Dear Friends and Family,
We are so happy to share with you that our school, the Adventist Primary School of Lassin, is successfully beginning its third week of school! Two classrooms are full past capacity at 21 students each, the other two classrooms have 17 and 18 students each, making a total of approx. 80 students. We were able to offer five grades this year (first through five).
The students are really enjoying their classes, and they are endearing themselves to their teachers also.
For each classroom, we have an imported teacher and a local teacher. This combination seems to work very well for translation and general load sharing. Praise God! When we left Lassin last May, we only knew of three teachers (myself, Naphtali, and Naphtali's wife), and we were praying for more. When we visited the Gospel Ministries office in May, we met two Southern Adventist University students (Jessica and Kimberly) who wanted to come help. We tried to give them an accurate picture of the Lassin setting, but they tell us it would have been impossible to really describe in words or pictures how it really is! Then during the summer, a local Adventist teacher from the nearby town of Din applied; Vivian is a real sweetheart and true-hearted Christian lady. Then we were placed into contact with a gal from Romania who wanted to come help also; Adela is doing a great job teaching third and fourth grades. Her friend Adelin came too, and he is a great general helper. So that meant we needed just one more local teacher.
Both Steve and I thought of asking our friend Divine, but we knew he was busy keeping his store. When we returned here, we found out he was available and very willing! What a blessing! He is a true Christian and such a loyal friend.
Now, for some neat, exciting stories about our students. All but two of our previous students have returned. One student moved away, and we are not sure why the other has not returned although we have seen him several times and he says he wants to come back. We were very excited to see Juleyatu (our Muslim girl) return, and then we were very excited to see her brother Abulai come also. He attended last year for a few days and then left to attend the newly started Islamic school in Lassin. He always wears a bright smile and seems truly happy to be back! One of the Muslim leaders in town told Steve a few days ago that he was sending all the Muslim students to our school! The next day a Muslim lady said she was going to send two Grade 1 children on Monday! We are happy to be making friends in that community.
Here's another interesting story about a Grade 1 student by the name of Godswill. I met his mother last year on the path to school. She was selling cassava rolled in banana leaves, quite a nice treat. I purchased several that day. The next day she came to our quarter and "demanded" that I buy more cassava from her. Well, I didn't need it, so I politely refused.
She said more about me not buying from her. I was quite shocked and didn't know quite what to make of this. Anyway, we did have some short but pleasant interactions after that time, and now she is sending her son to our school! I am just so happy I did not grumble back at her! It is possible that she was just good-naturedly pushing for a sale. Sometimes the people seem more abrupt than they mean-does that make sense? She is very happy that her son is attending our school, and we are happy he is there.
Another student who is in the 2nd Grade, I believe, began attending our school this year, but after a couple days was physically removed by an aunt to another town to attend another school. Somehow, though, by the grace of God, the child is back at our school!
Keep praying for our school, each student, and each teacher. God is working, but the devil tries to hinder this great work.
Carol
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Sept 14, 10
Dear family & friends,
The Lassin group is coming to grips with the new setting and doing pretty well. We all have decided to stay; perhaps the purchase of a real, indoor toilet had something to do with it. The cement is curing even as I write.
Actually, I'm sure that God worked it out in a variety of ways. There was an email from Kim's pastor brother that encouraged her greatly. Adela and Adelin have had their adjusting to do too. Adi' has been losing weight and has not taken easily to the food available here. He is a pretty good cook and has been able to fill his belly and be happy lately. He is a big help too. Yesterday, we carried 3 chalk boards to the school together; I painted them with special paint Sunday. Now each classroom has a board.
The school is growing; class 1 has 17, class 2 has 19, class 3 & 4 have 20, class 5 has 17 or 18.
Of these, at least 4 are from our Muslim neighbors.
My project- Naphtali and I have recorded the sound track for 1/3 of lesson one of the New Beginnings series. I have used an AT-2020 mike (thanks Brandon Ruiz), Audacity 1.3 beta sound recording software (really nice, thanks Calvin Hartman), and the Corel Video Studio Pro X3 video production software. I am so excited- Bible lessons in the Nooni language! Also, Gregory begins his evangelism training tonight.
