DELAY

Our bags are packed and we are ready to go...however, we haven't received our paperwork yet and have postponed our plane tickets. Our plan was to leave on the 4th of July, but we are now waiting until we have the documents we need before re-booking our flight. Keep lifting us up in prayer!

Bedtime Questions

The kids were getting to bed pretty late tonight, and they were trying to stay up as long as possible. Here are the questions I got called back into their rooms for:

Boaz: Are elephants warm blooded, or cold blooded? What about dogs? How do cold blooded animals get warm?
Asher: Why does lightning come from the earth?
Nandry: What's 255 plus 265...no wait, I mean 165 plus 165?

I love them so much! I can't explain where those questions came from. Maybe Boaz was thinking about his stuffed animals...we haven't seen lightning for a few days...and the random numbers????

Pray for us all as we go through another transition from life in the US to life in the Cameroon jungle. Nandry's been getting very sad about all the people that we are leaving behind.

Sorting...to store, toss or pack.

The kids lined up all their stuffed animals so they could watch a show that Nandry and Boaz were going to perform. I'm deep in the packing mode, so when I see anything going on like this in our house, I can't stop and enjoy it because I'm thinking of what category it needs to be in (store in the US, take to Cameroon, or throw away/give away). Then I think about the best way to get rid of the things we aren't keeping without the kids or Nathan noticing and making a big stink. First of all, I can't believe all of the stuff we have collected in the past year. When we leave, we'll have 10 suitcases, 50 lbs each, that is our allowance, plus 5 carry-ons. Seems like alot, but it's filling up quickly and we still haven't packed some of the big stuff like Nathan's drill and possibly a keyboard and a propane water heater. Our first term we didn't use all of our luggage allowance and only had 9 suitcases. But, we did ship a bunch of stuff over. We are trying to avoid shipping things this time.

Our bush house is small, so each time I pack something I try to picture where it's going to go in our house (there's no more space in our kitchen for any more appliances like the smoothie maker Nathan wants to bring).

It's easier for me to "go without" and not buy/pack things that are more frivolous. But it's so difficult to demand that the kids do this. Nandry wants to take all of her crafts, dolls and toys but is ok with leaving all of her stuffed animals. Boaz wants to take everything because he wants to show the Baka kids and give some of it away to his Baka friends 'cause "they will think it's so awesome". Asher wants to take everything, even stuff that Nandry and Boaz are leaving.

I hate that we live so high above the Baka people when we are in Cameroon, but yet compared to being here in the States we really have so little. Packing is such a stressful time for me when I think about it in this way.

So for now we leave behind bikes & scooters, tea sets, stuffed animals, dress-up clothes, Nerf guns, body boards, musical instruments, decorations and kitchen appliances to surprise us when we come back with how big we've grown and how much we didn't really NEED them in the first place.

Buried in the likeness of His death...

...raised to walk in newness of life. Nandry and I got baptized today on our last Sunday at Atlantic Shores, which also happens to be Father's Day. T. Jay Williams, the youth pastor, performed the baptism. Nandry was a bit nervous and not sure what to expect, so she was glad that I went first while she stood in the tank and watched. I'm so glad that I got to share this experience with my daughter. It was a happy day for Nathan too, and a Father's day that he'll never forget.

Graduation

The words of the Dora the Explorer song are stuck in my head, "We did it! We did it! We did it, yea! Lo hicimos! We went OVER to the States and started preschool. We did it! We did it! We did it, hooray! We went THROUGH the school year and learned our alphabet. We did it!..." Oh boy.
Asher didn't want to go to graduation because he wasn't really sure what it meant and what it required of him. When we told him it was basically getting a piece of paper that said he didn't have to go to preschool anymore, he didn't believe us. The ceremony was cute. I've never seen so many cameras and camcorders in one place before. The kids pledged to the flag, the Christian flag, the Bible, and then sang some songs that they had learned throughout the year. It was so great that Asher got a chance to be in this environment with lots of kids his own age and with such loving and kind teachers. I'm not sure if Asher (all the way on the left) is actually singing in this picture...I kind of think he's yawning. With all the activities of the past week, the kids haven't been getting to bed as early as they should.

He did it!!

Disney...a month ago already!!!

I really need to catch up on blogging. Here is a photo of all the Crane cousins en France at Epcot, 9 kids ranging in age from almost 2 years old to 8 years old. We spent 2 weeks in Orlando with my parents and my brother's families. The kids had such a great time vacationing, and we enjoyed the getaway. We went to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios (MGM) and Sea World. I think that Sea World was our favorite with Epcot & MGM tying for a close second...but it was all incredible. The place we stayed at had 2 different pools with kid splash zones and a lazy river, so some days we just hung out there! The kids got to experience their first roller coasters, see trainers riding killer whales, be 4 feet away from an enormous gorilla and share all of this and so much more with their cousins. I posted more pictures on Facebook, so if you have an account, look us up.

