Conrod Christmas Tradition

Nathan chopped up an Inga tree limb and drilled holes in it again this year to use as our Yule log for holding our Advent candles. The kids are having fun going through last year's Advent of Ideas book and remembering some of this things we did and the things we talked about, and doing them again this year. Becky Novak (between Nathan and Asher in the picture) is here with us for 4 more weeks. She's been here since mid October as a tutor for the kids. We are excited to have her as part of our family for Christmas.

Traditionally you light one candle on each Sunday for 4 weeks before Christmas, then light the 5th (middle) on Christmas Day. Our Sundays have gotten pretty busy lately with Nathan, and sometimes the whole family, going up to Mayos in the late afternoon to share the Bible Likano (stories) with the Baka. So, Monday night is our candle lighting night. This past Monday I got out my flute and played along with some of the Christmas songs we sang. It was eerily quiet outside which gave Silent Night a pretty neat feel as we sang it together.

The Tail of 2 Bad Mice...for dinner

Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca had been caught in a trap in the forest...and is that a rat flavored bouillon cube?

Roasting...helps singe the little hairs off.

How about a game of checkers while it stews?

This is what we've been waiting for...really, why do people ask if it tastes like chicken?

Thanks Mom, we had our first bite, you got the picture, what's REALLY for dinner?

Snicker, Snicker

Instead of Home Depo, maybe you should stop by the BM Hardware store. They have a sale on toilets this week...heehee.

Returning to Normal

This was definitely a low point of the last 3 weeks. Both boys started off 3 weeks ago with fevers and general lethargy every other day. Then finally they both crashed, Sunday, 2 weeks ago with vomiting, no appetite and incredible fatigue. We tested for malaria and they both tested positive, so we started a round of meds. They had trouble keeping these down. When we finally finished a 3 day treatment, and they still weren't any better, we had blood labs done in Dimako (the closest town about 5 miles away) at the Catholic clinic. Asher's malaria level was 2+ (that's pretty high) and Boaz' was 3+ (very high!), and that was after treating them already. They also found various bacteria in their gut that we needed to treat as well, thinking it was causing the vomiting and diarrhea. So, they came home and our nurse/teammate Jennifer started them on a quinine drip for the malaria. That's what this picture is of. There was still over a week of throwing up, and Boaz had sever pain in his stomach area that wouldn't let up.

They were slowly getting a little more energy, and were very tired/bored of not having the strength to go outside and play. At one point, I put on a movie for the boys and after a few minutes, Boaz asked, "Mama, can you PLEASE just turn that off?" Just when I thought one of them was turning the corner, they would have a bad night or be in pain or throw up again. Nathan took Boaz to the clinic again this past Friday, and got another round of meds for yeast in Boaz' gut. The nurses thought maybe this was causing the stomach pain. After 2 days of those meds, Boaz hasn't complained at all about his stomach. Both boys are outside right now, running around with the Baka kids. It's good to see. Asher has much more color in his face, and Boaz is looking a lot better too. They both have lost weight, their pants are loose and their ribs are showing. You can even see it in their faces how thin they look (I'm not posting a picture, I don't want to scare grandparents!).

Now that they're eating again, I'm not putting any limits or restrictions on what they want for the next few weeks...though they'll still have to eat the good-for-them stuff along with the chocolate cake and hot cocoa. :) Fatten these babies up!

Thank God with us for the medical help we do have available out here. Thank Him for carrying us through this crazy time. We even had visitors from the US for a few days, on a field visit to explore the idea of coming to Cameroon long term. Lets hope we didn't scare them off! We have currently upped our dosage of malaria prophylaxis. If you remember last year about this time, Boaz got malaria and it kept recurring until January. Thank God that things are getting back to normal, we only missed a week of school for the boys (plus some extra assignments that fell through the cracks and we aren't looking back). Thank God with us that Becky Novak is here until the end of December to tutor the kids. This has been a huge blessing! The Lord has even blessed us with a relaxing weekend, fairly quiet, not many demands and time to hang out as a family and team. Thanks again for all of your prayers!

Birthin'

Ever seen a praying mantis laying eggs? I love living here in the jungle and having a continuous science class. (Though sometimes the indiscretion with which the rooster & hen population choose to demonstrate their ability to, um...reproduce..is a bit embarrassing.) This praying mantis put it's eggs on the side of our house. Once we started looking around, we realized the same kind of egg sacks are all over the place!

