The Magi

“It is not easy.”  This is a common phrase here in Cameroon.  When the water or electricity goes out or I am carrying the week’s groceries home on my back, it is not uncommon to hear “it is not easy.”  I think this is said to acknowledge the difficulty and struggle of your neighbor, but I often find it frustrating because hearing “it is not easy” does not actually make it easier.  I want it easier.  

The other night Ryan pulled this line out for me and I found myself saying, “I do not want to hear it.”  Not really what I would expect a missionary to say, but here is the thing, I often do not feel like I fit the bill as “missioner.”  I am just a girl that likes pretty things and cleanliness and good food.  I believe deeply in the purpose of our being here.  I often just feel like I put on a pair of shoes that are three sizes too big for me, and I am not quite sure if I am actually capable of growing that much.

In the movie The Nativity, there is one scene where the three kings have identified the star from their observatory.  They are discussing the meaning of the star, and the wise man among them says “we must go.”  My alter ego replies “we can observe the star from here.”  The wise man persists with “we must go.”  My character replies “but what about my instruments . . . and cushions.”  That is me.  I find myself at the manger, but I have traveled with hesitation.  

Yet even with my hesitation and desire for creature comforts the song of my soul wins out.  Immanuel, “God with us,” and my soul sings “TRUE.”  I see God every time I travel outside of my small interior world.  I see God in my brother, neighbor, husband, child.  I see God in the old woman that carries her firewood and hoe on top of her head.  I see God in the father that lost his 12 year old son three days ago, and has brought his 2 year old daughter into clinic today.  I am reminded that our God, who is Love, expressed this love in being with us, and I remember why I am here.  We are here to be one, as He is one, for “We are together” as they say in Cameroon.  Whether I am in Cameroon or the U.S. the challenge is the same.  I am called to come out of myself and live in the communion of relationship with God and my neighbor, and believe and live as “we are together.”  

-Maura

Visit To The Farm

One of my early assignments at my job at Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda (CATUC) was to attend welcome gatherings for the first year students in each of the different schools of study.  One of the meetings I attended was for the school of Tropical Agricultural and Natural Resources.  It was fascinating to learn about the various ways food is produced in Cameroon.  It was also helpful to learn that cane rat is a delicacy here, and one in which I hope to avoid.   One speaker, George, really moved me with his story of acquiring a small piece of land as a young man and turning it into several productive large farms.  He was making the point that his true profession is an accountant but as an untrained farmer he has had a successful business.  The part that really got my attention is that the workers on the farm are children (12-22 years old) that he mentors and sponsors to go to school.  Otherwise these children would live in the village and receive no education.  After his talk I was able to visit with him and mentioned I would like to visit his farm sometime.  

About three months went by and George came to my office to tell me we will go to his farm on December 22 for a week or two.  He also mentioned that the farm was 3 hours away on bad roads.  I thought the visit to the farm was going to be a day outing and not an imposition of having to host all five of us for a week or two.  What could I do except agree.  The only problem is that we had made plans for Christmas with a couple of other families so we thought it would be best to be back on Christmas Eve.  George said it would be no problem to come back early but he thought it would be an experience to be at the farm for Christmas.  He invites the whole village to his house for a pig roast.  With our commitments already made we decided it best to still come back on Christmas Eve.  

George was right, the roads were bad.  We were in the car for four hours and about 3 1/2 hours of that time was on dirt roads but we finally made it to the farm just as it was getting dark.  The couple of days we had at the farm were wonderful.  George was an incredible host catering to our every need and desire.  He had arranged for us to visit the village and meet the mayor, police chief, border patrol chief, and priest.  We got the grand tour of the village.  People here often talk about the village and which one they came from, but it didn’t mean a lot to us as we had not fully experienced life in the village.  We realized where we live is definitely city life with many resources, and village life is very simple.

