Jesus Is My Superhero...

Being a Godly Superhero was the theme of what we tried to teach the children in Cameroon. After spending maybe 36 hours in Paris after Hungary, the 16 of us on the Cameroon team headed to the Paris airport. We wondered the airport for a while trying to meet up with our luggage...after a little confusion we finally got it!


We saw God working from the very beginning! Once we got to the ticket counter we were told that "The Quad" (the four of us who went to both Hungary and Cameroon) were flying standby and it didn't look like we would make the flight. Immediately the kids started praying, and by the time we got to the gate "The Quad" was welcomed aboard. Every flight I was lucky enough to sit with Trevin, Caroline, and Taylor. God knew that we really needed each other to survive the month away. Here we are on that flight...our 4th flight together on this trip...obviously we had trouble fitting in the picture! :)

We were very tired, but so excited once we landed in Yaounde. We were greeted by Wendy, Gilles, Peters, and some other new friends. I had been emailing and "g-chatting" with Wendy for so long it was so great to finally meet her in person! We spent the first three nights with host families, Jessica, Erin, Emma, and I were with Wendy, Gilles and their kids. The first day was an orientation day where Gilles shared with us some cultural things we needed to learn, and discussed what we might expect during out time there. We had the rest of the day to sort through our belongings and get ready for the conference. The second day was more orientation time...and then the zoo!! It was a random but very fun excursion! We saw lions, a Hyena, tons of monkeys and more!

On Thursday we headed to the conference which was being held at a boarding school. We were the first to arrive, so we had time to get settled into our "home" for the week. Here is a video of where the girls stayed...



Teaching the kids taught us a lot too. We split the kids into 3 groups by age, and had a somewhat structured plan for the groups. We started all together singing songs, sharing the skit, and the Bible story for the day. We would split the kids into their age groups to discuss the Bible story some more, teach memory verses, do crafts, and play games. These kids were not used to the structure, so
we had to learn to let go and adapt to the culture. The first few days were difficult, but we were starting to know the kids better and having fun with them.
Robyn wrote an amazing skit for the kids based on being Godly superheros. Super E is teaching T Boy Boy how to be a superhero, teaching all the different things a superhero needs, and that each thing has to be activated with prayer. The kids really loved the characters and the learned the lessons!


Soccer...or futeball...was the favorite game, especially by the older children. We observed that basically any open area would quickly become a soccer field. These kids were very grateful towards anything that they were given. We brought out blocks and a few other toys and the kids of all ages were so excited to play with them. They had never experienced making crafts as we do here in the states. We made kazoos, foam flowers (which they gave to their parents and their parents were thankful) superhero masks, and superhero capes!


The third day into the conference Peters, the National Director of Navigators for Cameroon, invited us to come and worship with the adults. Their worship is so raw and real, just their voices, clapping and maybe a drum. After the singing Peters got up and asked for people to share what it meant for us to be there. Parents were standing up thanking us for coming, telling us that we were laying down a foundation for the next generation of Navigators for Cameroon. Parents also shared how their kids were learning and becoming more excited about reading God's Word, and memorizing scripture. Husbands shared what it meant to have their wives there instead of leaving them at home to take care of the children. Wives shared that being there they were able to have their questions answered, they could understand more about the ministry that their husbands were so excited about, and they can do ministry as a couple together. One man stood up and shared how he didn't have any children but the thought that 16 Americans would give up 2 weeks of their summer to serve them was hard to understand. Once the sharing was over Peters said they had a song for us. The started singing Thank you for what you've done, Thank you for serving us, My God bless you my brother, my sister. All the Cameroonians got up and walked around the room to look in our eyes and shake our hands while singing this song to us. It was the most genuine, heartfelt thank you I think I have ever had...I was in tears...as were many of my teammates. An extremely humbling and encouraging time for us.



