A Word About Bible Reading

Last year, at this time, I preached a sermon at Valley Springs Presbyterian Church about being committed to reading your Bible on a regular basis (you can still listen to the sermon online at www.valleysprings.org/sermons, dated Dec. 27, 2009). Every Christmas, we celebrate the great gift of God the Son coming to dwell with us in human flesh. The incarnation is one of the great miracles upon which our hope of salvation firmly rests. But Christ’s humiliation is not God’s only condescending act for humanity. The fact that God has chosen to speak to us through human language and human grammatical constructs, which we can read and understand, also is a great gift from God. The Bible is one of God’s greatest gifts to us. And it is readable and accessible in our language. And the Bible contains “the words of eternal life” (Jn. 6:68). We would be fools to ignore such a great gift. In fact, we cut ourselves off from “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3) if we do not deepen our knowledge of the Word. We cut ourselves off from the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, if we do not soak in God’s word (Eph. 5:18 & 6:17 with Col. 3:16).

So the challenge still stands for the new year. Be a person of the Book. This is not necessarily a challenge to read through the Bible in one year or follow one certain plan; it is a challenge to regularly, daily, let the Word of God shape and transform your mind and your heart and your life. Will you step up to the challenge in 2011?

From my personal experience, I have found that it is difficult to be regular in the Word without a plan. The last two years I have used the Bible reading plan found in the ESV Study Bible, with some modifications to fit the high school ministry at Valley Springs. I do not have a modified plan to offer you for 2011, but let me lead you to several options. I do not challenge you to use a plan just to have something to check off, but to have something to help you develop a regular habit of reading God’s Word. With any of these plans, modify them as needed, but let them help you soak in God’s Word.

This ESV Study Bible reading plan that I have used, along with other reading plans, can be found at http://www.esv.org/resources/reading-plans-devotions/. These reading plans come in various formats. You can set the plan of your choice to be your homepage on your web browser, or even subscribe to the RSS feed, if you want to follow it like a blog. Of course, you can do as I do and print the plan and carry the copy in your Bible.

For 2011, I plan to use the M’Cheyne One-Year Reading Plan. Robert Murray M’Cheyne was a Scottish pastor in the early 19^th century. Although he died at the early age of 29, he has impacted the church greatly, especially through this Bible reading plan. I was introduced to this plan as a teenager by my pastor and used it then. It leads you to read through the Old Testament once and the Psalms and New Testament twice in one year. You can skip the last column and read through the whole Bible once in the year. I look forward to a new year of continuing to be shaped and transformed by God’s Word.

I encourage you to browse through these plans (or do your own Google search for Bible reading plans) and pick one and stick to it. If you miss one or more days, don't give up. Just keep plugging along. The point is not to just "do a plan," but to put yourself in a place where God's Word can shape and influence you. May God richly bless you in 2011 as you feed on his Word.

Christmas in Cameroon

We enjoyed a peaceful Christmas here in Cameroon. It was certainly much different than Christmas in the US. We did not go shopping the day after Thanksgiving, but I did do a little marketing with an American friend. I picked up a few relatively dull knives for the boys to use to cut weeds and carve a little into sticks. The man I purchased them from offered to sharpen them, but I thought they would be just fine the way they are. I was able to get four of them for about 80 cents. My understanding is that Cameroonians use them out on their farms and for peeling potatoes. I also found a Cameroonian football jersey and shorts for each of the boys, except Isaiah. Isaiah is fascinated with pushing things around the house, particularly a stool that makes an awful racket. Our cook, Martha, has a nephew who is a carpenter and was able to make a little toy from wood that he could push. Dale created a tire swing for the boys.

We brought along our advent calendar that we purchased several years ago from www.desiringgod.org. This has been one of the highlights of our Christmas season ever since and was a small taste of home throughout the advent season. We also read an advent story together, Bartholomew’s Passage, everyday during lunch. Dale is home each day for lunch, in fact, we eat every meal together except for breakfast a few days each week. The only Christmas songs we heard or sang with a congregation throughout all of advent were at a Sunday evening Vespers service in the chapel here at CBTS. While we enjoyed the familiar choruses, we were hoping to hear some traditional African Christmas songs. Other than our advent calendar and a small Christmas tree candle, we didn’t bring any decorations. I had told the boys that the candle would be our tree this year. Just into December, our gardener asked Dale if he should cut down a tree for us. We were very thankful and surprised the boys with a Christmas tree one Saturday afternoon. Our neighbors even loaned us a few strands of lights, and we made some paper chains and snowflakes. We even used tree clippings to make a few wreaths and to decorate the mantle.

I tried to give our house help the day off on Friday since it was Christmas Eve. However, it was market day, so our cook did some marketing for us. Also, though I had planned leftovers for Friday, she still had to grind the beef which kept her here longer than I had hoped. The student who is helping with general house work over the break insisted on coming to be sure that the floors were clean for our Christmas day. (We sweep and mop floors twice each week with multiple extra sweepings in between, but still they are always covered with red dust.) Our laundress also came for a few hours. I think maybe they were all a bit concerned about our ability to survive an extra day without them.

Throughout Christmas weekend, we enjoyed many familiar things. I made taco salad on Friday night with some Ranch dressing packets brought from home, we had a chocolate chip coffee cake for breakfast on Christmas morning (chips used sparingly as one bag from Costco must last as long as we can make it), we had garlic parmesan chicken on Christmas day (parmesan cheese brought from home), and we brought marshmallows, graham crackers, and Hershey bars to make s’mores Christmas night. Dale even made chocolate chip pancakes Sunday night with homemade buttermilk. We decided that we ought to enjoy the treats now since there is always a possibility that a mouse will find them. We even had the opportunity to play with a little snow. (Of course, it was instant snow that sticks to your fingers but does not pack well enough to make anything but a wall or mountain.) We did pass some along to our cook and laundress. This is likely the only snow that their children will ever experience.

