Dear Family and Friends,
Another year here in Cameroon. We are blessed in many ways and suffering in others. This year began in a very different way than years past. This past year on Dec 31 we were flying as a family to help Audrey’s family. Her mother was doing very poorly with metastatic cancer. We spent a couple weeks with her and then felt that Audrey and Sarah should stay on to help with her care. So I returned to Cameroon to continue working at the hospital and they stayed. Unfortunately things progressed very
rapidly and within a few weeks things declined until her mother passed away. I was able to return to the US at the last moment, and by the grace of God was able to be there when she passed away. It was a very difficult time for our family and extended family. We praise God that we were able to be there to support her father and be of help.
We then returned to Cameroon and continued with Sarah’s schooling and finished up 8th grade for her. Audrey is an excellent teacher, but we all felt it was time to move on to another school situation. We prayed for guidance and left for vacation to the US. Having not felt any specific leading. We went to WV and then directly to Michigan for the teen re-entry program. This is a program for missionary kids returning from the mission field, to help them reintegrate back into society in the US.
To be aware of the differences they would encounter… While there she met some missionaries that were returning from the Philippines. She became instant friends with their daughter. They invited us to visit a school near them in Washington state. After having a family vacation, we visited the school and felt that God was leading us there.
We spend a wonderful summer with friends and family and traveled all over. Audrey went to a missionary conference for missionary women called Women of Harvest. She was very blessed by the activities and the people that she met. We spent time water-skiing in WV and at the beach in CT. CT was very different without Audrey’s mothers presence, but we enjoyed our time with her father, brother and sister-in-law.
Coming back to Cameroon was difficult to leave Sarah at school. This is the first time we have been apart for an extended period of time since the start. We returned to Cameroon and continued where we left off.
The remainder of the year has been spent here at Koza. The hospital and church activities keep us busy. When we get done at the hospital in the evenings we are able to spend time together.
Sarah has done very well in school. She is making quality friends, and experiencing many new things. She is enjoying new friends and classes. Some classes are difficult to assimilate and others come easily. Please pray for her that she will know who to have as friends, how to make boundaries, and decipher what’s important and what isn’t. Most of all, that she develops a closer relationship with our Savoir.
We were very happy to spend a Christmas with Sarah here in Cameroon. She was flown out here for about a week and a half. We miss here immensely but are glad she is doing well in spite of us not being able to be with her.
We look forward to seeing some of you next summer. we plan on being back in the US for July and August. And of course to be at ASI in Phoenix the first weekend of August. If we can meet any of you there that would be great. We will spend the rest of our time with family in CT and WV. No other plans as of yet.
We hope you had a great Christmas and that Christ was at the forefront of your celebrations. We serve an awesome God who has given EVERYTHING to save us! May God bless you as you begin this new year. Shank’s in Cameroon.