New Doo

Are you humming the theme from Little House on the Prairie? I don't know why I waited so long to get my haircut. Well, maybe it was because my caveman liked it so much. Sometimes out here in the rainforest we lose touch with reality and stop caring so much how we look.

Now that Boaz is growing his hair long, Asher wants long hair too. But Asher's hair is so straight and thick that we didn't think he'd really enjoy how hot it would make him. So...I told Asher that if he let me cut his hair, I'd let him cut mine. He was all over it!



We cut off about 15 inches. Asher did the major cutting. Nathan worked on it a bit after that, and I tried to even some things up in the front, but we were thankful that our teammate Jennifer walked by and was willing (and very able) to finish it up and get it looking nice.



The kids have raved about the new look. I guess it's really flattering because they all keep commenting how pretty I look. :)

Catching up

So I didn't blog about Boaz' birthday because we were traveling. We ended up having a small party at a restaurant in Bamenda with a few friends on his birthday, and then having a double party when we got back to celebrate our teammate Jennifer's birthday too. It was good to be back home!




Drum drum want gum gum. Couldn't resist. Though everyone else thinks it looks like it could be from veggie tales.




So here's our teammate Heidi. She and Asher totally have the same shirt! How did that happen? We are so glad that Heidi is here. She's working on agricultural development with the Baka during these next two years. We, personally, have learned so much from her about different plants and how to grow them. I have bok choy in my garden, among other cool things I'm not quite sure what to do with, because of her!

Wildlife

I almost didn't post this on our blog...life in the bush is getting too normal for us.

This is a Gabon Viper. These kinds of snakes are found out in the forest. Since they are so poisonous, they often chop the head off and bury it (for various reasons, include that they don't want anyone to accidentally touch the venom) in the forest before they carry the rest of the snake back. There's lots of meat on a snake like this, and the texture when it's cooked is somewhat between fish and lobster, though the taste is mild.

Last Home Assignment we had a viper skin that we'd put on our display table sometimes, but it was pretty dried up, cracked, and faded. Nathan looked online how to treat a snake skin, and with a lot of glycerin, rubbing alcohol and elbow grease he got the skin supple and the color still looks amazing. We've even had requests from craft makers here to trade Nathan something for the skin.

Buddies!

We are so thankful that our teammates, the Abbotts, are back in Cameroon. We got to see them for a few days before we left for our homeschool session in Bamenda. The reunion was sweet, and the kids picked up right where they left off two years ago.

Village Checkers

Oh how we take our education for granted. How we are taught logical deduction and systematic problem solving. We introduce games at a young age that sharpen our reasoning skills. These are skills that the Baka often lack. Yesterday, Nathan cut a piece of plywood into a square because our neighbors had been asking him if they could use some of the wood to create a game that they’ve seen. The board is basically a checkered board…which took them 3 tries to get the pattern correct. A simple checkered pattern…every other, black, white took a great deal of concentration. They cut the game pieces out of 2 different colored bucket lids. The game is similar to our game of checkers, but the board is bigger, there are more pieces and some of the rules are a little different. The pieces are all pawns that can only move diagonally forwards and one “chief” that can move in any direction.

We really enjoyed the crowd of guys that the game drew to our mbanjo (cooking/sitting/gathering shelter) for pretty much the whole day. It was neat that they taught our kids how to play. Boaz, our gamer, really got into it and even won a couple of times against the older Baka boys.

When Sufaio was playing against Boaz, as they were setting up the board he had one extra piece…or so it looked, to Boaz. He had 4 even rows of pawns, then one extra that he placed on the next row. Boaz only had 4 even rows w/o an extra, so he tried to convince Sufaio that the piece didn’t belong. Sufaio argued, counted his pieces, and said that it was correct. So Boaz conceded and they played and Boaz won that game. At the end of each game, the players switch colored pawns, so Boaz now had the set that Sufaio had had. I watched as Boaz set up his side of the board for the next game. When he got his four rows even, and had the extra piece still in his hand, he swiftly chucked it while Sufaio wasn’t looking...and they started playing without Sufaio even noticing. Cracked me up so bad!

We've Got Beeeeees!

