Pretty as a market plum

Posted on January 14, 2015 by David

DeAnna shared that plums here are nothing like what we were used to in the US. We tried them once and haven’t purchased them again. I can attest that they are shining on the outside and taste like no other fruit on the inside, I’m not a fan of bitter fruit. When Keith Patman was checking 1 Peter 3:3 he found “plum” right in the middle and I can understand why he was surprised but they choose the right word for anyone who has ever eaten a Cameroonian “plum”.

Bob Creson's avatarBob Creson

Gunu Parables Photo Courtesy Bob Creson, Nugunu Visit, January 2012

Wycliffe translation consultant, Keith Patman, had not expected to see the word for “plum” right in the middle of 1 Peter 3:3, but there it was! The back translation into English read, “Wives, don’t try to be pretty like a market plum, by braiding your hair and putting on gold jewelry and beautiful clothes.”

Concerned for clear, natural and accurate translation, Keith asked the Gunu translation team, “Why did you use that?”

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Food Comparison

Posted on January 13, 2015 by David

Recently a Facebook friend posted a picture on her page comparing produce and groceries that were the same cost.  I (DeAnna) liked the idea and decided to do it too.  When we lived in the US we would half joke about not being able to leave Wal-Mart without spending $20, however, here we half joke about not being able to leave a store that’s like Dollar General without spending $50 because of the higher price for foods like mayonnaise, ketchup, canned tuna, canned items and snack food like pretzels.  Below the picture shows $20 worth of produce, $20 worth of meat and $20 worth of random groceries to show a comparison.

In the pile with meat, there is 2 lbs of ground beef, 4 chicken breast and 4 pork chops.

In the grocery pile there is a jar of mayonnaise, a bottle of ketchup, a can of corn, 1 c. worth of butter, a bag with about 2 c. of pretzels (the bags of chips and pretzels are small), 1 package of sandwich cheese, 2 c. of shredded mozzarella and a small piece (the equivalent of 1 c. of shredded) cheddar cheese.

In the produce pile there is 6 green peppers, 6 onions, 2 pineapples, 3 avocados, 19 carrots, about 6 c. of green beans, 14 potatoes, 12 tomatoes, 6 papayas, 6 imported apples, 1 cucumber, 5 zucchini, 15 clementines, 15 lemons and 5 heads of romaine lettuce.

food comparison 1food comparison

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Hospitality

Posted on January 8, 2015 by David

I (DeAnna) remember taking a class at our home church that was a Spiritual gifts inventory.  I scored high on hospitality.  I enjoy being hospitable and hosting others, however, I didn’t really become a true host until we started living in Cameroon.

In the States we would host people for meals or to stay with us in our home, but only after scheduling.  It’s just not acceptable to show up at someone’s house around a meal time unannounced and without a scheduled visit, especially with the expectation that they’ll include you in the meal.

Since living in Cameroon we’ve hosted hundreds of people.  I decided to keep track in 2014 of how often we hosted others for meals and staying with us.  We only had seven days of someone else staying with us, however, we hosted meals in our home 67 times in 2014 (that doesn’t include the meals when people did stay with us or the meals I’ve taken to others in their home) for a mixture of families, couples, groups and singles.  It makes me smile when the boys remind me that we haven’t had a certain family over yet and they ask when can we have them over.  We’ve had many impromptu show-up at meal time visitors and I just make a quick adjustment so another plate is ready to go.  I would like to continue to host while we are in the States.  It’s a wonderful way to get to know others, catch up with others and show love in a practical way.

hospitality

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Coconut

Posted on January 6, 2015 by David

When we arrived in Cameroon in 2010, we lived on a compound with 22 other housing units and we had a large coconut tree in our front yard.

coconut tree

We arrived on a Friday night and school started for the boys on Monday.  I (DeAnna) ended up teaching that school year, but not until after our orientation time.  That first week of school included a family picnic and I was supposed to bring a dessert to share.  We had just arrived, I hadn’t been to a grocery store and was feeling a bit defeated when I heard a large thump come from our front yard.  When I went to inspect the noise, there was a coconut that had fallen from our coconut tree.  It was like manna falling, helping me with the dessert dilemma. One of the gardeners who care for the grounds of that compound asked if I wanted him to clean off the outer covering with his machete so I could use it.  I said yes and watched him clean off the outer covering for the first time in my life until it looked like what I knew a coconut to look like.  I ended up making coconut macaroons with sweetened condensed milk that I bought at a boutique within walking distance of our home at the time and the fresh coconut.  To my surprise they were a hit and all the macaroons disappeared at the picnic.

