After seven weeks in the US (11 states) the kids and
I are safely back home in Bamenda. Pete will remain for two weeks to attend his
niece’s wedding in Lincoln, Nebraska. The traveling went amazingly well and we
enjoyed watching movies and eating Turkish food on the planes.
You hear the stories about people who come home after vacation and have a
broken water heater, a burglary, ants in the pantry or a flooded washing
machine. Well that wasn‘t us. Nestor
(our house help) met us at the door and unloaded the entire car of luggage and
junk and went to the market and filled the fridge while we took and nap. The house was clean, bug and rodent free, and
electricity and water running great. As people greet us in the street, it is
nice to say “it is good to be home”.
This is our home and it
really feels good to be in our own beds, and going into our own refrigerator,
having our space, and not living out of a suitcase.
We hit the ground running upon our return. The afternoon we arrived, we went to a
closing ceremony of an event with the regional homeschooling group (ex-pats)
and were welcomed as if we had been away for a year. Then the Martins (the new
Missionaries from Lay Mission-Helpers that live down the hill from us) invited
us for pizza/movie night. I was thrilled to see how fantastically they have
adjusted to life here. Their children
are adorable and my kids are bonding already. I really like Maura and feel I
have a lot to learn from her.
The next day, the rest of the Lay Mission-Helpers
and Mission Doctors Missionaries came to Bamenda for a gathering. There were 15 children and 9 adults. Our group is expanding here in Cameroon. We had fellowship, yummy chili, and then went
into town to do some shopping. (When we were in the US many were surprised to
hear that there are 800,000 people living in Bamenda and we have many
conveniences of city life.) The Horne
family will be in Kumbo, just two hours away and the Burkett-Thoenes will be less
than that. They too are acclimating and enjoying the beauty of Cameroon.
The only sad part for me is that my dear friend,
Donna, will leave in a week to go on furlough for 4 months. After losing Karen, it feels harder for me to
say good bye to her, even for a few months.
She has been such an amazing support to me and tremendous guide of how
to live as a Missionary and just be a “real” person. I hold to the knowledge
that when a door is closing there is another one opening.
We have so many precious memories of our time in the
US which I hope the kids will blog about, but we are very excited to get back
into our normal routine here in Bamenda. Thank you for your support and prayers
these last 12 months and thank you that you care enough to follow our blog. It
means so very much to us.
-Joy
