News

There are some new happenings I wanted to fill everyone in on.

I'll start with the sad news. I found out just tonight that Karl Grebe, the man I stayed with in Bamenda and who was the translator in Kumbo, died recently. He was truly an amazing man. He had been in Cameroon for over 40 years and they were almost finished translating the Old Testament when I was there. I don't know if they finished before he died or not. They are also not sure how he died, so please pray that it was natural causes and not something else. The translators in Cameroon have been dealing with a lot lately, so if his death wasn't natural... I'm not sure what would happen, but I know it would dishearten the translators.

Kumbo was the first city I stayed in, where I worked at the VBS and drove around to all the different literacy class. Kumbo holds the fondest memories for me, besides Yaounde, and Karl was a part of that. He was very strong in his faith and committed to his work...

In other news, I turned down a chance to go back to Africa, this time Nigeria, in order to go on a team with Tyndale to Alaska working with Native American high schoolers. It should be exciting, but with the recent news, my heart really longs for Africa right now.

Please keep CABTAL, Kumbo (the place where Karl worked), and everyone there who knew him in your prayers. I am sure they are struggling right now.

Karima's Notes on Making Recording in Villages

I realized I hadn't written anything about Tunen, and I had these notes already typed up. I typed them out right after Tunen, when I was in Younde, so I wrote a lot of them with the Tunen team in mind. So here are my findings. I wrote this like I was teaching someone what to do, because they wanted me to write something for others who came. I ended up not giving it to them, by the way, if you're freaking out about my informality.

   1.       Try not to go during the harvest season. No one will be on time and they will always want to be on their farms rather than working with you. Unless you have a really forceful leader among them who makes the others come in and work with you.

   2.       If there is a weird noise in the background of the recordings but there wasn’t a car driving by, try unplugging your computer. That happened to me and I had to do all the recordings on battery power.

   3.       Make sure you reiterate that the readers should be practicing their chapters. And if they read for you and you feel like they haven’t practiced, it is easier to tell them to keep practicing and come back than to fix the same mistake on the recording five times.

   4.       Edit the recordings with a native speaker on hand. Even if you can read their language, you can’t speak it. Some of the Bantu languages have tones, and tones are hard to hear/read when you aren’t native.

a.       If the language has tones, prepare yourself to re-record a single word several times. If the readers are picky, you could basically record the whole chapter over again with all the words they want to redo. It may sound the same to you, but it is not to them. If you get stressed out with having to record something every five seconds, I suggest you could go take a walk. Or get something to eat. Just try not to snap at them, because these really are important things they are correcting and you’ll feel really bad later, when you’ve come to your senses.

   5.       At the very start, ask if anyone knows how to use Audacity and if it is on any of the computers there. If someone does then they will be the greatest boon on the whole team. I don’t care if they have ten farms to work at; they are staying by your side. Give them some files to edit while you edit others. Once you get a feel for how fast each of you works, you can split the files up more evenly. Make sure to retrieve the files from their computer once you finish.

   6.       If you are more attentive than me and do not want to goof off while they are recording, I suggest you keep some paper close at hand along with a copy of the words. This is what I did at first, but then I started editing with the team and found it to be superfluous. But, if you want to, I would right down the time on the recording when a mistake was made. That way, I could go through and take out most of the mistakes before listening to the whole thing. Keep in mind, though, that if you do this you’ll have to work from the end to the beginning or else all the times will be off after you fix the first mistake.

a.       That being said, I worked out a system which I consider much better than this. First I went through and took out all the spaces (the pauses) and extra noise (like the birds) I could easily notice. Then I went through with the words in front of me (and preferably with a native speaker beside me) and took out the mistakes (when people stumbled or reread a sentence). My last step was to listen through again. If I could follow along easily and there weren’t any mistakes, then I exported it as a wav file and considered it finished. Yay!

   7.       Birds, children, and cars are your enemy. Your mortal enemies. If you feel like it is too loud, don’t be afraid to stop the reader. It’s so much easier to wait for the car to drive by, or go scare away the birds/children than to take out all their noises. I mean, no one minds a few birds in their recording and children far off aren’t a problem, but a bird in the bush or someone yelling right outside the window? Those are problems. And cars are always a problem. If you can hear them then the microphone is picking them up. You’ll have to experiment and see how sensitive your mic is, but know that you will get other noises in there so it is best to try and minimize what you can.

   8.   Try not to have an audience. In one village all the readers sat behind me while the person who was recording was reading. And they corrected the mistakes. All of them. I have so much audio of people speaking who are not the readers. I’m not going to lie, it was hilarious, but besides being a hassle to take out later, I think it made the readers more nervous than they already were. This was a group where no one would sit in front of the mic unless they were recording, even if it wasn’t on. And it was really odd because when they were practicing they sounded good, but when they came to record they suddenly stumbled over every other word. I really think they were nervous.

   9.   So try to make them relax. It is actually not a big deal.

   10.   Make a schedule. Line out a schedule the very first morning. I didn’t always do this, and that sometimes created problems. It is best if everyone has a time to come in and record and everyone has a time to come and help you edit. And you don’t have to do all the recordings before you edit. You could spend five hours with one person one day and never see him again the rest of the time, but his two chapters will be completely finished.

   11.   Get to know your team. If all you do is work, work, work, you’ll get finished, but what have you really done? Have you made any friends? Do you have any fun stories to tell? Can you name the reader just by listening to his voice because you listened to the recording so often or because you hung out and talked with him? I did not do enough of this and I regret it.

