Hello Friends and Family,
We are doing well and would like your prayers for the missionary retreat idea. The three of us feel that this is the direction our family should go. As you know we are excited about missions. Audrey and I are preparing for volunteering a few weeks to cover the Malamulo Hospital both in FP and in Surgery for part of their surgeons vacation. We have purchased tickets and now gathering some hospital supplies to take over in our luggage. We may be volunteering on another medical mission trip in January.
As mentioned in our last message, we long for a mission here while we are in the US. As detailed in that message we hope to create a missionary retreat that will be supported by our work and provide free lodging, food and relaxation and renewal to missionaries that are on furlough (vacation) or just returned from their mission service. As missionaries provide service to people in other lands with little or no remuneration, we would like to provide a place of renewal for them when needed. This would allow them to rejuvenate in preparation for returning to their area of mission work. Our idea is that they would only need to arrive at the retreat then they would be fully taken care of (food, lodging, counseling, activities, rest). At our last email we had seen what we considered a perfect location on a lake with two houses. It was near the lake, ocean, sand dunes, and a host of outdoor activities. It was also close enough to work that we could run the retreat and work as well, because it would be within my call range. The day Audrey went to look at it someone offered the full asking price of $699,000. So that is not an option.
Now we see another potential location that meets the same criteria in one large house. The link to it is as follows:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/351-Council-Hill-Rd-Lakeside-OR-97449/2116521299_zpid/
We will be seeing this house next week. As we plan on providing food/lodging… To missionaries free of charge, and have huge student loans of our own that remains, and the price of the house is expensive due to location and style, we do not feel we can afford to purchase it. So we ask for your aid in praying! We believe if this is God’s plan for our family that He, through others, will provide a way. When going to Cameroon, you may remember that we waited many months for God’s will to be made known to us, then it clearly was. We now wait for His guidance again. We are excited about starting a new mission here. I plan on contacting a local lawyer and CPA soon to discuss the different options for creating this non-profit. If you have thoughts or recommendations, please contact me. Please pray for God’s clear leading in our lives and for us to follow His lead.
Shanksteps Re-entry institute of world missions/ Retreat for missionaries dream
We have just spent the past week at Andrews University in Michigan. Since returning to the US as missionaries we have been asked to attend the re-entry program for returning missionaries. In our ignorance we thought it was not needed. As we have been here for more than 2.5 years now, we have come to realize that our time in Cameroon has had more lasting effects than we had thought. So this year we decided to attend. It was a blessing that we had been missing.
Over the past months and years, we have realized that our time in western Africa had affected many ways of our lives. Effected our goals for the future, changed our outlook on the world, and deepened our spiritual lives, made friends, challenged our beliefs, expanded our medical knowledge, increased our dependence on Jesus, increased the challenges of living day to day, helped us learn French, educated us in the spiritual and physical ways of the Mafa people and or the northern Cameroon and north eastern Nigerian people and their differences.
Having dealt with these changes while overseas, and then readapting back into North American culture and customs, we felt we had adapted well. Yes there are many times we are still wondering what is appropriate. For example, when a Cameroonian invites me over I know what is expected. When a neighbor or friend invites me over I don’t. If we are going to eat: Do I bring a dish? Do I bring dessert? If someone invites us to stay at their house when we are near by: Does that mean they want us to truly stay? Or is it just being nice? And I know the answer to these questions changes depending on the background of the person your encountering and also the region of the US that you are talking about.
As we’ve been through the re-entry program, it as been nice to share mission experiences with people that understand what we’ve been through. We all have had different difficulties. Some have been in fear of their lives, some have been saved miraculously, some have had losses in their families, some have had emotional strain, some terrible diseases, some have been witness to many miracles. Each has their individual experience but we are able to understand because of shared experiences. They and we have been involved in the spiritual battle. We have seen direct evidences of the enemy. In the power that Jesus has given His followers, we have seen the enemy flee from Him. It has been a great week associating with other missionaries.
As we have talked, prayed, consoled, learned, and dealt with our past, with other missionaries- it has revived our dream of having a place of rest and restoration for missionary families. Audrey attended “Women of the Harvest” for missionary women while we were on furlough from Cameroon. It was a great time of restoration for her. Since that time we have dreamed of having a place, in a beautiful surrounding, where missionary families can come for free and rest and spend time being renewed, before returning to their mission field. We envision a place near the ocean, or on a lake or river. A place where we live in the home and have space to have other families with us. A place where we have work to be able to be able to provide this free to missionaries. A place where food is plentiful, for those who have not had much. An internal library were there are books of education, missions, anthropology, science, and religious, humor… A place of safety, and rest where they can feel they are at home. While here in the US we want to support those doing foreign missions, and this seems to the way God is leading us. If this interests you, please pray to know how God would have you minister with us to missionaries.
Malawi #8
I awaken to the sounds of crowing roosters and the village coming to life at dawn. There is no muslim call to prayer as I was use to in Koza. About three AM there were two dogs that decided to howl in unison for a few minutes. The wind sounded very strong about two AM. I awoke to chatter of the wind on the thatched roof and walls. I was immeadiately worried if this two storied thatched structure would collapse on us as we slept. After about a half hour and asking God to again protect us, i drifted off to sleep, until the dogs howled.