After setting out the beehive last term, with no success and then trying again this term, a colony of bees finally decided to make it their home. The Baka LOVE honey...who doesn't, right? But the Baka are known for climbing tall, tall trees to gather "phoki" (honey). So why not bring the bees to them? Nathan would love to learn all about bee keeping and teach some of our Baka neighbors.
Here is looking into the hive and seeing the combs starting to form. How quickly they work, only having been there maybe 3 months.
Below is our local bee man, Michel Miel (Michael Honey). He is not Baka, but he is interested in passing on his knowledge to Nathan and the Baka about beekeeping. Notice that none of them have bee suits on. Michel, the expert, who very very slowly and gingerly handled the combs, says that he wouldn't be able to do this if the hive was bigger, and if it had been a sunnier day when the bees were more active. He's also told Nathan to go and talk to the bees everyday, so they get use to people and don't think that they are a threat. :)

Nandry in the Double Digits

Yesterday we celebrated our beautiful daughter's 10th birthday. How has time flown so fast? Parties here in the jungle are more low-key, but we did all we could to make is super special for Nandry. When we were decorating yesterday (Nandry decorated her own cake and made all of the twisted streamers for the walls), Nandry got all excited and said, "Who all is coming?...Oh yeah, everybody." Meaning, the 5 of us plus Jennifer & Heidi our teammates. Often for the boys, we have games and things outside with the Baka kids, but for Nandry there aren't any girls around here her age that she can play with, just boys.
We played games, had cake and home made ice cream, opened presents and had a good time celebrating.
I was so impressed with Boaz and Asher. I let them pick out one present each that they could give to Nandry that I had been storing for the occasion. Little did I know that both of them were way ahead of me and each had already made/prepared something for Nandry for her birthday. Asher was doing some wood working with Nathan and nailed together some flat boards to look like a birthday cake. He also gave her his art project that he had made while we were in our last home school group session. Boaz made Nandry a board game, complete with pawns and cards (but needing dice...he couldn't quite get his ball of tape square enough to work for a die) and created a treasure map that she had to follow to find where he hid her present. Are they not the sweetest? Here's a picture of Nandry hugging Asher, thanking him for his gifts.
The highlight of the night was when Nathan brought in his project that he had secretly made during the last week (with a bad hand, still not strong and bending like is should). Nandry was wild with excitement, but not sure what it was. She thought at first it was a funny looking dollhouse. Nathan had made a bunny cage, and this coming Monday we are going to let Nandry pick out a bunny from a place down the road that raises rabbits. Also on Monday we will go to Bertoua during the day to swim at one of the hotels there, to celebrate and have another fun thing for her as well as a day off for us.

I'm posting more pictures of her birthday party on facebook, so check them out as well!

Nathan's Son

Nkolbikon...the 2nd journey

Here's Nathan's story of his second camping trip to Nkolbikon:

On Monday, June 14^th I drove with Jennifer, Heidi, Sufaio, Samba, Samedi and Assi for my 2^nd trip to Nkolbikon. The road was muddy and we almost bottomed out once in ruts made by large trucks, but we never got stuck. Soon after we arrived, it started raining so I had to wait before setting up the tent. When Jennifer and Heidi left and I started to set up the tent, one of the poles broke but I had extra with me and was able to fix it.

That night we had a Bible Likano time and did the Creation story. It went well.

Tuesday, the guys and I, after a breakfast of plantains, went out to trap forest mice (rats). Setting up traps took most of the day. That evening, in the dark, I was shining my flashlight for Sufaio’s stepmom as she prepared dinner for everybody. I saw that we had a nice dish of meat and upon closer inspection realized that it was some of the rats we caught earlier. I got to have my first tasty meal of rats that evening, right before we did the Likano of Adam and Eve. I had Sufaio lead the discussion time, and it went well.

Wednesday morning, they wanted to go out and check and reset the traps. I got my machete and spent some time sharpening it really, really well and I was proud of how sharp I had gotten it. We headed out and I put my machete on my head, Baka style, so I could put on my long-sleeved button-up shirt as we walked. I took the machete down with my right hand and I went to place it in my left arm with the back of the blade in the crook of the arm and the handle in my palm. I did not place it well and it fell, cutting my left hand. I felt a strong tinge of not only pain but electric shock in my hand where it hit me. So I took off the shirt and wrapped the sleeve tightly around my hand. At that point I didn’t quite know how bad it was. I gave the machete to Sufaio, who didn’t have one with him, and said, “You guys go on I need to go back.”