   12.   Do not let them sit back from the mic. Pick it up and hold it to their mouth if you have to. You may have a fluent reader, but they are sitting five feet from the mic. That’s ridiculous. The reader should sit right in front of the mic. The closer they are to the mic, the clearer and the stronger they speak, the better the recording will be. If they don’t do those things… I hope you know how to use the effects on audacity because you’re going to need them. That being said, you should know how to use amplify at least.

a.       Also, with amplify, sometimes just one section needs to be amplified. Totally possible, but I hope you knew that. If not, you may want to consider a little more training in audacity before you start your work.

   13.   If you have a cold, show the reader how to press the ‘record’ and ‘stop’ button and go sit in another room. You are going to cough, you are going to sneeze, you are going to sniff, and the reader will just keep talking. No one wants to listen to your sniffles when they are listening to the recording and, my word!, it is hard to take them out.

   14.   With each new reader, tell them the basic points. Sometimes I only told the first few people and figured that the others had told the others – I was wrong.

a.       Read slowly. It is easier to take out pauses than someone stumbling over a word fifty times. (“bo, bo , bo, bo, bo’o” is a hassle. "……………………………….. Bo’o” is simple.)

b.      If you do make a mistake, go back and read the last few words. (It is easier to fix “Yesobega’awen…..Yesobega’avewene” than “Yesobega’awen….vewenela.” I don’t know if this makes sense… If not, you’ll figure out soon what I mean.)

c.       If you hear a car or motorbike drive by, please stop and wait for it to leave before continuing.

   15.  It doesn’t matter in what order you record chapters. Each chapter is a new track on the CD, so they all have to be recorded separately, anyway. You could go backwards for all it matters. Make sure the readers know that the order doesn’t matter or else you may have people trying to work out complicated schedules so you can record in order.

   16.   If you are working with a mother of a baby, make sure the baby is out of the room and she has practiced. Babies are temperamental and she is only going to be able to be away from it for so long if it is a tiny baby. Don’t get me wrong. Babies are adorable and so much fun to have around, but they make noise and they give the mother limited time to do recordings. So she’s one person who is going to have to work fast. Don’t tell her to work fast, in case she becomes flustered, but do tell her it is better if she has read through the chapter multiple times and knows it almost by heart. In my opinion this applies to everyone, but to mothers it is especially crucial.

  And those are my notes. The ones about re-recording the same one syllable word fifty times... That, specifically, is about Tunen. I worked with a bunch of old men - very fluent readers and Godly men - but so nit-picky. I almost walked out on them. But I also hadn't eaten in probably 8 hours.

I I finished my chapters, by the way! All my work for my internship is finished and I mailed it off yesterday! Yay! I have one more post planned because I do want to talk a little bit more about Tunen and then I will share what I think God has worked in me while I was there. And that's it. I've been home for 22 days now. I should really wrap up my blog.

Pictures!

I tried to mostly include things I talked about. I thought about going through my old posts and putting pictures up where I talked about things, but decided this was easier for me and for you, dear reader, because it means you don't have to look through all my old posts and I don't have to, either. The pictures go in order. I start in Bamenda, then Kumbo, then Bamenda, then Pinyin, then Awing, then Bamenda again, the Babanki, then Tunen, and finally Yaounde.

This was my very first view of Cameroon. I could look out my window and see all of Bamenda. If this is just a view from a guesthouse/convent/hospital, can you start to imagine how beautiful Cameroon really is?

This is the dormitory room I was moved to when I was kicked out of Little House, in Kumbo. Okay, it was nicer than that. They moved me out because someone else was coming in for longer than me.

This is me cooking by lamplight. I don't remember if I wrote about it, but it happened enough that I should have, if I didn't.

This is me cooking... with a big knife.

My poor feet after my hike to the market.

This is the mysterious attic. I never made it up there. But that just makes this another reason why I have to go back.

A flower outside Little House. It was beautiful.

See? Absolutely beautiful.

The man in the tan coat is Alfred and I really hoped I talked about him. He was basically forced to take me around to the literacy classes. He didn't really know what to do with me because I wasn't allowed to ride motorbikes, but we went to a few classes, when we could take a taxi. He's been with the Lamnso' translators since the beginning and worked with them to develop an alphabet.

This is one of the little boys at the VBS. Fuomo. He called me Mama.

Here's the whole group of the VBS kids.

this is Andy, the boy who held my hand and tried to scrap my freckles off.

You cannot really see him, but there is a lizard in this picture. This was my first of many lizards. This was my first night back in Bamenda after spending 10 days in Kumbo.

This is outside the guesthouse in Bamenda (I took this after I moved from the Grebes' and into the SIL guesthouse).

Here's the front of it.

Can you get a feel of how often the power goes out? And these are only about half of the candles that were there.

IT'S THE DOORBELL!

This is Courage, from the Pinyin village. He's the youngest.

This is Divine Favour. He's before Courage.

And Awa, with some neighbor kids. He's the middle child, but I didn't really meet the older two siblings.

This is Mama Vivian. She was fun.

And her pig.

Here's the whole team!

This is the sack of potatoes. Yep. It was huge. I left it with Papa Daniel in Tunen and I'm pretty sure there were still at least a quarter of them left.

This is Helen and one of her nieces.

I don't think I talked about this. This was my bed in Awing. I shared it with Helen, but it wasn't so bad.

Helen's family's chickens.

Me with my hair braided.

My Babanki team! They may have understood me the least, but they were such a blessing to me.

And not just because they gave me this basket. With a pineapple.

Pastor Gabe, the Babanki liaison. He kept asking me when I was coming back to record with his other villages. I told him I'd come back when God brought me back.

This is me with my hair half down.

And all the way down. Oh yeah. I'm styling.

