Safari bus…this is the Starr’s car and we had all the kids on the top as we drove through the Waza National Park to see the wildlife…by now we are in the Extreme Nord province of Cameroon having passed through Adamaoua and Nord.

Peter loved this chameleon…it didn’t have time to change colors though. What an incredible green color.

We saw these 3 giraffes and it was amazing to see the Dad cross the road first and then the mom and baby followed once all was clear. They were so majestic and graceful in their movements.

This elephant was showing off her beautiful ears. We love the deep gray color of these guys.

Sam and I were just in front of them and Gilles got a picture of them behind us…at the watering hole.

These elephants (about 30 in all) were no more than 30 yards away from us…amazing! We followed them literally all over the place as we followed their tracks and the broken trees and grasses to see where they had gone.

For all those “tuff guys” out there…here are Gilles, Caleb and Alan Starr doing a tuff guy pose, Cameroonian style…for Tim and Nhoj!

On the train ride up and back whenever the train stops you are bombarded with all sorts of ladies and kids yelling things like, “Bouteilles bouteilles” “Avocat, avocat” “Baton, baton, baton” “L’eau, l’eau, l’eau”…and you can buy these things right out your window. So, we bought oranges, avocados and bananas…fast food on the train.

We had a very blessed and fun filled Thanksgiving with the Starrs, Katharine (their tutor) and Dianne (their colleague). After a long day though you can see that we aren’t all sane…what a blast we had

Presenting the Jammin’ Great, Super Cool Magnificent School Fair! Complete with corn dogs and funnel cakes…what fun!



Leah and I were coaxed into bobbing for apples too…and we had to go DEEP! She gets one!


A monthly image from our house…HAIRCUTS…hair grows very fast here in the hot and dry climate.



Then…We have just gotten on the train that will go all night to take us to N’Gaoundere in the Adamaoua province of Cameroon. The trip can take anywhere from 15-20 hours. On the way up it took us 18 and on the way back only 14.



Alan and Gilles hiked up with the kids onto Moloko mountain (just behind the Starr’s house) while DeEtte and I cooked. Here they are on a HUGE rock that overlooked their house and “valley.”

Focus on Growing Up!

Well, the little guy is growing up! Sam turned 6 on October 2 and had a dinosaur party with 5 of his little guy friends. One boy is from Canada, one from the Netherlands and the other three are American. It was a lot of fun and he was really blessed. They played games outside and inside and we ate hot dogs, chips and cupcakes…can’t get too much more American, huh? Oh well…it was fun!

On a second note, today, the 12^th, he lost (or rather pulled) his first tooth. He started to notice it was loose yesterday while eating an apple. He was thrilled as he has wanted so badly to catch up to Gaby and Josh…He didn’t want to go to sleep last night for fear he would miss it if it fell out. Today, he worked it all day and after Tae Kwon Do, he beefed up the courage to pull it out on his own. (He is of the belief that if you pull it out on your own – versus someone pulling it for you or letting it come out on its own – that you get bigger “bucks” from the Tooth Fairy. There has been entirely too much inflation since the Tooth Fairy visited me…cut the jokes about my age, ok!!) So, you can see the pic of Sam “sans” his front tooth.

Unfortunately the rest of his day wasn’t so super. He and Josh were playing on the new skateboard and he got his hand run over by it and has virtually pulled of his nail on his right ring finger. It is very gross and looks extremely painful. We are just praying that a new one will grow once this one works its way out and off.

Exciting things on the horizon for our youth ministry. This Saturday is the first monthly meeting of all the youth involved in the Nav Bible Studies here in Yaounde. We are expecting a turnout of about 30-50 kids. This is a time for large group fellowship, games, hanging out and a themed discussion with activities geared for that. This whole concept is not very Cameroonian and yet the young people seem very excited about the prospects of it…have we hit on a need here in this youth culture? Well, pray with us for this day and for God’s plans.

We have also booked the Scripture Union Camp here in Yaounde Dec. 29-31 for a weekend youth retreat. Ndoune and his wife, Marie Paule will be playing the role of Camp Director and so Gilles is working with them to get them equipped and prepared for this.

We have been through a challenging season personally. We had an unfortunate and untrue accusation made against Gilles and have spent the better part of the past three weeks trying to get it all sorted out. Solely by God’s grace we are seeing the end! It has been a very good lesson in “taking every thought captive” and also a real training ground for Philippians 4:8 and choosing what to have our thoughts dwell on. If God hadn’t led us to those passages, we could have been totally consumed.

Blessings and much love…thanks for all the prayers…we are humbled and blessed.

