Team Spotlight: Ann Cheung (and some updates)

This time I'll be spotlighting Ann Cheung! (And telling a couple good stories!) This one will be a bit longer than my last few because I'm way behind on telling y'all what's happening!

Here's Ann's bio:

"I graduated few years ago majoring in molecular biology and biochemistry at Simon Fraser University. Currently, I am working as part-time receptionist in physiotherapy clinics. I never thought of getting involve in cross-cultural missions work before. But I remembered in fellowship’s life-camp last year when we shared about what we want to do in the next five years, I said I want to travel with God. I am so thankful that He led me to the Perspectives course at the end of last year, where I met a local Wycliffe missionary and got introduced to instigate Cameroon. It is truly my privilege to be part of this team. For someone who has Dyslexia, I don’t know what to expect. However, I am excited for this cross-cultural experience, to see Bible translation in action, and to learn and grow together with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

It’s never too late to step out and explore what God has in store for our lives. It’s truly our honor to be part of His great mission."

~ Ann

I'm super excited to be working with this whole team and only have 20 days until we all meet for the first time!! That's so cool!

Lately, Adriana, Kyle (his bio will come soon) and I have been running around preparing for the trip Kyle and Adriana had to get their shots (mine are still valid from 2 years ago) and everyone had to send in their visa stuff. Now we're working on police checks. I'm actually the only one who still has to do that.

Anyway, Kyle and I were at his house for Easter this last weekend and we were talking about shots and how expensive they were. And we're both broke from this trip and school, so he wasn't sure how he was going to get the $130 by Tuesday for his yellow fever shot. I told him to trust God and count on His providence. If He wanted to give Kyle money for his shots, He would. That day (Sunday), Kyle's family came over to have a big Macedonian Easter meal, and it was a lot of fun. Lot's of laughter and food. And his family has a tradition of giving each other money. Guess how much he raised? I'm quite happy to say that on Tuesday Kyle was able to get his yellow fever shot, and today he got his last shot and his police check. He's ready to go (form-wise)!

God has shown how awesome and powerful He is to me in the past, and now He is continuing in this! I'm so thrilled to be a part of this team and to be watching God bring us all together and help us on our journey!

Please be praying for us as we continue raising funds and preparing our hearts for our first meeting and our trip to Cameroon.

I'll write again soon.

- Karima Horton

Teammate Spotlight: Sheldon Pon

Here's what Sheldon says about who he is:

I am a fourth year linguistics student attending the University of Calgary with one more full year to go, because it took me a couple of years to end up in the program. I really love what I am taking, and when I heard from Kevin Derksen about this trip to Cameroon at one of Wycliffe's cafe nights, I knew right away that this trip could be for me. I have never done any cross-cultural missions work and have wanted to for a while, so not only was this a good opportunity for that but also the trip is related to what I am studying, which is really exciting! I have been fascinated with the Bible translation process ever since I started to learn about Wycliffe, so being able to see a project in action and even assisting in some ways will truly be a great blessing and I am thankful for this opportunity.

I was always a little unsure as to what I would do with my degree and although I still haven't figure it out completely I think it would be awesome to work with Wycliffe, so this trip will not only be a great cross-cultural experience for me but also an eye-opener as to what it looks like to be a part of Wycliffe.

~ Sheldon

Check back for more spotlights coming up!

Support Letter

Here it is... My letter telling you how to donate. Let me know if you have any questions!

Dear Friends and Family, 

Greetings! I want to share with you a tremendous opportunity that God has opened up to me to serve Him this summer. I will be travelling to Cameroon with a mixed Tyndale and Wycliffe Bible Translators team. Our role as a team will be to work alongside the translators and literacy workers in schools and churches to help increase momentum and raise the profile in the community for literacy and Scripture translation. Adapting to onsite teams’ activities we will assist in local literacy and Scripture Use programs. This may include, linguistic research, supporting local creative methods of Scripture engagement, leading Scripture studies and developing dramas. One key aspect of this cross-cultural experience will be interacting in village homes with local families along with one or two other team-mates, as well as language learning and engaging in local culture.

I am excited about the experience that lies ahead, both for ministry to others and for personal growth as I seek to communicate Christ cross-culturally. We recognize that our service needs to be supported in prayer and so would first ask you to consider joining our team in this regard. I will supply you with a schedule and prayer needs before I leave, and will share with you the blessings of what God accomplishes through us on our return. It would be great to have you minister with us through your prayers for the people of Cameroon.

We also have financial needs to cover the airfare, inoculations, room and board, health insurance and ministry costs of this trip. Each team member needs to raise approximately $3600, with half of it in place by the end of February to buy the air tickets. Please consider being a part of this mission team in this regard. If God leads you to participate with financial support, make your cheques payable to “Tyndale Foundation” and note ‘Cameroon Trip’ on the memo line. Include a separate note with my name on it for allocation toward our team fundraising efforts. As well you can now donate online at giving.tyndale.ca/donate. Once there, indicate that you would like to contribute to Greatest Need and in the comments section indicate it is for Missions along with my name. All donations for the student mission team are tax deductible and will be receipted accordingly. Thanks in advance for your prayers and financial support. May God richly bless you as you partner with us in this outreach opportunity.

