Dear Family and Friends
So much has happened since my last newsletter! I am back in Cameroon, moved into my apartment and back into the swing of things at Rain Forest International School. Some days are better than others, and I am realistic enough to know that this transition is far from complete, but overall things are going well. God is good!
Right now I am sitting in my apartment with Smudge (my new kitten) listening to the various bugs and other critters outside. This property is SO much more rural than where I was living before, and I LOVE that when I walk outside my door I see trees, hear bugs, and smell nature rather than see dirty city streets, hear car horns and music blaring from bars, and smell all those smells that come with too many people in a city without sufficient water or sewer systems. The only major downside of being so much closer to nature is the snakes . . . it seems to have settled down these past few weeks, but in my first couple of weeks back here in Cameroon, a ridiculous number of snakes were seen on the property and we even lost one of our guard dogs to a snake bite. YIKES! I will admit that my most fervent and frequent prayer is “please, God, keep the snakes away from me!”
As predicted, the apartment was not yet ready when I arrived, but the two hostels took me in and kept me fed during the three weeks it took to get the apartment finished to the point where I could move in. It was such a blessing to be a part of their families for a couple of weeks! Though there are a lot of bits and pieces that still need to be finished, I am loving it! Not only do I have tons of room, and not only do I get to live literally on the edge of a rainforest (though sadly more and more of that disappears every day), but I can walk up to the school in just a few minutes. For someone who struggles with carsickness on the roads here, eliminating that commute has been HUGE!
The community out here is amazing too! I love that there are three different missions who own property on our compound (Us, The Covenant Church, and the Assemblies of God Church), and that we spend time together. All the ladies on the compound get together once a week for ‘tea time,’ and when we discovered there would not be an Easter sunrise service in the missionary community this year, we organized our own out here. I wouldn’t be surprised if that develops into a new tradition.
Though I questioned the time and frustration of French study many times during my 6 months in France, it has been evident over and over again that it was all worth it. It is so wonderful to be able to greet our guard or communicate with taxi drivers or vendors, to carry on a conversation with the police officer who pulls you over to check your paperwork, or to wish a good day to the people collecting tolls. So many small things that were SO stressful before are so much easier! I am not going to claim I am fluent – I am FAR from it, but every little bit I know has been a blessing.
Though our teaching staff for next year seems to be falling into place, our biggest need right now is hostel parents for this next school year. There were two hostels open this year, housing a total of 24 students. Though the population of both will be down a bit next year, this is a very real and very immediate need. Have you ever considered serving in this way? Please pray with us that God will raise up two couples or families to fill these positions!
As always, I would love to hear from you! Email is the easiest way to get in touch with me (though our internet has been quite inconsistent lately), but I can also get regular mail here. Packages don’t typically make it through the local system intact, but letters do! Just label them Kristi TenClay, PO Box 1 Bamenda, Northwest Region, Republic of Cameroon. There is no postal code or zipcode. If you are interested in more frequent updates and more insight into my daily life here in Cameroon, I have been posting more frequent updates on my blog which you can check out at www.tenclay.org/cameroon.
Thank you all for your support, through finances, prayers, and encouragement! You are truly a blessing to me!