D squared + J squared = Anderson

Twister

Posted on September 21, 2015 by David

Friday night we decided to go to Wal-Mart in Harrisonville to pick up a few items. It had been raining throughout the day and with the boys only having half a day at school, we needed to get out of the house. As we were walking out of Wal-Mart, David’s phone sounded an alarm for bad weather. It indicated a tornado warning and then the tornado sirens started blaring. A Wal-Mart employee came to the entry way where we and other families were standing. She insisted we go to the back of the store along with all other customers and employees.

As we were standing in the back of the store, we were reading about a tornado that touched down about 7 miles north of where we were.

We were thankful when the sirens stopped and the tornado warning had lifted. We decided to leave Wal-Mart and head home. As we were driving out of Harrisonville the sirens started blaring again. We saw a storm chaser van from a local television station. We didn’t have anywhere to go for cover and knew there wasn’t a tornado warning in Pleasant Hill, so we decided to hit the gas and head home as quickly as possible.

We were thankful to make it home safe and sound. Merci Seigneur!

Posted in home | Tagged Home, Protection, storms | 4 Comments

Continental Friends

Posted on September 14, 2015 by David

We’ve been blessed lately to have friends who we served with in Cameroon, come to our home in Pleasant Hill. It’s been great to be together in a different context, seeing one another and spending time together in the USA. It’s been great to host and entertain Cameroonian style with an American twist.

The funny and wonderful lady in this picture I met and connected with right away when I was her orientation buddy. I got to spend four days orienting her to life in Cameroon before she went to allocate to a village. Her hubby was raised in Cameroon with his family and served there in various roles. David first met him while visiting the Far North of Cameroon. They met as two singles in Cameroon who were serving in two different areas and now are a happily married couple. They were our pinochle partners in Cameroon and we were able to play a game when they stayed with us.

The courageous lady in this picture and I would meet together for prayer, accountability and looking at God’s Word together. I remember many prayers through her pregnancy with the youngest of their little ones. I also remember holding that little one whenever I had the chance. It was great being able to host them for a meal on their way through our area. They are preparing to leave to serve in Bulgaria.

Posted in Cameroon, home, Wycliffe | Tagged Cameroon, friends, Home | 3 Comments

Anderson Family Highlights

Posted on September 7, 2015 by David

We wanted to share a video we made that highlights the last three years with glimpses of the past six years.

The song’s lyrics are so fitting to our life – song by Ian White.

Posted in Cameroon, France, home | Tagged Cameroon, France, Home, video | 5 Comments

Dependent Adult

Posted on August 26, 2015 by David

Recently I read a great blog that articulates many of our feelings. From our human, standpoint it doesn’t make sense to work (and work hard) and not receive a fixed, predictable salary. Instead we ask and we ask for a lot. We often feel childish – let me explain. As an adult and being raised with the mindset that ‘you pull yourself up by your bootstraps’, it is humbling and embarrassing to continue to ask others for various helps. At times we feel like children who continually ask for a snack or a drink or a toy, not like responsible adults raising our own children.

Can someone lend us a car? Can someone donate furniture? Can someone purchase a litter box? Will someone print and mail newsletters for us? Will someone help advocate for us? Is it frivolous to ask for candy? Will you reconsider the amount you graciously share with us so we can live? Will you contribute to our car fund?

We often think others must get exhausted from our incessant petitions, because we get tired of asking. It seems that when one petition is answered the next one pops up. I’ll let you in on a secret – missionaries don’t enjoy asking, but we do it. It’s part of our job description, it’s Biblical, it allows others to be part of our team, it’s necessary because the job is much bigger than any one person or family or ten families could do, working overseas strips us of the framework that allows us to be independent – we are interdependent , we have committed our lives to a mission without our own available resources for us to complete it – so we ask you to contribute.

Like it says in the blog, it’s when missionaries quit asking that others should be concerned. There have been times we haven’t asked because we felt it was too big of an ask. That meant we limited God’s reach. Lately we have stopped asking because we have been scared to show our dependence on you and the Lord, ignoring the fact that we can’t do this without you and couldn’t do anything without God. We can’t go it alone – it’s impossible! So we need to ask the impossible and not limit God.