Though we enjoyed treats from home, we also had a few treats the Cameroonians enjoy. I asked Martha to buy some sugar cane at market for us to try. She returned with two sticks about 5 feet tall and told me they did not have the large sticks. Really??? You peel the outside, bite a chunk off and chew on it to get the sugar out. Then you spit out the remains. Martha also brought us some chin-chin which is the only traditional Cameroonian Christmas treat that I was told about when I asked. I don’t know for sure how to describe chin-chin, but if you visit us next Christmas, maybe we will have some. Other than chin-chin, my understanding is that they just eat and drink A LOT. Christmas is the time when everyone wants to settle their debts, and others probably go into debt in order to prepare a feast. Someone from campus brought an entire cow to store in our deep freezer for the week before Christmas.

We have another week to finish grading from the first semester. Please pray that we finish all that we need to and that Dale also will be able to sleep some. On January 5th, we will travel to Bamenda for a missionary fellowship conference. Please pray for safe travels as the roads are awful and the drive takes approx. 6 hours. Shortly after we return, we will welcome another couple from the US that will be here to teach for the second semester. We would love for you also to be praying for Andrew and Susan’s arrival as well as the friendships that we look forward to with them.

When the Teacher Becomes the Student and the Students Become the Teachers

A couple of weeks ago, in my Systematic Theology class, we came to the topic of the essence of man. This topic asks the question, what is the composition of a human being? This is not a biology question. It’s about the fact that we, as human beings, are more than flesh and blood. There is something immaterial, or spiritual, about us. Our textbook is Systematic Theology (original, huh?) written by Wayne Grudem, a professor of theology at Phoenix Seminary. Grudem argues that man is made up of basically two parts: the physical and the non-physical. He demonstrates from Scripture that the words “soul” and “spirit” are used interchangeably to speak about our non-physical part of who we are. I tend to agree with Grudem.

This is where things get interesting.

I was explaining the Scriptural evidence for soul and spirit to refer to the same non-physical part of us when one of the students in the class raised his hand with a question. This is Maurice, and in every lecture he has some very good, thoughtful questions. Maurice surprised me. He said, “Up until this point, I have agreed with Grudem completely. But on this issue, I disagree. I believe if Grudem was an African, he would teach that the soul and spirit are two different parts of a human.”

I had two initial responses in my mind: 1. Why would this student feel so strongly about this rather mundane and uncontroversial doctrine? and 2. What would Wayne Grudem look like if he were African? Well, I let the student explain what was on his heart, for he truly was passionate about this topic.

Maurice began to explain to me some of the common practices of witchcraft, which are encountered throughout Africa. There are some who are involved with witchcraft that bind their “spirits” to other living creatures for security or protection purposes. They reason that as long as that living creature is alive, their bodies (with their souls) are secure from ultimate harm. And the opposite comes to be true as well. If the living creature is harmed or killed, that person ends up dying themselves, unless they are able to get back to the creature in time to “retrieve” their spirit.

In my western ways, I have never heard of or encountered any such activity. I asked the whole class if the rest of them witnessed these practices and they all responded with a resounding yes. They knew of people who died under these circumstances. Now it was time for the teacher to become the student. I threw out the rest of the lecture plan and just learned from these students about spiritual warfare in Cameroon. On a regular basis, Christians in Africa wrestle with the spiritual forces of evil.

Eventually, we decided that the realities of spiritual warfare in Africa have nothing to do with whether or not the soul and spirit refer to the same immaterial part of humans. But one question has lingered in my mind since we had that class discussion: what about spiritual warfare in the United States? It seems that we do not encounter or talk about spiritual warfare on a regular basis. It’s more of an oddity. And when someone does speak about spiritual warfare, people respond with suspicion. Does this mean there is less spiritual warfare in America?

I have come to two answers for that question. First, perhaps spiritual warfare is a very present reality in America; we just don’t recognize it for what it is. This would prove to be most unfortunate because we are not fighting the good fight. Paul says in Ephesians 6:12, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against… the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” When we ignore or don’t recognize our enemy, he has a great advantage against us.

An American missionary here in Cameroon suggested the second answer to me. He said that the gospel has long been established in North America and the spiritual dominion of Satan has been broken. Therefore, spiritual warfare is greatly decreased in America compared to Africa, where the gospel has just begun to be established in the last 100 to 200 years. There are two implications with this answer. One, there is much work still to be done in Africa to establish the church with the true gospel to stand against the spiritual forces of evil. And, two, America is at risk of falling back into the dominion of spiritual darkness if the gospel is not held onto tightly.

Can both answers be correct?

So how do you wrap up the class discussion? I wanted to remind us of our only hope as we left the discussion of spiritual warfare. I quoted Romans 1:16, where Paul says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” The gospel is God’s power made available for us. It is the power to inherit eternal life. It is the power to overcome sin. And it is the power to not live in fear of evil forces, but to gain victory in the ongoing spiritual battle. Let us hope in the gospel of God.

English Grammar

When we left Roseville at the end of October, I was uncertain whether or not I would actually be teaching the English Grammar course here at CBTS. I think I had convinced myself that since we were so late in arriving for the semester, certainly someone else must have already been teaching the course. While I knew this was unlikely, I wanted to believe it would be true.

On that Monday evening when we arrived at CBTS, there were many people outside our home waiting to greet us. Everything from that night is sort of a blur. It was dark, the power went out shortly after we came into the house, we had travelled for 6 hours on a horrible road, and we didn't know anybody. (You know, it is quite exhausting to keep the kids from hitting their heads on the windows in the bush taxi when you have given them Drahmamine to keep their stomachs settled...and even harder when you have taken some yourself.) I don't remember if it was the president of the seminary, who scooped Jonathan into his arms as he climbed out of the taxi, or the academic dean, that said, "And your students are also eager to have you here for the English Grammar course." I have to admit my heart sort of sunk, and still I was slightly curious to take on this new challenge.