Now i sit 10 feet from lake malawi. Women with children tied their backs, wash cloths in the edge of the lake. Also last nights dishes are scrubbed with sand to get the soot off the outside then cleaned inside as well. Little naked boys 1-10 race around kickboxing with eachother and playing in the water. A few little girls play in the sand and others wash dishes and clothes with their mothers. In the distance a few dougout canoes return with their early morning catch.
Yesterday we hired a boat to take us out to see the fish eagles. We went to their area around an island that is clearly visible from land. Our guide would throw out fish and when they chose to, the would swoop down and snag the fish out of the water and fly back up to a crag and eat it. We got some great pictures of the catch. Then we went to another area and snorkeled. There were hundreds of fresh water tropical fish. Some were blue with black stripes. Others yellow wih a black pen stripe down each side, light blue with oeange dorsal fins, black with thin blue stripes, black with yellow dots… Variations were endless. I am constantly amazed by the beauty of creation that remains after many centuries of decline. I cannot wait for the day when the pain of this world is gone and we on e again are able to enjoy Heaven, they way God wanted us to live in the first place. How beautiful that will be!!! Im glad He’s given us glimpses of that, still seen on earth. Jesus, come and take us from this pain!
Today we head back to Malamulo. It has been such a peaceful time and I feel rejuvinated.
As Im writing this, a little girl, in a skirt walks up to the women on the beach and takes off her skirt and t-shirt then turns around grabbing her privated. Oops its a boy, and he is peeing on the beach facing me. I howl with laughter, then he lays down with criends on a small piece of burlap bag he had drug out with him. Now he scrapes the charcoal out of a pot and eats some then finishes washing it in the lake scrubbing the burned stuff with beach sand.
Other foriginers get into kayaks to go to the islands. Other caucasion kids that must be local, run around speaking chichewa and playing with the kids on the beach. Its neat that appear so comfortable. I dont know if I could ever feel the same way.
A mass of children run around doing karate moves on eachother as they have seen on a movie.
I see another naked girl, and immeadiately notice her umbilical hernia. At approximately 8 it wont close by itself and she likely will need surgery. Our training constantly effects how we view life and events around us. I stop writing my letter to you in preparation to take a swim. The water is very smooth today. Two weeks has flown by and one more remains.
Greg
Malawi #7
So Thursday we traveled up to Lilongwe then out to Cape McClear on the southern edge of Lake Malawi. I am continually amazed at the lack of plastic bags along the side of the road. There was the usual people walking and others riding their bikes. We passed many bikes with bags of charcoal piled high on the back. It always amazes me the amount of weight that can be carried on those bike tires. Once arriving in Lilongwe Cristy went to the Health department. I borrowed her car and went to the shopping area. I was amazed that I was in Africa, as I was walking around a strip mall and there were quite a few different stores. Shoprite was like a Wal-Mart and there were book stores, banks, Fast Chicken, Horizon Grill… I avoided the curio market as it is suppose to be the most expensive in the country.
Also on the way up there we stopped at Dedza. There is a pottery shop that caters to tourists. They had nice items that were colored and fired with glaze. Beautiful work. We browsed for about a half hour.
After Cristy was done we drove west towards the Lake. It was a winding beautiful road, however when we got near the lake it was already dark. We arrived at our bungalow hotel in the evening.
I awoke this morning to the sound of children laughing and playing. A cat meowed loudly. And Cristys phone was ringing. It was 6:30AM. I peaked out the window and saw the beautiful sight of the lake spreading to the horizon with two large islands in it. A long sandy beach spread in both directions. What a beautiful place. I arranged the slit in the mosquito net to not allow any visitors into my sleeping area then headed outside. I ordered an omelet at the bar and about an hour later it was ready and they brought it out to me. At about nine we headed out to the point where there were large rocks to play on and blue water to swim in. Someone had brought snorkel sets and I snorkeled. What beautiful fish! They are called Cichlids. They are a tropical fish that is fresh water. There were blue striped ones, yellow and black ones, various shades of tan, and green. All in various shades and patterns. Schools of them swam around me. Someone threw in some bread and there was a feeding frenzy around us. We shared them with the group. I went in repeatedly for another look. We stayed there a number of hours till we were all tired and hungry. Then we headed back to the beach we parked at. As we drove up there initially there was a random guy that offered to prepare food for all of us. So someone had agreed. We found some monkeys pacing around about six guys cooking food over an open fire. There were plates and spoons for all of us and food! Rice, potatoes, fish, greens, and a cabbage salad. We ate our fill then Cristy and I decided to walk down the beach about 1.5 miles. We took pictures of naked children playing in the small waves and women washing pots and cloths in the water. Men taking baths in their swimsuits at lake edge. We arrived back around 4PM. Then we went swimming again with the schistosoma. There is a swim platform out about 100 feet from shore what we swam to. I sat out there a while till the sun set with beautiful colors across the water. We sit here under the thatched roof gazebo with a breeze and bugs, typing to you all.