Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Vacation Time



Since we have been in Cameroon (and way before) we have not taken a family vacation.  We were really starting to feel the need for some down time away so we finally made the sacrifice last week and got away. 

The time away waswonderful.  We left on Wednesday afternoon and spent two nights at a
missionary rest house in the mountains.  After a few days there we went to visit the Burket-Thoenes, the doctor missionaries from Mission Doctors Association, for three days and came home on Sunday. 

Having time to just be with the kids and enjoy each others company was precious.  We played games, went for a hike, ate, watch movies and relaxed.  The rest house is in the mountains and has a beautiful view (we felt like we were in a cabin in Colorado). 

The highlight of the days in the mountains was a hike we went on.  We started to head up the mountain and quickly found ourselves in a very small village.  Several of the people greeted us and were excited to see us.  We decided it was time to turn around when a young man came running after us.  He said one of the elderly women wanted to give the children some sugar cane. 

Out of the jungle came a "typical" looking bent over older woman with her traditional clothes and head dress on.  She gave us a huge toothless smile and greeted us.  Then she took her machete out, chopped down a 6 foot sugar cane and handed it to the kids.  She did not communicate in English very well but all of us got the point, we were all grateful to encounter one another. 

After saying thank you all three kids picked up the sugar cane and marched it back to the guest house.  We forgot the camera so we don't have a picture of the "old Ma" but she is forever imprinted on my mind.  Needless to say, the kids loved sucking on the sugar cane.
On Friday afternoon we drove to the Burket-Thoene's.  The guest house was about 30 minutes from their house so it was nice to have such a short trip. On the way we picked up Georgia, the young English girl that is here teaching for 3 months.  She is living in the village and we figured she would like a break, hot shower, electricity and internet.  She was delighted to join us.  The hospital where the doctors live and work has a large nice guest house with a beautiful view.  This is our fifth time to visit.

Another doctor, Earl, and his wife, Rosemary, from Mission Doctors Association are here for a 6 week mission trip.  Earl is a plastic surgeon and has been doing short term mission trip since the 1980's.  All of us stayed in the guest house together and we had a really nice time visiting with them. 

We also really enjoyed our time with the Burket-Thoenes.  Their four children and our kids have a blast together.  One of the highlights for me was a hike we went on Sunday morning.  There were 5 of us and 3 guides that went on a 5 hour hike to the highest peak in the area.  We went through all kinds of terrain to reach the summit.  Our time at the top was pleasant but we spent too much time there so as we started to descend a huge rain storm rolled in.  Once the rain started we slid down the mountain.  I must have fallen at least 10 times.  All 8 of us were drenched by the time we got home but it was well worth it.
-Ryan

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Surprise Birthday Party



Maura’s birthday (Sept. 4) was a huge success.  The night before her actual birthday it occurred to me that we could throw her a surprise party.  Waiting to the night before to plan the party fits in very well with the culture here, everything happens at the last minute.  I talked with two of the sons from next door, Paul and Michael, and they said it was no problem to make it happen and that they must sacrifice because we are family. 

To make it happen their family would have to shop for food and cook it.  I also gave them the task of getting the drinks (drinks are the most important part of Cameroonian life).  Paul and I created the menu, estimated the cost and in the morning I gave him the money to shop.  His brother, Anthony, was in charge of drinks - pop, beer and wine.  I ran up to the Newburn's on the birthday eve to discuss with Joy and she agreed to make a salad and cake.  Diane, our house helper, prepared food too.  The plans fell into place very nicely. 

The plan was for our family to be invited to a birthday dinner at the Newburn's at 6:15pm and Maura’s boss, Sr. Sheila, to call her to the office for a meeting at 5:45.  I asked for all the food to be prepared by 5:30 so when she left we rearranged our house and filled it with food, drinks, and about 25 people.  I figured she would return to our house around 6:15pm. 

Cameroonians are not timely (not that anything is wrong with that but it is critical for a surprise party) so I was a bit worried when only our family and the Newburn's were in the house at 6:15pm.  Finally people trickled in so I made the call to Maura that we left the food at our house that we were to bring to the Newburns and for her to get it, of course it was raining. 

We had everyone in our living room sitting in the dark and silent waiting for her to come.  Sr. Sheila drove her to our front door so our wait was finally over, so we thought.  They continued their conversation for another 10 minutes outside our door as we all squirmed inside.  Then we heard the keys go into the door, the door open and we yelled “SURPRISE.”  Maura had a look of horror on her face as she thought we were getting robbed.  She was stunned for awhile and didn’t know what to do so I suggested she say hello to everyone.  For the Cameroonians in the room this was the first time they had been to a surprise party.  They loved the idea and were so excited about it all day.