The beginning was rough. I was very uncomfortable. Yes, I speak English and I have brought my fourth grader through a few English Grammar texts, but I was a Bible major and most of my English grammar I learned through Greek! I think things would have been easier if nobody ever asked any questions. It's the questions from the students that are really trying to learn the information that often stump me...and then there was the time when the text was actually wrong...and there are differences between British grammar and American English grammar, right? So when most of the class tells me they learned something differently in secondary school, how do I know whether or not I am teaching something that is unique to American English? It also took quite some time to get a feel for how the class interacts with one another and also with the teacher. There is often a good amount of laughing, sometimes I do not understand it and at other times it is clearly at the expense of a student who has asked a question. In one instance, I think this treatment of a fellow student went far enough beyond what had been normal that a gentle rebuke was necessary.

The prep for class and grading are a bit more time consuming than I had thought they might be. After the first few weeks of class, I was certain that this was going to be too much to do while homeschooling and trying to adapt to living in a new culture. I thought that maybe we could at least grade the quizzes together in class and possibly some assignments as well. We attempted this twice, but I found that I couldn't tell which markings were corrections afterwards and which were part of the original students work. The grading would also go faster if I never assigned the exercises in which the students are required to write their own sentences. This, however, would rob me of the joy it is to read the creatively written sentences about how wonderful English grammar is and how delighted they are to be taking the class. Often there is also a sentence, or two, that makes some comment about Madame Erin. Of course, these students receive extra credit...actually, they simply make me laugh since I doubt that any of them prefer English Grammar over Greek, Hebrew, Systematic Theology or New Testament Exegesis.

Things began to change fairly quickly a few weeks into the course. It began on the day when I was able to personally return each student's work to the correct student and also to call them by name when they raised their hands. This is actually much easier than trying to remember not to gesture with my left hand while my right hand is holding a piece of chalk or an eraser. I also think my grammar has gotten better, and I've learned to simply say, "I don't know." I'm no longer concerned about body language and expressions or the fact that on any given day it is not uncommon to see a few students sleeping...or learning with their eyes closed. I really enjoy the class now. I am even a bit sad that the Christmas break will be for several weeks, and I think I will miss being with the students.

What is Jesus doing with Those Pigs?!

While studying the gospels in my New Testament Introduction class, one question has stood out as unusual for my Western ears. In the gospel of Mark we came to chapter 5, where we have the account of Jesus healing the demon-possessed man who dwelled among the tombs. As Jesus interacts with the demons, they request that he send them into a herd of pigs (v. 12). Then we read in verse 13, “he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the pigs, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea.”

One of the students asked me in class how this could not be sin for Jesus. Jesus allowed these unclean spirits destroy a huge herd of pig, which equates to a huge economic loss for that community. In all of my ministry, teaching and preaching through the gospels, no one has cared about those pigs. In this culture, however, there is a deep appreciation for the economic prospect of livestock. Perhaps I can be so bold to say that the people of Cameroon understand the culture of the Bible better than us Westerners.

So, how would you answer that question: How is this not sin for Jesus to allow the demons to destroy the pigs? I had two responses: 1. Just because Jesus “allowed” the demons to enter into the pigs does not mean Jesus is responsible for the actions of the demons. The demons caused the pigs to be drowned. Throughout Scripture we see God allow Satan and the demons to work evil and God is never to be blamed for the evil. Consider how God allows Satan to afflict Job in Job 1 and 2. Or consider how God allows Satan to enter into the heart of Judas to betray Jesus. Peter makes it clear in Acts 2:23 that it was according to “the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” that Jesus is betrayed to his death. It is a great comfort to know that evil is not out of the control of God. We believe that “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28) and the God “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph. 1:11), and yet, God “cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:13) and “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 Jn. 1:5).

The second thing I said was more speculative. I would need to do more research to affirm this truth (and I admitted that to the class). I said that perhaps this was an act of judgment by Jesus on that community. If this was a Jewish community (this I am unsure of, but suspect strongly; see Mark 7:27 – Jesus was sent to the Jews), they should have no business with pigs. God declared pigs to be unclean for the Jews (see Lev. 11:7). At this point in Jesus’ ministry, he was already being accused of breaking the law, especially the Sabbath laws. And here Jesus comes upon this community that raised unclean animals. I believe this reveals the hypocrisy of the Jews who were against Jesus. And this could be Jesus’ judgment on the hypocrisy of those opposing him.

So what do you think about those pigs? How would you respond?

I have to admit that answering questions from the students has come to be one of my favorite parts of teaching. I enjoy how their questions reveal what is near to their hearts and how they are digesting my teaching. I look forward to next semester when I will have more time in class to receive and address questions. Because of our late arrival and all that we are packing into a short period of time, I constantly have to stop receiving questions in class time. But next semester will be a normal pace schedule (which will be nice just for the sake of keeping up with the class prep time).

Greetings from Rev. Mbongko, President of CBTS

Pictures

A few photos: Our student helper Anita, our cook Martha, and our laundress Marcelline.

Millipedes

Wow, the millipedes are huge! Usually they are outside...but last week, while the boys and I were reading in our school room, we found one crawling across the floor. I hope he came in through an open door when we weren't looking. I try to convince myself that they cannot regularly enter my home...though we have found several caterpillars and grasshoppers inside recently.

