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!

Every Day Is An Adventure

Coming to Cameroon many people said, “Everyday will be like a new adventure.”  We did not think too much about the daily adventures as we were more concerned with getting here and surviving.  Being here 4 months we realize the people that told us about the daily adventures were right.  So far most of the adventures we have come across have been welcomed and quite entertaining. We have had a few that we could have lived without, but that is part of the experience. Right now as I reflect on our lives here I realize how easy these adventures could have been missed, if I was living my regular life in the States.  I also believe many similar daily adventures took place at home but I was too focused on my life to notice. 

What are some of the daily adventures we have faced?  Last week as I was collecting the clothes off the clothesline a man walking his pig came through our backyard.  I greeted him and didn’t think too much of the situation.  Maybe I am getting too used to life here, what’s the big deal about a man walking a pig with a rope tied around one its back legs?  The neighbor yelled to my kids to come out and see the pig.  Of course, the pig was a big hit.  Clare loved petting her, Patrick was scared to death of the large animal, and Honora enjoyed watching her brother’s reaction.   

As we chatted with the man (that was missing his two front teeth and wearing flip flops I would have thrown out a long time ago) we learned he lived just down the hill from our backyard.  I inquired about how many pigs he had and he responded with “so many.”  He then invited us down to see his pigs and other animals.  As we peered into the pigsty we realized he did have “so many” pigs with about 20 newborn piglets.  The little piglets were cute but I can’t say the same for the momma pigs.  We moved on to see mother goose and her chicks.  Those little fuzzy chicks were adorable.  Then he asked if we wanted to see the guinea pigs.  Again, Clare was excited so he got a couple guinea pigs out for the kids to hold.  The farmer was having fun showing the animals to the kids.  It was difficult to judge who had the biggest smile, the kids or the farmer.  All this happened on a “normal” evening of preparing dinner.  The best part is we were able to meet our neighbor, Michael. (Do not confuse the farmer, Michael with the next door neighbor Michael or the priest, Fr. Michael).

One morning we woke up to find McDonalds in our backyard.  The next door neighbors transformed their outdoor kitchen, where they cook over a fire, into a McDonalds with some chalk.  They wrote, “McDonalds-milkshakes, cheeseburgers, pizza, coffee and customer security assured.”   We appreciated their desire to please us and the good laugh.  The next night we came home from being out to hear music in our backyard.  The kids ran out to see the neighbors cooking and listening to music.  Once our kids got outside the music went up and we could hear lots of laughter.  The kids were learning to salsa dance.  We added our blinking flashlight and had a dance party.

For my birthday our wonderful missionary companions, the Newburns, agreed to babysit so Maura and I could go out.  We were on our way home walking and noticed a man fall over on his motorcycle.  Looking closer we could see it was the next door neighbor, the father.  By the time we ran to help, he had already gotten up.  He dusted off his clothes and was fine.  He mentioned he was going to see someone from church that was sick and we were to go with him.  This did not seem like a choice so we followed him to the woman’s house.  We entered the house to find a woman in bed recovering from surgery she had earlier that morning.  After offering our words of encouragement and prayers we were back heading home.  That is life in Cameroon, walking down the road and ten minutes later we find ourselves in a woman’s bedroom praying for her recovery.  The moment with her and the neighbor was the highlight of my birthday celebration.

The adventures will continue and we look forward to most of them.  We are not too excited about the adventure of dry season and not having water for a week at a time.  Adventures with critters will continue as well.  This morning I found a stream of ants from the front door to my shoes.  Picking up my shoes I found hundreds of eggs and baby ants.  In the 10 hours I did not wear my shoes a colony of ants moved in.  After discovering the colony I removed it within minutes.  I guess this goes with living so close to nature.

As I write about these adventures I realize how open we are to each of them.  Being in a foreign land makes us aware of what is around us.  Like I said, I believe similar adventures were happening in front of me in the States but I did not have the increased awareness that I have in Cameroon.  We have a much greater dependence on those around us here too.  This dependence has led us to an invitation to participate in life at a deeper level.  The need for others increases the gratitude for the people around us.  I am sorry to say that when I have my independence I tend to forget about those around me.  Living a life that is more simple, but just as busy, permits us to be freer to any possibility of an adventure right before our eyes. 

-Ryan

Greeting

During our formation in Los Angeles we heard plenty about culture.  We were given a general idea of what the culture in Cameroon might be like and ways to see the gifts within all cultures.  I knew it would be a learning experience the entire three years of our mission.  After being here for three months I thought I might have the slightest insight of what makes up life here.  We discovered quickly that greeting people you pass is very important.  From observing people greet us we learned you say good morning/afternoon/evening and ask how they are.  Everyone that we meet with the children greet our kids first and ask them how they are.  The automatic response is “fine.”  Our kids have learned to offer a handshake and answer with “fine.”  We thought Patrick had this concept down until he started running away from people the past few days.  We were a little embarrassed when he ran away from greeting the Bishop.  Thankfully the Bishop is a wise man and knew Patrick was just being a two year old.

Maura and I thought we were doing well with our greeting of people and conversation starters.  We found after talking with a Cameroonian for some time neither of us would know each others names.  I find it more personal to know a person’s name so I try to be sure to ask early in the conversation.  Then it occurred to me that maybe there is a reason people do not disclose their names while talking to them.  An opportunity came up for me to ask a Cameroonian why they do not share their names when talking with me.  The response was that it is rude to talk about yourself and you would not want to put a person in that position by asking their name.  All right, now I know, to find out people’s names you have to go about it in a roundabout way.  I have yet to master the roundabout way of figuring out names but it will be fun to figure how. 

After discovering I have been asking people their names improperly I decided I better see if my greet was correct.  We were talking with my neighbors and they asked if in the U.S. we would greet people walking by.  I explained my thoughts on the matter and asked how I should greet people here.  To my surprise I learned I was to ask someone how they were only if I knew them well.  I would have to know them well in the event they needed me to help them.  I interpreted that as when you ask someone how they are, it is meant to be genuine with the possibility of offering assistance if needed.  A younger person should never ask someone older how he/she is because the younger person is not able to offer assistance.  Asking this assumes the older person is not able to care for him/herself and it is an insult.  Looks like I better work on my greeting so I do  not offend anyone. 

The greatest gift of this culture is that people are very understanding of the guest.  The final words of our neighbor was that people know we are trying to be friendly and appreciate us acknowledging them.  This does explain why I am mentally exhausted each night from having to think about just how to greet someone.  I find discovering these little or possibly big nuisances as exciting and it is what makes it so fun to live in another culture.

Peace-

Ryan

With the neighbors