The next chapter

Three months ago, we landed in Yaounde - the capital of Cameroon. Then we flew to Meskine, Cameroon where we studied Fufulde.

In the last 3 months:
I have not worn jeans, driven a car, or had a diet coke.
I learned to use a pressure cooker.
I worked with malnourished children
I sweated more than ever before in my life.
I had malaria.
I finally lost "the baby weight."
I got used to ants crawling on my legs and being everywhere
I learned to trust God more
I made friends with people from Germany, England, The Netherlands, Australia, the United States, and Cameroon.
I lived next to chickens, sheep, a horse, and a duck.
I saw real poverty
I packed, unpacked, and packed again
I saw a monitor lizard.
I attempted to learn a new language
I prayed (in Fufulde) with really sick people
I got used to sleeping under a net
I made yogurt, crackers, pizza, granola, (and pretty much every other food I ate) from scratch
I wore a scarf on my head almost every time I left the house
I took cold showers everyday
I soaked my vegetables in bleach water
I carried my baby on my back
I got scars from a weird bug
I missed my family and friends
I got used to the power turning off at least 3 times a day
I saw God work miracles.
And the list goes on and on....

Now for the next chapter! Tomorrow we are flying to Yaounde again! This time we stay for a few days to do some shopping- 8 months worth of shopping! That is right, I need to buy 8 months worth of food because we will not have access to any "western" shopping again until April! Pray I don't forget anything!

And hopefully on Saturday we will take a charted flight to CAR. I say hopefully because currently the president of CAR is not allowing any planes to land in the country. We have someone petitioning for us to be allowed to come in. If we are not allowed we will have to drive 10 hours on really bumpy roads! PLEASE PRAY that we can fly- it would be so much easier.

And once we are in CAR, we will begin learning another language (Sango) and will begin to acclimate to a new community and culture!

The journey has only just begun!

 

This is us three months ago- selling off all of our stuff!

 

 

Look at us now!

 

End of Ramadan celebration

Last night, the moon was sighted which meant the end of the month long fasting called Ramadan. Today is Eid al-Fitr (the Festival of Fast-Breaking). Today is PARTY time for our "cousins."

This is the day when everyone gets new clothes and shows them off. For some people, this is the only time in the year when they get new clothes. The men wear robes with intricate embroidery and the women wear bright colored fabric and ornate henna designs on their skin. Even the children get new clothes. Most kids also get sunglasses, hair bows, and even watches!

The streets were packed with people showing off their new duds and heading to prayer time.

All the men gather in an open field for a time of special prayer and a short sermon. Children are welcome also and older women. It is not appropriate for young ladies or married women to come apparently (although a few were there). There were thousands in the field. We tried to "blend."

See, you can barely notice me!

blending...blending

The prayer time officially started with the procession of the Laamdo (the chief of Meskine). His court proceeded him on decorated horses.

The Laamdo is in the pink thing. (side note- here boys wear pink and girls wear blue)

The prayer time lasted about 15 minutes followed by 15 minutes of a sermon. Then the Laamdo and his procession journeyed back to his palace near the city "square." The crowd followed. Loud music played and everyone wished each other and us "Bonne fete" which means "happy celebration" in French. 

The Laamdo took the long way to town so that crowds could gather for his arrival. When he arrived, everyone wanted to touch him or see him. The decorated horses paraded up and down the street (I almost got run over by them, not once- but twice!)

This is the Laamdo's palace.

When the Laamdo entered his palace, everyone took off for their homes where they will have a special meal. Then tomorrow, everyone will visit their families as the holiday continues for two more days.

Malnutrition clinic

Last week, I felt disconnected from my culture. While my Facebook friends (and much of the US) were deciding which day of the week to eat a chicken sandwich, I was working in the pediatric malnutrition clinic at the hospital. I saw a two-year-old that weighed 10 pounds.

10 pounds. Most children born in United States when they are born weight 7 or 8 pounds. To give you more prospective, Charlie is 15 months old and weighs a little over 20 pounds (and she is on the lower end of the scale). A two-year-old weighed 10 pounds. 10 pounds. I know because I weighed him myself. 10 pounds. 10 pounds!

I cannot get this little boy out of my mind. His name is Bartholomew.

