I may have to stop going to Africa. The first time we were on this continent we had to push our van out of the mud. On all the mission trips we’ve been on since that time we’ve never had to do that again……..until tonight. But, I digress. Let me start at the beginning of the day.
Our plans for today are to do nothing…until 3 p.m. So, after a leisurely breakfast about 9 a.m. of the standard omelet and bread (with a delicious jam of some type of fruit I can’t name) Johnny and I both decided to go sit out in the yard and read. But when we got there some of the team were already sitting out there. I had taken the computer with me to start on the blog but the guys wanted to see some of the pictures we had taken that we’d already uploaded to the computer. We showed some of them. The rest of the team showed up and just a general discussion occurred. Cyrille is also using this time with the team to do some Biblical teaching. He doesn’t have them all together at the same time often. And, considering that we’ve stayed in the least expensive rooms in Buea and these rooms in Njombe cost even less and considering our meals have not cost much at all we are assuming that we are paying the expenses of this team while they are here in Njombe with us. We assume that because we know that at least two and maybe more cannot find steady work and are financially struggling. They are not staying at this hotel with us (Cyrille is) and they are not eating at this hotel restaurant (even Cyrille isn’t). The hotel rooms where we are staying are 13,000 Cameroon francs per night. That is approximately $26.
Shortly after Rachel arrived she left again and soon came back with fresh sliced pineapple for all of us!! Yummy! Not long after that the three of us “whites”, as they like to call us, made excuses to leave so that Cyrille could have some time alone with them. About noonish I went out to find another chair apart from them to read. They were all quiet with some napping. And, about 12:30 they all got up and left to go into town. Sam decided he wanted to go into town also as we’d seen a little photo shop so thought we could get some pictures printed. Abraham keeps asking when he can get a copy of the pictures we’ve taken of him. The photo shop couldn’t print them so will try again tomorrow. We bought some 1.5 liter bottles of water and some type of fruit that is about the size of a small cantaloupe but green.
Walking back to the hotel is very quick as it’s only about 2 blocks from the center of town. Since it was about 1:30 we decided to go ahead and eat. We wanted to wait as late as we could because it will be our only meal for the rest of the day. I had the chicken, Johnnie had the beef, and Sam had thin steak strips. The sauce was different than yesterday, more and larger pieces of vegetables in it but still very delicious. Before our entrée they served us a tomato, onion and ham salad with a thin mayonnaise style sauce served on fresh sliced bread. Yummy! And we had them cut our mystery fruit we had purchased. It looked sort of like a grapefruit inside but not as tart. Johnnie said she had eaten the same thing in California but didn’t know the name. We also had rice and fried plantains and then they served sliced oranges for dessert. Very good cook!
We got ready to leave about 3 p.m. and walked out of the hotel to find the rest of the team sitting under the trees. Our rented vehicle for the day is an old pick-up truck for all nine of us to ride in. Sam and Gabriel got in the cab with the driver. Both Johnnie and I said we’d ride in the back. There were some old tires to sit on and pieces of cardboard to put on the tires. Johnnie and I slathered ourselves with sunblock and I put on a hat and away we went. Right at the edge of town we turned onto a dirt road that grew narrower and narrower with more and deeper ruts the further we went. It went right through a huge banana plantation. When we went up a small hill one could see banana trees for miles. After the banana trees there were a few papaya trees and then we came upon lots of cocoa nut trees. Yummy! Chocolate in it’s purest form! After awhile we passed through Boubou, a very small, very poor village lining the road. We continued on a short distance until we arrived at the village of Mile Eight, our destination. There we parked and were met by a tall man who questioned us and seemed to be in charge. I am assuming he was the Chairman. Humphrey explained to him that they had been there the day before and talked with the chief and had his approval to be there today. We started off walking to the location they had met yesterday. The three “whites” seem to stick out like a sore thumb! When we arrived at that location the chief was not there so finally Humphrey was able to reach him by phone. Then we backtracked to another building where we met the chief. He was in a meeting with someone but remembered giving approval for us. He then sent us on our way so we walked back to where the truck was.
The team immediately started getting things ready to show the JF. There was a meeting hall right next to where we were showing the film out in the open. Humphrey was given a key to it and he brought out benches and chairs. It was still light when they were finished so everyone sat and waited until it started getting dusk. While they were setting everything up they had quite an audience. Some of the adults had cell phones and took pictures of us, while we in turn took pictures of all the kids that had gathered around. They screamed with laughter every time we took a picture and screamed even louder when shown those pictures and they saw themselves. We had some candy with us that we passed out to the kids. Right at 6 p.m. the team started the showing. It went well until about 6:30 when all of a sudden it started to rain heavily. I was sitting in the back of the truck and quickly opened my umbrella for Sam to run over and hold over the projector. I also had a small plastic poncho in my bag that I pulled out and spread over me and all the bags that had been left in the truck bed. The whole audience jumped up and ran into the building so the team quickly grabbed everything and took it in the building also and began setting up in there. Johnnie and I opted to stay out in chairs under the roof overhang to watch the stuff that had been left in the truck. The rain didn’t last long, thankfully.
While the team was re-setting everything up Humphrey preached a little sermonette and then there was some singing. The sound of all those voices singing together gave both Johnnie and I goose bumps. It was beautiful. Then the video started. The building had a fairly large sized room and it was packed wall to wall. People were spilled out the door and stood sometimes 5 & 6 deep trying to see in and watch the film. It was a constant flow of people coming up to the building, some pushing their way in to be able to see better and many turning around and leaving because they couldn’t get in and couldn’t see. Imagine how many would have seen the video if it hadn’t rained. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the fight that happened just after the video started. Don’t know what happened. Johnnie said the man was drunk. I didn’t see him until I heard a couple of loud voices. I turned toward them and saw one man hit another. Then whatever happened after that I couldn’t see because they had moved behind a building. But several of the people who had been watching the film jumped up and went to see what was happening. It was over quickly, thankfully but I started praying for a hedge of protection from God. I do think there are demonic forces there trying to keep the JF from showing. There was an oppressive air there.
After the video several stayed in the building for prayer which was great to see. It didn’t take long to get everything packed up and we started on our way back to Njombe. We hadn’t gone far on the road before we hit a big area where the ruts where deep and there was mud everywhere. The pickup got stuck and the more he tried to get out the more stuck he became. Some of the guys got out to push but the truck wouldn’t move. So everyone got out and finally with great pushing the truck was able to go forward. And, without Rachel or any of the “whites” help! We arrived back in Njombe about 10:30 p.m. I heard Cyrille comment that it took about an hour to go the three miles to the village. I sure thought it was much farther than that!
Tomorrow’s plans are the same so guess I should get some sleep.
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