This is the main room of the guesthouse. I stayed here a lot. I honestly came back to the guesthouse sometimes and felt like I was coming home.

It's a bag of water. That was fun.

My Tunen team! They were all old men... Papa Daniel is on the far left, next to me. I stayed with him. He's 63 and says he worked at the bank for 50 years.

I call it Tunen, but in reality that is just the language I was working with. The village itself is called Endikimiki. That's what the sign says, in Tunen.

This was my room at the Wycliffe Associates Annex. I called it "the Wycliffe place over there." until I realized when people said the Annex, this was what they were talking about. 

They have a laundry machine. And running hot water. And I had my own bathroom connected to my room. I almost threw a party and I was pretty sure I was in heaven.

This is me at the Pentecostal church, The Lighthouse Chapel. They danced. I clapped.

Nice try, Cameroon. I wish I had gotten a picture of their other soda, American Cola, but I never had it.

Me, Julie, and Mirjam! Those girls were so great. They ran all over creation with me on my last day to help me get some jewelry for souvenirs. And they took me out a lot while I was in Yaounde, especially Mirjam. They are great .

I took over the Annex commons room. I had a wonderful internet connection and it was comfy when I decided I should probably get back to work. Also, the kettle was right there. I probably drank 20 cups of tea in the 7 days I was there.

Me and Sandrine, right before I left for the airport! Sandrine was great, too. She's the one who worked everything out on the Cameroonian side so I could come to Cameroon in the first place!

Me at the airport. I wasn't nearly as scared as I look. The Yaounde airport has three gates and I think two planes fly in everyday. The Brussels plane and the Air France plane.

They tagged my backpack. I don't know why.

This was me when I got home. I was about five seconds away from falling on my bed and straight to sleep. This was thirty hours later, which is why I look.. not great.

And that is my Cameroon trip in a nutshell. A very small, condensed nutshell. I have a few more good pictures I might put up (none of elephants... another reason I have to go back to Cameroon) but that'll be later. I still have three weeks before school starts, so keep checking back weekly (or so) for updates on how I'm doing and maybe (hopefully) more pictures.

Home again, home again

After spending so much time just living out of one bag I feel like my room is so cluttered. There's so little space... It's odd coming from rooms with barely anything in them to coming back to my room of 19 years, where there is memorabilia of my life everywhere. This room is so close to my heart. This house is so dear to me. And yet... it feels almost wrong to be here now. I'm not working anymore. I can't walk to the office. I'm in America now.

It is nice to be home, yes, but I'm going to be a little cliched and say, if home is where the heart is, I think my real home is in Africa now. I know it is early in my life to say where I think I'll be in ten years, but it feels so right doing that. Of course, it also felt so right working at the Bowery a couple years ago and working at the Hispanic Day Camps over the years. Working for God, whatever I do, always feels like the right thing to do. I never have the same feeling when I'm doing other types of work. It's the feeling you get when everything in your world lines up and you KNOW you're doing something that God wants you to do. I do believe that everything you do is what God has planned for you and everything should be done for His glory, but doing something like this versus studying... It's not the same.

I don't want anyone to think now that I've come home I've forgotten the challenges I faced and that I did feel like the work I was doing wasn't good enough. I remember it. I wrote it all here, after all, so others could read it. I'm not romanticizing the time I had there. And it's not really that I loved the work so much I just have to go back and do some more. It's that I loved the people and the life and doing work for God that has a much greater impact than something I could do here. What is getting a college degree when you could be out in the world, helping people? It is the smart thing to do, is what, and it allows you to help more people in a better way in the end. At least, that is what I have to keep telling myself so I do not drop out and run off to India. Or Africa. Or Guatemala. Or anywhere that is not America or Canada. It just makes me so mad, so FRUSTRATED! that in the 6 weeks I was in Cameroon I did more for the furthering of God's kingdom than in the eight months I was at Tyndale. Or the 18 years I was in Georgia. And now you are thinking, "then get involved! Do things for the community. That is a mission field in and of itself." And it is. I do believe that. I also believe it is not my work.

Tyndale has lots of outreach opportunities. But nothing pulls on my heartstrings and makes me want to DO something like going to Africa did. Or the Bowery or Day Camps did. I sincerely applaud everyone who has a heart for their own community, I just feel like I am being pulled towards a different one. A people not my own, but who will be my own. If God has truly blessed me with a gift in languages then how could I possibly be meant to stay in America and Canada, the most uni-lingual countries on this whole planet?

I hope this explains a little how I am feeling right now. It is a little jumbled, but it is what is on my heart right now. I am specifically missing the Cameroonians and being in Africa, but I am also missing doing God's work! No matter what my parents may say, cleaning my room does not impact the future of God's kingdom. But that's about all I can do right now. I still have a few chapters to edit in Pinyin, and unlike when I was in Cameroon, I'm looking forward to doing that because it will feel like I am back in Cameroon.

Please keep praying for me. I'll probably put up a few more posts, but the time to write in my blog is winding down. I still have to post pictures, of course, and I still have a few more stories to tell about my time there, but by September, finished or not with my Cameroon remembrances, I'm going to have to stop because I'll be going back to school. School... and Canada.... I'm definitely going to need your prayers in the coming weeks.

I don't want to go home.

I really don't. I want to stay.

Everyone says, "you haven't been here long enough to really see Cameroon!" It's only been six weeks. But I still feel like I've been here forever. Okay, no I don't really. But I feel like I've been here a really long time. I was thinking back on Kumbo and I was like, "that was only a few weeks ago!" Even Tunen feels like an eternity away, but I was there this time last week!

It's completely crazy.