I have never seen such a sight. He is a little taller than Charlie which only exaggerates the profound effects of a body starving for nutrition. I have used the phrase “skin and bone before,” but I have never actually seen a person that quite literally was little more than skin and bone. I could count every bone in his protruding ribcage as well as every vertebra on his spine. His body was so thin that his head looked grossly disproportionate and misshapen.  His arms and legs were straight rods. A skeletal pelvis was where his cute little baby bum should have been. It was the pelvis that got me- it really did look like a skeleton.

The reasons for malnutrition in Meskin, Cameroon are complex. Only 4% of the population has jobs, the rest live off the land and eat what they can grow or barter. August is a difficult time here because the harvest has not yet come and stored crops from the last growing season are dwindling. It is not uncommon for women and children to go two days without eating. When they do eat, they mostly eat millet with maybe some oil and a little flavoring.

August is also difficult because the Muslims are fasting for Ramadan- nursing mothers also which often causes their milk supply to drastically decrease.  

The lack of nutritious food is compounded by other poverty related problems. Often children here are on the smaller size already because their mothers do not know how to or cannot properly feed them,  then the children develop chronic diarrhea which makes their little bodies unable to absorb nutrition, then they might get malaria which sets them back even further. The problem spirals out of control.

When asked how many children they have, almost every mother responds something like this, “I have five, but two have returned.”

Returned. My stomach drops and my palms sweat every time I hear that phrase. I have one. What if she “returned”?

Malnutrition affects almost 800 million people according to the World Health Organization. If you were like me before I moved to Africa, chances are that you do not know one person that has a severely compromised nutritional status. 800 million people - a problem this big almost weighs too daunting to even attempt to help- unless you see with your own eyes.

Last week a friend of mine posted this picture on her Facebook.

I am not even going to touch the great chicken debate- and please don’t let it distract you from the message of this picture. The accusation has been made, and sadly we Christians are guilty as charged as evidenced by the staggering number of malnourished amongst us.

Thankfully, when we allow him to, God can use us to make a difference! Last week Bartholomew gained over 2 pounds with the doctors and nurses caring for him, educating his mother, and providing food! And almost every week a child graduates out of the malnutrition program because their weight and nutritional status has improved. Nothing is impossible with God!

For more information about the hospital here and how you can help, here is the website: http://www.mcwanet.org/

My Job is to measure the kids's arm (it is one of the factors used to determine how malnurished they are). I also play with the babies when Carrie does the real work! She is a champion for those in need.

This is Yanga. He keeps us and the mothers in line!

Ramadan

On July 20, the chief and religious leader of Meskine saw the crescent moon in the night sky and he proclaimed the beginning of the month of Ramadan. To Christians and much of the Western world, this means little. But to our Muslim neighbors, it means that the month of fasting and abstinence from worldly pleasures has begun. As one of the Five Pillars of Islam, the fasting month of Ramadan is considered the highest form of worship. During this month, Muslims will attempt to suppress their earthly desires as an act of spiritual piety in order to atone for their sins (make right with God).  By not eating or drinking during the day (the people here, won’t even swallow their saliva!), Muslims believe their sins are scorched away sins like the sun burns the ground.  Their stomachs ache with hunger in an attempt to please God and gain rewards.

While Christians value fasting as a way to intensify our prayers, we do not do it so that we may persuade God , to ensure our wrongs are forgiven, or to gain rewards. God does not desire religious duty. Christ desires our heart. So much so that he gave his life as an atonement for our sins. All we have to do is believe and assurance of salvation is ours. We are free from doubt, the unknown, and retribution. This is a freedom our Muslim friends do not know.

This Ramadan, please join the millions of Christians around the world in praying for our Muslim friends or as we call them in Meskine, “our cousins.”  By setting aside these 30 (or 20 something- if you start now) for prayer, we will be better able to relate to our Muslim cousins as they are also praying. Pray specifically for greater breakthroughs for the Gospel among Muslims, an increased commitment to prayer by Christians, and for more missionaries to work among Muslims. To help you each day, there is a free prayer guide (there is even one for kids). Each day highlights a different people group or region- with information, statics, and ways to pray.  And just in case you think your Muslim cousins only live in countries with names you cannot pronounce, tomorrow’s location is Nashville, Tennessee!