We fell in love with the kids! They were so fun to play with, and always so excited to play with us. How neat that love is a universal language that everyone can understand. Two kids that I wanted to take home with me were Marvelous Peace and Kurtis. Peace is Peters' youngest daughter and she and I had a blast playing peek-a-boo together. It was a new game to her, but she absolutely loved it! I told Peters that he had to keep it up with her once I left. Kurtis was a handful, especially in the beginning. He didn't want to listen to anyone, but by the end of the week he had stolen my heart! Just before this picture of Kurtis and I was taken he came running up to me with tears streaming down my face saying "Auntie, Auntie, My mother says that its time for me to travel, but I don't want to go!" That made me teary eyed as well!

God knew that I needed some time to process everything that I learned in Hungary before I came back to the states and the daily distractions here. Each morning I had some intense times with God, sitting on the rooftop of where the girls stayed. We also had our team meetings on that rooftop. My favorite time was when we had the students be in charge of the meeting. They shared scripture that meant a lot to them, we sang worship songs together, and had a lot of time of intercessory prayer. It was amazing to sit on the rooftop worshiping God with this amazing team and look up at the African Night sky.


Being so far away from our comfort zone we really learned to rely on God completely. Jessica was constantly reminding us to pray continually, and give everything up to God. We also were given a huge lesson in humility, from the school grounds we were staying, and watching the sacrifices the Cameroonians made for us. The women in the kitchen bent over backwards making separate meals for us, among other things. Gilles lived out what being a servant meant and was a huge example to us. The entire week he was away from his family making sure that we were ok. He would bring us anything we needed, check up on us, get a doctor when we needed one. He even brought us peanut butter and jelly so our bodies could take a break from the food! What an amazing family! I had so many great conversations with Wendy and Gilles. I am so thankful for everything that they did for us while we were there, and for the friendship that is carried onto today.

J'aime Paris!!!

Ok...so back to stories from my trip!

We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to Paris once we left Hungary. We arrived Saturday evening and then had to lug ALL OUR LUGGAGE (hmm...maybe that's why its called luggage!) through the Paris subway system. We dragged it up and down MANY flights of stairs...switched trains I believe 3 times. It wasn't ideal, but I was amazed with how well the students handled it! Once we got to the hotel we got some pizza from across the street and just hung out for the night. We were all too tired to really do anything, and wanted to get rest for the next day.
Sunday morning we headed to a nearby park to debrief about the trip. This was a great time to talk and process some of the things we had learned, and also talk about what we wanted to do once we got home. It was neat to hear some of the students think of ways to reach their unchurched friends. Some of the graduated seniors were already planning ways to reach people on their campuses that they hadn't even met yet! After the debrief time, we headed to the train station to meet up with the Cameroon team! This took a little longer than planned, but it was great to see them once they arrived.

Instead of traveling in a pack of 26 we split into groups to go see the Arc de Triumph, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower. Rachel and I led a group together, which I was really excited about. We headed to the Arc de Triumph first. It was breath taking! As you walked up the steps of the subway it was right in front of you...and its HUGE! To get to the Arc itself you walk through a tunnel that is under the road that circles it. I was overwhelmed as I walked up under the Arc. We didn't get to go up to the top...that just means I will have to go back to Paris!
I kept saying the entire trip I couldn't really believe that I was in Paris until I saw the Eiffel Tower. I spotted the top of it from the Arc and got really excited. Everyone met at the Eiffel Tower next. On the subway there it was amazing to see it across the river.


Here is a picture of "The Quad" in front of the Eiffel Tower. Caroline, Trevin, Taylor, and I were the only four who went on both trips. We grew so close, like a family and I really love them!!


From the Eiffel Tower we headed to the Louvre! I was surprised when we walked out of the subway into a mall. At the end of the mall was the Louvre entrance, and La Pyramide Inversee, which is the inverse of the Pyramid above ground. It is also where the Holy Grail is located in The DaVinci Code. We tried to go into the Louvre to see Mona Lisa, but unfortunately it was closed. We walked around outside instead.

Our final stop was Notre Dame. What a beautiful church! Amazing detailed architecture, mesmerizing stained glass everywhere. My entire time in Europe I kept thinking about how there are so many amazing intricate detailed buildings and architecture all over the place. Buildings that were built like this hundreds of years ago by hand. Now we have technology to create things like this, and yet in the US we are so focused on getting things done the quickest and cheapest way possible so most of our architecture is so boring.