Billy Bob is Anna's goat. (This is her house.) We get to live in the house, we also get to take care of the goat. The boys take him every morning and tie him where he get get to long, unmowed grass and bring him back home again before it gets dark. Only once did they return without tying him up. A man asked them if they would like to eat Billy Bob. He said that he was a very nice BIG goat and had a lot of meat on him. He also informed them that they taste very good and it would be easy for him to get a knife so they could have a good meal. The boys were a bit frightened and very concerned about losing Billy, though we think that everyone on campus knows Billy Bob and it is most likely that a joke was being played on the little American boys.

Electricity, Water and other things we take for granted

We have had the privilege this week to grow in our appreciation of many amenities we take for granted back home. On Monday morning of last week, we learned that the water pump for the seminary had “burned up.” They were hopeful to have it fixed by Tuesday, but we were a bit skeptical. We began conserving water as best we could. Much of our clothing was washed by hand, or our laundress carried in water from our rain barrel and poured it into the washing machine. We used the rain water as much as possible, and were fortunate to make it until Thursday without running out of water in our water tank. On Thursday, the seminary was able to transfer to the village of Ndu’s water pump.

Our adventures had only just begun. The electricity went out on Friday late in the morning. This is really not at all uncommon. We certainly expected that it would come back on late in the evening, as it often does. Saturday morning there was still no electricity. I began moving a few things from the refrigerator to the freezer. While we were eating dinner on Saturday night, the lights suddenly came on. The table erupted into applause and many grateful cheers from excited little boys. About forty minutes later, we relit the candles. The electricity did come back that night after the kids were in bed, but it only lasted a few hours. Sunday evening, we ate dinner with hopes again that the electricity would come back and be welcomed again with cheers. Once again, it returned after the boys were in bed. Again, we had electricity for just a few hours…enough to keep the meat in the freezer frozen.

I’m writing this on Monday afternoon. Still no electricity. The internet doesn’t work without the electricity, so by the time you read this, we will be up and running again, at least for a short time. I learned this morning that though we had a few hours of electricity over the past few days, the village water pump would not have been turned on because the low voltage and inconsistent electricity is what causes the pumps to burn out. I guess our water tank was not refilling when I had hoped it was. Josiah just informed me that as he was washing his hands, the water came out in a rusty sputter.

We still have some water in the rain barrel. I noticed the bucket in the bathroom that we were dumping in to flush the toilet had 5 little amoebas? swimming around in it. I have memories of examining similar looking little critters under microscopes while I was in high school. Now I am certain that I have to have confidence that the water filter that we use for drinking water is doing its job well.

We have been here three weeks and I believe have already experienced many of the trials that come with living in Ndu. I have heard that sometimes the water is out for weeks at a time. We certainly haven’t enjoyed that experience yet; however, I think we will soon be hiring someone to refill our water tank with water from the water hole. (The posted picture is of the waterhole.)

I am finishing this posting when it is now Monday evening and the kids are in bed. We do have electricity now, but are still not receiving water. The electricity returned this afternoon and went out again as we sat down for dinner. Candlelight dinners are no longer reserved for special occasions, but seem instead to occur nightly.

I am thankful for some wonderful times as a family huddling on the sofa with a fire in the fireplace while telling stories, talking about our time here in Cameroon and who we interacted with during the day or what we appreciated or are thankful for, or listening while Daddy reads from our current family book, Duncan’s War. There is little more you can do when it is dark, but what God has given us in these moments is much more than we might have done without them.

Dr. Dale the Seminary Professor

Somehow the Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary received information that I had earned a Ph.D. in New Testament. So all of the documents for my classes have me listed as Dr. Dale Thiele or simply Dr. Dale. Even the students have been greeting me as "Dr." Oh boy! I have spent my first two weeks here explaining to the students in my classes and the administration of the seminary that I do not have a doctorate, but I am sure that God has equipped me well for this task of teaching in these classes.

After finishing the first full week of classes, I am beginning to feel comfortable with the classroom setting. The first day with each of my classes was awkward, and I left doubting my ability to fulfill the task. But, God continues to be good in giving me wisdom and the peace needed to teach each of the classes.

I am teaching three classes this semester: Systematic Theology 1 (17 students), New Testament Introduction (over 30 students), and Exegesis of Galatians (over 40 students). I am also supervising/assisting with the Greek Grammar class (the TA for this class started teaching this class in September and asked if he could finish the semester... which I am happy to let him do). Since we started late for the three classes, we have added additional hours each week to make up class time. I am in the classroom teaching 20 hours a week (even a student asked me how I was not killing myself with this schedule)! Only 5 more weeks of classes (and you thought only students count down to break)!

Two of my classes are adding hours in the evenings, which proves to be challenging with the unpredictable electricity. This last Wednesday evening I was teaching NT Intro and the power went off 5 minutes into class time. I turned on my flashlight, along with a few students' flashlights, and I lectured for the two hours. This is life at CBTS.

I think the Galatians class is my favorite. I am teaching the students tools for studying Scripture and we're using Galatians for practice. Working on passages of Scripture in class with the students is just like preparing for a sermon, which I love. And, this group of students has been fun to interact with.

The three greatest challenges at this time are: 1. The amount of material we need to cover in the classes in such a short period of time; 2. My lack of understanding everything the students are saying (I frequently have to ask a student to repeat himself); and 3. Managing my weekly schedule so that I stay ahead of all the work. I have lectures to prepare for, quizzes to create, and homework to grade. Needless to say, my week is full (did I say only 5 more weeks until Christmas break?).

I am thankful we are here and that I have this awesome ministry opportunity. I am excited for my classes and the topics we get to study together. I trust that God will sustain my family and me for this short window of intense schooling, and we will have the chance to give him praise on the other side.

Our Cameroonian Friends

We are privileged to have several people who work for us in our home. We are thankful to be able to provide jobs for a few students and women who live in the nearby village. This also frees us to be able to spend more time working on our classes and interacting with people.

