Wedding Day Adventure

Today was no different than any other day, a big adventure.  A coworker of mine got married today and invited us to it to see a traditional Cameroonian wedding.  He wanted to be sure Keith (Maura's brother) was able to see one. 

We decided it was going to be a bit adventurous so only the boys would go - Keith, Patrick and myself.  The biggest adventure was getting to the wedding.  I thought I knew the town where the wedding was but it turns out it was a bit further than I expected.  We had problems getting a taxi to take us there for a reasonable rate.  I thought the ride was going to be about 20 minutes but it turns out it was over an hour.  So I was negotiating the fare with this mindset and finally paid up to get a driver to take us.  The difference in fare was minimal but it’s the principal of overcharging us because we are white so I sucked it up and paid $2 instead of $1.20 that the fare should have been. 

After being smashed in the cab with 5 other people for an hour we got to the edge of town where the police check vehicle papers.  Our driver said he did not have his papers so he pulled over and yelled to another taxi.  He said we should pay him and get in the other taxi.  After another 30 minutes we finally arrived at the church where we were to meet our ride to the house.  The very first thing Patrick said once we got out of the taxi was “I want to go home.”

Due to our travel fiasco we were an hour late so I figured we missed the event.  Turns out we were still early by 15 minutes.  First, there was mass.  Traditional weddings do not have a Catholic mass but the couple wanted to have one to bless them.  The mass was not for marriage, they will do a church wedding in July. 

After mass we all gathered in the house for the traditional wedding.  Each family has an elder representative sent from their perspective tribes.  The representatives speak for the people getting married.  The bride’s representative is the head of the wedding.  He started by asking why she has brought all these people to the house.  They pretend as if they don’t know what is going on.  The representative of the groom played along and said he happened to be driving by and saw a ripe guava on a tree he wanted to pick.  A big jug of palm wine was then unplugged and a cup of it was given to the bride.  She is told to give the cup to the person who has brought all these people.  She was to search for the groom and finally she gave him the glass of palm wine.  Then the couple talks with the bride’s representative to explain their intention.  Finally, the bride representative talks only with the groom giving him advice.  The groom was told he had other people to talk to that could not make it that day to get their approval.  Then everyone gets a glass of palm wine and a kola nut.  And, of course, we ended with a big meal.  

I had fun watching Keith taste many of the foods for the first time.  He was brave enough to eat cow’s skin and drink the palm wine.  Patrick made friends with a baby.  The parents were trying to get him to hold the baby and he refused so I was able to hold him for awhile.  We socialized a bit and we found a ride home so we were excited.  When it was time to go, my coworker wanted to take a picture of us with him and his wife but she was nowhere to be found.  We found out the elder women took her and locked her up from him.  He was to pay to get her back, like a dowry.  

 We left before he paid up so we don’t know the outcome of that situation.  The ride home was much nicer in the air conditioning and only 3 of us in the back seat.  By the time we arrived at home all three of us were exhausted but it was a wonderful day to be a part of.  We are grateful for the generosity of our friends here that allow us to participate in their lives.

Peace-

Ryan

Campus Ministry

The Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda (CATUC) has never had a campus minister and I have never been a campus minster at a university so we both are learning.  The university is in its fourth year which means it has dealt with a lot of the initial growing pains but still faces the joys and challenges of an educational institution that is expanding.  I was able to attend the first graduation of CATUC students in December.  Every day at the university is one of continued learning from the new opportunities that are constantly popping up.

My role of Campus Minister was not clearly defined to allow for ultimate flexibility for my gifts and the needs of CATUC.  I am grateful for this flexibility.  Much of my time thus far has been trying to get in touch with the culture of CATUC and student life.  The students are impressive in their drive to acquire knowledge and be innovative.  Living in a place with limited access to books and unreliable internet, I am impressed how the students are able to be kept up to date on information.  They are aware of the disadvantage they have to a lot of the world so it seems they work that much harder to keep up.  There is very little taken for granted by the students due to their hard work and determination.

The privilege I have as Campus Minister is to provide a place for students to speak to someone who may be able to provide a new perspective to their life situation, a spiritual perspective.  It seems each time a student walks into my office I learn more than he/she learns from me.  My most important role is being a listener so it is natural I learn from them because often I find myself saying very little.  The faith life of the students is rich and comprehensive.  Many have been on a dedicated faith journey for several years.  The most common request I get is for something to help them through their current situation; scripture, prayer or advice.  My response is simple, for them to ask for help each morning to do the will of God and to review their day with gratitude before going to bed.  I believe it is too easy to complicate our prayer lives looking for the ultimate answer.  God just wants us to be in dialogue with us.

The biggest challenge I face is listening to the pain and suffering the students have endured in their short lives.  Navigating between cultural differences and being a source of support can easily get confusing.  In these times I reach way down to seek the most compassionate and loving thing I can do, be present to the child of God before me.  This is not easy for someone that has little patience and likes to avoid pain.  I must constantly remind myself I am here to be a servant.

This blog has turned into something different than I anticipated.  I had planned to write about my work in a more general form.  The gift in writing blogs is it can quickly turn into time to reflect.   The wonderful blessing and an absolute need for me being a missionary is reflection.   The goal of my simple guidance to the students of asking to do God’s will and expressing gratitude is to provide a moment in their busy lives to see the greatness of God’s love and mercy, something I need to do more often.

-Ryan

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!