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Dear Family and Friends,
A parrot beeping like a car horn stops to announce, “My name…Barrack Obama”; a hyrax screaming from a tree top; cricket choruses; unique bird songs; voices speaking in unfamiliar languages; car horns; sirens and police whistles; these are just a few of the new sounds that greet us daily. (You’ll have to google “hyrax.” We’d never heard of them before!)
We are adjusting to an entirely new “routine” here in Yaoundé and in just a few days our “routine” will dramatically change again. Our quiet home is about to be invaded by 9 teenagers. Our “kids” will be moving in for the school year. We will have 4 Koreans, 2 Congolese-Cameroonians, 1 American, and 2 Canadians. There are 6 girls and 3 boys, in grades 7 to 12.
The past couple weeks we have been cleaning, organizing, repairing, and stocking the hostel. The room assignments are made and each bedroom will be inhabited by 3 students. Each student will experience the challenges of sharing with kids they have never met, and getting to know the other hostel family members.
We are looking forward to the kids’ arrival and we are excited about the opportunities we have to spend time with each of them. As the parents of these kids are living far away from Rain Forest International School (RFIS), we will have the responsibility of supporting and guiding these students this school year. The parents of our hostel kids are pastors, linguistics workers, business people, and workers in unreached people groups. As we care for these children, the parents can continue the work God has called each of them to do.
We are excited to be back in Cameroon, a country that has given us many fond memories. But mostly we are happy to be in the place where God has called us to serve. We’re thankful each day for God’s strength and wisdom and help.
Craig & Maureen