We need to keep asking. If you aren’t a full-time missionary, remember asking isn’t easy. Think about surprising missionaries by asking them first how you can join them. When you know their needs, ask your circle of friends if they will join the missionary in some way. Maybe you can’t help, but you know someone else who can.

His ways aren’t our ways. His ways are upside-down and inside-out from our ways. Being an adult, but feeling like a child is upside-down and inside-out.

My thoughts aren’t your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8-9

Posted in home | Tagged Dependence, Home, Missionaries | 2 Comments

It’s a Small World

Posted on August 24, 2015 by David

I grew up in a small town, Leeton, MO, with most of the same classmates grades K-12. As a child and teen, I was determined to some day leave Leeton. I can’t imagine a place farther away from Leeton then Yaoundé, Cameroon. I didn’t go to Cameroon as a way to leave Leeton, it’s what the Lord called us to after establishing our family life in Missouri. Even before moving to Cameroon, I saw the value in being raised in a small town and being part of a close-knit community.

We currently are living in Pleasant Hill, MO about 45 minutes – 1 hour from Leeton. I have ran into some friends from my childhood who also live in the vicinity, however, I was surprised to run into one particular friend on Saturday. David and I walk the neighborhood daily. I’ve been trying to keep my 3 miles a day that I started in Cameroon. We’ve noticed a house under construction down the street, but hadn’t seen workers there until Saturday. As we were nearing the construction site I heard a familiar voice coming from the site. It was a friend I went to school with K-12th and who we got together with his family in 2012. Reid is a big, burly guy who can intimidate people by his appearance, but he has a sweet, tender heart. I remember in high school after a boy who took me on a date dumped me for someone else during the date leaving me in a neighboring town without a ride home, Reid was there and he let me cry and go on and on about my heart break as he drove me the 20 minutes home.

We stopped and greeted Reid asking about his family and briefly sharing about ours. He asked where we were living specifically (not just down the road). We shared our location and he shared he was the one who built the duplex we were living in. It was a neat, encouraging encounter.

This was one of the oldest photos I could find with some friends I grew up with. I’m on the standing row all the way to the right. Reid is on the sitting row, third from the left. The funny thing is I went to school with and remember the names of 14 of the children pictured. This was a VBS preschool picture.

Posted in home | Tagged Family, memories | 4 Comments

Shooting, Fishing and More

Posted on August 17, 2015 by David

The Missouri Department of Conservation and the National Wild Turkey Federation hosted a youth outdoor skills clinic that was an all-day event. It was a great day and FREE to do plus it included lunch. Jonah wanted to go, but Joshua did not. Joshua and David went to play tennis and have time together while Jonah and I went to the outdoor skills clinic.

It was a fun time. Jonah learned how to call turkey’s to a hunting blind. He was given a mouth piece turkey call and has been practicing a lot! He also shot a BB gun, 410 and 20 gauge.

He was given the chance to try trap shooting, but his shoulder was hurting quite a bit from the recoil on the 20 gauge (he didn’t hug into the gun and got the punch kick back).

He loved archery and now wants to do that in 4-H.

We also had our chance to catch fish at the pond. In 40 minutes he caught two catfish and two bass.

Posted in home, Kids | Tagged archery, fishing, Kids, shooting | 4 Comments

Nut Kernel

Posted on August 11, 2015 by David

While we were on the road, we had many stops at rest areas. I’m so thankful for the rest areas along the interstate, especially the welcome centers. While we were at a rest area in Ohio, we saw a sign with many languages on it to welcome visitors.

What we found funny about the sign is that in French it says…Welcome to Ohio, the nut kernel of the United States. Maybe they chose “nut kernel” because they are the buckeye state.

Posted in home | Tagged French, Home, travels, USA | 4 Comments

Real MK’s

Posted on August 6, 2015 by David

Our boys have been struggling with their transition from Cameroon to Missouri. Jonah had more birthdays overseas than in the USA. They have left what is “home” for them, they have left the only friends they know and entered a completely different world. So often MK’s (Missionary’s Kids) have a lot of pressure put on them. If you are familiar with the acronym MK, you’ll know it usually stands for Missionary Kids, however, I say Missionary’s Kids to help relieve some of the pressure put on them. I would like to share things about MK’s.