I had my debrief today with some of the workers at CABTAL. That was fun. They all laughed at my pick-pocket story. They think I'm really brave because I came on my own, went out into the villages without any orientation, and now I confronted a pick-pocket. They're going to think I'm crazy brave if I do anything else. Just wait. Next thing you know a spider will fall on me and I'll jump ten feet in the air. That'll fix it. I was told that a couple people called one of the ladies at CABTAL and told her that I really inspired them. They saw this young girl come and give up her holiday to work with the people and here they were retired and not doing anything. That man actually said he was going to start doing something and was going to talk to his kids, too. The lady said she talked to his daughter. I just wish they had come and talked to me....

I feel so torn up inside. On the one hand, I do want to go home. I want to see my family and friends. I want to be able to drive and I want to be able to go out without worrying about being harassed for being a white girl. I really want to go back to school. On the other hand, I want to be more of a help! I want to keep working. there are villages I haven't gone to yet and people who still need recordings. As much as I didn't always enjoy it, I feel like I just barely started the work. Four villages have recordings now. What about the others? I don't want to go home and sleep in a familiar bed if it means there is still more I can do here.

I don't know if this is a calling from God or just my OCD kicking in because I'm leaving something unfinished, but it feels so wrong to leave so soon. I've barely stayed in one place long enough to really make friends. I was only just now able to go shopping. There are so many reasons to stay and so many reasons to go... I'm going to call out my teachers right now. If y'all don't make classes interesting this fall, I may jump on a plane and come back.

Dear Lord, I just want to thank You for this time I've had here. I know I had challenges and struggles the whole time, but I've learned to keep perspective and to trust You. You are the one with the perfect plan to lead and guide me. You are the one who brings me through the challenges and helps me see the light at the end of the it all. you kept me safe during these last weeks. You keep me safe during my whole life. Thank You. Lord, you know my heart and know how I'm feeling right now. Please help me be at peace with going home, but please also bring me back one day. Let me continue helping with this work You've started here to spread Your word. Please let me be a part of helping to spread Your word to all the people. I know there is always work to be done in my own neighborhood, but this is so much more... me. Please Lord, bring me back one day. Amen.

I caught a pick-pocket.

That's right. I caught a pick-pocket trying to steal my phone out of my purse.

Today I went to this really big market with a couple of friends and we were squeezing through the crowds when all of a sudden I look down and see a hand in my purse and it comes out with my phone. So I grabbed the guys arm and said, "Give it back." He feigned innocence of course, so I said, "Give me back my phone." And he gave it back. Praise God.

Afterwards I was thinking, and I was like, oh my word. I just stopped a pick-pocket. I grabbed his arm. What if he'd been more prone to violence? Oh dear. And I thanked God that it was easy to get it back. My companions were shocked that I actually caught him, but I just happened to be looking down when he reached in.

He was pretty sneaky. I won't underestimate pick-pockets again. Not that I usually just walk around without keeping hold of my purse, but I wouldn't have known at all if I hadn't seen him do it. He had my phone squirreled away almost as soon as it was out of my purse.

What's fun is now we both have a pretty great story. I can tell people I caught a pick-pocket (!) and he can tell people that a white girl caught him stealing. Maybe he'll think twice next time. Maybe not, but we can hope and pray for him. I bet he didn't know when he tried to take my phone that he'd have a bunch of people praying for him because of it. But, you know, there's nothing greater I could do for him. Besides sharing the gospel, but then maybe he goes to church. Maybe he'll be in my church tomorrow. That would be crazy. But not likely. So I'll just write him down on my prayer list so I remember him and pray that he comes to know God soon and is able to find a better job.


I'm in Yaounde now. My time here is winding down and it's rather sad. I really hope I can come back. I finally got an African dress today, and I'm pretty excited about that. Of course now I regret not buying another one, but that's just another reason to come back. I haven't done nearly enough shopping.


Or work! I should really get back to that. I keep finding reasons to put it off, like finally getting online, or trying on my dress, or making dinner... Very important stuff considering I have 21 chapters lefts to edit. it doesn't sound as stressful as it really is. Next time I'm doing all the work in the village, no matter how long I have to extend my stay. But for now, back to work! If you see me online, yell at me (I fell like I'm back in school. Someone hold me accountable!)

Goodbye, Bamenda.

When I came to the guest house last night I honestly felt like I was coming home, just a little bit. It was a good feeling. I've stayed here three times during my weeks here, and it's been wonderful. I love this house. I wish I could've stayed more often and gotten to know the city better.

I leave tonight to go to Tounin and after that I'll be going straight to Yaounde because I am leaving soon. I have every intention of coming back one day and spending more time here, but God's plan is not the plan of man, so we'll see. I hope I can come back.

Last night something happened that made everything I've been doing worthwhile. Well, yesterday was a good day on the whole, but last night made me think, I may not really like what I've been doing, but look how many people I've gotten to know and how much I've learned.

We drove into Bamenda around 6 yesterday and I got the keys and went to the guest house, as usual. I had a lot to do because I knew this was my last night in the northwest and I needed to finish some things and see if I could meet up with a few people. So, I called Sandrine to let her know I'd made it safely to Bamenda and ask what was going to happen today (Saturday) because I knew I was supposed to leave, but didn't know how or when.

I ended up having to leave and go to another center because that's where the guy I was leaving with was staying and it would be easier. And then I started freaking out, because I had wanted to get online and e-mail and I knew where the guest house was and could direct the people I needed to see how to get there, but I didn't know this place and if I'd be able to see my people. But I packed all my stuff back into the car and went.

