, Sara, Ellie

Lonnie, Shelley and Gaston

Housing in Yaounde: CTC Annex

SIL office

We Made It!

Thursday morning at 445am our family walked out our front door on the way to the airport.  Arriving at MSP airport, we were met by a stubborn UA employee who did not want to even consider that she could be wrong and we might actually be allowed 2 bags each.  I asked for a manager but she was the manager, so I paid the $350 and we were on our way.  I offered to pray for her because it seemed she was having a rough day but she refused.  We did talk to the travel agent and they are taking care of the bill problem, since it was booked under a special code for a contract with Wycliffe Associates.  We then flew to Chicago O'Hare airport, where the most exciting thing was their cool toilets.  You wave your hand over the back of the toilet and it automatically puts a clean plastic sheet around the toilet lid - awesome!  After hanging out there for a few hours we hopped on a plane to Newark, NJ - this is where my immediate family met 4 other girls from our team.  One of the ladies asked Levi how he liked his first time flying and he replied "It was pretty good, except I would have liked more leg room."  We thought that was pretty funny since he is only 4' 11''!  On this flight I sat by a woman who I thought looked familiar.  After talking a bit, I found out she is a missionary with Wycliffe in Papau New Guinea.  I felt like this was a divine appointment and peppered her with questions about the mission field.  I wanted to know how she KNEW that this is what she was called to do.  We had a great time and it turned out that I had seen her on one of the training sites for Wycliffe that I had been looking at in preparation for our trip.   Finally after flying all night, and watching free movies and getting lots of food (highlights for the kids) in a really nice plane we arrived in Brussels Belgium where we connected with the rest of our team (7 more members).  Everyone was pretty beat at that point so the layover was spent just hanging out with people napping in all kinds of places.  The last leg of our trip brought us to Yaounde', Cameroon where we arrived in time for a late supper here on Friday evening at the Wycliffe training sight.  There were a few other people we met along the way who are also making their way to Cameroon to do different missions work.  It has been a long day and I am beat - just thought I would update everyone that we are all okay.  EVERY SINGLE piece of luggage made it here!!! Praise God - My family alone had 20 pieces.  We have so many tools and gifts for people that couldn't be replaced - we couldn't be happier.  The kids enjoyed traveling... the rest of us endured it.  Tomorrow morning we have an orientation and can spend the day hanging out here in Yaounde' before we leave to go to Ndu.  That will be another adventure since it takes 2 days to drive there:)  We were surprised to be met at the airport by our friends Shelley and Gaston Kingue and their boys - they have been in another country in Africa and we did not think we would get to see them.  Everyone seems to be in good spirits.  I will be feeling better once I have my luggage repacked.  We mixed up everything just in case all the luggage didn't make it, then we would at least have something for all of us.  Now I just want to have all my things in one place.  You should have seen our van loaded with all our bags - Crazy!

Perfect fit for Drew

Going on a missions trip is always a lesson in flexibility.  You may go into it thinking you have an idea of what you will be doing and it won't look anything at all like you imagined.  That is part of the excitement of it all.  I'm a planner so this is not easy for me.  It's interesting because you send your information out of all your skills and talents and then you wait.  Every now and then I get an email that lets me know that they are working on what we will be doing and give me just a hint of what is to come.  Drives me crazy as I try to read  between every line to see if I can eek out just a tiny bit of  information that isn't being said.  In the end, I'm left trusting the people in charge - most whom I have never met.


As the days get closer to our departure I have had to ask a few questions about the plans for our family.  A little over a week ago, we still needed about $3000 in our account.  This was a lot of money to have to take out of our savings.  We could do it but it would leave us with very little upon our return.  I emailed to find out more specifically what we would need to pay for housing while in Cameroon.  The email I got back just made me smile at how well God takes care of us.  Found out the housing where we are going (Ndu) is half of what we were thinking.  That was a savings of $2000!  Shortly after this we were given gifts in person and more deposited into our account.  Financially it is all falling into place - Praise God!