The morning of his Bday, he requested Mom's Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast- yummy!

Here is Sam and all his little buddies for his 6th birthday party

Chloe and Mallory’s grandparents came for a week and “Rie” (their grandma) came and shared a story about Henny the Hen and led us in some Chicken crafts…the chicken man would have loved it!

This is our friend Marie Paule and her new baby boy, Jean Samuel, born in early September. Marie Paule and her husband Ndoune will be leading our Christmas retreat.

just lost his first tooth-- pulled it out all on his own

Doesn't she look great and oh, so studious? We are really proud of her and think she made a great selection.

Here are the 5 kids staining their toolboxes. They had a great time and learned a lot about sequencing events.

Ain't She Pretty

Last week we made toolboxes during our hands on day at school. I am enclosing a few pictures of the kids at work and still need to get a pic on of the final project. Next week. School is going great. I am still enjoying it, thank the Lord, and the kids seem to really enjoy just two extra kids around too. No, it doesn't make us want to have anymore though!

There are now 3 high school small groups meeting in Yaounde, following the summer camp. They are currently meeting once a month with the hope to move to twice a month. We thought it best to have them less frequently at first but make sure they are good quality. More to come as they expand!

Here is our big girl with her glasses! She did a super job these past weeks of constant headaches. We really believe God has given us great wisdom and has also led us to the best doctor for her. She was encouraged that the hypermytropia is a condition that she COULD grow out of though that is not certain. She looks great!!

Our friends Marie Paule and Ndoune just became first time parents last week. Jean Samuel was born Monday September 4th around 10 am. Both mom and baby are doing well, which is indeed a praise from a Third World Country. There is also a picture of me holding him, seated by Marie Paule. He is very cute!

We are all doing well…by the grace of Him alone! Gaby is adjusting to the idea of glasses very well. She will go soon to get the Rx and then shop for glasses…she wants rectangle and not big (NO circles, she says).

She and I have both had a nasty tummy thing for about 24 hours, but that is pretty par for the course in Africa.

Wanted to give you some exciting news…Gaby is going to be published. We were connected with a lady that is writing a book on MK’s on the field and their adjustments and the whole process of going and being gone. Gaby chose to write a 300 word essay on Living on a Compound. Check out the link to Gaby's Gazette to read her story. We heard from the author this morning (Martine Zoer) and she loved Gaby’s story. We will keep you updated on the status of the book…we are proud of her. She is a gifted writer (Gaby), and yes we are completely biased!!!

Enjoy her little story and thanks for praying so fervently for us.

first day of school and we all made it...the dynamic is so fun!
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And Sam was able to go too, from the half way point...way to go Sam!!
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Yes, even Mom did it...Gilles doesn't look too confident in my form...but I made it!!
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Our first day of school at the Naine/Magruder home school. It was fun...and I am pooped.
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Josh crosses too...with great form.
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Gaby crossing the "river" (see that nasty crocodile) in the ropes competition with FES. She did great!
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Ropes and School

We started our first day for school this morning with our 5 eager beavers. It was lots of fun and the dynamic for them is so different. They arrive here at 8:25 and we wrap up at 1pm. They even have homework...a first for several of them.

This past Saturday we had a friendly ropes competition for FES. The two teams had to get their ropes tied between the two trees, their harnesses tied and on and cross each of the 20 team members, one by one, across a "ravine" (road). It was a lot of fun. Here are pics...all 5 Naines did it...even Mom!!! Woah!