And God has never been more in control. I arrived and it turned out CABTAL was having a teaching conference for some different translation groups and there were people from all the different projects i had worked in, except the Lamnso project. At first I only saw one guy I knew and that made me happy, because I did need to see him and talk to him, but then all of a sudden I was swarmed by all these different people and they were all asking how I was and how it went in Babanki and if their village was better or not. I had needed to also download some chapters from a lady (she had audacity on her computer so she edited her own work, which was a great boon) and she was there. And because I had all my stuff and she had her laptop (I'm telling you, God was at work in every moment) we were able to quickly rerecord some bits and then I could put it all on my computer. But it was so great. I knew probably half the people at the conference because of the work I had done. And it ended up that they were full, so I had to come back to the guest house, which meant I could send my e-mails, too! And I got dinner, which is always a good thing. The hilarious thing was that it was potatoes... I was like, seriously? I've had potatoes every day for the last week. You couldn't have made rice? But there are worse things than potatoes. Like achu.

When I was leaving Babanki yesterday, something else wonderful happened that made me very happy (I told you, God was all over yesterday). The teachers who had been reading for me - my team - all thanked me and gave me a little basket, with avocados, a pineapple (Debbie Cifuentes! You probably won't read this, but I got a PINEAPPLE!!), and honey. It's delicious honey, by the way. It made me so happy. I wanted to hug them all... I should've, actually. But I thanked them and said I wished I could do more. And I really do. I still feel like what I'm doing isn't enough because I can't do it very well....

But I also feel like yesterday was God telling me, "You aren't doing anything you like, no, but you're doing My work and you are helping people. Just do the work and rejoice in the fellowship and friendships you are making." Especially since my mom sent me an e-mail that said basically the same thing.

Now I know why so many short-term missionaries end up staying long-term and why long-term missionaries can stay forever. I've only been here a month and a half and I've been moving around, the longest time I've spent anywhere was Kumbo and that was ten days, but I feel like crying when I think of going home. If I don't come back, it'll be very painful for me. I'll definitely miss the people I've met and reassuring them that yes, we do have potatoes in America (I've actually said this several times over) and the country. It's so beautiful here. Probably prettier than Georgia, and I don't say that lightly. But I haven't seen any elephants, so I have to come back.

Please pray as I travel today. We're taking a bus and it's on the road to Yaounde, so it could be up to a six hour bus ride. Maybe longer, because it was six hours from Yaounde in a car and this is a bus... But I'm guessing we're not going all the way to Yaounde, so hopefully not. It's also in the French district and the Pastor I'm traveling with told me right off he didn't really know English and was praying that we'd be able to understand each other... I was told there were a few English speakers in this project, but... I guess it's time to learn French! Should be fun. I look forward to it. It'll be something to keep my mind off leaving Cameroon. (Because all the editing I have left won't do that...)

Just under two more weeks! Thank you for reading and praying for me as I travel along! Please keep praying.

A prayer request

Well, I'm still in Bamenda. Totally called that one. Hopefully I'll be leaving today, but who knows. I talked to the guy who is taking me to Babanki this morning, and he said we'd probably leave around noon. It's almost 2. But apparently all the chapters and readers are ready and have been rehearsing, so, Lord willing, this will go faster than Awing and Pinyin. Not because I think I'll hate Babanki, but because I'm supposed to go to another village next week and don't want to take time from them

I've been feeling kind of down for a few days now. It's partly missing my family and friends and a washing machine, but I think it mostly has to do with I'm not feeling like the work I'm doing is as much as everyone says it is. Don't get me wrong, I know that having a recording of Luke is great and will do really well in the villages. It's wonderful for all the oral culture that this is. I just don't feel up to the task. I'm no trained sound technician professional person. I'm just a second-year linguist student who has never done anything like this before. Sure, I know how to use audacity and I can edit the recordings and do the work. God has giving me the ability to do that. There's just something not right about it. Let me try to explain.

Every time they pray, they pray and thank God for me. They say I'm such a blessing and have been sent by Him to do marvelous things for the community. And it's all I can do not to run away and start crying. Anyone could do this, if they were trained in Audacity. This isn't difficult work and the native speakers would be better at it, too. There'd be no risk of them cutting out something important because it sounded like a mistake. All I really do is press buttons all day. I do know that God has sent me here and that the work I'm doing is important. I just... I just don't feel like the right person for the task. The only times I ever feel really right is when I'm talking to people and explaining my vision or hanging out with kids. Then is feels like I'm doing something. Like maybe I've helped out a bit with spreading the gospel, like I've made a bit of a difference.

I do feel God is guiding me and giving me discernment while I edit the recordings. I just feel like there are probably countless other people who are better qualified than me. But I can't just stop, you know. I've been given this job and I'm going to see it through, definitely. And I know God is on my side, else wise I'd never have made it to Cameroon.

Now, I'm not looking for your pity. I just figured since I'm still in Bamenda I should write a post while I can, but the way I'm feeling I couldn't write anything happy without feeling fake. Don't get me wrong, fun things have happened, like yesterday I got lost and a guy named Patrick tried to convince me to come to his house, but I declined and told him my name was Sarah because he seemed like the type to ask around about me. He told me he'd write a song about me. But no, I just wanted to let anyone who reads this know that I could really use some prayer. I'm not going to let this job go undone and I'm going to do my best, I just feel, not like I'm giving too much to God, because we have to give everything to God, but that I'm not really the one for this job. I obviously am, because God sent me, not anyone else. There's just a little war raging inside of me, going back and forth about what on Earth I'm supposed to be doing and why.