Back at the camp, when Sufaio’s stepmom saw me, she said, “What’s wrong?” As I tried to tell her I started to go dizzy and went down on my knees, starting to faint on the ground. She came near, “Natan, Natan, e a pe? e a pe? Nathan, what’s going on?” I couldn’t speak for a few minutes until I regained my breath and strength. Others gathered around and helped me into the house onto a bamboo bed, where I laid and rested for a few minutes. I realized that my left forefinger was numb as if it had fallen asleep and I probably should get someone to look at it and sew it up. I sent money for a moto (motorcycle taxi) to come pick me up. We waited over an hour before I started to walk with Sufaio (he’d come back from the forest in that time, with a rat that got caught in one of my traps!). We walked for 10 min when the moto arrived.

It started raining really hard on the way to Petit Pol, the closest “town” that was 4 km away. We stopped at a little shack boutique and tried to get out of the rain and waited about 20 min. The rain didn’t totally stop and I asked the driver to take me to the “hospital” (3 room building with a waiting room, small office and examination room) there in Petite Pol. I assumed the road back to our place would be too bad after the rain.

The doctor was there and cleaned the cut with antibiotic wash and then betadine (which was extrememly painful). He said that he couldn’t sew it up well and I’d have to go to the hospital in Bertoua. I told him that I didn’t have any way to get there he said, “Well I’ll stitch it up then. Sorry I don’t have any Novocain.” While I was laying my head down getting ready to bear the pain, I decided to ask him more about the lack of feeling in my finger. He said, “Oh I’m just stitching you up so you don’t bleed anymore. You’ll have to get these taken out when you can get to Bertoua and they’ll do surgery on your hand.” I decided NOT to have him sew me up because it really wasn’t bleeding that badly and had him just wrap and tape it, and I went on my way.

The moto was waiting for me and was willing to try to take me the 12km back to my place. We slipped and slid all the way back in the mud. I think the moto fell 4 times. The 3^rd time it scrapped up and burnt my calf but we never completely wiped out into the muck. I was never so happy to see the entrance to our place.

Laurel was worried as she saw me arrive back, days early, by moto, with my hand wrapped up. Jennifer was able to sew the wound closed and wrap it in a sling to keep it elevated. I was pampered all day Thursday and enjoyed sleeping in my own bed.

Friday afternoon, a Baka neighbor and I (one-handed) started out in our truck take a less muddy route, the long way around, to get back to Nkolbikon. This road was pretty good except for a bridge where I had to move boards around so I could cross without falling through.

When we got there, they were excited to see me and said how their hearts were worried and they were glad I was back. I heard that Sufaio and Samba did a good job while I was gone. They did the Likano Wednesday night but didn’t get to the right story on the mp3 player. They were going to play David and Goliath but ended up playing John the Baptist. I heard that Thursday not many people showed up, just a small handful and the mp3 player’s batteries had died. So they skipped the Likano but still sang and prayed. I kept letting them know that they did a good job without me and this just goes to show them that they CAN do it in the future.

The Likano time that night went extremely well. A lot people came, even people from the upper part of the camp came down to join us. We had over 60 people that night and had a great time singing with so many voices. I told them I was sad because it was going to be my last time there doing Likano for a while but I was hoping send others to do the storying. I encouraged them to meet together themselves for times of praising God and prayer, and just like I wasn’t there when they carried on that Wed & Thurs, they can go out and spread God’s word themselves.

After that night, Abeyi (Sufaio’s dad) said, “When might you go to Mayos I? Maybe we could go with you and share God’s Word with them.” I said I didn’t know when but that’s exactly what I’d love to happen. My heart was encouraged.

Then Saturday morning I cleaned up my site, packed up the tent said my good byes and headed back home with the guys.

Sufaio's family, L-R: Aunt with her baby, Father Abeyi, Little Brother Assi, Stepmom Ana and Sufaio. The two little girls are twins - Sufaio's half sisters.