Later Aug 25

Ps 62:8 Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.
O God, in the midst of sickness and illness I will choose to trust in You at all times. I choose to pour out my heart before you. I praise you because you are a refuge for me and my family here in Cameroon.
The circumstances of Aug 25, 2006…Gaby’s three week headaches and no answers yet; Sam’s constant runny nose and allergies and all out of Singulair. Lord, I choose to walk in your peace regarding these two areas…thank you.
Excerpt from Beth Moore’s Living Beyond Yourself…”Christ didn’t change His circumstances to make them bearable. He mastered them at the peak of their impossibility. Yes, Christ had perfect peace in the storm…If you believe HIM, He will show you His glory…guaranteed.” Show us your glory, O mighty God
I write this so humbly, awed, amazed, absolutely blown away at what God has done today. We just came from Dr. Julia’s office where we took Sam to see about an alternative to Singulair. She has not been my favorite doctor and I even said to Gilles as we approached her house, “ I don’t even really know why we are here, except to pick up Sam’s medical records.” May I just testify that our mighty God had a very VERY clear reason for us to be there today.
We went through the small talk and then entered into the fact that we have no more Singulair and had noticed Sam’s struggle. She agreed that we should not have stopped it. Then she reached under her desk and pulled out a box with a plastic bag in it with 3000 Singulair 5mg tablets in it (expiration in late 2007). She just returned last week from a several week trip in the US and a colleague of hers there mentioned the medicine and its effectiveness with asthmatics. This colleague gave it to Dr. Julia free of charge and encouraged her to charge a pittance for each pill (6 cents a pill). So, she offered for us to buy it from her and we were able to buy 170 pills (almost 6 months worth) for $10!! In the US we bought a month worth for $20…
Can I just say that we are marveled, to tears, about God’s immediate manifestation of His glory in this. Only our heavenly Father could have done this!!! We are just in awe…even Sam said, “Good…now I won’t have as much coughs and runny nose.” God loves us and has once again shown us His perfect plan that we are here in Cameroon, for such a time as this.
When Peter walked on the water towards Jesus and got wrapped up in the natural circumstances he began to sink. Then Scripture tells us that, “Immediately Jesus…” (v.31 of Matthew 14). As I have gotten overwhelmed and wrapped up in the natural circumstances of sickness, fatigue and inconvenience, I have “sunk” spiritually in a certain way. This morning I was reminded of what I journaled above in this entry…keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. What did He do this afternoon? “Immediately, Jesus…” provided the pills we need for Sam…immediately He marveled us with a demonstration of His love and provision and grace…immediately He reminded me Who is in control of all things…even Sam’s meds. Unbelievable…
Thank you for being a part of this miracle through your prayers and love…this will be posted on our blog too, if you care to see the whole progression of this story. (http://jbimc.blogspot.com)
Love you!

Here is a pic of Gaby the day we took the African braids out of her hair...she had her own curls and frizz...Big hair Mama!!!
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25 Aug 2006

OK, well we are praising God that Gaby has excellent vision. She passed the “E” test with flying colors. This however has left us stumped as to why her headaches are there…so we are still praying. She will be going early Tuesday morning to an eye specialist. So, we remain in prayer.

When the Grace Team was here, we had an informal “ask the missionary” time with them. One of the questions was, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the most secure, how secure/comfortable are we living here. I remember my response was conditional on two things (bad idea with God)…whether I was inside our property walls and whether the kids were healthy. With kids not doing well, my security and comfort level rapidly drops to below 5… I am quickened though to remember that “He who calls is faithful” and we know that we know that we know that we have been called here. God knows my kids and their health so much better than me…and I am always shocked to remember that He LOVES them infinitely more and better than I do and can. So, I am in my wake-up call mode these days. Thank you for your faithful prayers and emails.

Sam is holding his own…we are trying to get some more of his meds to come over with some people coming to visit our friends at the end of September. Again, God knows the timing possibilities and will be perfect to provide for that.

We are not too surprised to be under pressure these days as Gilles kicked it up a notch with his team last Saturday. Things are moving…small groups are starting in Yaounde…the first ever high school Nav small groups…WOW! We are humbled to be a part of it. So, even though we are rejoicing, we know that the enemy of our souls is less than overjoyed…

FES is finishing this morning and you can see the kids’ Greek outfits below. They have had a great time and we look forward to our little school starting up on Monday.

We are grateful for you…your love, prayers and encouragements are priceless to us here. Thank you and know that we love you so much.

Josh as Zeus, complete with lightening bolts...Gaby as a Greek Salad with cukes, tomatoes, olives and a head full of feta...Sam as Ares, god of war...so tough.
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Just a few lines...FES is going great and the kids are in their last week of it. They have been learning about Ancient Greece and Gaby did a research paper on Aphrodite, of all the goddesses she could have chosen! :-) They will have Greek dress up day on Friday and are deciding now what they want to go as...anything Greek...salad, olive, Parthenon, god or goddess, Olympian (clothed of course), etc. So, will surely have pictures for you with the next post.

Gaby has been struggling with headaches for a few weeks now and we are seeing an Eye Doc on Thursday. Keep her in your prayers.

Sam's speech challenges and allergies are at an all time tough moment...ah the joys of spiritual warfare!