But it'll be okay! I have you, faithful reader, praying for me, and I have God guiding me, and His Word speaking to me. And I have a sack of potatoes feeding me. (I'm sorry I keep bring that up, I just honestly find it so hilarious.) Whew. I feel better already, having written all that and knowing now people can pray specifically for what's bothering me. I'm going to keep trucking on and living by faith. I have to trust God, always. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, not matter what the circumstances are. Paul was writing about just living and having God strengthen him. "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:12-13 It's pretty encouraging. If Paul can go to jail and keep up his ministry, I can do these recordings!

BTW, the Pastor just called. We're living right now. God is good.

I love being online.

I feel like an addict or something. It's only been two weeks since I've been able to get online but it's so refreshing.

I can't remember what I have and haven't said lately... All the e-mails and conversations I have all get mixed up, so I don't know who knows what... But I'm in Bamenda right now. This post is straight from the horse's mouth - it hasn't been pre-written or anything. So, I'll just cover the exciting things that have happened in the last two weeks.

So, what have I been doing the last two weeks? I've been in villages (Pinyin and Awing) recording the Gospel of Luke. It's been work, for sure. Whew. The recording is not difficult at all, but editing is kind of challenging. First of all, I don't speak the language, so it's hard to know when something is a mistake and when it's just two words that sound alike, but I usually have either a native speaker or a copy of Luke in the language, which really helps. But now I'm back in Bamenda and don't have either (ah!) so I'm attempting to edit them alone... I'm trusting the Lord to guide me.

Tomorrow I am supposed to leave for Babanki, but the way the rest of this trip has gone, I wouldn't be surprised if I stayed another night. Currently, I wouldn't be surprised if they've forgotten about me. No one's contacted me all weekend. But I know where the office is and have some phone numbers, so I'm not worried. I'll stop by tomorrow and see what's what.

I was gifted with a sack of potatoes. It'd be fun if I wasn't constantly moving around. I used to be able to carry my bags myself (not that anyone would let me), but now, with these potatoes, I'm just not strong enough. They're heavy. I've also been given some carrots and beans. I've been told I'll have to cook for myself in the next village, so it's actually pretty nice. I'll only have to buy a few things at the market.

I finished the editing for Luke in Awing. It was really exciting. I'm still working on Pinyin. It's going... Not very well, but it's going. I feel really bad because the quality is not very good, especially in Pinyin (I had a cold and the office was right by the road. There are lots of coughs and motorcycles in the background), but they want to publish the recordings so they can share the gospel orally in their mother tongues. I'm really trying to make them good, but I can only do so much. I offered them up to God and asked Him to help me and to fix them... I feel a little silly asking God to fix voice recordings, but they are meant to help spread His word, and He can certainly do it. I wouldn't be able to even edit the without His guidance, so I figured I should put the whole thing in His hands.

I was looking back at my old posts. I feel like I've lost some of my spark. I'm still passionate about what I'm doing and helping people, but I realized I haven't been really sharing my passion with the people here. Whenever I am called upon to speak I get tongue-tied and can't say anything worth-while. It really makes me sad that I can't adequately express myself. I keep thinking, just let me write it down and then you guys can read it later. God has obviously not given me a talent for speaking in front of people. But that's okay. I think I show through my work and through private conversations that I'm passionate. But it is something I need to work on and remember. Whenever it gets tough living here, I should remember what I wrote before, about being an encouragement and how new cultures are exciting. Because they are! Here I am being given potatoes and I can only protest that I can't do anything with them. It's a sack of potatoes! It's absolutely hilarious and a very nice, practical present. I can use them, even if they are kind of cumbersome. I haven't figured out how going to the bathroom outside is a blessing yet... I'm still working on that one.

So, two more villages and then I think I'm going back to Yaounde, which I'm pretty exciting about because I made some friends who are there right now. Hopefully they'll be able to show me around and maybe I can do some shopping. Prayers for keeping me sane editing these recordings would be nice. I'm no sound technician. But, like I said, I give it all to God and am trusting in the training He has provided me with to help me figure out what is a stutter and what is correct.

Lord, please help me to keep my passion. I've had some more difficult days recently and it's been hard to keep up my excitement. Being here in Bamenda has been very good. Thank you for allowing me to be able to contact my family. Please continue guiding me. Help me with these recordings and help me to make them good so people can hear them and hear Your word, not the truck passing by in the background. Please allow them to be a blessing on the people. I thank You for allowing me to learn quickly so that I can edit them on my own and be fairly certain of the accuracy, but I also thank You for giving me native speakers to work with. Please keep me safe and everyone who is traveling safe as we go on our ways tomorrow. Amen.

Oh! I totally forgot! While I was in Pinyin I visited the main market. It was pretty crazy and everyone wanted me to buy things, but I just trailed the young lady I was with and declined everyone. But anyway, while she was buying palm oil, an older man came up to me and asked me to marry him. And then take him back to America. I'm fairly certain he introduced me to his wife, too. I kept saying, "No, no." but he didn't go away. It was creepy, but not really scary. Eventually he was like, "What? Don't you like me? Tell me you don't like me and I'll go away." So of course I said, "I don't like you." And that was that. My experience of being purposed to so that some guy could go to America.

See? I am working.

Here are some more posts from by-gone days. I'd like you to note that I did do work - I lead the memory verse and spoke at a literacy class. I don't spend all my days goofing off and watching the birds. :p

Day 11:

Something very adorable and heart-warming happened today.

Before I tell you, though, I have to tell you about a custom here. Whenever you greet someone, if you are friends with them, or even friendly with them, then you have to shake their hand. It is not enough to just greet them. And if you are really good friends, you’ll shake and slap hands a few times. It can be fun, especially when you shake a baby’s hand. Oh yeah. Babies know this tradition. All the ones who can walk will hold out their hands to shake, and I’ve had a couple instances when a little bitty baby will hold out his or her hand. It is cuter than you can even imagine.

