Email from Eric - Update on Cameroon

Good morning. Well we have reached our final day here in Cameroon. First things first. Tim is doing much better! Praise God. He’s eating better and looking better every hour. He did say he was anxious to get to Chicago and our layover so he can have pizza! J We wish we could have sent more updates and pictures but I was lucky even to have communication with Shelly and she was an hour away! There were times I couldn’t even call or text just to ask questions. So please accept our apologies for not writing more. It’s amazing how the weather has changed in the last two days. The wind from the Sahara has died down and the sun in shining through more and boy is it HOT! We were truly blessed with cooler weather these last two weeks. As of the middle of the week, Gaston’s mason crew showed up and starting fixing certain things and laying blocks for the walls. These guys are good at what they do and made significant progress in 4 days and Gaston was greatly encouraged. It’s was interesting as well to see the dynamics of the site change with the addition on 4 workers. Everyone worked very well together and there was some bonding in the short time we worked with them. When Gaston and Shelly moved here in 2011 they filled a shipping container with many power tools, a generator and other gadgets you can’t get here. When the mason crew got to the site and saw them they said this place was “special” and we were able to shave time off their job as well because we could measure and cut the boards so much more quickly than with a dull hand saw. We also had the pleasure of meeting Papa and Mama. They are the couple who sold the land to Gaston and Shelly. They are both in their 80’s and he stopped over to the job site Wednesday after he heard that white people were doing construction there. He welcomed us with open arms and praised God that we were there to help our friend Gaston. The fact we left our homes and family to come help really amazed him. We also were invited to his house the next morning to meet his wife. Once we got there we were seated in the “reception area” and Gaston played the interpreter. We exchanged pleasantries and questions for about 15 minutes and then left. He also told us we were the first white people to visit his home. We were also blessed to have a great hotel to stay at. Mama Jackie, her sister Ruth and one person staff Therese made our stay VERY enjoyable. There was a definite language barrier and we learned quickly that changing the routine messed up everything. With that being said, Ruth prepared all Cameroonian meals the whole time and they were awesome. We exchanged questions and answers about our families, took pictures and they even made us shirts to take home! And they fit!!! J Our relationships with Ruffin and Sylvestre continued to grow as well. They learned so many new things from Drew and Jon that will help them find jobs. They will continue to be students of Gaston’s and help with building the house. There is much more to say but I simply don’t have time right now. We are looking forward to coming home and seeing loved ones (but not the flights!). Please pray for continued healing for Tim, the Kingue’s ministry, the men working at the site and our travels home. Thank you all for your support and continued prayers. Eric, Jon, Drew and Tim

Prayers for Tim

The guys will be heading home in about 48 hours.  We received an email from Shelly after their day of work Thursday, rather than reword it I will just copy the email and ask for prayer.  Thank you!

I went out to the site today and to the hotel where the guys are staying…………..they all seem to be doing well, except for Tim.  He was not feeling well yesterday and is still not better.  He is quite vague….needed to pull teeth to get any information.
To me it sounds like the flu or something like that (fever, chills, dizziness at times; fatigue; pale color and nausea).  While we were there for lunch he did drink a Sprite and ate half a banana.  He was hoping to eat something tonight, but we will see.

PLEASE pray for Tim, for the Lord to heal him and to give him the strength he needs to fly again Saturday night.  It is a long one, as you know! 

Tired Men

Hey, just wanted to send out a quick request to prayer for the guys.  Julie and I heard from Shelly today and she said they are all feeling really tired this week - probably from the sun since there is no cover/shade at the work site.  Pray for Julie and I too - we are missing our men.   The updates I have shared on this blog are all we have heard also... no phone and limited internet.  Praying that they finish the week strong!