Our cook, Martha, has a daughter who is 6 years old and goes to the primary school here at CBTS. After school, she, along with a few friends, stops by and hangs around outside. They are fascinated with Isaiah and fight over who gets to hold him. The older boys have been enjoying going out and playing with them. They seem to be warming up to us a little bit more. At first, they would simply scream and run away. This was a bit scarey to Jonathan, who now spends most of his time inside. The other boys are enjoying the games, where they chase the girls, or the girls chase them. The children here speak Limbum…and Pidgin…and are also learning French and English in school. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to communicate very well with the girls, but that doesn’t keep the kids from having fun. Sometimes, the girls are hanging around nearby until Martha is finished and goes home for the day, but more often, they are here for a little while and then leave. I asked Martha where they go, and she said that Goodness’ friends live a little ways from the seminary, and they walk together. Then Goodness either meets up with some students from one of the other schools or finishes the walk home by herself. They live 4 miles away.

I’ve also learned that our laundress walks about an hour to get to our house each morning around 8:30. Her husband has recently passed away, along with her father and sister. She has a nine year old little girl and also helps to care for her sister’s three children. The night that we arrived in Ndu, both Martha and Marcelline were at our home to greet us with a warm meal. It was about 6:30pm and already dark. (It gets dark at about 6pm.) I think they were there until about 7:30 or 8. It wasn’t until just this week, that I found out they had so far to go before they were home, and they were back again by 8:30 the next morning. Not only do they work hard, but they also have been very helpful in getting us settled into a new place. I am very thankful that they are ready and willing to answer multiple questions about things that we do not know how to do or understand.

We have hired a student to help with washing dishes. There are actually two women who takes turns depending on how heavy their homework load is for that evening. The dishes usually take 2.5 to 3 hours to wash each evening. One of the young women, Anita, is in the five year certificate program here at the seminary. She is a beautiful woman and delightful to have in our home. I am amazed that when the electricity goes out she continues singing praise songs and without a single complaint lights a simple pillar candle and keeps right on washing. She is always eager to help out with many of the simple things that I am learning to do…for instance, lighting the oven or the stove top when the electricity is out. (I think I am getting much better at this now. I usually can manage it in only one or two matches instead of 5 or 6.) Last night, we had dinner with our neighbors and forgot about the laundry that we had left out on the line. We have to take the laundry down or move it under the roof behind the house so that it is not stolen or rained upon. When Anita stopped to say goodbye, she let me know that she had also moved all of the laundry for us. Isaiah is always wandering into the kitchen and has enjoyed the attention that he receives from Anita. Maybe he misses his high school and college friends back home and is glad to have someone else who is doting over him. Anita’s parents died when she was very young, and she and her younger siblings were raised by various different people, but the children never were able to live together. Her family quit speaking to her when she became a Christian, but has begun to be a little bit more accepting just recently. She is hoping to continue school so that she can become a counselor for women, children, or couples. Her summers are spent working to pay her tuition at the seminary.

We also have a student who is working for us as our gardener. There is always something that can be done, chopping grass with a machete, pulling weeds, trimming, etc. He is free to work as many hours as he would like, and is also a joy to have around the house.

Creechies

Before we came, we read about some of the different critters that we would likely encounter. For some reason, I hadn’t paid much attention to the description of creechies. I was more concerned about the tumbu flies that would be laying eggs in my clothing. We iron everything to kill them so that the larva do not borrow into our skin. I’ve heard too many stories about squeezing the little worms out of you skin, yet I won’t be too shocked if somebody ends up with one, or many. At this point, our main pest has been the creechies. They are very small, but quite terrifying. They seem to love our fluorescent lights and we find them in various places throughout the house, especially in the bathroom around the shower. We have been warned to never smash one that lands on your skin. Instead you must flick it off. When you smash them, they release an acid that causes burns on your skin. I am certain I have not intentionally squashed any of them, except for the ones that are on the floor or the wall that I’ve hit with my flip flop. This past Sunday, however, Dale ended up with a burn on his forehead, I received one on my neck, and later in the week, Jonathan suddenly had one appear on his leg, and Micah had one on his neck.

There are very large spiders as well. They seem to come out only at night, and I think maybe they will eat some of the bugs that we do not like. If you were ever at our house in California, you will know that we were somewhat fascinated with praying mantises. We have enjoyed seeing many of them here. Also some varieties that are different in color from what we are used to. They are also quite large and seem to be everywhere, including the backs of the pews in church. The saying, “Ants in your pants” has been given new meaning for us this past week. I bet you could have guessed, the ants are also pretty big, and there are many of them. I am not sure if they bite or simply have little pinchers on them, but it is not uncommon to come back from a venture out into the nearby forest and feel these sharp pinches on your skin. Jonathan performed a very nice little dance as we removed his clothing after a venture of this sort.

First Week in Cameroon

We have finished our first week in Cameroon and I realize there are so many things to share that if I try to touch on everything I will never finish this post. The week has been filled with many joys as well as various frustrations as we learn to live in another culture. I'll try to give a glimpse into some of our experiences from this past week.

Tuesday began with our chef and laundress coming around 8:30am. We had not yet figured out how to turn on the water(this was simply our lack of following the instructions that were left for us.) We had running water about midway through the day. Our cook works Mon-Fri from approx. 7:30am until 2:00pm. There is a chunk of beef in the freezer that must be ground for hamburger or chopped for any other meals. We've found that the meat is much tougher here...and difficult for little boys to chew. We have enjoyed amazing meals this week. From omelets, coffee cake, and cinnamon rolls, to baked fish(thankfully Martha removed the heads and prepared nice filets for us), spaghetti, Cameroonian Beef Stew, cabbage rolls, and hamburgers. The only cheese I was able to find while grocery shopping in Bamenda was Mozzarella. This was a new experience for burgers and is also so expensive that we use very skimpy amounts. (I believe it was about $36 for a block of cheese...2.5 kg?) For those of you who know our boys, you know that a few of them are quite picky eaters. They have really been doing very well in trying new things. We decided not to suggest meals yet and to simply try whatever is prepared. Some things have not gone over so well, and tummies were a bit hungry at bed time. Most of the time, however, we have been surprised at how easily they will try new things...since they are a bit afraid of starving. While cheese and meat are very expensive(also some canned goods which can be purchased in Bamenda, 5 hours from here), fruits, vegetables, and fish are more in abundance.