My favorite memory of the day was around 4 pm just before the party.  Maura was tired so she laid down to rest and finally fell asleep.  While she slept the neighbors had 6 people frantically cooking in their outdoor kitchen over the fire and Diane was in our house cooking away.  I called the Newburn's and they were baking the cake.  So all these people were diligently working and Maura had no idea while she slept. 

She would not have permitted any of that work to be done for her so the surprise was the only way it would happen.  Loveleen, the mother next door, is one of Maura’s favorite people here and she was so excited to prepare endola, a special dish for Maura.  We did not plan to have this particular dish because it is difficult to prepare but Loveleen knew it was Maura’s favorite so she surprised all of us with it.  I could tell how excited Loveleen was by her huge beautiful smile as she told me she made endola for the party. 

I am grateful the party was such a success.  The pictures are of Paul cooking the chicken and plantains; Loveleen, Michael and Joseph preparing food while Maura napped; and Anthony with the drinks.



-Ryan

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Down Time



Having some down time has been really nice to be able to be more present to life around us.  One of my favorite moments of the past week was the kids and I went on a walk and upon our return the boys from the neighborhood were so excited to see the kids.  They were all so happy and saying they had something for the kids. 

One of the boys, Joel, we had not seen in awhile.  He is one of the sweetest boys.  He handed Patrick a sword he had made out of bamboo.  For the girls he built a race car for them.  Each of the gifts were personalized with their names and a message written on them.  Patrick’s sword said “Sword for Joy.”  Joel must be thinking Patrick will use the sword to bring joy, we are not sure that will be the case. 

Regardless, I was touched by his thoughtfulness.  I found out he had been on vacation to the village and while there he created these gifts.  It is remarkable the generosity people have here for us.  It is embarrassing at how little we give compared to how much is given to us here. 

Friday we drove to Kumbo, about 2 hours away, to visit the Horne’s (another family from Lay Mission-Helpers).  We lived with the Horne’s during our training in Los Angeles so we have gotten to know them well.  They have 5 kids the same ages as our kids so all 8 of them had a blast.  We had a nice visit Friday evening with them and the highlight was the fish tacos with homemade tortillas they made us. 

Saturday morning we drove about 45 minutes to Tatum to go to the wedding of Debbie, another Lay Mission-Helper who just finished her 3 years here.  Her fiancé is from the US and came to have the wedding here.  Debbie’s parents were the only family members that were able to come (they had never been out of the US). 

Three out of the four of the Lay Mission-Helper families were able to attend the wedding so it was special for us to be there to support her.  It was our first church wedding in Cameroon so it was a neat experience for us too.  The bishop was the celebrant of the wedding along with 11 other priests.  The bishop said in his 27 years of being a priest he had never celebrated a white person’s wedding so it was special for him. 

It was a true missionary moment for Debbie and James to share their wedding with the people she had been living with for the past 3 years.  They were very appreciative and excited for them.  

-Ryan

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Centenary



Today was the big day, the 100th year celebration for the Archdiocese.  The preparation for this event was like no other.  There have been 20-30 men a day working on the grounds for the past month.  The big deal was a Cardinal and Bishop from Rome came.  It has been interesting to see the progression of the work and the final product.  I will say I was pretty nervous that the event would have plenty of mix ups and unprepared happenings but the celebration went perfectly and the weather was good (it was outside).  9 deacons and 9 priests were ordained along with the anniversary celebration.

We knew in order to get seats we would have to go save seats very early-6 am.  I did not feel like getting to a 5 hour event 3 hours early to save seats but I was also concerned we would not be able to see anything.  Around 7 am I thought I would walk around the grounds while Maura made breakfast.  It appeared there were several open seats so I was more relaxed.  Then I ran into a neighbor who asked if we had gotten seats and said I better get them quick or there would be none.  I went to the giant pile of plastic chairs and got some down.  As I went to get more down my initial chairs were taken.  I could not remove the chairs and keep people from taking the others.  Finally I managed to get 7 chairs-we had 15 people coming but I knew I could not save 15 seats.  Fortunately my neighbor helped me save the seats while I called for help from Joy Newburn.  People were getting very aggressive and insistent about getting our seats.  After about 40 minutes of struggling with people and with Joys help we were able to maintain our seats and get her and my family seated.  Then I left to go get breakfast, hats, sunscreen and water.

