Safe Arrival in Douala, Cameroon

Aug 18-20, ‘09
Carol and I arrived safely in Douala, Cameroon, on schedule Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009. I have gotten jet rides out of my system for quite a while. The flight from Washington D.C. to Addis Ababa Ethiopia was about an hour late so that we became separated from our luggage. We were able to pick up 10 regular size pieces Wednesday. However, “The Box” containing the full size solar panel has not come yet. We re-filed a baggage claim and went ‘home’ again with Charles.

Amazing answers to prayer:

We are safe and sound! Carol is an amazingly good sport; not one complaint about anything. She has really been excited to see Africa for the first time; “Wow, look at those people carrying baskets on their heads!”

We have most of our luggage; all except the large solar panel. We prayed before picking it up and … no customs fees and no baggage ‘assistance’ fees from those who ‘help’ travelers. The customs official agreed with Charles that the fees should be waived for missionaries. United Airlines saved us about $800 on baggage fees- they help missionaries.

Charles and his wife Bernadine and their son Carmi have welcomed us into their home. He was at the airport to receive us; it was so good to see him! They have taken great care of us.

It is the end of rainy season here. The sky is totally overcast. Precipitation varies from very humid, to light sprinkles, to brief, heavy rain. Driving is best left to the locals. Traffic indicators are recommendations that some people actually utilize. Might does make right, but pedestrians get more respect than I remembered.

The food has been good. Lunch included ‘sweet’ potatoes, cabbage topping (really tasty with a type of pumpkin seed as a base for the sauce), whole wheat bread (some with raisins), and bananas. Breakfast included a salad of tomatoes, something green (like lettuce), generous amounts of onion, and avocado. We have driven past markets with papaya, pineapple, banana (all that common tropical fruit). Carol was actually interested in stopping to buy some food. I am so blessed to have her with me this time!!! When I see those markets, I weigh the option of starvation and opt for it. She simply asks if we have enough Clorox and makes ready to shop.

We are just getting familiar with the exchange rate of 469 CFA per dollar when you use fresh $100’s; the rate is lower with small bills. We did not have to part with any of this at customs, so there is more to use for the school project.

Our phone was able to reach my sister Diane McSherry in Sacramento Tuesday. We had to get the word out that we were safe; long before we had time to get to the international calling booth or the internet café’. When I was here last year, it was dry season. It was easy to walk down the dusty, pot holed road to these businesses. Now, the rain has filled these holes. Cars and trucks try to empty them, but the combination of rain, mud, and traffic has prevented me from walking the neighborhood just yet. International calling varies from 5 – 10 cents per minute; not bad at all. Good news for the communications junkies (like me). There is a town about 24 miles / 40 km from Lassin that has internet and international calling booths. Shopping is supposed to be good- for all items from fresh food to handmade wooden products like beds, tables, chairs (stuff to make a house into a home). I’ve heard that it only takes about 2 hours to drive the 24 miles. Yes, they have a small airport and a very, very good hospital there. So… it won’t be such a problem to get medical care there either. Perhaps, we could have an emergency medical aviation program that uses this town as a health care destination. Charles said that this is even better than Bamenda, although it is smaller.

Jet lag? Are you kidding? Carol and I have talked each other out of several naps. We slept at times on the jets, and slept well for about 9.5 hours last night. This letter is actually doing a fine job of helping me stay awake. I can’t believe that it is Wednesday afternoon already. Time has really flown this week.
Big thanks are due, actually to each of you! All of you have wished us well and given us encouragement. Some have helped us pack, others have moved vehicles, cleaned our house, and cleaned out your wallets. All-in-all, what kindness you have shown!

By the way, this idea of stepping out to ‘spread the gospel’ makes for great incentive to learn. I was reading Romans 15 today. The concepts that I read have never seemed like valuable instruction to me the way they did this morning. I’m sure that we don’t have to get a Passport & Visa to spice up our worship time, but the rewards are significant.

Here’s Carol…, Love, Steve

It is simply another world here! You just can’t imagine it until you actually see it. I’m amazed at the number of street venders; everywhere someone is standing holding goods for sale, either in their arms, on their heads, in a wheelbarrow, or on a small table with an umbrella for a cover.