Hugs and blessings...W

School's in session

Well, FES has started back up again and all three kids are involved! Yup, Sam is all grown up now. They are studying about ancient Greece this session and enjoying some of the Greek myths. (especially Hercules, Minotaur and the Iliad and Odyssey). I am busy getting school ready for my 5 students to start the end of the month. Gilles is wrapping up camp things and budget sheets. I will post more about the camp later in the week. Thanks for reading! Your prayers and love are so special to us!

this was Seiko learning to throw a Frisbee. Many many of the teens had never seen one before let alone thrown one. They had a large group throwing time and then the teens signed each other's for a souvenir. Fun!
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This is the whole camp picture just before they left. We had 57 people and 37 Cameroonian teens. A great time was had by all.
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Gaby with pretty African braids. The lady started at 10 am and finished at 8pm breaking only for lunch!!! Lots of hard work.
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1 August 2006

What a sweet summer this has been…though busy. We had 2 ½ excellent weeks with Sue Sue and Paw Paw. We did everyting from lots of games, to lots of laughs, to lots of travel to Kribi and back. It was really a God led time. (We are shooting for 3 weeks next time!)

Then we welcomed Dave and Julie Heiliger to come hang with us for a week. They are real troopers. They had just come from a three week missions trip in Bulgaria. They sent the team home to the US and they braved the wilds of Africa with us for a week. Besides lots of games (especially Settlers of Catan) they were absolutely invaluable in all they did to help us brainstorm and plan for the youth camp the following week. Having just spent time in Bulgaria leading a camp, they came fresh with ideas and things that worked and things that bombed. We opted only to use the things that worked! J Their time spent talking through all of this with Gilles really gave him a sense of being better prepared. What special friends!

Gilles and the US missions team are off in Kribi leading the camp. There are 37 Cameroonian youth that have come to the camp and we are excited about that. The US Team, from Grace Community Church in Columbia MD arrived the 27th of June. Their arrival and process through customs was so smooth, only God could have done that. All 12 of them arrived safely and all 23 suitcases/trunks arrived too!!! Now, that is truly a miracle here in Cameroon.

We survived…thanks to your prayers and God’s goodness! FES was a great success and we are glad to have done it and to now be able to turn that page. The session went very well. Both kids passed to the next level of swimming, starred in the play B.C. Bedtime Stories, and did well on the IOWA standardized tests. These tests, though not ideal, will help us as we plan next year’s school year to make sure we are focusing a bit extra where there are needs. Yes, as of now there are no teachers for the Primary School, so I am planning to teach all three little weasels!!! (And I am looking forward to the dynamics of having all three in there at the same time – with fear and trepidation!!)

We have chosen a site for the upcoming youth camp (to take place at the end of July when the team from the US is here) and registration brochures are being distributed. The team coming will be 12 people, both college and high school. Including them we are looking at about 50-60 for this camp…very exciting. It really seems to meet a current need here. I think we will have to turn many away…and are already doing that, unfortunately.

Our summer is picking up! Only about a month (6/26) until the grandparents come to visit for a little over 2 wks…we are so looking forward to that! The night they leave we have some dear friends that we worked with in Columbia coming for a week to bless us and also to help prepare for the arrival of the US team. The mission team will arrive the 27th of July and leave the 5th of August. We will continue to need your prayers to get through this very busy, but hugely exciting, time.

A cute TCK (Third Culture Kid) story…Sam was getting dressed about two weeks ago to go have a pony ride with Gilles, while the bigger kids and I were at FES. I had instructed him to go put “pants” on. When I went up to brush my teeth, he was all flustered looking through his drawers. I asked what was wrong and he said in a very hopeless tone, “Mommy, I forgot what pants look like.” Well, we don’t wear long pants here and so he had no idea what I meant by pants. Just one of the treats of living in a third culture.

See those pretty pierced ears? It was totally worth it!
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And she swings....
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Josh all decked out in the catching gear
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The Good Ol’ American Sport Arrives in Cameroon

Gaby and Josh have just wrapped up their first season on the Cameroon Little League Baseball team. The chance to play little league was totally a surprise and all were excited. They started practice in December and had their last game yesterday. All in all it was a positive experience. A few glitches, but aren’t there always?? They played on the Sharks.

I have to tell you about yesterday’s game and the events surrounding it. We arrived at a bit before 1pm, as we have every Sunday for three months. When we got there though, there was a serious adult soccer match being played. This was odd because we have the field booked through the end of March. This illustrated to us, once again, what a “big time” sport soccer/football is here in Cameroon. Everything and everyone should bow to the priority of the soccer match. As you may have seen in many European countries, these matches can get very emotional and tense for the losing team or for the opposing supporters.

Let me move along in the story. Our coordinator, an American guy whose wife is the head of all the UN projects here in Cameroon (and therefore someone with some weight to throw around!!), tried to intervene and see what was going on. It appeared that we have been ousted and that there was a soccer tournament going on…only in game one! Well, Steve and his wife Sophie tried to see what happened and it seems that we got double booked and because we were only baseball, we got usurped. To me that is ok and we can pack up to leave. Clearly not worth putting up a stink about, right? Well, to Steve and his wife, as they told us later, there was now pride involved and they were not going to back down easily. Oh great!!! So, I just sort of stepped aside with my kids and tried to stay out of the way. After some negotiations, it seemed that we could have the field at 2pm, about 40 minutes away.

