Ladies day

It was a full day for me as we had a ladies meeting today. The ladies from several churches all met at Gateway Baptist Church here in Cameroon and shared a great time of fellowship. Victoreen, who is a national Pastor's wife, spoke about faith. She also prepared a meal for everyone of fufu and njamajama (I have no idea if I spelled that right! LOL). I didn't eat any today, but have had this particular meal several times. I can tolerate it, but it isn't my favorite. Ben on the other hand, loves it, which is a good thing since he gets to eat it a lot when visiting neighbors. I don't cook African dishes here. For one thing, I don't know how, and for another, they aren't my favorite as I'm not used to eating them. And thirdly...they are very time consuming to make! A friend of mine, Diane, came up and taught me how to make Jelloff rice (spelling again??) and anyone visiting Cameroon could eat that with no problem provided they like rice. It is just a rice dish with carrots and green beans. Sometimes they add meat, but I definitely prefer it with just veggies. Then, one of my favorite dishes here in Cameroon is Koki beans. You have no idea that it is beans when you eat it. It has the consistency of a moist cornbread and is usually spicy. It is yummmy. I'm sure throughout the year I'll post some pics of some different African dishes so my blog readers can get a picture of African life. Here is a picture of all the ladies today... All those white people are fellow missionaries who live near us. Front row, all the way to the right, is Susan Yeiter. She and her husband, Matt, are our co-workers. It is so nice having a team! We work so well together and our kids are the same ages and are buddies! The two ladies next to Susan are Barb and Kathy Needham. Their family took us under their wing when we first moved here and helped us buy a car, find a house, etc...We lived with them for 2 months. We couldn't have done it without them! Then the next white girl in the row with the white top and blue skirt and headwrap, is Rosemary Craven. We actually went to college together for a year and then she transferred. She is a single missionary working here with ladies and children. She is amazing! She already speaks pidgin perfectly and also speaks fulfulde, which is the language that the Cameroonian Muslims (Fulani tribe) speak. And she moved here after we did! Talk about a gift in languages...and hard work studying it! Then since I talked about food, here is my friend Diane serving some of that fufu and njamajama... Look interesting?? Well, you all are welcome to come for a visit and try some! Have a great Valentines day tomorrow.