I don’t know if you know how adorable it is to shake a little kid’s hand. You should go do that, right now, and tell me if your heart doesn’t melt a little. Sure, it means more here, but it is still so cute.

So, I was at VBS, sitting in the pews during the lesson and this little boy kept trying to sit next to me. He had been too shy to sit next to me at the beginning, so he just kept sliding closer and closer while we sang and did the memory verse. And he was almost there when these two other little kids came in and just sat down between us. Poor kid was pretty upset. Of course, these are little kids, most of them aren’t more than 4, and they get bored, so they move around a lot. Long story short, the boy eventually ended up sitting next to me, and he put his hand in mine.  And just left it there. I was so honored. And okay, I think some of it was to study me, because it kind of looked like he was comparing our skin, but still. I also had a little girl sitting in my lap, and she had her hand in mine, too. It was touching. When the little girl hopped down and moved somewhere else, the boy sat in my lap and held my hand again. Tomorrow I will learn his name.

I also went to a literacy class today and spoke to them, briefly. I tried to encourage them and tell them what they are doing is amazing (this was a teacher’s class, where primary and secondary school teachers were learning how to better teach their students Lamnso’ because they work at a school where it is actually taught). I tried talking about Spanish and English and how it’s better if the kid learns their mother tongue first and then the other language, but I got a little confused and I’m not sure if I got my point. One lady understood what I was trying to say. She clarified what I said and explained some of what they were doing, so that was good.

The literacy class should have been the most exciting… It’s what I came here for, but the VBS has just spoken to me so much more, with the little kids and the lessons… Don’t get me wrong, I find studying the language to be very interesting and the literacy progress is such a good thing. But when I had to leave VBS early to go to the class, I felt a little twang in my heart.

Day 12:

I lead the verse today! That went well. I think. It was a memory verse, so it’s kind of hard to mess up, anyway. Then I went to literacy class. I learned some stuff about Lamnso’. It was on conjugations.

I have some sad news. Tomorrow I am being moved out of Little House. Someone else is coming in, so they are kicking me out. I have to go to a different room. Tonight is my last night in Little House.

Day 13:

VBS and then literacy class again today. In class I learned names for wild animals, domestic animals, mathematic signs (and I’ll have you know I did all the problems correctly, which was amazing considering it was in a different language and I can’t even do basic math in English.). In VBS the little boy, Andy, was back. He was there yesterday, too, but today he sat with me and every time I moved to quiet down another kid, he followed me. Aw…

I’m in a little bitty room with two beds, now. It’s really not bad. It’s just not Little House. I don’t have a kettle, though or anything to make my tea in, so that’s really sad. They said they could bring some hot water up, if I asked. I feel like I’ve been demoted, though. I went from having my own little cottage to being in a room smaller than my dorm. Oh well. It’s only one more night and I have no reason to expect any different from the other towns I’m going.

I leave tomorrow afternoon to go to Bamenda and then I will either stay the night there and travel to Pinyin in the morning or go straight to Pinyin. I think I’m supposed to decided, but I have no idea. It should be fun!

More old posts!

I just found these on my computer. As you can see by the days, they actually happened before my last post. Sorry! And to keep the post shorter, I'm splitting them up. These are from my days in Kumbo and at Little House. I can't believe it was only 2 weeks ago... It feels like ages!

Day 8:

I went to the super market and the internet café today. I didn’t want to bother with a taxi and I did want to walk, so I walked. It was further than I thought it would be, but that really wasn’t the problem. I wore the completely wrong shoes. I knew I was going to walk, so I really should have worn my sandals or tennis shoes, but no.  My feet regret it. I have more blisters from my forty minute walk than from the four mile walk I took Monday. Ridiculous.

I finally got my tea, though! Yay!

What am I doing intern-wise? Good question. :D I typed up all my findings about Lamnso’. Some I copied directly from a book teaching native speakers how to read and write, some I learned myself, but all of it is helpful. I should make it into a little book. Level 1 Lamnso’. I’d read it.

Next week I have more to do, however. I think I’ll be working at a VBS. That’s exciting. Kids are fun. The other day I saw three tiny little kids, the oldest couldn’t have been more than five, walking a dog. I was hoping I’d see them again, so I could talk to them, but I haven’t yet.

And that was my day. Nothing terribly exciting and I promised I’d try to keep it short, so this is it. I’m just writing this as a go, so e-mail me if you have any questions or want to hear about something specifically. It may take me a while, but I’ll e-mail you back eventually! Sarahkarima@gmail.com

Day 10:

Yesterday I didn’t do much. I went to church and had dinner at Pastor Sam’s house. Everyone was sitting around in the living room and I was at a writing desk eating. It was not what I’m used to.

I also spent an excessive amount of time staring out my window waiting for a little bird to come onto a branch so I could take a picture of him. There are about three of these little sparrows who hang out in the tree outside my window. They’re really cute and I’m going to get a picture! Eventually.

Today I went to the VBS. That was fun. I don’t really have a job, so I’m just watching. There are three women who are working it and maybe 40 kids showed up. It was really crazy, though. I felt like God set up the memory verse just for me. I was really anxious because instead of just being at the translation center most of the day, I was going to be traveling around, working at the VBS and going to literacy classes, and was really scared about what was going to happen and if I was going to do something silly or be completely lost. And then they started teaching the memory verse and I was this close to busting out laughing it was so perfect. The verse was 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” I have to keep remembering, God brought me here. Not anyone else. He won’t let me totally mess up and He has a plan for me.