Adventures- Last Friday, I took Divine, Kim, and Jessica, and our land lady'
s daughter to Kumbo for a routine trip for supplies. We loaded the little red Toyota, chalk boards atop, and headed home after a long day of shopping, internetting, and international calling. On the way home, about 7 km from Kumbo, the little car took a break. No coaxing or threatening helped. God provided a way out. I had the phone number of a good auto repairman in my cell phone. He arrived by taxi, diagnosed the problem as a bad ignition condenser, got us a ride to a hotel, and arrived Sabbath morning by 11 AM to complete the job. The little red car purred over the hills again. Next time, I'll pack spare food and water. Glad for the good charge on the phones.
Are we in Good Hands? You betcha. Do we still need your prayers? Yup!
Thanks!
Thanks for the SMS notes. We love them.
One last thing, I still have not heard from Christina. Babi, can you help?
Thanks for your help Dad & Mom. Way to go Eric- clep! JB glad ur enjoying teaching! GP&JP, you guys! Smith group- greetings. Calvin, tnx 4 note.
Steve & Carol
Dear family & friends,
The Lassin group is coming to grips with the new setting and doing pretty well. We all have decided to stay; perhaps the purchase of a real, indoor toilet had something to do with it. The cement is curing even as I write.
Actually, I'm sure that God worked it out in a variety of ways. There was an email from Kim's pastor brother that encouraged her greatly. Adela and Adelin have had their adjusting to do too. Adi' has been losing weight and has not taken easily to the food available here. He is a pretty good cook and has been able to fill his belly and be happy lately. He is a big help too. Yesterday, we carried 3 chalk boards to the school together; I painted them with special paint Sunday. Now each classroom has a board.
The school is growing; class 1 has 17, class 2 has 19, class 3 & 4 have 20, class 5 has 17 or 18.
Of these, at least 4 are from our Muslim neighbors.
My project- Naphtali and I have recorded the sound track for 1/3 of lesson one of the New Beginnings series. I have used an AT-2020 mike (thanks Brandon Ruiz), Audacity 1.3 beta sound recording software (really nice, thanks Calvin Hartman), and the Corel Video Studio Pro X3 video production software. I am so excited- Bible lessons in the Nooni language! Also, Gregory begins his evangelism training tonight.
Adventures- Last Friday, I took Divine, Kim, and Jessica, and our land lady'
s daughter to Kumbo for a routine trip for supplies. We loaded the little red Toyota, chalk boards atop, and headed home after a long day of shopping, internetting, and international calling. On the way home, about 7 km from Kumbo, the little car took a break. No coaxing or threatening helped. God provided a way out. I had the phone number of a good auto repairman in my cell phone. He arrived by taxi, diagnosed the problem as a bad ignition condenser, got us a ride to a hotel, and arrived Sabbath morning by 11 AM to complete the job. The little red car purred over the hills again. Next time, I'll pack spare food and water. Glad for the good charge on the phones.
Are we in Good Hands? You betcha. Do we still need your prayers? Yup!
Thanks!
Thanks for the SMS notes. We love them.
One last thing, I still have not heard from Christina. Babi, can you help?
Thanks for your help Dad & Mom. Way to go Eric- clep! JB glad ur enjoying teaching! GP&JP, you guys! Smith group- greetings. Calvin, tnx 4 note.
Steve & Carol
Friday, September 10, 2010
Greetings from the Lassin Cameroon group,
There are two ways to contact us, both are free for us.
1. By sending text messages to our sat' phone. We check it daily.
2. By calling our cell phone. This requires a pre-arranged call date and time. We do not have cell phone reception at our house. You can send a text message to our sat' phone that specifies a date and time and we will confirm the request via text or email.
To send sat' phone texts:
Send up to 150 characters from a cell phone or your email to:
881631672129@msg.iridium.com
There are two ways to contact us, both are free for us.
1. By sending text messages to our sat' phone. We check it daily.
2. By calling our cell phone. This requires a pre-arranged call date and time. We do not have cell phone reception at our house. You can send a text message to our sat' phone that specifies a date and time and we will confirm the request via text or email.
