Tooth Fairy Time

Well, Kate lost another baby tooth today. She was pretty pumped b/c that means the tooth fairy will grace us with her presence tonight. Yippee! And our kids don't get a paper with a measley little 1 dollar on it...their bill has a whopping 500 on it! 500 francs to be exact and it is the equivalent to a dollar, but it sure looks a lot nicer on the paper! haha!

We had another nice rainstorm this afternoon. Today was cool and breezy. The kids kept commenting on how cold they were! They all had their sweatshirts on. I was enjoying it! And another blessing was that we got water today...it came in at around lunch time we still have it! It is a blessing!! The whole house got mopped and we used regular 'ol water!

Ahhhhhhh *sigh*

See that map above...that big pink arrow is pointing to where we live on the continent of Africa. See that dark brown spot on the map? That is rain. Oh yeah...I had a little party tonight I must admit, b/c it wasn't a little sprinkle...it was (actually 'still is' as I type) a nice steady, heavy rain. It threatened literally ALL day long. Finally at almost 7 pm it started and it is now 9:45 and still coming down! Yay! I can't even tell you how wonderful the sound is. I don't ever remember appreciating rain as much as I do this year. It is glorious!

Our day went well. The kids did well in school, but are itching to be finished. Drew will finish, but will probably have a week of math after all is said and done to finish up. He is really struggling and so this week, we are taking a break from lessons and we are concentrating on his times tables. He doesn't know them, and so for one hour every day I'm going to sit and work with him one on one. We recited the times table chart at the beginning and ending of the hour. We drilled the 2's and 3's with flash cards for most of the hour and then he took a timed test. I told him when he can finally finish the timed test in under 2 minutes with a perfect score...he will get a special prize. Then this afternoon when he was finished with all of his other subjects, I made him dig out the flash cards again, and he went through the 2's and got them all right. So...I thought that was a good start. It is just memorization, and surely a week of constant repetition will totally help him. His videos drill them, but he must be sleeping through that part. I just need to focus some one on one time, so I know he is really concentrating on it.

In ladies Bible study today we started a new topic discussing cults and false religions. I know the ladies enjoyed it and I certainly need to study it myself. I need to know scripture well enough to support what I believe when I'm asked.

Another blessing tonight...water. 3 nights in a row now! I'm surprised! So, I'm off to do a load of laundry and to enjoy a shower, hopefully. We had water last night too, but once it filled our reserve tank, it died out. We still had it, but not enough to come out of the shower. So, I filled all the buckets that I could, in order to save water in case we were without it for another week. Every little bit helps!

Family Day

As you know, Monday is family day. We altered our plans a bit and went out to eat, then shopped in town, and then went to Yeiters house for dinner. It was a full, but very fun day.

Our lunch was great as always...well, the bread was a little dry...but, not too bad for Cameroon. :) We went shopping at several places in Bamenda for some stuff for dinner at Yeiters. We were in the Vatican (our local grocery store - has 3 aisles) and a tall white man walked in. Faith Ann started jumping up and down and yelling, "Hey...you're a white man!" haha! We don't see too many of those around, so they kinda stand out! LOL! From there we went to the bank, another store for some different groceries (you can't find everything you need at one store - you have to go to several) and we also hit one of my favorite stores....Manasata, a.k.a. The American Garage Sale store. My treasure for the day...Tupperware! Sure it is used, but I can always use more tupperware in the house. Especially when you have critters crawling through your kitchen cabinets (yes...we have another mouse). So, I need to wash them up and put them to use. And also set some traps! Oh, and back to the tupperware - the beauty of that stuff is that even though it is used, and purchased on the dark continent of Africa, I can still trade it in if it ever cracks, chips or peels!!

Here is a picture of our ride home.Yes, the dust is getting crazy! However...it did threaten rain ALL day and finally at dinner time we got a light sprinkle. While certainly not enough to do anything, it gave me great hope that it actually can still rain in Cameroon!

Happy Easter!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We prefer to call it Resurrection Sunday to keep our focus on the true meaning of this special day in April...Jesus conquering death! We had a great day of services in both Bambili and Bamenda.

The exciting part was the car ride. Whew! Look how packed we are in the front seat! This is on our way home from Bamenda. I had my two girls, and then Trinity who amazingly stayed fast asleep the entire ride home. Even with the girls elbowing her, and her head smacking on the door b/c of the bumps on our lovely Cameroonian roads. We carried all of the Yeiters girls today because Matt was still in Benakuma. We had a great time of singing and fellowship in our ride to and from town. Oh, and that nice white shirt I have on...you should have seen it when I got home!

