Christmas and Hope

I am sitting here this morning, far away from home, listening to Christmas music, air conditioner blasting since it is already warming up outside and thinking about blessings and hope. Most of you who read this know that I don't usually have deep thoughts and opinions here. However, I think today is going to have a bit of both.

I am blessed to have the opportunity to pursue a career that challenges me and pays me on time. So many people are without work, without prospects, and without hope.

However, each one must live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called him.

1 Corinthians 7:17

I am blessed to be in a place where although life is hard, family is important. Time is spent focused on making the best of the situation and loving each other. I get to spend real, quality time with my husband and daughter. So many people don't know the love of God and the love of family, or have hope that there is something better.

For the Lord is good, and His love eternal; His faithfulness ensures through all generations.

Psalm 100:5

 I am blessed that I have a family at home that loves and supports me in my choices. Although we are far apart this Christmas, I know that I am always in their hearts and minds. I know that best wishes are sent to me and mine each day. My family is without us this Christmas, but they are not without us for all time. So many people will never see their children, father, or mother again. They will never have another hug, kiss, or phone call from their loved ones.

For everyone who still has their loved ones near, give them lots of hugs and tell them how much they mean to you during this Christmas season. And when it is no longer Christmas season, tell them again, because love is not just for the holidays it is for all days.

And now, enough deep thinking. I leave you with a picture of my sweet girl. We love and miss everyone at home. 

Have a Merry Christmas!

What's Happening Now....

So if has been awhile since I had anything to post, but I wanted to catch everyone up on the exciting world of Yaounde.

First up, Alberto and I went on a Management retreat to a place called Nkolandam. It was a beautiful retreat center, out in the middle of nowhere. It reminded me a lot of the church retreat locations that we used to go to when I was younger. It is famous for the rocks and other statues. Here are a few pictures.




















Sofia's school had Friday Night Live, which was a talent show of sorts. Her music class sang a song: Beware the Music Teacher and then other students performed their talents.

It was dark so I don't have great pictures, but this is a good one of Sofia.

Finally, last night the embassy hosted the first ever Marine Ball for Kids in Cameroon. The kids had a great time and so did we. Perfectly honest, the food and music were better at the kid's ball than at our grown-up ball. Fun was had by all.

A beautiful dress that her daddy bought her in Mexico

She is always trying for an action shot!

My daddy is the best!

And now, to leave you with this... a little fun was had today, as Alberto and Sofia attempt to dance like Michael Jackson with the Wii.

Can you hear the song Thriller playing in the background...

Imagine they are zombies....

Thriller, Thriller Night

So that's all folks, Until next time....

Halloween in Africa

So it is our first holiday in Africa...Halloween. You might say, what is Halloween like in Cameroon? Well, for Cameroonians, Halloween is not anything. No one recognizes it and the ghosts and ghouls creep them out. But for the American community from the embassy, it was pretty much business as usual. We had superman, transformers, princesses, Minnie Mouse, and my personal favorite, a beautiful ballerina. Here are some of my favorite pictures of Sofia from Halloween this year. 

By the way, we celebrated it yesterday, Saturday, October 26th, because Halloween falls on Wednesday and there was no way to decorate the haunted house in the middle of the week. So here are the pictures of my beautiful ballerina!

We were trying for an action shot. Leap!

Leap!

This is one of my favorites

And now for the truly frightening portion of our program. Al's costume....

So Halloween, before Halloween was fun. Sofia had a great time and the kids got plenty of candy. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and the Africa version will be different but still great. I have a turkey, green bean casserole, and who knows, I may actually make pumpkin pie. I haven't ever done that. 


Until next time...

Planet of the Apes

Today we went to the Mefou Primate Sanctuary. It is about 30 minutes outside of Yaounde, but it takes and hour and a half to get there because it takes an hour to get out of Yaounde. 

We saw lots of really interesting primates. Here are some pictures.

The Primate Sanctuary is run by a non-profit from Britain and staffed by Cameroonians.

Which one is Sofia?

Mandrill - very aggressive ape 

Isn't he cute?

This is a mustache monkey.

Sofia was swinging on the fence, just like the monkeys.

Both of my monkeys!

He seems deep in thought.

Silverback Gorilla - posing for the camera

An Albino Chimpanzee - he looked pretty cool!