We have an American family next door to us. They have 5 children. The boys have been very excited to have friends so close by. They have ventured out into the forest together and have built tree houses. We are praying that none of them fall out of a tree as the nearest hospital is 3 hours away. Today the kids were out playing when a sudden downpour of rain and hail came. We realized we had laundry on the line which we ran to pull down and then remembered the kids were out playing. By the time they returned, they were completely drenched. I think it has rained every night since we have been here. It rains very hard(even harder than the winter rains in Roseville) and sounds even stronger coming down on a metal roof.

Sleep has been interesting as well. We are getting used to new sounds. Apart from the rain, there are the birds that scamper across the roof and sound like they must be ostriches, there are the goats crying out in the morning, and the electricity going in and out throughout the night causing the security lights to turn on and off. My favorite experience of the night, however, came at about 4:30 am on Saturday. We were suddenly awakened to a very loud gong being sounded. Having no idea what would prompt someone to sound a gong that could be heard for miles in the middle of the night, I wondered if it was some sort of alarm or security signal. After it sounded a second time about 5 minutes later, we finally fell back to sleep. Saturday morning, our new friends informed us that Dale had actually missed Bible Study. The gong was calling the men to Saturday morning Bible Study. (I think he will miss it every week.)

Today we were able to attend a Cameroonian church. There were many things we did not understand and other things that were uplifting. If you have been a part of an African service, you may have already experienced the song and dance of joyful praise as the offerings are brought forward. I think we have much to learn in expressing ourselves in worship. We were also brought to the front of the church and introduced. There is an amazing amount of gratitude from students, staff, pastors, and churches throughout the area for Dale being here to teach at the seminary. We'd like to pass that thanksgiving on to all of you who are supporting us financially and/or with prayer.

So much more to say, but it will have to wait. Tomorrow brings my second grammar class and the first meeting of one of Dale's classes. Please pray that God would direct our words as we teach tomorrow.

The Thieles Travel to Ndu, Cameroon

Dale’s Perspective (with Erin's editing) Sorry so long... there is a lot to take in. We'll try to get some pictures up soon.

Days 1 & 2 (Friday & Saturday): Air Travel

Our day started at 3:30am after a brief fidgety sleep. It was difficult to relax and fall into a deep sleep when we were on the eve of moving to Africa for six months. Questions kept running through my mind: What if we oversleep? What if we miss a flight? What if we forget something? What am I doing moving my family across the world? Even with these things swirling through my head, I was able to doze off and on for 3 hours.

Our first flight out of San Francisco departed at 9:45am. We wanted to leave Roseville early enough to miss San Francisco Bay Bridge traffic, get our luggage checked in (13 checked cases), and move our small force of a family (6 carry-on bags and backpacks on most of us; can you picture us going through security?) to the boarding gate without the stress of rushing. Jon Peterson drove us in a church van and Troy Wilson (experienced oversea missionary traveler) came along to help us move our luggage through check out. We made it over the Bay Bridge with spare time to stop at Krispy Kreme Donuts (one of the boys’ favorites).

God was kind to us during the whole air travel process. There were no problems checking our luggage. We made it (slowly) through security just fine. We never felt rushed trying to make it to one of our gates. The boys were super helpers carrying their backpacks and pulling wheeled suitcases through the airports and onto airplanes. The boys also were super on the airplanes, being content with the activities they had in their backpacks, being excited to eat a meal on a plane, and even sleeping well crossing the Atlantic. Many were praying for Jonathan specifically because he developed an ear infection right before we left. The change of air pressure never bothered him. We are just so thankful to God for such a smooth travel across the world.

We landed in Douala, Cameroon on Saturday at about 5:15pm (Cameroon currently is 8 hours ahead of California). It was about 89 degrees and very humid. This just made moving through the airport a sweaty adventure. We made it through immigration just fine, having all of our paperwork in order. We were slow at moving through the airport, so by the time we made it to baggage claim a gentleman named Roger met us and had already pulled 9 of our cases off of the belt (I guess using Rubbermaid Action Packers scream “missionary”). Eventually all of our luggage came out (we had been prepped to expect one or more of our pieces not to make it) and Roger walked us smoothly through customs (“Yes, all of these items are our personal belongings. No, we are not here to sell anything.”).

When we actually stepped out of the airport, things became overwhelming. Several men approached our carts full of luggage ready to carry away our things. We were not sure who to let touch our bags. Apparently, Roger and our driver, Dieudonne, prearranged with these men to help carry our things down the stairs to the parking garage. Well, we didn’t know what all was arranged and both Erin and I were cornered by different men demanding to be paid for helping. This scared the boys, thinking the men would hurt us or steal our belongings. Dieudonne and Roger, however, had the whole situation under control and took care of us. All of our bags and all of the family were stuffed into the van and taken to a European Baptist guesthouse for the night.

Even though we were exhausted from the air travel, this first night in Cameroon was not very restful. It was uncomfortable with the heat and humidity, and the boys just were not at ease in the new setting.