More answers to prayer:

While driving up to Sacramento with “The Box” strapped tightly to a small trailer behind our vehicle, one of the straps came off. We did not know this until we stopped at a rest stop half way to Sacramento. Thankfully, the strap with two heavy hooks and a heavy ratchet did not fly off into another car. One hook caught in a loop of another strap and the other hook gouged into the cardboard of “The Box.” Part of the strap was even underneath a fender near a trailer tire. We and others behind us were spared possible catastrophe. We were very blessed! Later at the Sacramento airport—as soon as we carried “The Box” to the check-in desk, the baggage check-in clerks came over and started measuring it. There was quite a lengthy and continued discussion as to whether “The Box” would even fit into the plane we were flying. We had checked with both airlines about maximum size and had thought we were within all limits. We silently prayed and gave it to God. If we were to have this solar panel, God would have to intervene. “The Box” fit into the plane! Even now, we do not know if we will have the use of this solar panel as Steve told you above. It, along with a smaller panel, would provide us with a nice source of energy to charge our phone and computers. But we know God is in control, and He will protect it for us if we are to use it.

It was just amazing today finding all our other pieces of luggage, all nicely marked with bright orange yarn. (Thanks, Virginia!) Then, equally amazing, to walk right through Customs without one bag being opened and not paying one dollar! We are very, very blessed! Thanks be to God! Another answer to prayer—we made several trips in the car with our host without even one scratch! You would know this is quite amazing if you saw the traffic—sometimes there are five lanes of traffic on a road you would normally think would hold two lanes!

We are missing each of you, but it is very exciting and interesting to be here! Our hosts are so kind & thoughtful! Good cooks, too. We will not be losing any weight here in the big city!

Our host thought we should meet the Conference President while we were here in Douala—right after leaving the airport. I’m afraid we weren’t quite presentable--I felt bleary-eyed and like I had just been tossed out of damp clothes hamper. Fortunately the Conf. President was very kind and welcoming. He stated our mutual feelings that we will all be working together for the same goal—to prepare others for Christ’s soon return.

School curriculum—We found out that we are required to teach French in our school! Well, that will help us learn it, too! Our poor students, learning French with a Californian English accent!

House details—We learned that our new home in Lassin consists of five rooms, two of which have concrete floors. The other floors are dirt. The roof is made of gently sloping tin; that will be perfect for the solar panels to rest on.
We will have a next-door neighbor by the name of David Locks. He works for SIL translating the Bible into the local Noni dialect. He will be an encouragement for us and will help us as we settle in.

God bless all of you! Thank you so much for everything you have done to make this mission possible. Thank you, too, for your prayers. Every good result is definitely a gift from God! We just feel so privileged to be used here!
Love, Carol

Aug. 4, 2009

The countdown has begun! God has truly blessed in opening the way for our move to Cameroon. We have our tickets, passports, visas, immunizations, international driver’s licenses, medicines, and most of the other things we want to take. We leave Sunday, August 16.

God’s timing is incredible. One very recent evidence of this was last Sabbath. We decided to attend our old church in Meadow Vista since we were in the Sacramento area. What a surprise we had when we saw that Keith and Tammy Mosier were presenting the program that day! Keith and his parents and family have been working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the past two years. They have made wonderful progress in building a training facility for pastors/ bible workers/ church planters, and they have already had at least one training program for these church planters. We were very blessed. Keith gave us some invaluable advice regarding malaria treatment and other missionary info. Keith and Tammy will return to DRC this September. They are friends of Gary and Wendy Roberts, the mission pilot & his wife whom Steve visited in Chad this last winter.

We are busy packing things for storage here and for transporting to Cameroon. About three to four weeks ago we mailed 18 boxes of school supplies to Cameroon. They should be arriving over there soon.

It is still the rainy season over in Cameroon. We checked the current weather, and there has been almost solid cloud cover for several days. I wonder how our solar panel will do… We also found Lassin on Google Earth. It was quite exciting to actually see where this place is!!

Well, back to packing. Please pray even now as we finalize details and finish packing.

God is good!

Steve & Carol Rose