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Dear Family and Friends,
Things overheard in the hostel: Girl: (calmly) Is that a snake? Maureen: No, it’s just a black lizard. Girl: Will school start late because it’s raining? Craig: No, the bell rings at the same time no matter what the weather is like. Boy: You know the snake we killed in our room? Turns out we should have kept it as a pet. Our teacher says it was a baby python and it would be good to keep down the rodent population in the hostel. Student: Praise the Lord, our dish crew week is OVER!
Our nine kids arrived at the hostel August 4th and they have kept us busy ever since! Shortly after their arrival we had an afternoon of games and a BBQ. We had loads of fun as we got to know each other better. 
We played ultimate frisbee, waterballoon in a blanket volleyball, tested our aviation skills with a paper airplane contest, and finished off with a rousing dice game for our armchair athletes. Craig and Brad (the other hostel’s dad) fought a good fight with the lumps of charcoal that don’t quite burn like Kingsford briquettes and eventually we got to enjoy some tasty beef brochettes (a.k.a. kebabs).
Our days now are filled with helping our kids with organizational skills, time management, homework, and Craig even helps with basketball skills. We have everyone involved in household chores and some need assistance with these as well. For those of you who are parents, you are familiar with the uniqueness of every child. Strengths, struggles, and motivators vary with each student and we are striving to support each of our students in the way that meshes with their particular make up. This is a challenge for us as the kids are new to us and come from cultures and family situations we do not fully understand. One student does not write down homework assignments, has difficulty with the material and has trouble staying on task. What will motivate this student requires a knowledge of what makes her tick! It is a combination of culture, personality, and past experiences that we need insight on in order to achieve success. Other students are hindered from expressing their opinions to us because of the cultural beliefs regarding authority figures. We, however, want to know what they like or dislike or what they need. Another student has lived in various countries and received schooling in French and English. Unfortunately, for her, this has resulted in her not being fluent in either language and she is often frustrated when people do not understand her speech. She admits at times she just fills in a sound if she doesn’t know the word she wants to say. How can we help her without adding to her frustration?
Our family devotion times span a range of topics and we hope that the application will be made by our 7th grader as well as our 12th grader and everyone in between! The varied interests of the group and their maturity levels all make these times more interesting. We always appreciate the input of our more mature students as they model good participation and share with the group.
Every year NAB missionaries in Cameroon bring forward areas of need and some of these are chosen as Special Projects. We would encourage you to consider giving a donation to one of these projects. Two projects are of special interest to us because all our kids attend Rain Forest International School (RFIS) where the teachers are an amazing group of dedicated and caring individuals and the facilities are great. We are so thankful for these blessings but many students in Cameroon do not have the luxury of a good school building and teachers struggle to provide quality education with limited training!
The Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC) has more than 80 primary schools. Many of these schools have leaking roofs, mud floors, and inadequate desks. The Restore Primary Schools Program partners with the CBC to transform dark, dilapitated buildings into bright, clean centres for learning. The Primary School Teacher Training Fund provides training programs and materials for teachers. There is a continual challenge to maintain school infrastructure and provide teachers with adequate training. Your donation can make a huge difference in the lives of children and teachers in Cameroon.
The other project that we would like to mention is the Health Training School Textbooks and Subscriptions. Every year more than 200 students are enrolled at the Health Services Training School. Donations assist the school in purchasing textbooks and journal subscriptions that are used in the training programs for nurses, pharmacists, radiology and lab technicians. Due to lack of easy Internet access the school relies heavily on these resources.
To make a donation or see other NAB special projects go here.
Thanks to each of you for your prayers and support.
Blessings,
Craig & Maureen Moody