The Lord's Faithfulness

November 28, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I pray that you are all doing well as November quickly comes to a close. I wanted to pass on to you an update from my family. God's faithfullness i so overwhelming as we look back over this month. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers!

November 2011

Dear Prayer & Financial Supporters,

Thank you for your faithful and very generous support in our joint
endeavor to serve the Lord in Cameroon at the Grace Children’s Shelter
and in reaching the Fulbe people with the glorious gospel of Christ.
God has graciously enabled us to see many of the goals we had set for the Shelter accomplished within only a few weeks of being here.  We can assure you that this is not in any way an indication of our effectiveness as much as it is a tribute to God’s mighty work and divine power.

Upon our arrival at the Shelter we saw that God had already set the
scene and prepared the staff as well as the children for the changes
that were needed here. 
God also raised up indigenous leadership that
we are able to trust wholeheartedly
and hold accountable in caring for
the children and in the use of finances and resources.  Some of the
other endeavors (but not all) we have seen the Lord place into motion in the last two months are:

1.) The beginning of a Bible Club for the children each week that
emphasizes Bible memory work, Bible teaching, games, and singing.
Morning and evening devotions emphasizing simple yet solid Bible
teaching.
2.) After school tutoring for those children needing help with their
reading and math.
3.) Hiring a full-time on-site Kitchen Manager and Project Manager who also happens to be a nurse!
4.) The beginning of a poultry operation which will provide the Shelter with chickens for meat, eggs, and money from the sale of eggs and meat.  The chicken house was constructed with wood obtained from trees near the Shelter which, we cut down and then sawed into planks.  It will be able to easily house 300 chickens.
5.) The renovation of a rabbitry operation to also provide meat for the Shelter. We have successfully bred some of the rabbits and are
fattening the bunnies up.
6.) Plans to dig a new and much deeper well to provide clean drinking water are in place with all the equipment, materials, and labor being donated by a church in Yaounde.  The project begins in December--Lord willing!
7.) An agreement has been made between with a local farmer to provide the Shelter with food, produce, and fresh milk at affordable prices so as to save money and limit the trips to town to purchase these items at much higher prices.
8.) The repair, cleaning, and painting of the entire facility.
9.) The on-going training of the Shelter’s children in terms of
behavior, bedwetting, hygiene, manners, etc.
10.) The spiritual training of the children as well as the staff and
future leadership.
11.) The providing of an atmosphere of spiritual vibrancy, love, and
safety within the Shelter so as to provide the children with a
Christ-honoring place to grow up.

We praise God for all this and are thankful so much has been
accomplished in such a short time.  We are also finding with each
passing day that our continual presence at the Shelter is no longer
necessary as it was when we first arrived.  The new leadership has
assumed most of the responsibility for the management of the Shelter
while we simply provide occasional counsel and correction, regular
training and evaluation, and distribute the resources.   In addition,
our sense at this time is that our continued on-site 24/7 presence at
the Shelter will prove to be detrimental to the establishing of the
new leadership and staff in their respective spheres of influence.
They need some room to find their niche and we need to find some
privacy and room for our family’s sake as well.  With this in mind we
have secured a house to rent in Bali about 6 miles from the Shelter.
There are very few houses in Bali for rent especially within 10 miles
of the Shelter so we are very thankful for God’s provision.  Whereas
the owner was only willing to enter into a six month lease this along
with the progress being made at the Shelter may very well accelerate
our plans to move to the Far North Region of Cameroon (The Regions
Beyond) so that we are able to relocate there this summer or fall.
This would allow us to be immersed in the Fulfulde language and
culture as well as begin making contacts with Fulbe people in the
Maroua area.  This plan would also enable us to continue to act as a
conduit of funds from the U.S. for the Shelter as well as to encourage
and hold the new leaders and staff accountable while still in the
country.  We would also arrange to make periodic visits throughout the
year to monitor progress more closely.  We are planning a
survey-exploratory trip to Maroua this March/April.
As for our family—we are all involved in learning French from our
tutor Fidele with our best students being Nancy and the girls.  Peter
and Mark are working hard at it but find Fulfulde much more to their
liking.  Peter and Esther are fully recovered from their adventure
with Malaria.  And Mark, while having lost over 25 lbs. from his bout
with some very serious infections our first month here is back to full
strength and working hard.  Other than occasional stomach issues, we
all seem to be doing well right now health wise.

As for our spiritual health God continues to teach us new lessons
every day as well as reminds us through multiple challenges how much
we need Him.  We find our lives here to be filled with much joy but
like everyone else; we too have our struggles and must fight for this
joy oftentimes.  Some of these struggles include our day beginning at
4:30 am and ending about 11 pm pretty much every day, numerous
interruptions and “invasions of privacy” when we do have some personal
time, no running water thus lots of bucket baths, only a couple hours
of power each day, very limited internet and communication abilities,
cooking everything from scratch over a propane camp stove or fire,
haggling with the vendors in the market so as to try and improve the
“white man’s price” which can be quite exuberant given the fact they
all think we have a tree in the jungle that grows money, not quite
understanding the language which is pretty bad given the fact that the
language here in this part of Cameroon is English, as well as a legal
quagmire over who legally owns and has rightful authority over the
Shelter which, is requiring many meetings and conversations with
lawyers and government authorities.  Wow…..sounds like a lot of
complaining, we know, but really it is the only way to let you know
what some of our struggles are as we fight each day for joy while
living in the Bush trying to make much of Christ.

Did I mention our second request for a visa extension was rejected
today?  It seems that our packet was missing a form stating that Peter
as well as the rest of us have never been convicted of a crime in
Cameroon.  Needless to say, the necessity of this form was not
mentioned two months ago when we applied for the extension the first
time.  So, it is back to Yaounde (a 15 hour roundtrip bus ride) again
to have this form signed by apparently the only person in Cameroon who
signs these forms.  We are hoping to get this done Monday and Tuesday
and then travel back to Bamenda on Wednesday to try again at the
immigration office on Thursday or Friday depending on whatever delays
we experience.  Please pray about this as if we don’t get the
extension our plane leaves Monday December 5 and we’ll have to be on
it!

Well, Thanksgiving 2011 is fast becoming a memory as the sights,
sounds, and smells of Christmas begin to fill the air.  May yours be
filled with the joy and happiness that comes from knowing and serving
Christ—the Reason for the season and truly the greatest treasure and
pleasure in life!   And to add the proper postscript to this longer
then intended letter—we continue to be amazed by God’s grace.
Furthermore, that He has called us into service; and into a hard place
among the unreached. His kindness to us is overwhelming!
Please continue to pray for us as we pray for you as well.

For The Sake of The Gospel,
Mark, Nancy & Kids—Bethany, Rachael, Esther, and Peter

I hope youall enjoyed this update from Cameroon! God is truly working and moving things along at the orphanage. He is so good and kind and every thing He brings into our lives is a precious gift from His hand. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving...spent giving thanks to the Lord! And I just thank the Lord for all He is doing...all He has done to save us and make us His chidren! So as my family presses on in Cameroon, I also want to encourage each and every one of you to press on right where God placed you. And shine His glorious life-transforming light this holiday season!!!! God bless!

Held by Grace,
Sara