To send sat' phone texts:
Send up to 150 characters from a cell phone or your email to:
881631672129@msg.iridium.com
Sept 8, 10
Dear friends & family,
Today is Wednesday, our first week in Lassin is behind us. Our travels went well, but we probably have commercial plane and bus rides out of our systems. The last leg of our trip was by Lassin taxis, but we each had a seat to ourselves. You should have seen the trunks of those cars, they looked like Santa's sleigh held together with hand braided rope and rubber straps. We never had rain on our luggage or ourselves, we're very thankful.
We arrived in Lassin on Thursday evening, Sept 2. Our home was clean as can be, thanks to Divine's hard work. The batteries still had a full charge so I connected the lighting that night. Even though it has been cloudy with light rain at times each day, we have always had enough power for lights and accessories. Our 'big' dining room table has 7 chairs around it now. There is never a dull moment when we're all home!
What a group! We represent about 3 cultures within ourselves and live in a 4th. Each person contributes to the needs of the group but the work extends from morning to bedtime. How I love hearing the words, 'What can I do?'.
Our new teachers are managing the 3 mile (5km) walk to & from school each day. So far, the rain has not soaked us during our trek. However, right now it is raining really hard. It followed a huge strike of lightening and an extensive thunder roll.
Group introductions are in order:
From Romania, Adela and Adelin. Adela teaches 3rd and 4th grades, she is quiet and gentle and loves the children. She taught school at an orphanage in Africa last year. She speaks English and Spanish also.
Adelin helps with whatever project is at hand. He speaks Spanish as well as Romanian, but not too much English. He is quite bright and is learning quickly. He has an apartment close to us. It is across the path from the house that will become the home of the female volunteers upon its
completion- doors, indoor shower and flush toilet.
From Georgia, USA, we have Kimberly and her daughter Kataya. Kimberly teaches 5th grade. She has attended Southern Adventist University and is working on a masters in social work. What an energetic duo they are!
Also from Tennessee / Georgia, comes Jessica. She teaches 2nd grade. She has attended SAU also and is working toward an M.D. degree.
Each one brings strengths, energy and good ideas to the project. We, and the people of Lassin, are blessed to have each one here.
Culture shock. We have it, we all have it. It looks like each of us is adjusting steadily. Pray for us though. (We knew you were anyway. Thanks)
The school? Wow! On Monday morning we found all 4 rooms ready for class.
The floors had been cleaned, leveled, wetted, and pounded hard. Each room had a door hung with locks installed. Franklin's 45 new desks were in place. They are strong and beautiful. The light streams in through open windows and under the roof eves reflecting off the bottom of our open beam, silver corrugated metal roof. Each teacher has a table to teach behind or set stuff in & on. Soon they will have a front and doors to lock supplies in.
Students? Day 1 there were 36. Day 2 saw a couple classes double. The news is out that we are open and that there are new teachers from America and Europe. The town is a buzz with 'welcome' and questions about our trip.
We expect about 80 children or so.
Church? Sabbath, Divine had the lesson, and Charles (our country host who lives in Douala) had the sermon. We sang a lot and had so many children that we had to bring a bench in from our landlord.
Some have asked what I do while the ladies teach. Well, mostly I sit here and write emails, enjoy the air conditioning, attend the washer and dryer, load & unload the dish washer, and take the dog to the groomer. Do I detect a hint of minty sarcasm? Okay, I wrap up loose ends around the house, and the school. Presently, I'm preparing videos for a evangelism class that will begin next week. We plan to record the sound tracks for the New Beginnings series in Noone (local dialect) and Pigeon (Local English dialect). Honestly, I must pray for time to do these tasks because just staying alive takes a whole lot more time this year.
We would love to 'hear' from you via text messages to our Iridium phone.
Use Iridium.com and send a free text (free to you and to us) to our phone number 8816 316 72129. Send as many as you like. Number them, and include your name or initials in each message.
P.S. keep Kimberly in your prayers. She is concerned about many issues and has requested to serve in a more developed part of Cameroon.
P.S.S. We continue to look for a couple to join us. We need new leadership to take this project forward next year. Carol & I are hoping to use our abilities in aviation and education next year.