Which brings me to the next God-coincidence that happened today. They asked me to teach the verse on Wednesday, and my verse is Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” I’ve been reading Proverbs and, right before I came to Cameroon, read this verse. It really spoke to me then and reminded me God had a plan for me, if I went to Cameroon or not. And now I’m here and I feel like God is to reminding me to lean on Him. Even though I’m here, I’ll still have worries and troubles, so I have to remember to give them all to Him and trust that He will make my paths straight.

Old posts!

These are from a couple weeks ago. Then my computer decided it didn't like Microsoft word and I couldn't write any more. The last two weeks have been pretty busy and I'm finally here with an internet connection, so I'll post about them in a little while. But these are from when I was free to do other things.

Day 16

I’m still in Bamenda. I was supposed to leave Friday or Saturday, but the guy I’m traveling with said that since no one works on the weekend we’d leave Sunday night or Monday morning. It’s Sunday night. We’re not leaving until tomorrow.  It’s fine with me. One less night I have to pay for.

I’m staying with Karl and Frida Grebe. I just feel bad because they initially thought I’d only be here one night. I’m sorry!

The road flooded. That was a time. We left Kumbo (apparently, the proper spelling is Kimbo’) Friday afternoon to come to Bamenda, but once we got here, there was traffic a mile long because one of the bridges flooded. It was really funny, actually. No one was hurt, as far as I know. Cars could just drive over it and people would just hop on the back of trucks or pile in cars. I’m pretty sure one truck was hauling at least twenty people in the back. And everyone was yelling at everyone else, trying to direct it all. So many people were taking pictures and videos, too. It took us an extra hour to arrive at Karl’s house, but we made it safe and sound.

Nothing interesting has happened besides that. Looking back it makes me laugh that my first few entries were so long and now I’m not even writing every day. Such is life when visiting a new country.

Leaving on Friday was really sad, though. I really didn’t want to leave those kids. They were so much fun. Sure, every time I went in front to teach the verse they stared at me like I was a fish with two heads, but still. I really enjoyed it. I loved seeing the older kids really be interested in the Bible stories and hearing the little kids recite 1 Peter 5:7. That was especially adorable, because if they recited all the memory verses of the previous days, they’d get a prize, so all the older kids would tell me their verses and then I’d be surrounded by little kids and they could all say 1 Peter, and when I tried to lead them through the others, they’d say the right book and all, but then just say “Cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you.”  Aw…

I just realized, I have typed up a prayer in a while. Of course you’ll read this after, so you may already know the outcome of some things, but that’s okay. We can still pray.

Lord, than You for all these beautiful country you’ve shown me. Thank You for bringing me here and allowing me to work. Thank You for the good time I had in Kumbo and please help me to be as useful and blessed in Pinyin. Please bless the Grebes for putting me up this weekend and give Karl a safe journey back to Kumbo tomorrow. Please also give me safe travel to Pinyin. Lord, please give the translators the strength and good humor to work through these last few bits of editing. They are so close to having the full Bible in Lamnso’. Please let them be encouraged in these last few months when the end is so near. Remain close to the children’s hearts, too. I know a few came to know You as their Savior this last week, and I ask that they remain close to You. And for those who were already with You, please remain with them. Help them all to put their full trust in You and to lean on You always. Keep them from staying too far and allow this Lamnso’ Bible to be a blessing to them.  Please keep them reading and studying Your word.

I know I just left, but Lord, if it is Your will, please allow me to go back. I know I may very well say this of all the places I visit, but it was so good there. I could see You blessing those people and allowing them to become close to You. I was barely able to scratch the surface of their language and was only starting to know the kids when I left. Being there was so good and such an experience. I can only hope I was as much a blessing to them as they were to me.

Lord, please allow my time in Pinyin to be as good.

Amen.

Day 17

I’m still in Bamenda. I’m staying at the SIL guest house. There are two book cases full of books. I’m actually kind of glad I couldn’t get the internet to work. It meant I could read.

Two pretty funny things just happened to me. And all in the last hour or so. But I should explain just a bit first. I’m staying at the guest house with three other guys. It’s a pretty big house with four rooms and three bathrooms. I have a huge room with three beds and my own bathroom all to myself. Okay. So, I came out of my room because I finished a book and wanted another. There’s really nothing I can do right now because I’m waiting to go to Pinyin and I don’t really want to go exploring Bamenda. This is only slightly prompted by the copious amounts of books here. But anyway, there I was, looking at the books, trying to decide which one I wanted to read next, and one of the guys comes out of his bathroom just wrapped in a towel. I kind of looked back when I heard him come into the room, and I almost died. I quickly grabbed book and scurried back into my room, because if I had stayed out there I would have cracked up. I don’t know if he forgot I was staying here or what, but oh man…

The other thing that happened was I was looking for the switch for the water heater. They are usually pretty obvious and near the bathroom, but I can’t find this one. So, I was flipping all the switches in my room and checking to see if the heater went off, when I rang the doorbell. No, no. You read that right. There’s a doorbell in my room. Again, I almost died laughing. I could hear the guys opening the door and wondering what was up (I wasn’t laughing at them, but at the fact that there is a doorbell in my room). I probably should’ve at least poked my head out of my room and said “Sorry! That was me!” but I didn’t. Life goes on and now I know which switch not to press. But seriously. If I were of a trickier disposition – or staying here with friends – I would totally press the switch again. All the time. And laugh and laugh and laugh. Oh man. THERE’S A SWITCH TO THE DOORBELL IN MY ROOM! How often does this happen?

Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to go to Pinyin. Also, I need my funds, so hopefully CABTAL will have some of those for me. But now it’s 10:20 – later than I’ve gone to bed in 2 weeks! And I’m tired, so good night!