The other cool part of the story is also evidence of God's hand in this whole journey.  Our family has been part of an AWANA program at Faith Baptist church in Minneapolis.  Over the years we have heard about missionaries that they support in Cameroon and their church has also sent short term mission teams to Cameroon.  I was thinking about one family in particular that homeschool their children and work full time as missionaries in Cameroon.  In one of my emails to Wycliffe I asked if we would be able to get gifts to this family from their support church in Minneapolis.  I was informed that we probably wouldn't see them because they lived in the mountains but the gifts could be sent on to them. 


 I guess within an hour from that reply, the person in charge of our assignment received a request from the Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary (CBTS)  in Ndu.  The request was for a job through Wycliffe Associates to do construction work - mainly concrete.  My husband has been finishing concrete for 20 years.  It ends up that this is the same place the missionary family I had just asked about lives and works.  She too saw this as God's hand and forwarded our name on to  Eric Hagman, the Africa Area Director of Wycliffe Associates.  Eric and his wife Tracey were long time members of our home church before moving to Africa, not to mention good friends of ours.  Eric immediately replied that our family would be a perfect fit for the job.  I still don't know what part I will be playing while in Ndu but I'm convinced it will fit me just as well as this job fits Drew.  


This kind of thing makes me so excited.  It's obvious that God cares about the details and was working out the pieces to the puzzle far before I ever even had a thought of actually going to Cameroon.  Now here we are just one month before leaving and a few more pieces are revealed to me.  I have no doubt we are right in the middle of God's plan for us as we prepare to live for 10 weeks in Ndu.

Still Obsessing over the Tumbu Fly

I thought about posting a video from Youtube about these flies that lay their eggs on laundry.  The videos show what happens when the larvae burrow into your skin... honestly, I wasn't able to finish watching any of them.  Just the little bit I saw haunts me.  The interesting thing is, millions of people live around the tumbu fly everyday of their life and it's no big deal.   I understand that all you need to do is iron your clothes to kill these eggs yet I still obsess.  Maybe it's because I've heard the electricity where we are going is unreliable, sometimes off for days or even weeks at a time.  Iron's require electricity.  We had the opportunity to hang out with Josh and Audra Cadd yesterday.  They are missionaries with Wycliffe Associates on furlough from Kenya, Africa.  As I was talking to Josh and Audra I told them my fear of this larvae getting under my skin.  Josh calmly said, "You just squeeze it out."   Just like a zit, the worm is out and life goes on.  (Anyone else besides me squirming?)  He really had a point, that is just a little thing and you need to deal with it and move on.

  Drew and I celebrated our 18th anniversary  yesterday.   Honestly, over the years there have been things Drew has done that have "gotten under my skin".  To be fair, there have been things that I have done to "get under his skin".   If I obsessed,or when I have obsessed over these little things, it has put a strain in our relationship.  It's when we "squeeze it out" that we are able to move on to the more important things in life.  I think this is true in any relationship.   When we dwell on little things pretty soon it destroys the unity and becomes a festering wound in our relationship.   One of the ways we have kept our marriage strong is by being quick to forgive.  We know that we are not each others enemies and so we believe the best in each other.  When I notice that I am obsessing about all the things that are "bugging" me about Drew, I instead shift my thoughts to all the things I am thankful for... and the list is long!

Colossians 3: 12-14
"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

As we look forward to our time in Africa, I know we will make some amazing relationships with the people we meet.  I'm not going to let a pesky little fly get in the way.

Wilson

At the bridge

Who is Wilson??

Wilson's Home and Family

In 2005 Marie and I (Drew) went to Kenya on a 2 week short term mission trip to Kenya with Wycliffe Associates.  We went to a property they owned and were turning into a retreat/conference center.  Imagine your church or work is having a weekend retreat and renting the facilities of a YMCA camp or a church camp a little ways out of the city, that kind of place just a short distance outside of Nairobi. Then the facility could be used to generate income instead of just being an expense.  About a 1/4 mile down the road from the compound entrance was a little stream. most of the year cars could drive through it to go to the conference center. During the rainy season however, the stream was too deep, and too wide.  That turned a 1/2 hour trip to and from the city into a much longer trip.  In the African countryside, when the main road is shut down, finding another route is a little more involved than just going the other way around the block.  Not good for a retreat center business.

