Life
has gotten very busy here. Much of our time is busy with a common theme
of waiting. We are waiting for the internet guy to come. We are
waiting for the fruit, eggs and veggies to have soaked 30 minutes in the iodine
solution so that they are disinfected. We are waiting for the water to
boil to warm the bath for the kids. I am waiting for the rain to stop so
I can walk to the market. I am still learning to manage my time in the
land of no short cuts. Flexibility is key. Often plans have to be
discarded and new ones embraced because the electricity or water are off, and
when someone says they will do something “tomorrow” it does not mean
tomorrow. It is a reference simply to the future. Although the pace
of life has slowed down it remains very busy.
Patrick
is an expert in busy. He always seems to have a plan and he is getting
better and better at expressing what that plan is. He is putting on his
shoes to go visit “the boys” or “Michael” (our neighbors) in the
“kitchen.” He is playing “soccer” or “cars” or with “the girls.” He
loves being outside. He is constantly collecting sticks and he keeps me
busy reminding him to leave them at the door when he enters the house. He
is right at home in the Cameroonian culture. In August I looked out the
back door to see him playing with an old plate that he was using to collect
treasures of rocks and sticks. A few minutes later I glanced out and
watched him stand up, pick up the plate, and place it on his head to carry it
to another location. Now I just need to wait until he is a little bigger
and he can join the neighborhood kids in collecting water from the spring and
carrying it home on his head when the water is out.
One
of my highlights in life with Patrick is his singing. He joins in song
whenever it is heard. Mass here is a cultural delight with music and
dancing. It is definitely fun to watch the community sing and dance down
the aisle during the offertory, and Patrick joins in with his little
voice. He rocks and claps and brings a smile to the faces of many.
Every night I climb into bed with him to cuddle and sing a lullaby. I
could barely stop the laughter, when about a month ago I complied with his
request for “Rain drops on roses” only to hear him belt out the lyrics and
melody in his baby voice. He has learned how to gallop which he refers to
as skipping. Often now if he is going somewhere, he gallops there with “I
skip, I skip.” He is independent and loving. Earlier this week I
was feeling homesick. I couldn’t help my eyes from tearing up.
Patrick looked up and enquired “Mommy sad?” I nodded “yes.” He questioned
“kleenex?” and soon he was off to retrieve me a kleenex.
Clare
Rosie has been a little down this past week. I think the “honeymoon” of
Cameroonian life may be over for her as well. She is normally a very
gentle, loving little girl, but she was acting out so we knew something was not
right. She disclosed to Ryan that it is not very fun here. “We
don’t go anywhere or do anything fun” was her complaint. It looks like we
may have to start venturing off the compound. :) Yesterday we went to
Njinikom for a celebration of a 100 years of faith in the Archdiocese of
Bamenda. Another missionary family from Mission Doctors is there and the
Newburn family from Lay Mission Helpers joined us. Between the Burket-Thoene,
Newburn and our family there was 10 kids running around. I think this fit
Clare’s bill for “fun.” The house was ringing with her laughter.
Clare
Rosie loves coming to the market with me and I enjoy her company. It is
quite a hike for her little legs, but she never complains. I love
listening to her make sense of the world around her. She, like Patrick,
has taken on the Cameroonian culture without a second thought. She now
uses a baby blanket to tie her dolls to her back as the Cameroonian mamas
do. She is also the only one in our family to take on “squatting” (there
are no public bathrooms and unless there is a sign posted “no urinating”
anywhere seems to be free game). Last week she disclosed to me as she
passed through the living room, “I figured out a new way of squatting.”
Heaven help me.
Honora
continues to be a very reflective child. She told Ryan there other night
during our bedtime ritual of prayer, sharing about the day, and cuddles.
“People are so picky about life, we should just be grateful to God that we are
alive.” It was a good reflection for her parents to hear, when both of us
were feeling a little discouraged by our lack of access to the internet.