In Christ, 

Karima Horton

Mail to: Student Life Dept.

Tyndale University College and Seminary, 25 Ballyconnor Crt., Toronto, ON, M2M 4B3

Team Spotlight: Rebekah

We are quite officially a team and getting to know each other, so it is with great joy that I bring you the spotlight on Rebekah Schumacher.

So here is a little but about me. I am Rebekah Schumacher. I am 22 years old and just finishing up my BA in Linguistics at Trinity Western University (TWU) in Langley, BC. I've grown up here in Langley and so am still at home with my parents. I am the youngest of four siblings.

I was so excited when I read a short blurb about this trip back in November in an e-newsletter I recieve fom within the linguistics community at TWU. I knew I wanted to do a short term trip with Wycliffe at some point in the next year or so to explore more about how I could fit into the work that they do This blurb just jumped out at me as soon as I read Cameroon as I know a lady who is part of the Ndop Plains Cluster project currently working with the Bamakumbit language. I have been inspired by her work and her stories. I am so excited to be able to experience a bit of what her life is like and to allow God to direct me in what He may have for me to do in the future.

The timing and everything of the trip is just perfect as it is just after grad for me and I really did not have any clear plans in place yet. I did not have to go searching for this opportunity, God simply placed it in my lap for me to pursue. Now I must trust in his provision for the trip.

I am excited to see how God is going to work in and guide each one of us through this journey together.

~Rebekah~

What's gonna work? TEAMWORK!

I have some exciting news. I'm actually so thrilled about this. There are two more people coming on our Cameroonian adventure! I can't name any names, yet, but one person is one of my good friends. As soon as everyone turns in their forms and we get their names, I'll be posting a little bit about each person on the blog. This one! Right here! So you'd better stay tuned.

But for now I'll tell you a little bit about Adriana. She doesn't know I'm doing this, so she's probably going to be embarrassed. Sorry, Adriana!

I went to Alaska with Adriana last year, and let me tell you, she is a hoot. She's a third year Psych major at Tyndale and she has a heart for suffering people. She is very quiet and soft-spoken, but once she gets to know you she's not afraid to share her opinion on things, and she has some great opinions! (Honestly hilarious. I love her.)

She is a strong woman of God and I could always count on her to know of a book or a Bible verse to go with a situation. I remember when we were making our team covenant (a list of things we wanted to make sure we accomplished spiritually) last year, she brought verses in instead of her own thoughts.

Adriana has never been to Africa before, but she has been on a few missions trips (obviously, she went to Alaska). She's really excited to see what God has in store for her in Cameroon and to learn more about the work Wycliffe is doing.

She also knits and her scarves are beautiful and warm.

And that's Adriana in a very small nutshell. She's a wonderful young woman and a great addition to our team and I cannot wait!! to be working with her this summer.

Keep checking back for more updates on our team. God bless you and keep praying for Cameroon!

We're ready to go! Kind of....

Well, I've been ready to go since I came back two years ago, if I'm being honest. If someone came up to me and said, "Hey, I have this plane ticket to Cameroon, but I can't go. Do you want it?" I would take it and leave so fast no one would know where I'd gone. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened, so I'm patiently waiting until the end of the semester until the whole team is ready and, you know, our finances come in and the people we're working with are actually ready for us to be there...

But the rest of the team has been chosen by Wycliffe!! Yay! There are eight people going in total. Seven girls and one boy. That'll be interesting. Jessica is leaving the application open for a couple more weeks to see if we can get any more guys. (So come on, guys. If you're reading this, take it as a sign that God wants you to apply.)  We're one step closer to actually leaving!! Once we're official, I'll take some time and introduce everyone on this blog so you can learn more about the team as a whole. But for now, you'll just have to be patient.

Christmas

I have been home for the last three weeks and it's has been so marvelous. Everyone asks me what my family does for Christmas, like Southerners live in a different little world with strange customs all the time, and I have a hard time making my Christmas sound as awesome as it is. "We go to my aunt and uncle's and celebrate and eat food. Lots of food." It doesn't sound as wonderful as it really is. It's not my aunt and uncle's hunting-based menu that is the reason I love coming home for Christmas. I love coming home for Christmas because of the card games, the laughter, how my family can make me feel like such an idiot, but still loved beyond compare. It's about having long conversations with my grandma, asking my grandfather how long he's been married and having him tell me "as long as she has." It's the late nights playing video games with my cousin and catching up with my brothers. It's singing and watching Doctor Who with my dad and making my mom laugh. It's hearing my grandma choke up over saying how thankful she is for Jesus' sacrifice. Christmas is about love, because we celebrate the greatest love story ever - the story of God's love for us shown through the gift of His Son. And that's what my family represents. That's why the last few weeks have been the best ever, and why coming back to Toronto will be great as well. Because I'm surrounded by people who love me and whom I love. At any given point in time I only get to see some of the people I love, and not because I can't have them all over at the same time, but because everyone lives in a different place. I have to enjoy who I'm with when I'm with them because time is short. I live a traveling life. So, this is to everyone who's loved ones are close by - love them. Enjoy your time with them. Let God's love be the example for your love and be quick to forgive, slow to anger, and use every chance to show or tell someone you love them. Because you never know when God will tell you that you're to live out of a suitcase for a few years.