Week One Update

We finally got an update from the guys!  Here is the email of the week so far sent by Eric:  We have had great weather here in Yaounde'.  It's been hot but not too hot.  There is a southerly wind  from the Sahara that has left dust in the air that shades the sun a bit but it's still there.  At night it's actually pretty cool out.  We haven't turned on the air conditioning.  We are staying at a hotel about 5 miles from the Kingue's new home/land.  It's a small place that has 5 rooms and they serve food.  The rooms are cozy and we each have our own bathroom.  With a few exceptions we've been eating breakfast, lunch and dinner there.  The food has been wonderful, real Cameroonian food.  There was maybe one dish that we didn't care for but it wasn't bad.

None of the staff speak English, only French, and that makes things interesting.  Like getting your change for something a day later.  I think they like having us there and as of Saturday night we have no complaints.

The progress on the house is very encouraging.  We are working with 5 Cameroonian men, 2 of which are students of Gaston.  WE have been prepping rooms for concrete pours for the floors, building a work bench so Gaston can have a "command center" in his garage.  Jon and Drew have taken on the job of training Gaston's 2 students with their respective fields - carpentry and concrete.  They have formed a pretty solid bond.  We will share more later, but it's pretty awesome to see.  God is great.

We have poured two rooms and a bathroom.  We also did a number of plumbing jobs for the different areas of the house.  Jon and Tim have done a number of projects to help Gaston be more organized and prep things for future projects that Gaston will be taking as he finishes the house.

We also had a visit from Peg Seitz at dinner tonight (Saturday night).  Shelly made pizza with REAL mozzarella, just for Drew!  It was great to see Peg after a couple of years, she will be heading stateside on Tuesday.  She sends her love to all the folks that she knows.  Please pray for her and her upcoming procedures.

We  continue to bond as a team and have had many laughs.  We have also had some great conversations around scripture and where we are at in our walk with the Lord.  

Please continue to pray for our health, team unity, flexibility, Shelly and Gaston, the Cameroonian men we are working with and lastly (selfishly) - my bag.  While I am grateful that Drew has extra underwear, I'd like to wear my own. (hehe)

With love from Yaounde',   The Kingues, Eric, Tim, Drew and Jon.

Pizza at Kingue's house with Peg Seitz.... Eric is behind the camera.

Drew and Rufus finishing the floor

Jon with one of Gaston's students

At the work site

Jon, Drew, Gaston, Tim and Shelly

Still waiting for luggage...

I don't know much but I do know that Eric is still waiting for his suitcase that has most of his clothes... Please pray that it comes today!  Thanks.

And, I've attached a picture of the house project before arrival.

They Have Arrived

Wow - the team has had an eventful time.  After waiting almost 12 hours in Paris they finally were able to take off for Cameroon at 11pm last night (France time).  Sadly they didn't know how long they were to wait and Paris was rather foggy so they did not get to play tourist while they waited - that would have been nice.  Originally the plane was to arrive in Yaounde' Monday night at 830pm, then at 6am this morning (which is Tuesday in Cameroon).  Apparently there was fog in Cameroon too and they were not able to land.  They flew around for a while and then landed in Doula for 2 hours before flying off to Yaounde' again, finally arriving at 1045am Tuesday.  Only one bag was lost and I received an email about that bag this morning... it's on it's way.  Somehow 12 hours did not allow enough time to get that bag onto the plane or maybe it didn't pass inspection with all the weird tools and supplies.

*Pray for the guys to get some much needed rest after this long couple of days traveling.

*Pray for the money that we had wired to the Kingues last week to be released to them - they are wanting the receipt number and much more information then should be necessary.... if we would have known this we probably would have had them carry the cash to them (live and learn).

*Pray that the last piece of luggage arrives soon.

Here is a picture of the boys (Nathaniel and Jonathan) on the land where the team will be building.

Delay

No picture on this post but prayers are appreciated.  I guess there is a problem with the tower at the Cameroon airport and they are not accepting flights until it is fixed.  12 hour delay for the team waiting it out in Paris.  This is just one more obstacle getting in their way of the job they are looking forward to - there have been a few of them since this trip was in the beginning stages.  Mission trips are character building in many ways, learning to be flexible is perhaps the most important quality a person can strive for if they want to get the most out of their time.  I'm praying that they get some rest as they wait in the airport... or maybe get to see a few sights in Paris while they are there.