Love and greetings from all,
Steve (& Carol) Rose
Dear friends & family,
Today is Wednesday, our first week in Lassin is behind us. Our travels went well, but we probably have commercial plane and bus rides out of our systems. The last leg of our trip was by Lassin taxis, but we each had a seat to ourselves. You should have seen the trunks of those cars, they looked like Santa's sleigh held together with hand braided rope and rubber straps. We never had rain on our luggage or ourselves, we're very thankful.
We arrived in Lassin on Thursday evening, Sept 2. Our home was clean as can be, thanks to Divine's hard work. The batteries still had a full charge so I connected the lighting that night. Even though it has been cloudy with light rain at times each day, we have always had enough power for lights and accessories. Our 'big' dining room table has 7 chairs around it now. There is never a dull moment when we're all home!
What a group! We represent about 3 cultures within ourselves and live in a 4th. Each person contributes to the needs of the group but the work extends from morning to bedtime. How I love hearing the words, 'What can I do?'.
Our new teachers are managing the 3 mile (5km) walk to & from school each day. So far, the rain has not soaked us during our trek. However, right now it is raining really hard. It followed a huge strike of lightening and an extensive thunder roll.
Group introductions are in order:
From Romania, Adela and Adelin. Adela teaches 3rd and 4th grades, she is quiet and gentle and loves the children. She taught school at an orphanage in Africa last year. She speaks English and Spanish also.
Adelin helps with whatever project is at hand. He speaks Spanish as well as Romanian, but not too much English. He is quite bright and is learning quickly. He has an apartment close to us. It is across the path from the house that will become the home of the female volunteers upon its
completion- doors, indoor shower and flush toilet.
From Georgia, USA, we have Kimberly and her daughter Kataya. Kimberly teaches 5th grade. She has attended Southern Adventist University and is working on a masters in social work. What an energetic duo they are!
Also from Tennessee / Georgia, comes Jessica. She teaches 2nd grade. She has attended SAU also and is working toward an M.D. degree.
Each one brings strengths, energy and good ideas to the project. We, and the people of Lassin, are blessed to have each one here.
Culture shock. We have it, we all have it. It looks like each of us is adjusting steadily. Pray for us though. (We knew you were anyway. Thanks)
The school? Wow! On Monday morning we found all 4 rooms ready for class.
The floors had been cleaned, leveled, wetted, and pounded hard. Each room had a door hung with locks installed. Franklin's 45 new desks were in place. They are strong and beautiful. The light streams in through open windows and under the roof eves reflecting off the bottom of our open beam, silver corrugated metal roof. Each teacher has a table to teach behind or set stuff in & on. Soon they will have a front and doors to lock supplies in.
Students? Day 1 there were 36. Day 2 saw a couple classes double. The news is out that we are open and that there are new teachers from America and Europe. The town is a buzz with 'welcome' and questions about our trip.
We expect about 80 children or so.
Church? Sabbath, Divine had the lesson, and Charles (our country host who lives in Douala) had the sermon. We sang a lot and had so many children that we had to bring a bench in from our landlord.
Some have asked what I do while the ladies teach. Well, mostly I sit here and write emails, enjoy the air conditioning, attend the washer and dryer, load & unload the dish washer, and take the dog to the groomer. Do I detect a hint of minty sarcasm? Okay, I wrap up loose ends around the house, and the school. Presently, I'm preparing videos for a evangelism class that will begin next week. We plan to record the sound tracks for the New Beginnings series in Noone (local dialect) and Pigeon (Local English dialect). Honestly, I must pray for time to do these tasks because just staying alive takes a whole lot more time this year.
We would love to 'hear' from you via text messages to our Iridium phone.
Use Iridium.com and send a free text (free to you and to us) to our phone number 8816 316 72129. Send as many as you like. Number them, and include your name or initials in each message.
P.S. keep Kimberly in your prayers. She is concerned about many issues and has requested to serve in a more developed part of Cameroon.
P.S.S. We continue to look for a couple to join us. We need new leadership to take this project forward next year. Carol & I are hoping to use our abilities in aviation and education next year.
Love and greetings from all,
Steve (& Carol) Rose
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