The sky threatened rain today, but nothing fell. Yesterday it thundered and we heard that it rained some in Bamenda, but no rain came to Bambili. I think it is close though! Keep praying!

We got water tonight...the last time we had water was last Sunday. So, I guess this is the new pattern. Once it starts really raining, it should be about a month before we have regular running water in our pipes. I can't wait for that day!

It is late...and a shower is calling my name!! Goodnight!

London Bridges

Ben got this great shot of the kids playing London Bridges tonight. So cute! They were having so much fun playing with one another. They were wild today, really getting on my nerves with all of their screaming and giggling. But, I didn't say a word, because they were playing SO well together! Truthfully I enjoyed listening to it. It is great when they get along. They usually do get along and play well with one another, but also have their occasional sibling quarrels. All a part of growing up. My brother, Jay, and I used to fight like cats and dogs! But we are really close now, and I hope that is how my kids will be.

I got home from Susan's at about 1:30 and fed the family lunch. Ben kept sending instant messages to me over at Susan's asking if I could hear his stomach growling all the way over there. That man can't survive a day without me. At least here he can't. In the states all he has to do is call Papa Johns! But in Cameroon...the only number to call is "Chez Becca's." The rest of the day I spent folding and putting away all of the laundry that I got done...and doing dishes...and surfing the web some. My kitchen is clean (mostly) and most of my laundry is put away and I'm SO ready for bed. Our favorite church is at it again. They must be having special Easter meetings. So, we will be crankin' up the old fan again! Happy Resurrection Sunday to everyone tomorrow!

Good Friday - post for April 2

Ben got this picture in Bamenda today. As you know today is good friday, and the Catholic churches have a tradition of re-enacting Christ's trek down the Via Dolorosa on the way to Calvary. Hundreds of thousands of Catholics from each Parish, follow a life size cross to designated stations, singing and praying as they go. The picture isn't the best as it is shot through the dusty windshield, but it gives you an idea.

My good friday was spent schooling the kids. Matt went to Benakuma this weekend and so Susan invited me down to spend the night. I accepted! So, as soon as Ben got home, I grabbed all my dirty laundry, and my computer and my fan (will explain soon) and drove the short distance to their house. I'm SO thankful for Susan's help in my laundry. We haven't had water in a week now, and she allows me to use her washer (and water) to keep caught up. Thank you SO much Susan!!!

Anyway...our neighborhood Presbyterian church had it's All night singing and healing service. They continue to blast their speakers throughout ALL of Bambili and Bambui. Susan's house is so near to their meeting house. She kind of jokingly said, "We should go sneak and have a look at where they are meeting." So after debating for a short time, we went and threw on dark clothes that covered us from head to toe and locked all the doors and headed toward this meeting. We didn't exactly want anyone to see us headed there and think we were actually attending, but we were just curious. So, we sneaked through her Cypress bushes, falling out the other side into someones farm. We thought we'd be so sneaky...as soon as we both tumbled through, two guys walked by and said, "Are you going to church?" What?? What in the world would give them the impression that we were heading there? It isnt' that close to her house! There goes our plan of being secretive. We waited a while for them to get way ahead and started down the path. We both carried heavy flashlights for light and for a weapon. Well, we soon realized that one flashlight didn't even work, and the other was so low on batteries we just kept clicking it on and off when necessary. What amazes me is that the Cameroonians walk in the dark so sure-footed! It really is something else! We got to the main road, and ducked behind trees and bushes when anyone passed. We passed a bar (yeah we were nervous) and got to the dead end street right next to where they meet. However, there was a bar on one side and a big group of men and a bright streetlight. We decided that being as late as it was, the wisest choice would not be for two white women, at 10 p.m. at night, to walk through that group of guys. So, we turned around and rushed back, never even seeing the meeting at all. They sang and preached, and yelled and screamed and healed, and spoke in tongues until 9 a.m. Sat. morning. Thank the Lord I thought to bring a fan with me or I would have never slept!

Happy April Fools Day!

Did you all get to play some jokes today? Well, we didn't. I guess I just never stopped to think about the fact that it was April Fools day. Oh well...maybe next year. If you had some funny instances, share then in a comment, so I can get a good laugh!


Ben brought home a watermelon last night, so since we get back from Thursday church so late, I decided that watermelon would make a great dinner. The kids ate almost the entire thing...along with some crackers. But they were satisfied and all I needed to cook was a little something for Ben and our nightwatchman, Michael. So, it gave me a bit of a break. Here is Emma enjoying her watermelon. I did notice that her hair is extra curly today. Hmmmm...humidity...maybe rain is coming? Keep praying!!