Village & Likano

We want to blog a little more about some of our Baka Likano story times, this is an excerpt from Nathan's journal from his first camping trip to Nkolbikon in April:

So it's Monday - the day I'm supposed to leave for Nkolbikan. Sufaio is already there - he's expecting me. Five other guys decide they want to join me. One guy is a blind fellow who spends his days playing an aita (a 7-string African instrument) and singing. His name is Bado.

It rained a lot last night and the road to Nkolbikan isn't good. It takes me just under an hour to go 16 km. Thank God for 4X4.

We arrive to find that Sufaio's family and many others are on a forest trip. They said they would be back, yesterday. We sit. We sit. We sit. It's a common pastime here. I figure it's time to set up my tent. Sufaio helps while everybody else ooohs and aaahs. (Actually, in Baka, it's wόooooo). Then Sufaio and I go bathe at the stream and come back to sit... again.

This time we're around someone's cook fire. Bado is playing his aita and singing - so sitting becomes more enjoyable. Sufaio brings over cooked spinach-like greens (cassava leaves) and potato-like roots (also cassava) and he, his little brother Assi and I eat it with our fingers. It’s actually very good. I watch as a woman boils more cassava added to oily liquid from boiling palm nuts, and also adds some mashed roasted peanuts. To my delight we are served a large bowl full to share. This time I get to use a spoon. It, too, is good.

I had told Sufaio that he was in charge of getting people together and deciding when and where, etc. I hear them discussing the best place to meet, and then he tells me it is time. We go back to where we sat during the afternoon and wait on others to come. We are facing north and over the following hour I get to watch the big dipper rise into the sky.

A half hour later more people come and finally, Bado strikes up some music. He leads the singing for a while until his repertoire of Christian Baka songs is complete and then Sufaio leads a few more. More people join as we sing until there are around 30 people. Though I am disappointed that Sufaio’s family is still in the forest, the turn out is good.

As I prepare my MP3 player to play the Creation Likano for them, I find that it isn't listed. Disappointed, I think about my options and decide that maybe it is best to start at Cain and Able anyway since I only have a few times to share here. I sum up the Creation and mentioned how God loved mankind and loved to be with them when they were perfect - but then they disobeyed and "badness" has continued until today. I play the Cain and Able likano for them and, when it’s over, try to make sure they understand it and it's implications (ie - you might not have killed anybody but we've all sinned). Then I pray for them. After that, Sufaio asks if the folks have truly understood and he prays too. We all sing a few more songs and I feel my spirit rise as everyone seems to be enjoying the time. I pray that God would do mighty things.

It is late. We have met for about an hour - from about 8pm to 9pm. Sufaio tells them not to take so long congregating tomorrow.

So now I'm in my tent - typing this out on my netbook - surrounded by forest and people who live off of the forest - must go to sleep.

****To read more about our experiences at Nkolbikon, check our our April Archives

Basket Weaving

About 2 weeks ago, I mentioned to Pauline that I needed some baskets, and that if she didn't mind teaching me, I'd love to learn how to make them too. I told her that I'd even love to go out to the forest with her and collect the plant that they cut the reed off of to make the baskets with. She said fine. I waited for a few days, but thought she'd forgotten or wasn't interested. But, last Saturday, Nathan forgot to tell me but he had talked with Sufiyo the previous day, who had told him that the previous day (we're back to last Thursday, stay with me) he came by and was supposed to let me know that Pauline was ready for me to come and make baskets...but he (Sufiyo) forgot. Anyway, Sunday afternoon I set off to Koo, the village less than a half mile away to learn some basket weaving skills. Pauline had already gotten the material, but hadn't stripped it into thin reeds yet.


It took a while to understand the pattern and method to doing it, but I caught on pretty quickly. They were able to see my mistakes and correct them pretty easily for me. The hardest parts were starting out and transitioning from the bottom to the sides. It looked like we had finished, but Pauline was saying something about me coming back the next day (Monday). So, I left the basket and agreed to come back the next day. Well, Monday I went back and she said, "You left your basket." Yes, I had. And we promptly started making ANOTHER basket. I asked, "Oh, what kind of basket are we making today?" And the response was a laugh with "She asked what kind we were making today." And we started again, just as we had done yesterday. Nice, so I guess she was making sure I had retained it all over night. But it was good to have that immediate refresher, and I noticed that this basket was coming along more quickly. We didn't quite finish this one when she said, "Are you done? You can come back tomorrow to finish." I have yet to go back, there have been too many things this week keeping me from another afternoon of basket weaving. I'm also a little intimidated because Nathan heard the ladies saying that they wanted me to learn how to make a BIG basket like they use for hauling all their forest findings in. We'll see. Tomorrow, after school with the kids, I'll go back and see what's in store for our next basket making session.