But before we can plead for our cousins, we must be intentional about making our relationship right with our cousins. On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that before we come to the altar we must go and reconcile ourselves with our brothers and sisters. I encourage you to sign the Radical Love Pledge:

Challenging followers of Christ to love Muslims as He does.

Christian relationships with Muslims have often been characterized by conflict, fear and lack of love. This is the opposite of the way Jesus taught his people to live. As his followers, we are promised a love that casts out fear. We are commanded to love neighbor and even enemy. Therefore we resolve to imitate and obey Jesus by making the following pledge:

• I will repent of any hateful feelings toward Muslims and pursue love.
• I will pray for Muslims that God will bless them and that they will experience His peace.
• I will do at least one act of kindness for a Muslim in this next year.
• I will respectfully share the good news about Christ.
• I will not spread negative stereotypes about Muslims but will season all my words with grace.

Rhumsiki

One day a seasoned missionary here in Meskine declared that we need to see more of Northern Cameroon than just the village we are in now. After much debate in the Shinar household (is it a wise use of our money/time?), we decided to join the group of fellow missionaries and go to Rhumsiki- a tourist destination in the far North/West part of Cameroon (on the border of Nigeria).

The 3 hour drive was very bumpy and Charlie was strapped into her car seat for the first time in 2 months and she had just eaten before we left. Yep, a recipe for disaster! Poor little thing threw up everywhere! Thank God, it happened at a spot on the road that was right next to a well. As I cleaned up her clothes and car seat at the well, a ton of kids came to play with the Nassarra bebe (white baby)!

This is what the drive looked like- kind of reminded me of prehistoric times- just needed some dinosaurs!

When we got to Rhumsiki, we had a guided tour of the village. 

This is Mount Rhumsiki. The legend goes that a long time ago, a hunter (Mr. Siki) from Nigeria came over to the area and loved it so much that he stayed in a cave in this mountain. He had so much meat that he had to smoke it. When a Nigerian chief saw the smoke from the mountain and sent people to check it out. They loved the land and were happy to find a place where they could escape from the invasion of Islam in Nigeria.

It was nice and chilly in Rhumsiki as evidenced by this cute little thing in long pants and a jacket.

On Saturday morning, we went hiking. Here are some pics..

Just like home- agave

Every African hike has to have at least one cow (look on the right)

Here is a close up.

Here are his friends.

At night, we enjoyed the sunset, played games and music, and ate yummy food (TONS of fries!)

On Sunday, the group hiked this mountain (the local guys must hike to the very top before they are allowed to get married- our group hiked half way).

While they hiked, I read this book. It is amazing, but read it if you dare- it will challenge every part of your life! (it is only $1.99 on Kindle!)

We had a fabulous weekend full of rest and fellowship. Now back to language learning for us!

The Burn Bug

Our first week in Cameroon, a missionary told us, "You better just get used to the bugs- they had their house here first!" It took a while, but I have finally stopped freaking out when ants are crawling on my legs, I don't swat at flies unless they are in my eyes, I am used to my legs looking like a connect the dot picture with all of the mosquito bites on them, and I can kill a two inch roach without a single gag. Just when I thought I could deal with any tiny little insect creature...

The "Burn Bug" or 'Nairobi Fly" got me.... or actually I got it.

The "Burn Bug" does not sting or bite humans, but if you kill it kill it and crush it against your skin it contains a toxin that will do this to you....

I didn't even know this little bugger existed! One morning I woke up with what I thought were scratches on my face and chest. After a day, they did not go away. Instead, they got worse! When a seasoned missionary saw them, she told me about my new little friends the "Burn Bug." I think what I did was swat it on my chest and then touch my face. The marks have been here since Wednesday. They look so much better now and feel much better too! The ones on my face are almost gone and I can't feel them, but the chest one feels like I burnt it with a curling iron and it ITCHES like crazy- but I cannot scratch because the skin is raw and oozing! There is really nothing to do for it other than creams and there is no long term complications othern than some unsightly "burns" for a couple of weeks. The Fulbe (Fulani) women often scar themselves as a sign of beauty- well now I have my own set of African beauty marks!

Josh's trip to the marble mine!

The following is a link to Josh's facebook page where he took a trip to the marble mines in Northern Cameroon.  It was an opportunity to see the local industries and visit with various people in the community.  Check it out:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4267567372227.176547.1377334713&type=1&l=6e1564de97