Market day!

Today is market day! Everyday of the week in Banyo you can go shopping, but Tuesdays and Fridays are "big market" days. The bread is fresher, more cows are slaughtered, women from the bush come to sell their items, and town is abuzz with excitement.

 

When I first arrived in Africa, I was way intimidated by the local markets. They are something else. I never went, then when we were in CAR we were so isolated that going to the big market across the border was a special treat for me, and now I love to go.

 

To get to the market, I usually take one of these to and fro for 40 cents.

 

 

Here is the outside of the market where leafy vegetables and big root vegetables are sold.

 

You can also buy used clothes, toys, and junk from Europe/America that are in piles outside. I bought two Christmas stockings and a Santa hat here in October for 60 cents.

 

Go past the stinky fish (some dried, some "fresh"- I never buy it because the smell is awful, awful, awful. I just can't stomach it.),

 

 

Next you find more vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, green peppers, onions, etc. We are so spoiled to have these here, these kind of vegetables were hard to come by in CAR.

 

 

Next, you can make your way through the maze of small alleys. (These bowls have corn flour in them- used to make a play dough like consistency food called fufu.)

 

 

All through the small passage ways you will find various shops- hardware stores, baby stores, soap stores, cloth stores, etc. Sometimes the shops are mixed and you can buy a bra at the hardware store (I dare you to ask Home Depot where their lingerie department is!). It is amazing what you can buy in these shops. A few weeks before Christmas, I bought Christmas lights that were made in Communist China, sold by an Islamic African, and bought by a Christian American in Cameroon. Crazy!

 

 

 

Chicken (live chickens that is) and fish are sold outside, but the Fulbe are cattle people- so the beef is at the heart of the market. And yes, we eat this meat. You can buy a pound of fillet for less than $2.30. See how many flies you can count!

 

Besides choice cuts of beef, you can also buy cow feet or entire heads! Bon a petit!

 

 

 

Past the butcher, you can get your hair cut (if you don't mind the smell of dead cows).

 

 

 

So there you have it- Banyo's Super Wal-Mart: groceries, clothing, household goods, and fresh meat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie-1, Parents- 0

Oh ya'll!

So last week, we went to a missionary conference in Bamenda, Cameroon. I was very excited for the conference for the following reasons:

• Worship and teaching in English
• wearing clothes that do not look like a mumu or have an elastic waste band- aka jeans
• meeting new missionaries and catching up with missionaries friends
• friends for Charlie to play with
• some time for relaxation
• shopping for things we cannot buy in Banyo like powdered sugar and shampoo, even Honey Nut Cheerios!
• Childcare

 

Childcare. Ok, I am going to be honest here- I was most excited about childcare. While Charlie has a nanny during the morning, that is my working time. In the last 4 months, I have not had a baby sitter during a stretch of time that allowed for any quality “me time.” Momma is tired, ya'll.

Well, sadly I returned from our conference tired even with the glorious child care. Why? Well, my child is “that child.” At one point I overheard someone say, “that is why God makes puppies and kids so cute because if not we would go crazy.” Yeah, she was looking at my child who was dancing on the stage like it was her own personal rock concert. In comparison to the African children that sit like serene statues in church, I knew my child was a little more “spirited.” I chalked it up to cultural differences. At the conference however, there were 4 American children in the 2-3 year age range. Again, these kids were perfect little angels- don't get me wrong, they had their tiny toddler moments too- but only just enough to disprove my theory that their parents had sedated them. Their children sat quietly through an hour of adult sermon time- my child ran circles around the building like Forrest Gump. She fled from her parents at every opportunity. I would talk with someone for a minute than spend 20 looking for her- only to find her half way across the campus with someone asking, “You didn't know where she was?!” My child also found the sugar bowl next to the coffee and proceeded to help herself to handful after handful of the sweet forbidden goodness. Another, more responsible, 2-year-old stood by pointing at Charlie so that some adult would intervene and correct the situation. I felt like I spent the whole time chasing after, threatening, putting shoes on (because she refuses to wear shoes- ever), restraining, pleading with, and putting my child in “time out.”

I know this is a “season” and it too shall pass. The terrible two's are almost over and then we will move on to what many people call the “terrifying threes.” Oh Lord have mercy! In the meantime, I will focus on what one of my friends said when I was comparing Charlie to the other well behaved kids: “So she was the fun one!”

 

Happy New Year!

It is 2014! The year 2013 has come and gone and it was one for the books- whoa, I mean whoa! In 2013, we:

• lived in 3 different countries-  Central African Republic, Cameroon, and the US
• became refugees
• had our house looted
• lived (or crashed) in 5 different houses
• moved to Africa for a second time
• started our ministries and language learning all over again in a new town
• fell in love with that new town
• saw God do amazing things

I even ate a grasshopper in 2013!

2013 was a wild ride for sure and I am not sad to start a new year. 2014 promises to be an exciting and eventful year as well, but hopefully in less traumatic ways! We will stay in Banyo, Cameroon at least until May and maybe into September at which time we will experience reverse culture shock as we re-enter the US for a time of training and support raising. We have many decisions to make about our time in the US- where will we live, where will we work, where will we eat first: Red Lobster or sushi? When I think about going back to the US, I have a lot of mixed emotions. I look forward to seeing family, but I also think, "No! It is too soon, I am not ready to leave Banyo yet!" 

When I think back over 2013, I most remember feeling "empty" like Naomi did when she came back to her homeland empty after the loss of her husband and sons. But today, at the beginning of 2014, I am glad to associate more with the end of the Book of Ruth. "The women say to Naomi, 'Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer.'"(4:22). The Lord has redeemed our loss in CAR with a beautiful new beginning in Cameroon. I am really excited to see the ways the Lord will work here in 2014 and I am overwhelmed with joy and gratitude that I somehow get to be a part of that work.

If you are starting the new year feeling empty, know that the He longs to redeem these empty times. I pray that in 2014, the joy of the Redeemer overwhelms your life. Happy New Year!