Day 3 (Sunday): Road Travel to Bamenda

At the guesthouse we had breakfast (homemade bread and omelets) and packed up in the van again for the drive to Bamenda. Bamenda is the capital city of the North West region of Cameroon and has a population of about 400,000 people. The road is all paved between Douala and Bamenda, so we were able to enjoy the scenery along the roadside. We saw shops, churches, villages, mango trees, banana trees, papaya trees, a volcano in the distance, motorcycles with 3 or 4 people on them(and sometimes also carrying another motorcycle!), and tons and tons of people walking. It seems like the Cameroonian people all come to “hang out” along the main drag. Anywhere we saw a church there were people crowded along the road leading to the church. Most people walk and have no other form of transportation.

We arrived at the Cameroonian Baptist Convention guesthouse in Bamenda in the mid-afternoon. We were greeted by George Ngwang, the gentlemen who was working on this end to obtain our residency paperwork so we could get our visas. George warmly greeted us and set us up with our room accommodations for the night. He also introduced us to some missionaries from America who proved to be Godsend encouragements as we began our stay here. Elsie, a teacher for missionary kids who has been in Cameroon for 15 years, invited us to her home for dinner. We greatly appreciated her “orientation” to Cameroon and helpful hints to ease our transition into our new life. We felt ready to take the plunge into the village of Ndu.

This second night of sleep was much more restful. It helped significantly to have the hospitality of Americans to ease us into a foreign land.

Day 4 (Monday): Road Travel (there was a road, right?) to Ndu

During the weeks leading up to our travel, many different people warned us of the “adventurous” or “treacherous” road up to Ndu. No words, actually, could have prepared us for what we endured on Monday.

The day started with Erin and I attending to some business items, which needed to be addressed in Bamenda (setting up our money account, purchasing SIM cards for our cell phones, shopping for food not available in Ndu, etc). We were finally all packed up and ready to go just after lunch. After stopping to purchase some frozen fish and fresh pineapples on the road out of Bamenda, we started the trek up into the mountains.

Side note about Bamenda: This city is located in a beautiful valley among some majestic mountains. From the guesthouse we stayed in, we could see several waterfalls flowing out of the mountains. It truly reminded us of Yosemite Valley, where you are surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. Just incredible! And on the road out of Bamenda, we drove by a couple more waterfalls. We loved it.

Ndu is a small village (Population? Not sure. No one has ever done an official count. We have heard 10,000 and we have heard up to 40,000), nestled in the mountains of northwest Cameroon that border Nigeria. It is only about 140 km from Bamenda, but there are paved roads for only about a third of the way. The six month rainy season is just coming to an end, and the rains this year have left the road in its worst condition (ruts, trenches, canyons, can I say canyons? Yes, canyons. It’s only the work of God that our van never got stuck). All of the long-term missionaries and even the Cameroonians have said that the road is the worst it has ever been. It was a five-hour bumpy drive to make it to Ndu.

At 6:30pm, and in darkness, we arrived at the Yong’s home on the campus of CBTS. [Philemon and Linda Yong’s home will be our residence while we stay here in Ndu. The Yongs are on home assignment for the year. It will be by God’s grace that I will be able to fill in some of the gap felt by CBTS with the absence of Dr. Yong.] At the door of the van, Rev. Mbongko, the president of CBTS, warmly greeted us with hugs. Along with Rev. Mbongko were the academic dean, Rev. Nseimboh, our house help (our cook, laundress, and dish washer), and several other members of the CBTS community. We immediately felt welcomed and loved, which proved to be such a great encouragement after that long drive.

Everyone helped unload our luggage and dinner was already prepared on the table. Our house help stayed late to clean up and assist us in getting set up in our new home. The electricity went off and on several times during the evening and eventually stayed off. Linda Yong prepped us well for this experience and we had our headlamps and candles ready to guide us to bed. Exhausted and overwhelmed by our new environment, we made it to bed, looking forward to daylight to explore our new surroundings.

We have a departure date!

Thank you for praying for us in our preparations to leave for Cameroon. We now have purchased plane tickets and are awaiting the official visas from the Cameroon Embassy here in the US. We will depart on Friday Oct 29th. We will be flying to Chicago and then on to Europe. After a short 3 hour lay over in Europe, we will continue into Cameroon, arriving early Saturday evening. Once in Cameroon, we will have two days of driving before arriving at the Seminary in Ndu.

Please continue to lift our family in prayer, as well as the students and faculty at CBTS. We look forward to sharing much more with you in regular blog updates over the next several months.

We'll be there soon

After several months of waiting for approval for residency, we still have not received the necessary paperwork to enter Cameroon and stay. It turns out that the official in charge of these documents was dismissed by the president of Cameroon this summer, and while a replacement was hired, he has not yet started working. CBTS has decided that it would be best for us to come now on a six month visa rather than continuing to wait for residency. The 6 month visa can be applied for at the embassy in Washington DC and does not require the more extensive paperwork from Cameroon. We expect to be able to apply for the Visa early this week, purchase plane tickets and depart some time during the week of Oct. 24th.

How does this affect the seminary? Our time serving at CBTS was planned for this current academic school year in order to help fill in for a professor that needed to take an unexpected leave of absence. The president and academic dean of CBTS have been able to work out a schedule which will allow Dale to teach all of the classes they had hoped for him to teach this year. While we are late for the first semester, Dale will still teach all five courses as originally planned. Three of these will be taught during the rest of the semester with make up class times in the evenings. The other 2 courses will be taught as intensives during January. We will be in Cameroon for a majority of the second semester, but with the six month visa will have to leave a few weeks before classes typically end. These class times will be made up with a few extra meetings during the semester as well.

While this is not what we had anticipated when God called us to Cameroon this past June, we trust that this is His plan. Please be praying for our final two weeks here in California as we finish packing and say goodbye. We recognize that the 6 months in Cameroon will be much fuller than we expected as we condense 9 months of classes into 6 months. Please pray for strength and endurance. We are overjoyed to be a part of the ministry at CBTS. Please be praying for the students in Dale's classes who will be working on this shortened schedule, for the effect this may have on their families and their abilities to learn and retain what is taught in the classes.