In the States when I wanted to use coconut in a dish, I would buy it in a bag from a store that was shredded and sweetened.  Living here I use the real thing and enjoy the natural sweetness and tenderness.

coconut

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Orientation

Posted on January 1, 2015 by David

About four years ago, I (DeAnna) was the orientation coordinator for our branch. I really enjoyed doing it, however, when twenty some people arrived at separate times during a summer break it took me away from our family too much and I couldn’t continue doing it. I’m still involved in orientation, but not heavily involved. I enjoy teaching classes on cooking here, sharing things I learned to hard way in hopes to help someone in their learning journey and more. There is a new family who arrived just after Christmas and I’ve been involved in their orientation. It was just what the doctor ordered, so to speak. As I share things learned on my end, how to live here healthily, how to cook here, etc… I have the privilege to hear the first impressions they have. I get to hear how taken they are with palm trees, coconut trees, layers of red dirt during this dry season, their impressions of the rain forest lushness that surrounds us, etc… When you live somewhere you get used to your surroundings and you just don’t see things like you do with fresh eyes. It’s been a great eye opener for me to see the beauty that surrounds me. It’s a great way to start a new year.  Merci Seigneur!

sunset

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Taxis

Posted on December 30, 2014 by David

I (DeAnna) grew up in rural Missouri. The nearest grocery store (besides Ditty’s Market) is a 20 minute drive. It was second nature to drive 20 minutes to stores, restaurants, entertainment venues, etc… We spent a lot of time in the car. I wasn’t exposed to public transportation and the movies and shows that show public transportation usually aren’t showing it in a good light. When we moved to France in 2009 that was the first time I didn’t have access to a vehicle. We relied on the RER, Metro, Buses and Shuttles to transport us to the places we needed to go. We became quite schooled in connection stations, schedules, etc… We enjoyed being able to use public transportation. When we arrived in Cameroon in 2010, it wasn’t a big deal to us to hail a taxi and use taxis as public transportation. One thing that seems to stand out with taxi public transportation is the smell. In movies and television shows normally a taxi has a tree shaped air freshener. Here, it’s the same thing. However, I think the cause of the odor might differ. I think normally it’s to cover body odor, but this taxi needs it to cover goat odor. David counted at least 10 goats in the taxi.

Goat Taxi

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Spoiled Kitty

Posted on December 24, 2014 by David

I (DeAnna) know people seem to either really like or dislike cats. Some people think it’s insane to spend $50 on cat needs, while others will spend thousands. Everyone is different. Our cat came to us in 2010. She was a kitty that was dumped at a center where a kind, animal loving nurse lived who was in our small group at the time. She asked our boys if they wanted a kitten and before we knew it Fluffy was in our family. Fluffy is a unique cat. She has a lot of personality. She follows me around like a dog. She meows at the door to be let out, uses the outdoors for her potty and meows to be let back in. She plays tag with our dog and with us. She’s very attached to us. When we left in 2012, she stayed with a couple and was stressed out. She lost lots of her fur and wasn’t in good health. She perked back up after we returned and had her living with us again. We started talking about what to do with her when we leave in May. I kept hinting I would like to take her back with us. I tried to make things happen via phone, but came up with nothing. David went in person to the airline office for the airline we use to leave Yaoundé. After a big runaround between that airline and the airline we switch to in Europe, he came out of the office with a paper ticket for our cat to be able to be a piece of our carry-on luggage and fly with us. Fluffy will be coming to America.

Fluffy

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Just For Fun

Posted on December 22, 2014 by David

We were blessed on December 5th when the shipment arrived. We had items on that shipment that were ordered in March. There were two big boxes from loved ones in the States full of tastes of home and things just for fun. One of the just for items was a game called basket head. Jonah was the first to give it go. It’s a Velcro closing headband with an attached basket. There are 20 ping pong type balls that you throw into the air and try to catch in your basket. Now, when we have someone over we have them also try this fun game.

JonahPhilipSuzie

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Lots of Helpers

Posted on December 19, 2014 by David

The children in our neighborhood are curious about us strange white people.  When we open our drive gate they love to peer inside to see what’s behind the gate.  Many of them have been into our home, but that doesn’t stop the peering.  Usually if we wash the car, it’s behind closed gates, however, our car was extra muddy from the mudslide, so David decided to park it just outside our gate to wash it.  This decision proved to be quite fun for the neighborhood children.

I was in the house and kept hearing giggles, so I wanted to check out the progress.  There were about ten little ones playing in the run off water and soap.

workin' at the car washwax on, wax offsmallest helper

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Mail

Posted on December 17, 2014 by David

I remember being able to identify the sound of the mail truck when it would pull up to our mailbox.  Sometimes I would eagerly anticipate the arrival of the mail.  I could predict within about a 30 minute window when our mail would arrive.  I never thought about receiving mail in a mailbox/holder as foreign.  I guess since I grew up with it and in school children are told about it from Kindergarten.

Once we arrived in Cameroon, we were told we would be given a mail slot and when mail came to the SIL box downtown, it would be sorted and placed in our mail slot.  What about bills that are specific to a home?  It’s funny how you get used to your living environment and it didn’t dawn on me until this morning that our water and electric bills are delivered to our physical address, but there isn’t a box/holder/slot to put them in.  We receive them slipped through a crack in our gate or by being placed near the gate.  This morning, we received our water bill.  It was placed under a rock on top of our water meter.

water bill

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