Life here is still so confusing to me. I'm still in a fog most of the time with the Baka language, which I know attributes to my confusion...but a lot of things are cultural on my side and their side, and how we each have expectations that the other doesn't understand. I gifted her both days before we started basket making with clothes and food, thinking how nice and generous I was...but it still seemed like they expected me to pay them for teaching me. The second day, she mentioned that she could buy salt across the road at her neighbor's house, but it would cost her 200 francs. I thought it was just a random comment and said, "wow, 200 francs, really?" Then as I was going home, she sent 3 of her little kids/grandkids following me. I asked them if they were coming to see Jennifer (the nurse) and they said no. I asked if they were coming to see me and they said yes. I asked why, and they answered that their mother was sending them. I asked for what, and they didn't answer. I asked if their mother wanted money, they said no. Wondering what in the world I had missed, they finally said their mother wanted salt. Oh, so that was what the 200 franc salt comment was about. I had no salt to give them...if only these things could be talked through more clearly. I'm not even sure that a thorough understanding of the language would have helped me out there. I ended up sending them back with 200 francs. At least she could buy salt from her neighbor, maybe?
Anyway, she's waiting for me to come back tomorrow, and I will, to finish my #2 basket, and possibly start "the big one". Who knows? Anyway, for the most part, I'm enjoying myself and getting to spend time with the ladies while we are actually doing something and I don't feel like I'm just a bump on a log.

Princess Cool and Her Boys

She left the shades on for quite a while, even strutted around a bit. The boys thought it was great!

Movie Night

Tonight, Nathan and the kids crowded around our portable (7in screen) DVD player with 20 of our next door neighbors. We showed an episode of BBC's Planet Earth, borrowed from some missionary friends here in Cameroon, the episode called "Jungle". They loved it, even though it was in English.

If anyone feels sorry for us...as they sit comfortably alone in front of their 4ft flat screen...we are in the market for an LED projector (small/portable). That wasn't even subtle, was it?

Anyway, despite the tiny screen, we really enjoy times of fun and entertainment with our neighbors.

School’s Not Quite Out Yet

We have 5 more curriculum weeks to go…but I’m trying to pack into the next 3 weeks. I think we can do it, but the kids are seriously suffering from school overload. We started the school year about a month late because of our visa delays last year, and having to wait longer than we expected to get back to Cameroon.

Nathan is finishing up Science and History with the kids (he’s been doing these subjects for at least half of the school year, lightening my load a good bit). When I passed by the kid’s room while Nathan was reading the history book, this is the sight I saw…too precious!

Here’s Nandry in the “classroom” corner of our bedroom. I have to do all three kids in turn, and then send them out to the kitchen table to finish their seat work on their own. Oh to have more space…but we make do just the same.

Au Jardin

I got to do some gardening with the neighborhood kids. They helped me pull weeds and had fun using the hoe to try to make rows for me to plant on. I had on work gloves so that I wouldn’t get poked by the thorny weeds and I kept hearing the Baka kids say something about a monkey. It turns out that their term for those types of gloves is “monkey hands”! I love talking with the little kids because they don’t care how bad I butcher their language; they always giggle and smile. They got rewarded with cookies and I gave the two girls that actually worked about 20 cents each and they were very satisfied. Cheap labor!

Thank You Ikea!

We bought these gymnastic “rings” from the States at Ikea and our kids have become quite the gymnasts since we put them up. I though this picture was too funny, because it looks like Asher parachuted in, and got stuck from the rafters of our house. I wish we had enough bandwidth to post video, because Boaz and Asher figured out a way to each swing on a ring and wrap themselves around each other, like two tether balls. It’s too funny.

Beach Part 2

I'm not feeling very wordy today. Enjoy a few more photos of our vacation at the beach.

Gotta love Nathan's waterproof camera! These fish liked to examine our toes when we were in the freshwater stream.