After eating and coming back I ran into the other family that was to sit with us, the Hamms.  The only problem was the aisle I used to get out was blocked with people sitting so I could not get back to Maura and the kids.  After awhile I got brave and decided to push my way through to the seats.  I am not a fan of crowded events, saving seats and being trapped in by people everywhere.  There were probably over 3000 people crammed into a relative small area.  Once I sat it wasn’t so bad.  After a little while Joy took 2 of our kids, Hamm’s 3 kids and 2 of hers to her house.  We stayed until the  offertory which was 2 hours and then we figured after sitting in the sun that long it was time to rest a bit.  The mass ended up being 5 1/2 hours long. The picture is of the men being ordained as deacons and priests.  The white guy sitting down under the yellow tent is the cardinal from Rome.
It was powerful being with that many people so excited about being at a mass.  Everywhere we looked we could see people.  They were sitting and standing in any place possible.  The best part was how it brings the community together for such a wonderful event.  I went back for the final 15 minutes of mass and walked around after it was finished.  It was fun visiting with people and everyone was fed which is amazing.  I was told to go to CATUC to eat with my coworkers.  Even though I had lunch I thought it would be good to visit.  Mostly I sat and listened to the conversation in pidgin.  Pidgin is still very difficult for me to understand.

The rest of the day was spent at our house with constant visitors.  People kept coming over which means Maura had to offer them food.  Thankfully we had leftovers we could heat up.  The day really seemed like a celebration with people talking with one another and sharing food.  I must say we are all pretty tired tonight so we are headed to bed early.

-Ryan

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Action Packed Weekend



We had a wonderful action packed weekend.  The adventure started with me driving for the first time on a long adventure (about an hour).  We met up with the other three LMH/MDA mission families on Friday morning at a pottery studio-PresPot.  We feel so blessed to have the other families in country to periodically meet up with for support and good times plus lots of kids. 

PresPot is an amazing place.  All the clay is dug by hand close to the studio.  We were able to see the many processes the pottery must go through to complete a piece.  The process is labor intensive but well worth the end result.  Surprisingly with all the kids we managed to not break any pottery.  The visit made all of us appreciate pottery much more.  From there we headed to the retreat center where we were to stay for the rest of the weekend.
The retreat center was very nice and we had the whole place to ourselves, so no need to worry about the kids being quiet.  The second we arrived the kids played nonstop.  We are still in awe that 15 children can get along so well.

On Saturday our adventure was to a tea estate about 40 minutes up into the mountains.  We arrived and realized the staff at the tea plant were a bit nervous with so many white people with kids.  After talking with them for a little while they agreed to take us on a tour. 

The plant was huge and produced all parts of what it takes to make tea.  The tea is handpicked, dried, chopped by machines and then packaged.  The tour took about 2 hours and the kids (and adults) were very interested.  It is a miracle that a factory so large could be operating in the mountains of Cameroon.  At the end of the factory tour we were given a case of tea. 

Then we went to see an animal sanctuary on the property.  The grounds were beautiful with cows, horses, peacocks, ostriches, bunnies, four enormous python snakes, monkeys and chimpanzees.  Everything but the cows and horses were behind bars.  Thankfully the pythons were well secured.  One of the pythons was aggressive because they had just caught it in the jungle so it was moving around quite a bit. 

The highlight was the chimps.  The handler brought out two of the chimps for us to meet.  One of them was not friendly so we didn’t get too close to her but the other one, Billy, loved the attention so we were able to hold him.  Patrick was not happy being too close to Billy.  The handler tried to pick Patrick and Billy up together but Patrick just cried.  We all took some great pictures with Billy and he was very friendly.  It was an adventure we will always remember.


We ended the weekend by going to Palm Sunday Mass together.  The interesting part of Palm Sunday was that we were to bring our own palms.  Palm trees are everywhere so it is not a big deal but everyone had fresh cut palms.  Someone cut ours for us so we didn’t have to collect them ourselves. 

Between all of the adventures the kids played nonstop and were very sad to go home.  We said our goodbyes and headed home.  The drive was pleasant and we were able to pick up some mangoes on the way.  The season is just starting so we were super excited plus we got 15 mangoes for $1.  Life in Cameroon can be pretty good.

-Ryan