Our Week at COD

It's already been 3 weeks since we were in Pennsylvania at COD's Mission Festival. It was a really great time getting to know the church a little bit and meeting so many of their congregation there in York, PA as well as spending time with some seasoned missionaries from around the globe. This weekend, Nathan is driving back up to COD to speak on Sunday night. We've been "in process" with them since before Christmas and we are hoping that they will decide to take us on for support. It would help us out tremendously towards our goal of getting back to Cameroon by July 4th.

One of the activities during the week was a trip to Gettysburg. It was fun for the kids to sit on the cannons and they learned about the Civil War. The kids even enjoyed the museum and cyclorama and riding on the church bus.


While in PA, we stayed at the Crane's house at Lake Meade. As soon as we got there, Boaz was eyeing the fishing pole. He caught 2 fish during the week, both bass, I think. The weather was kind of cold, but that didn't stop the kids from enjoying the water. They swam the first 2 evenings we were there (it wasn't as cold) and used the water toys during the other days. I didn't get a picture, but we even spent an afternoon with Darla, our previous tutor in Cameroon. We all have a very special bond with her since being in Cameroon together. The kids were thrilled to hang out with Darla, roast marshmallows and make s'mores.

Saturday Night Game Show

We are back after 3 weeks of traveling, frantically trying to get caught up and even get ahead (is that possible?). One of the highlights of our trip was participating in Branywine Bible Church's Mission Fun Night. I copied a PowerPoint presentation of Millionaire complete with theme music and added a few questions about Cameroon. Brian Y., the Mission Coordinator, printed out an awesome sign from his studio for the advent. During the game, Nathan the host led our contestants in the hot seat from the status of Average Joe to Missionaire (French for missionary). We even had the option of take away 2 answers, ask the audience and everyone's favorite: phone a Baka. Ellis (pictured below with Nathan) was our young grand prize winner, impressing everyone with his knowledge of Baka culture.

The Greatest Show on Earth!

Last Saturday was the first time Nandry, Boaz, Asher and I ever went to the circus (Nathan went too, but he's been to the circus before). It was incredible!

We got there early so that we could walk around and see the animals and the pre-show. We stayed at the tiger cage for about 15 minutes...it was amazing to be so close to animals that could do you so much harm. One of the tigers roared and jumped at another tiger and my heart just stopped as a wave of fear overtook me. When we were looking at the elephants getting ready for the show, one worker was strapping on the elephant's harness and was practically underneath the elephant making sure it was on correctly. You couldn't pay me enough to do that and be under an animal so huge it could trample me.

This performer was being held in the elephant's mouth!!



The performers who did their routines with the ribbons dangling from the ceiling were a big hit. What incredible skills. It's amazing that some of these folks are 4th generation circus performers. What an interesting life, growing up in the circus!








I love getting pictures at just the right moment! That was a pretty small ring, up pretty high in the air for him to jump through!

We had such a great time and we'll go again next time we are in the States if we get a chance to!

Easter with the Conrods

We spent last weekend and part of the week in a huge cabin in Pigeon Forge, TN with the Conrods. There were 9 adults and 10 kids, plus we got to visit with Nathan's Grandfather and his Uncle's family who live in the area. Easter Morning, the kids came in single file to find their baskets all in a row. You can tell in the picture that Boaz was disappointed looking at a blue horsey and a baby doll, until he realized that wasn't his basket!


We got everyone dressed up, Nandry and KK had matching dresses, matching shoes, and matching dresses on their dolls. It was pretty sweet and they looked like they could be twins. We got a few pictures with Grandma and Grandpa then headed off to the little church down the road.







The 19 of us descended upon this tiny Missionary Baptist church and we almost doubled their attendance. We weren't sure what to expect, and were wondering what we had gotten ourselves into...how 'bout that sign above the pulpit (KJV only)? The church was happy to have us and they got Leigh (Nathan's brother-in-law) up front to sing. He has such an amazing voice...and was singing w/o accompaniment.


Mom got in on the action too and was our pianist for the day. It was neat to be able to be a blessing to this church and the kids did super well during the LONG service where the pastor preached and YELLED his message. It was definitely unforgettable, though next time I think we'll go for something a little more contemporary and a little less...quaint.


We spent the rest of the day with Nathan's Uncle's family (6 more adults and 2 little kids) having a blast hiding and hunting eggs, stuffing ourselves with Aunt Vicky's good food and just being together.