It was interesting walking inside Notre Dame because there was a mass going on inside while tons of tourists (including us) were walking around the building taking pictures. Once we came back outside we discussed how that was a perfect example of what Europe is like spiritually. Christianity is thought of something of the past. Huge gorgeous cathedrals are all over Europe, but are all for show and mostly empty. They were built with pride, not to honor God. I couldn't imagine being able to worship and focus on God while hundreds of tourists walk around my place of worship snapping pictures and talking to the people they are traveling with.

Once we got back to the hotel we all met in the lobby, both the Cameroon and Hungary teams. We had a time of prayer and worship. After we sang the Hungary team annointed the Cameroon team and prayed for us. It was a really neat and encouraging thing to do. It was strange for "The Quad" because we had officially become the Cameroon team, no longer the Hungary team.

I found out later that the guy that was working the front desk told Tony that he really enjoyed listening to us and thought that what we did was really great! How cool is that?! And we were scared that we were going to get kicked out! God is so much bigger than that!

The next morning we got up bright and early and headed to the airport. Tony got a shuttle to take all of the luggage to the airport, and 2 people from the Hungary team went with it to take care of it. It was nice to be able to get on the train to the airport without all the luggage.

Now the dust has started to settle...

It has been a long time since my last post. I apologize for that. We didn't have any internet access at the conference in Cameroon and I didn't want to spend my last days in Cameroon and Paris on the computer.
Coming home I hit the ground running having to finish planning our leaders retreat that was this past weekend, and trying to reconnect with friends. I also had my nights filled with watching the Olympics! (a slight obsession I have!)
Now that the dust has settled some, the retreat is over, and the Winter Olympics are 2 years away I will devote sometime in sharing my stories and some pictures with you. I finally posted my pictures on facebook, so if we're facebook friends please look!

The trip was amazing! The stories, the lessons learned, the relationships formed, all things I would never trade for the world! I know that my life has definitely been changed for the better from the month away. The theme that I was learning through my time away was that:

God will always be with you wherever you go, but He doesn't promise that it will always be easy.

While in Hungary I talked to many different missionaries from all different backgrounds and serving in different capacities. A lot of them shared with me their joys and also their sorrows. Many women shared that they struggled with the lack of relationships on the field, or the ones that they were missing from home. The Thursday afternoon of the conference all the women boarded a boat for an afternoon of fellowship. We took a little ride in what I think was a lake, had lunch and talked. Towards the end of the ride some women got on the loud speaker and shared about how Jesus doesn't call to us from the side of the shore, he gets into the boat with us, and through there might be sharks around the boat nibbling our toes, He is still with us.
In Cameroon we had team time each evening sitting on the rooftop of the building that the girls stayed in. Various passages were shared, including Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." and other verses that continued my theme...and I didn't plan any of the devotion times! God was definitely speaking right to my heart.

God and I spent a lot of good time together...and I'm still trying to process things that He is teaching me, and what the future might hold. More stories and pictures to come...

I have been described as manic for what I'm about to embark this summer. Taking two mission trips overseas back to back...yeah...I think manic is about right!
A team of 16 of us are headed to Yaounde, Cameroon, which is off the west coast of Africa. Our church supports G and W Naines, who are full time missionaries through Navigators in Cameroon. They are having their national Navigators staff conference in the beginning of August. The wives have always had to stay home and take care of the kids, but we are going to serve the families and take care of the kids so the wives can be with their husbands. Like in Hungary, our team has put together a kids program, but this team decided on the theme of Godly Superheros! We have a skit, games, stories, crafts, and more all planned for the kids. I am amazed by what this team has put together. There are so many different parts and personalities on the team, but we all balance one another out!

Three students are just as manic as I am, and are going on both trips with me. I'm really excited to see what God will do. Also, to be doing almost the exact same thing in two completely different cultures will be fun to see and compare. I've never been to Africa before, and just going there is going to stretch me. I have a real sense that I'm going to come back from this adventure completely changed...I hope and pray that its true!