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Something that most international workers are told during orientation is to prepared for a life of “goodbyes.” We have come to experience and understand this well during the past 23 years. Colleagues and friends come and go, serving for various lengths of time, taking furloughs at different times and sometimes don’t return, whether planned or otherwise. Sojourn is another good word that describes the life of international workers:
During the second week of June we celebrated Elianna’s high school graduation and completion of five years at Rain Forest International School (RFIS). We’re grateful for RFIS and the opportunity that both our girls had to attend. The difficult part of graduating from an international boarding school, of course, is the goodbyes at the end, as friends and classmates scatter around the globe.
Ysabelle was able to return to Cameroon for Elianna’s graduation. After the celebrations were over and goodbyes done, the four of us returned to Bamenda for one last week together in our Cameroon home. It was a good week together as a family reminiscing and saying goodbye to dear friends and colleagues. The Cameroon Baptist Convention held a nice farewell event for us during which many encouraging words of appreciation were shared. All of this helped us bring closure to our 23-year sojourn in Cameroon.
While we may have left Cameroon, the ministries and projects we partnered with and led continue. There is no end in sight to the civil war, so the Trauma Healing workshops and Peace and Transformation seminars are as relevant and needed as ever. In May, another three-day Trauma Healing workshop was held in a location to which tens of thousands of refugees fled during the early years of the conflict. The stories continue to be heart-wrenching, and the testimonies of trauma healing are heart-warming.
The second Peace and Transformation seminar was held July 30. Many participants were from one of the most challenging areas of the war, where families and communities have been greatly divided – both physically and ideologically. Learning the concepts and skills of peace building and conflict transformation will enable these participants to be Christ-like peace advocates in their communities.
Please continue to support the Trauma Healing and Peace and Transformation ministries in Cameroon by giving to the Cameroon Crisis Relief Fund.
Calvin & Susanne Hohn