The farm was beautifully tucked away in the mountains surrounded by various streams.  The children that work on the farm were so loving and caring of us, especially to our children.  Our kids were able to eat freshly harvested sugar cane and help prepare all the meals over the fire.  It was impressive to see the work George had done on his farm in the 5 years he has owned it.  The land was basically vacant land for many years and now he has built two housing buildings, a large barn, pig sty and is in the process of building another home.  His main crop will be palm trees in which the nut is used to make palm oil, an essential ingredient in many of the dishes here.  He has also planted pineapple, mango, papaya, avocado, casava and many other vegetables along with having pigs, goats and chickens.  The community he has created with the children is remarkable.  Each of the children know their role at the farm and participates fully doing their part.  George provides the love, support and encouragement to each of the 15 children that they need in order to grow.

We felt very blessed to be invited into their home so warmly.  Now we have the great honor of being considered part of the family.  George extended our invitation to the farm at any time.  We will carry each of children at the farm in our hearts.  The farm is called Treasure Island which is an appropriate name as the children that live there have been given a treasure to have a chance to live a dignified life with an education and love they may not have found without George.

Peace,

Ryan

Counting Our Blessings

We are very happy to say life in Cameroon is moving along nicely.  God has graced us with so many blessings we feel overwhelmed.  We left the U.S. with much support and well wishes and then arrived in Cameroon with similar sentiments.  The people here have been very welcoming and excited to have us live with them.  We are grateful for all the guidance we have received from our neighbors.  The greatest treasure thus far are the many relationships we have been able to cultivate is such a short amount of time.  Our favorite saying here is "we are together."  Every time we hear this it reminds us of God's call to us to be here.  Even better is we have had the people closest to us explain that we are now part of their family.  It is humbling and an honor to be part of so many families.

The kids love their life here, although they would love life anywhere.  Everyone pays a lot of attention to all three kids.  Many of the people here treat our children as if they were their own.  Honora and Clare started at the local catholic school.  Honora is enjoying all her friends but she says she still doesn't understand what they are saying (they speak English but have accents).  Clare was brave and started in the nursery with 75 other kids in one classroom but it turned out to be too stressful for her so we decided to let her stay home.  Patrick walks around like he is the king of our neighborhood.  People constantly feed him and it was just pointed out to us that he has a little Cameroonian belly from all the feedings.  Our most treasured gift is our neighbors.  The family that lives next door adore our children and spend a lot of time with our kids in their outdoor kitchen, cooking over a fire.  They are in the attached picture with the kids sitting on their laps.

Work for Maura and Ryan is going well.  The pace of life here is slower but that does not mean we are not as busy.  Maura is working at the local pharmacy that supplies medications for the 24 clinic in the Archdiocese of Bamenda.  Her work is very critical to the operation of the remote village clinics but she does miss the client contact.  She travels to the remote village clinics a few times a month.  Ryan is working as campus minister at the local and only Catholic university in Cameroon.  The students are eager to discover all that he has to offer.  He foresees many wonderful opportunities to engage the students while accompanying them on their spiritual journeys.

For Thanksgiving we only invited two people over as we had a rough week of kids being sick.  The evening was very nice and tasted just like home.  After dinner we had a few more neighbors over for dessert.  (Picture of dinner table was taken on Thanksgiving.)  For Christmas we plan to spend it in our new home and experience all the festivities.

We still struggle with missing family and loved ones especially this time of the year.  There is a large missionary community in Bamenda which has been supportive of us being here.  

Our blog is continually being updated so please visit it for ongoing reflections on our lives in Cameroon (http://martinfamilyincameroon.blogspot.com)  Also, Ryan started an email titled "Daily Ramblings" to give a more day to day look at life here.  If you are interested in receiving that please let us know.

Enjoy this time of eager anticipation of the coming of Jesus!

Lots of Love,

The Martins (Honora, Clare Rose, Patrick, Maura and Ryan) 

P.S.-We would like to start a prayer calendar.  If you wish to support us through prayer please pick one day a month that you would commit to praying for us.  Let us know what day you pick so we know who is praying for us and we can pray for you too.  For example, someone would pick the 4th day of each month to pray for us (in other words a number between 1-31).  Its ok if more than one person picks the same day.  On that day we ask for you to pray for us in any way you feel called, it could be through petitions, specific form of prayer or send us an email/letter/care package.  Thank you!