Hello everyone!
My
apologies for not updating sooner. Our house has been full of visiting
missionaries and our schedule has been CRAZY! In addition to that I had
another round with malaria and needless to say, I haven't quite been
myself lately. Thankfully, this time around, we caught the malaria quite
early and it wasn't anywhere close to being as bad as the last time. We
aren't
sure whether this was a relapse or a new infection. Either way, I'm
fairly certain it's over and for that, I am GRATEFUL! I will have lab
work done next week just to be sure but I'm not sleeping the day away
anymore and I can almost eat like a normal person again so we are
praising God!
Enough of that!
Our
home has been full of guests since August. There literally hasn't been a
day without at least one guest since August 29th. (and generally there
have been more than one) I have been playing musical bedrooms since
this started and it has been a blessing to have people around. The one
thing that has been made abundantly clear is that we need to start
looking for a place to rent as a guest house. We simply don't have space
for everyone who wants to come and that is a wonderful problem to have.
Our
days have been full with teaching at the school, home visits with
people who are sick and shut in, Prison Ministry, counseling sessions,
orphanage visits, hospital visits, teaching English classes and more! We
literally had to schedule a REST DAY on the calendar... it hasn't
happened yet, It's scheduled for November 30th! :-) We love being busy
and most of us are work-a- holics who are still learning to balance work
and rest. That is a SERIOUS prayer request. Pray for balance and that
we rest well. The work is always here and the needs overwhelm us at
times. It's difficult to say no to someone when you are aware of genuine
need but at the same time, we have to take care of ourselves so that we
can adequately do what we are called to do. This is difficult for us at
best.
I
am delighted to let you know that I will be visiting America in the
next few weeks! When airline miles didn't work, my wonderful Rozetta
Church family donated the money for me to come visit for a short time!
To all of my Rozetta family who may be reading this, THANK YOU, THANK
YOU, THANK YOU again! You all completely shocked me! I will be in the
States from mid December through Jan 21st.
While
this visit was mainly to get some medical check ups and some much
needed rest, I will be making some whirlwind visits to churches and
hopefully I'll get to squeeze some time in with my family. :-) I'll be
updating you all as to what has happened in the last year and share some
of our goals for next year.
Several
people
have been asking what they can start collecting for donations and I
have sent out lists. Because of limited space and weight with what we
can bring back on the plane, I am asking that you give Sam's/Wal Mart
gift cards, Amazon gift cards, donate to my support account or our newly
created Medical Scholarship or School Sponsorship funds. The last time I
was in America you all gave so generously with items that we needed I
was overwhelmed with joy. I discovered that because my travel schedule
is sooooooooo busy, we spent a lot of money transporting those things
from place to place because you have to pay for luggage on domestic
flights. If we can order online and ship to my church or I can simply
pick up the items to pack and carry them ONCE, we are better stewards of
the finances God is providing for us. This is NOT to say that I won't
accept actual items. We just don't want to end up paying more to schlep
things around than they are worth... I
don't think God is pleased with that. Sam's and Wal-Mart gift cards
also help with fuel for the people who are driving me all around America
while I'm there!
The
other thing I realize is that most of my financial support is used to
pay for medical bills and school fees... There is a huge need for both
of these here. Sometimes this can put us in some interesting situations
financially, so the need to raise specific money to meet these needs is
wise. My current monthly support (actually coming in) isn't enough to
meet all of my "regular needs"
but God is faithful and one time gifts always come when they are
needed. I want to do a better job with planning and continuing to help
others so changes need to be made. If you are interested in knowing
more, please message me and I will let you know and I will also be
talking about this during my visit home.
As
we are looking at ways to provide income for the people we work with
and help the ministry to become more self-sustainable, we are actively
pursuing opening a restaurant in Cameroon. God has opened some
interesting doors that I'll
discuss with you later but if any of you have experience with running a
restaurant and/or helping young people write business plans, I could
certainly use your help. Please email for details. I have a LOT of
questions and I need a LOT of help. We also need help with non profit
law and taxation so if any of you have expertise or know someone who
might donate their time to help, I would appreciate the connections.
Exciting
things are happening in Cameroon and around the world! I'm so grateful
to be a part of God changing lives. Thank you for
your help as I take this journey. If you are a giver, prayer warrior or
simply one who "loves on me" by sending encouraging emails I am
grateful for your love and support!
I
can't wait to see many of you and hug your necks! My last request is
that in my quest to take back my health, I am endeavoring to eat as
healthy as possible... If I'm visiting you, please help me out by not
being offended when I want to try to stick to eating my fruits, veggies,
and high quality protein! I know it's going to be holiday time and
there will be lots of yumminess
around but I don't want to go back to Cameroon sick, nor do I want to
have sick days while I'm in America!