1. MK’s are kids! They’ll act like kids, fight like kids, reason like kids, misbehave like all kids and make bad choices like all of us do.

2. MK’s have lives full of transition. They say goodbye more than most people will in their whole lives. They have to say goodbye time and time again as they navigate a life full of major transitions – moving from continent to continent, purging items every three years so their possessions can fit into two suitcases, changing homes, not being with family for holidays, occasions, funerals, etc…

3. MK’s have been molded by their experiences. They have experienced things most people will never experience. They have a lot to share and like opportunities to share.

I could go on and on. Since we’ve returned, our boys have fought more than ever before, have had bouts of anger towards us for leaving what they know as home and have been overwhelmed by raw emotion they can’t put into words.

I know when our boys were younger it seemed like they could be perfectly content until I got on the phone. It seemed as soon as I got on the phone they would fall apart. Well, the same thing seems to happen now when we go and speak at churches. We were speaking at Swatara when Jonah decided he wanted to take a picture of us. We thought it was sweet he wanted to take a picture of us sharing. Well, he decided to make it a time of entertaining himself while we bored him with what we were sharing. He didn’t take just one or two pictures, but 80! Many of which were of him making faces. He took pictures from under the pew, he took pictures of slanted selfies, he took pictures of the power point pictures being shared, of the ceiling, of the floor, of shoes, etc… Joshua got in on the action by giving Jonah ideas of what to take pictures of next.

Posted in home, Kids | Tagged Home, MK, sharing | 4 Comments

Transition

Posted on August 4, 2015 by David

We have been and are in transition. Transition is the process of changing from one state or condition to another. Transition isn’t easy! We’ve received a lot of questions about our transition, so I thought I would share some the top questions with answers.

1. Aren’t you glad to be home? Yes, we’re glad to be reunited with family and friends. We’re thankful for conveniences and comforts, however, the USA doesn’t feel like home anymore. Cameroon also never felt like home. We now understand what it is to be a Third Culture Person – we don’t fully fit into our passport country or host country, but are now a mixture of the two, creating a third culture.

2. What’s been your favorite thing since you returned? Our favorite thing is being able to see and spend time with family and friends.

3. What’s been the most difficult thing since you returned? The most difficult thing has been listening to first world problems. We don’t mean this bad, it’s just the last five years we’ve lived in a third world country where a good day means you have running water, electricity and working 1 mb internet.

4. What’s different about here compared to there? Well in one word – EVERYTHING!

5. Are you adjusted and settled? Not yet. Adjustment is a process and we didn’t adjust to life in Cameroon quickly, but over a process and it’s the same with returning to the USA. There is a cultural stress/adjustment bell curve and it’s a year long curve.

There have been many more questions, but I’ll stop at five.

We are happy to answer any questions you have for us. We also love to talk about Cameroon – it’s part of who we are now and where we have lived the past five years.

Posted in home | Tagged Home, transition | 2 Comments

Fun Connections

Posted on July 30, 2015 by David

During our travels, we were blessed with being able to reconnect with friends who we worked with in Cameroon.

While in Ohio, a co-worker from the school where DeAnna worked, Kay, was staying with her sister only 28 minutes away from David’s sister’s house. DeAnna went to visit Kay. Please pray for Kay, she left Cameroon on May 30th and since her return has had a lumpectomy and discovery of cancer and will undergo radiation.

Also, while in Ohio, colleagues who worked in Cameroon and lived a few doors down from us during our first term, live about 30 minutes away from David’s sister’s house. All of us were invited to a cookout and pool time at their home. It was great to be able to meld our two worlds together – thanks Jim & Jacque!

While in Pennsylvania, a family who we are friends with from Cameroon were visiting their family about 45 minutes away from where we were staying. We got together for pizza in a park. The boys were reunited with friends from Cameroon and all of them were happy to play together.

Being with our friends, who we met in Cameroon and could spend time with this summer, was an uplifting blessing. It was nice to chat about our struggles, new learning curves, bloopers, share about Cameroon and share about new discoveries.

Posted in home | Tagged friends, Home, travels | 2 Comments