We notice that she has taken on Cameroonian manners of speech. She is
also a little encyclopedia on the random tidbits of information that she has
heard in conversation. She colors the tree trunks in her pictures red “because
that wood burns the best.” Good burning wood is vital for a place where
people cook over open fires.
Homeschool
has started and Honora is really blossoming. She was very nervous about
starting school. I thought it was simply because she was nervous about a
new school, so I was surprised that the night before homeschool that she was in
tears. She told me that she does not like school. It was very sad
to hear this from a little girl who loves books and has questions about
everything. I explained what school would be like and she has been very
excited ever since. She also is looking forward to going to the local
school for religion class. Honora has made friends with the neighbors as
well, and she is looking forward to learning how to make puff-puff (Cameroonian
doughnuts) with Mrs. Loveleen.
Ryan
has been wonderful with the kids, as I have transitioned to work. I know
he is doing a wonderful job as “Daddy” when the kids wake up and completely
bypass me to cuddle with him. He has also met more of his co-workers, and
last week he did a radio show where he was interviewed along with another
missioner. He went on a waterfall hike last weekend with Pete Newburn
that sounds like it was quite the adventure. He describes tramping through
the bush and I am thinking that I may need to get him a machete for Christmas.
I
have been transitioning to my roles as homeschool teacher and “Archdiocesan
pharmacist.” I am loving homeschooling the kids. It is so much fun
being completely focused on their exploring minds. I love learning and
enjoy watching them make new discoveries. We have also discovered a
library and we have become members. It is wonderful to have access to the
wealth of books.
Work
has begun, and there is quite a lot to be done. The drug store or medical
supply unit was mismanaged before I arrived. Many drugs expired on the
shelves and this has been very costly both financially and in reputation.
I am currently in the process of organizing everything and creating an inventory.
It is nice to know that I am filling a need. I enjoy putting order to the
chaos and I am hopeful that I will be able to rebuild the relationship with the
outlying clinics and hospitals, so that the medical supply unit can be a
service to them and their patients. I do get to go to 3-4 of the outlying
clinics every month. I am grateful that I am able to do some direct
patient care at these times. (I miss direct patient care.) I also
am aware that doing complete patient care would be very difficult for me here.
The
average life expectancy in Cameroon is around 40. It is heartbreaking to
see the suffering and loss. The first patient I cared for was at the
clinic for the birth of her first child. She had a beautiful baby
boy. A time for celebration, except the joy was tinged by deep
sorrow. The new mother had lost her husband to AIDs the day before (I
think the stress may have brought on her labor). While we cared for her
and her new born baby (hopefully the anti-viral meds will prevent the spread of
HIV to her son), her husband’s body was being prepared in the morgue.
This was my first experience with patient care, but unfortunately the story is
not uncommon.
Thank
you for you thought and prayers.
-Maura
PS
Two days ago, when I was coming home from a clinic I saw a guy on a motorcycle
with a full sized couch strapped to the seat of his motorcycle. I have
absolutely no idea how he fit in front of it or how he managed to balance the
bike with the couch. I am pretty sure he was the widest thing on the
road.
PPS
I am learning to remain calm with the little critters. Last week I opened
the drug store door and I felt something brush my shoulder as a lizard dropped
to the ground. I stifled a screech, took a couple deep breaths and then
wondered how I was going to get it back in the store room. I am counting
on the lizards to eat the cockroaches. Lizards are my friends.
PPS
After completing this email on a Sunday, I began making pancakes for
breakfast. While I was waiting to flip the pancakes, I decided to wipe
down the kitchen (we found a mouse last week and there was still evidence of
him, although Ryan and I were proud of chasing him out of the kitchen with
brooms). I had gotten up on a stool to wipe down the top shelf. My
face was level with the shelf. I moved some ziplock bags and a brown
furry object catapulted towards my face. Thankfully it missed and landed
on my chest. I did not stifle the SCREAM. The mouse dropped to the
floor and I left Ryan to chase it, while I moved to another room to do more
screaming. Ah Cameroon. Our neighbors must think I am nuts.
They were convinced that I had burned myself.
