Samuel (by Josh)

I would like to talk about my friend, Samuel. White, funny, filled with good character, and with lots of video games, he's a great buddy to have. He also likes archery, reading books, and karate. (Although for some reason he's not sure why he likes the last thing. Shrug.) Amazing Samuel has even lived all his life in Cameroon, although he has no accent. Last Friday we had a so-called “play date”.

When I first got to his house, I had a snack/lunch—a yummy sausage sandwich with a little too much mayonnaise. Then we played a game called Guillotine. It was a game where you try to collect as much points as possible by obtaining the cards (nobles) with positive points on them. To get the noble, you have to get it to the front of the line, except for...Well, it's kind of complicated. Anyways, after we finished playing, we went into Samuel's yard and played boomerang, Frisbee, scooter and bike, and archery/spear throwing, until the guests came.

You see, every other Friday, a group of people come to one family's house for a bible study. This week, it was Samuel's family's turn. As the guests gathered into the house, Samuel and I put the bow and arrows away and went in to say “Hello” to the other expat missionary families. There was Mr. Jackson, father of Katelyn (Jessica's best teenage friend). The only reason that Katelyn and Mrs. Jackson didn't show up was because they were in Yaounde, the capital city of Cameroon. Samuel's mom began the bible study with a couple songs, some known by me, some read in the songbook. My little 4-year-old friend named Noah sang along impressively, but still being cute. After we finished singing, Samuel's mom moved on to asking the fellow missionaries to give their testimony on what inspired them to come to Cameroon, while the kids colored. She asked my family first, and after my mom and dad gave their story, I told them about the time when Jesus called me to be a missionary:

“One day, when I was saying my prayer after Holy Communion,

I asked Jesus, 'Tell me anything that I need to know, God'

The response I got was, 'Josh, come with me on this mission trip.'

Usually, when somebody says 'Come' they mean 'Come with me”

So I feel that God is promising us as missionaries that he is,

and will always be with us as we serve him.”

After us, other families told us their stories, and then we took a food break. We had a great dinner of popcorn, chilly-cheese Doritos (!), carrots and ranch, cookies, cake, and ground nuts (peanuts). But unfortunately it was time for us to leave—past our bedtime. Reluctantly, I said my goodbyes, but on the inside I was very tired—I dozed off in the car, smiling at the great day I had with Samuel.

- Josh