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Salute Die
Cameroonians like to celebrate death – not in a grim way, but a celebratory way. They do this by surrounding the bereaved family members with compassion and remembering and honouring the life of the deceased as a community. When they do this, they come to Salute Die.
We arrived back in Cameroon on July 8th and within the first weeks, various individuals and groups have come to our home to Salute Die. Knowing that Calvin’s father died in April while we were on home assignment, it is customary that people would come to condole with us. The first group to visit was from our church, Mt. Carmel Baptist. The elders and church council members all came (photo above). The second group was those of our extended Cameroon “family” – those who help us out daily around the house (photo below). 
These gatherings involved moments of singing, sharing from God’s word, sharing about the life and positive influence of Calvin’s father, and prayer. It was mutual encouragement for all. And in typical Cameroon fashion, no such gathering can take place without the fellowship of food. We are grateful for a large community of loving and caring friends here in Cameroon.
Empty Nesters
2017/18 hostel family (missing 2 students)
As of August 7th, we are empty nesters – a rather sobering concept given the still young ages of our girls (Ysabelle 16 & Elianna 13). When here in Cameroon, after the elementary years of home schooling, the best viable option for secondary school is boarding school 7.5 hours away. We’re thankful for the leadership, teachers, and ministry of Rain Forest International School (rfis.org) where Ysabelle and Elianna not only receive a good education, but also daily interaction with peers of like and different cultures, and have other adults speak into their lives – besides just mom and dad. We’re also grateful for the hostel next to the school that is home for the girls while attending RFIS. Ryan and Krista Ginn (on the left in photo) are the new hostel parents this year and will be parenting seven students.
Kingdom Ministry Advances
After spending a year of home assignment in North America, it is encouraging to return to Cameroon and get caught up with what is happening in the ministries and services we partner with. Lives continue to be transformed and healed spiritually, physically and relationally through the many ministries and services of the Cameroon Baptist Convention. We look forward to sharing some of these transformational stories with you in future newsletters and updates.
Always grateful for your partnership,
Calvin, Susanne, Ysabelle & Elianna