Having a background in concrete,  I was assigned to work on the little bridge.  They had hired a number of local men from a small nearby village to accomplish a lot of the construction that had been going on and the guys were mostly working on the bridge at this point because it was the most labor intensive thing happening. These guys had done an amazing job of hand hewing rock faced block out of small boulders(with hammers and chisels) and building some beautiful dorm buildings. Apparently however, no one had formed concrete up in the air. (Except the regional construction manger who had an engineering degree - but not the time to stay on one project.)  It's one thing to stake some 2" X 4"s into the ground and pour a sidewalk.  The wall that is behind Wilson and I in the "At the Bridge" picture however, would weigh about as much as 8 or 9 Chevy Suburbans.  To hold this much weight up in the air, you need to know what you're doing. Especially when the materials you're working with are what we would have used in America about 100 yrs ago.  The trip planners were happy "a concrete guy"  was on the trip that could form the first vertical wall and hopefully teach some one else to continue after the team left.

Last Day

Now we get to Wilson. Wilson(first name) was one of local guys working at the compound.  We met the the first day I worked on the bridge and hit it off from the start.  Wilson is also a believer and frequently would say "It is written . . . ."  and quote scripture, simply as a part of his normal everyday self.  He was filled with a joyful outlook on life, was encouraging to be around, and was a diligent hard worker.  Wilson was married and had 3 kids.  He invited Marie and I and a few others to his home to see his house that he was so proud of and meet his family.  When we got there we were warmly welcomed and noticed a few things as soon as we approached  and entered. First, Wilson's house, which was very nice by the standards of the average persons dwelling, is most easily described as a concrete block single car garage.  Second, when we entered the house we immediately could not miss the scripture verses written in chalk near the top of the walls all around the house.  Have you ever met someone who says "Jesus is my everything" or  "His word sustains me"??  I've often wondered how many times that's just Sunday morning Christian talk. Do they really mean it??  What does that really look like??  Travel with me to Kenya and I can introduce you to the real thing.  His name is Wilson.  Wilson was incredibly thankful for God's provision for his family.  Wilson made about $3 or $4 a day at his full time job with which to provide for that family.

Back to the bridge.  Seeing that Wilson and I hit it off so well and knowing his hard working diligence, Wilson basically got assigned to work with me on forming the wall.  Wilson, like many people (even 10 yr olds) in Africa can converse in 3 languages Swahili, English, and the  local tribal language.  And we can think we are so smart if we know 20 words of Spanish.  He hadn't, however, been to college or had any real form of what we would call "higher education".  But Wilson was a "sponge" for learning.  Forming Concrete "up in the air"  is basically a real life lesson in the physics of  masses and forces.  If a 20,000 lb section of your wall (and the lumber holding it) blows out or falls over it can get really expensive fast and can really injure someone.  Wilson and I were side by side for several days, and I did all I could to teach him about the foundation principles of containing that much mass and that much force.  To try and get him to follow the domino effect of "This is exerting force there, and it's traveling through this to that, so we must also brace here . . .    When you pour  the concrete,  watch here, if there is a weakness, it will be the first place to move . . ." and so on.  So much information, so little time.  Such a deep friendship, so little time

There were other things to be accomplished before Wilson and I formed the wall and I had to leave just a few work days before the pour.  I was actually really bummed to not be there for it.  I was told by e-mail that all went well and the forms held.  I was also told that Wilson, who learned in a week what it would usually take me a whole season to teach someone,  got what to him was a pretty big raise and was made the main forming guy for the rest of the project.  That was 6 years ago and in our fast pace american life that we live, I haven't inquired about Wilson for a few years.  Last I heard he was still a trusted foreman type employee who was joyfully thankful for a full time job that paid him for a days work what we could spend for a "lunch on the go".  He was still a living example of "Jesus is my everything" and "His word sustains me".  So little time, so much impact.  I still haven't figured out who's life was impacted more. Wilson and his family's, or mine?  Probably mine.