When the “golden hour” arrived our Cameroonian assistant coaches tried to get the game stopped, only to literally be swarmed by the fans and supporters. There were fist flying and it even seemed like one guy was getting strangled. Lovely! So, our asssis’t coach goes over to get a bat to start swinging…uh-oh! Someone intervened and he did, in fact, not swing the bat. But the fans were very hot and were not about to let some kids’ baseball game take over their territory. It was a very tense time for about 30 minutes while we negotiated and while Sophie made it clear that she knew people in high places and that her son’s team had priority over the field. It all turned out well and we were able to play. In God’s humor of it all…those soccer supporters that stayed in the stands to wait out our game so the soccer could start again, really got into the baseball and began cheering the kids for their good plays and good hits.

All went smoothly until 2 outs away from the end of the game when a soccer dude came and started to put up a fuss that our time was done. The Cameroonian coaches and umpire got pretty physically involved. All we wanted was to have two more outs and then head home. Air was cleared in about 10 minutes and they were allowed to wrap up the game.

Our kids’ eyes were opened during all that and Gaby was pretty upset that someone would try to strangle her coach. Living in a developing country has exposed them to some things that might have been better off left unseen. But on the other hand, they learned some key lessons in submitting to authority and in good sportsmanship through this whole ordeal.

Once again, life in Cameroon is never dull or boring. If it’s not one thing, there is sure to be another. Thanks for loving and praying for us.

South African Retreat and Holiday

We blasted off to Cape Town South Africa on January 5th and headed right into a 5 day conference led by the Navigators. It was a spiritual retreat for the sub-Saharan full-time Nav Staff. We all gathered together from Mali, Ghana, Kenya, Cameroon, Zimbabwe and South Africa for a time to get to connect with each other through games and “down time” and also some priceless training on Prayer. We were so blessed! There was a team of 11 that came from Nav Headquarters in Colorado to lead this for us. We made new friends…the kids too and reconnected with old ones. That wrapped up on the 11th in the morning and then the Naine Family Adventure began. We rented a car and headed to a charming Bed and Breakfast in Fish Hoek, a small village located on the lower peninsula. From the 11th to the 18th, we hiked Table Mountain, went all the way down to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, saw tons of African penguins, went to the Two Oceans Aquarium, went to the movies, shopped, went to McDonald’s, KFC and other coffee shops and restaurants, went on a mini-safari, walked on the beach, watched the seals frolic in the harbor, hung out some more with some new Nav friends and relaxed. Shopping was only mentioned once, but we did lots of that and brought back lots of goodies to Cameroon that we just cannot find here!! We didn’t really swim in the ocean as it was way too cold (55 degrees) and keep in mind that this is their summer! The kids went in a bit but Gilles and I must be getting too old for the Polar Bear club. There are various and asundry pictures included so you can get an idea of the beauty of this place. We had a fabulous time and really enjoyed Cape Town. Admittedly coming back to Yaounde was a challenge and it took a few days to get back into the groove but we are reminded again and again why we are here. The vacation was nice, but we are called to live in the valley with other Cameroonians and go from mountain top to mountain top only occasionally.

Gaby and Joshua are playing Little League Baseball on a team called the Sharks. Her first at bat, Gaby got an RBI! Josh is working it hard and has a great swing. We are just trying to connect with the ball now. Games are every Sunday afternoon until the end of March.

Christmas in Cameroon - part 2

Christmas has come and gone and we want to share some pictures with you. It was a great celebration, but not without the reality of being so far from special friends and family. We had lots of new, Cameroonian friends over for meals and that really helped to keep our focus here and where it needed to be. I have included pics from the Christmas FES program and one or two from Christmas morning and getting ready for bed on Christmas Eve. We really learned that regardless of where we are geographically, the Christ child was still born and is still worthy of being celebrated. We had to get our eyes off of our own challenges and just remember why we are here and that we have been called to be in Cameroon “for such a time as this.” (Though we are bummed as we are still waiting for 10 Christmas packages from family.)

Sam painting ornament

Gilles and kids

Christmas Eve

Ocean

Christmas Eve

Cape Town thru ravine

Baboons beside car

Beautiful ocean fish hoek

African penguins

table mountain

Sam's ready for Santa!

Ocean in fish hoek

Family pic at the beach resort

Cape of Good Hope Marker

Cape Point Mileage