(The photo is of Isaiah packing his clothes for the trip. We will be packing everything we need into 12 rubbermaid actionpackers. Isaiah will sit on our laps on the plane...not in one of the actionpackers.)

Still Waiting...

We had hoped that our next blog posting would be to let everyone know that we have received our residency approval from Cameroon and have bought plane tickets; however, we felt we couldn’t delay this next posting any longer. While we still have not received any news on the visa progress, we are continuing to prepare and plan for our time at CBTS. Typically the process takes between 6 and 12 weeks, we are now at about ten weeks. I hope that tomorrow we will be updating the blog to let you know that the paperwork is in. Please continue to pray that God would open up this door for us to arrive in Cameroon in His perfect time. Pray also for our patience as we grow a bit anxious.

Classes began at CBTS on August 26th. The students in Dale’s classes know that we will be coming, and are waiting for the teacher to show up for class. Please be praying for students as they are studying and learning right now. The courses which Dale will be teaching have changed a bit from what you may have last heard from us. He has been asked to teach five courses for this semester: Exegesis of Galatians, Greek Grammar 1, Systematic Theology 1, New Testament Introduction 1, and Later New Testament Letters. The first four courses have both M.A. and B.A. students in them, while the NT Letters course is a certificate (high school) level course. Though we are not in Cameroon, these classes are beginning. The Greek course is being started by a student who has had a few semesters already, and Dale is sending over syllabi and assignments for the students to begin in the other courses.

While we wait…We moved out of our house at the end of August and have graciously been given a place to stay by a family in our church. As we continue to finalize various details for our time in Cameroon, we have also started our school year here at home. Dale is continuing to prepare for teaching. As a family, we have had 36 immunizations over the past 2 months. We’ve found that Canada sells malaria meds for much cheaper than the US…especially when you need them for 7 people. We have 12 Rubbermaid Actionpackers which will transport all of our necessary belongings to Cameroon for this year. At this point, headlamps are extremely cool to four little boys…we will see how they feel in six months. Our lives are already being simplified as we wonder, do we really need any of that stuff we packed and moved into storage?

Please pray with us that our Visas would come tomorrow, and that we would continue to wait patiently for the right time. God knows very well that there is a faculty member missing at CBTS, and He will get us there at precisely the right time. We are only a few thousand dollars short of being fully funded for our time of ministry in Cameroon. If you are interested in supporting us, please contact us and we will let you know how you can do this.

Praying, Preparing, Moving, and Packing

It has been our hope to give regular updates through this blog on our preparations for our time serving in Cameroon, and then also to continue blogging throughout the next year. I already feel like we are behind, and many of you have been waiting for us to begin updating you with answered prayer and new requests. This is the beginning of what I hope will become a way for you to share in this mission with us, praying with us and rejoicing with us as God moves in our hearts and those around us.

It has been only 3 months since we learned of the need for teachers this coming year at CBTS. We knew that God was calling us to begin preparing to be a part of the awesome work that He is doing in Cameroon, but we also were very aware that we could not get ourselves there. We began the summer sharing with many of you that we needed a hundred miracles in order for us to go. Right now, as we look back and continue to look forward, all I can say is that it is absolutely amazing to be a part of the miraculous work that God is doing.

Praise God! He continues to perform miracles and also keeps us on our knees as we await His further provisions and perfect timing in bringing us to Cameroon. A glimpse into some of our answered prayers: We have renters! A couple from our church(joining together in marriage this month) will be renting from us, joyfully supporting us in this. We also have been blessed with free storage of our belongings, as well as a place to stay after we move out of our house and await our Visas.There have been many questions in regards to immunizations. Thankfully, I feel a much greater peace in what we should and should not get(especially for Isaiah). Raising support for a family of 7 to spend a year overseas in 3 months is something that only God could do. We are not fully funded, but our support is coming in at record breaking speeds. We trust that God will continue His faithfulness, while keeping us in ferverent prayer, as He brings people around us to pray for and financially support this mission. We are incredibly blessed by numerous conversations and emails that have taken place which have given us a better idea of what our time in Cameroon will be like and some of the things that we can expect.

Please continue to pray for us and CBTS. We have not yet received approval for residency in Cameroon. Paperwork has been submitted and there really is no way to check on the progress. One day, we will simply receive word that it has been approved and we may apply for visas here in the US. We have been told that this could happen tomorrow, or it could take another month. Classes start within the next few weeks, and we will not be there for the first day of school. Dale will teach his courses regardless of when we get there. The shortage of teachers does not allow for someone to pick up the classes in the meantime, but something will be worked out in the schedule so that students will be able to complete the courses even if we are late. We know that God will bring us to CBTS on the day that He intends for us to be there. Please pray for our hearts and preparations as we eagerly anticipate our departure and arrival in Cameroon, and also for the students that Dale will have in class. Please also pray for: our final packing up of our house and moving items into storage, packing for our time in Cameroon(we cannot run to Walmart or ask Grandma to send us the things that we forgot...and yet we may be more grateful for what we have if we do forget some things), our children who are excited and also quite nervous, preparation for teaching and proclaiming God's sovereign grace, immunizations that we will likely be getting within the next week or two, the final approx. 20% that we need to raise in support, our Cameroonian brothers and sisters whose needs and burdens we may not know yet, but God is bringing us to love, encourage, challenge and serve. Pray that our hearts and minds(and yours) would be prepared to receive all that God has for us and those around us(including yourselves) in this upcoming year as we follow God to Africa.

June Newsletter, pg. 2

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June Newsletter

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