Home again and enjoying our beautiful Hibiscus

We had a great time visiting the Mefou Primate Sanctuary.

Until next time.....

Stay tuned..tomorrow, pictures from the Mefou Primate Sanctuary

Tomorrow, we will send pictures from the Mefou Primate Sanctuary

Cameroon - 1st blog post from a new world

So we are here in Yaounde, Cameroon, having arrived on August 23rd. And yes, I know, that is a long time without a blog update. We just got the internet connection set up in the apartment yesterday, so I will ask for a little slack on that front. 

I have some pictures and will include them below, but honestly, we haven't done much other than work and try to figure this place out. The biggest thing for us, right now, is that Sofia loves her school; we are making friends; and we are learning to live in our new home.

Hopefully in another couple of weeks, we will have our truck and then we can go out and explore our environment. I will send lots of pictures then. But it seems that right now the internet connection is really slow, so only a couple of pictures today.

This is all of our things as we were making our way through the Dulles Airport

A view of Yaounde from the top of Mount Febe

The front balcony at our apartment on a rainy day.

Sofia's butterfly garden that we put on her wall.

Sofia on her bed

Our bedroom with palms for a view out the window

The Unity Monument in Yaounde

Welcome to Cameroon! Join us on our journey!

Until next time.....

Catching up for the last month or so...

I realize that it has been a long time since I posted anything new, and I am truly sorry for my absence. July was a pretty slow month for me, so I didn't have anything to post. Sofia on the other hand has been really busy. Al and Sofia spent a few weeks in Mexico visiting his family. It was a great time for Alberto and Sofia got to meet her brother and sister so the trip was worthwhile all around. Here some great pictures that Al took while he was there.

Sofia and her cousin, Sofia

The palapa and pool that Al's family owns outside of San Luis Potosi. 

Sofia and her sister, Gaby

Sofia and her brother, Didi

Once they returned from Mexico, Sofia had 2 days of rest and then was off again. She took her first unaccompanied minor flight back to Jackson, MS to visit the Wells crew. 

When I talked with Sofia, this is an abridged transcript of the conversation.

Me: Sofia, how did you like flying by yourself.

Sofia: Momma, I got to sit in the big front seat and there was no one for me to talk to.

Now, you and I know that "First Class" is a pretty cool thing. Especially since we didn't pay for "First Class", but what Sofia focused on was that she didn't have anyone to talk to. And yes, for Sofia, not having anyone to talk to for 3 whole hours, is a really big deal. 

Here is a shot of her reunion with Jake and one with Nona and Buelo.

She went to Philadelphia just in time for the Neshoba County Fair. It was really hot so she ended up spending a big part of her visit in the water; swimming at the Country Club and at the Water Park.

Here are some pictures of her visit.

Sofia's home away from home

 

Grandma Sue, Papa, Anna Katherine and Sofia

While Sofia was gone, Al and I "packed-out" the apartment. I will be honest. I have no idea why it took 6 hours to pack out this tiny apartment. We only have two bedrooms and none of the furniture in it is ours. I realize that these guys get paid by the hour, but let me tell you, they did not have a bit of "giddy-up" in them at all. So on August 1st, all of our stuff was boxed up and moved out of the apartment. What we are left with is the stuff that we think we are going to put in our luggage. We hope that it all fits. If not, we can always mail it to ourselves. 

On August 2nd, Sofia flew back to D.C. with Mom. Unfortunately, since she was not an unaccompanied minor, she didn't get first class and neither did mom. While mom was here, we didn't do anything too stressful but we did play mini-golf. We went to a couple of different places. One of them was really incredible. It had a jungle theme. Here is a shot of us before we went through the "Temple of Doom".

We also went to visit my Great Great Uncle Cliff and his wife Angela. We got some pretty good pictures. In the first shot, it is the whole family and in the second, you might recognize Virginia. Yes, yes, I know, applause is in order. I actually got mom into a picture. It is such a rare occurrence, that I feel the need to share it with the world. Besides, it is a really great picture.

So here we are, counting down the days until departure. It is coming up soon and we are very excited. We are nervous, but it is definitely time to get moving. The next time I post, it will be from Cameroon. Please keep us in your prayers. 

Look out, the adventure is about to begin!

Until next time...