Why Africa?

The whole reason I've started blogging is so that I can keep people informed about our activities in Africa.  I figure that I better know what I am doing before we set out or it might not happen.  That being said, I'll give you a little background on our decision to take our family to Africa.

  

Back in 2005, our church had a team go to Kenya to work with Wycliffe Associates.  Eric and Tracey Hagman are missionaries in Kenya and our trip was in part to support and encourage them because their family was originally from Evergreen Community Church.  Drew and I were on that team and it really was life changing.  There is something about working alongside these people who had very little, yet more joy than I could even imagine.  It was inspiring and humbling to  listen to them thank God for all their riches and quote scripture knowing they were truly Words of Life.  I realize in a 2 week trip you get the "honeymoon" version of what a country is like but we were determined to return to Africa.  As we talked we decided that when our kids were old enough we would come back to Africa with them so that they could experience this first hand.  When Chris was younger we had gone on a mission trip with him to Honduras and found that to be a very worthwhile investment.  So our plan was made and life went on.

Fast forward 6 years, to January 2011.  The economy has been in a several year slump and we are feeling it.  Drew works in seasonal construction and has to worker harder than ever for less money than ever.  We're doing okay but it's definitely by the grace of God and we surely don't have EXTRA.  One day as I was praying for our friends in Africa while walking on my treadmill this thought came blazing into my mind.  "If you are ever going to take your kids back to Africa like you said, the time is now."  It was that clear.  Being the logical one that I am, all I could think was - That would be impossible.  Right about then, the song came on with the line "He can move a mountain..."  Wow, did I believe that God could move a mountain?  I felt really challenged by that thought as I prayed more about the possibility of us taking our kids to Africa.  In my mind, I pictured just the 5 of us going and staying near Eric and Tracey.  I thought the kids and I could work at Heshima with Tracey, and Drew could do construction with Eric.  We had been there before so it didn't seem too risky.

Once I had this great idea figured out in my head I went upstairs to talk to Drew about it.  Now here is what I love about this man.  He could have laughed at me or said "No way" or just ignored me.  He looked at me and said "Wow, that would be great.  You're right, there is no way we could do that without God making a way for us to.  I think we should pray as a family for 2 weeks and see if we still should move forward."
So we prayed and prayed (all 5 of us) for 2 weeks.  At the end of the 2 weeks we sent an email to Eric to see if it would even work.  He copied our email on to Michael Wahl with Wycliffe Associate (Volunteer Coordinator).  We laid our plans before the Lord and he took our willingness.  Michael called us right away and said it wouldn't work for us to go to Kenya but would we consider going to Cameroon?  Cameroon sounded almost as good, since we had another couple from our church moving there.  Then he asked if we could get a team together...Okay.  This wasn't really what we had in mind but our good friends Jon and Julie Sybrant agreed to co-lead a team with us.  There are 16 people in our team!  We thought we were just dipping our toes into the water to see if there was a need and suddenly things are happening.  We still had no idea where we would come up with the money.

Well, I'm here to say that God really can move a mountain when it is part of His plan.  We had prayed for things before that just seemed to go on empty ears after years of laying it before God.  I don't know why this is so important to Him or even why he would chose to use me and my family - I'm just along for the ride.  With each step of faith we have taken on this journey the money has come in at just the right time.  We have been blown away with the generosity of people, some we don't even know!  The more we planned the clearer it became to us that we should stay longer than the team.  There are a lot of projects going on in Cameroon and we have the time.  The biggest expense is the airline tickets so in our mind we might as well get our moneys worth and stay until mid-March.  Since making this decision to stay 10 1/2 weeks I have heard a few different speakers talk about the 6 week point being very difficult in a new land.  I really believe this is going to bring us closer as a family and cause us to cling to Jesus in a whole new way.

Drew & Marie Petersen

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Drew & Marie Petersen: P /P