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.