I’ll start with the good news:
The drama in the Douala Branch has been
reduced. I called a powwow between two
leaders and, with the help of the Lord, they worked through all of their major
grievances against each other. A
MIRACLE! They seem to be ready to work
together to advance the Lord’s work. Hurray!
Noah helped us shop for a plastic table
with removable legs. We need it for a
big dinner when Elder Hamilton visits next week. We had checked all of the likely, expensive
stores and found nothing. He rolled down
his window and asked some local guys. 10
minutes later we bought our table from a tiny store in a marché for about 1/10
of what we expected to pay.
I looked over Robert’s Rules of Order and
created my own short version for the Douala branch council. (Don’t interrupt without permission, don’t
whisper, ask to be excused, etc. – basic kindergarten rules.) They are now on the wall in the branch
president’s office, he is teaching them, and people are following them. (A tiny MIRACLE.) The meetings had been quite disorderly but
are much better now. It is exciting to
see real change like that.
Next is some mixed good/bad/neutral news:
We had a farewell party/dinner for Elder
Ndonda on Monday with a good testimony meeting.
His departure was Thursday. The
night before he left he and his companion were angry and physically fighting
(wrestling) over a camera memory card. Fortunately,
I was able to intervene over the telephone and the lost card was found.
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| Elder Ndonda Finished his Mission |
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| Elders Ndonda, Roth, West, Johnson, Colindres, Rakotondrabeharison, Waite, Bacera, Hatch, Okon |
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We had to cancel Thursday. We just didn’t have time for it.
On Thursday we took Elder Ndonda to the
airport. There he discovered an
electronic tablet missing which caused him distress. They wouldn’t let him check in because he
didn’t have a valid visa or letter of invitation for Brazzaville. I called and the president emailed me a
letter. I went to the cyber café in the airport
to print it and found the café out of order.
I went to another down the street and found their electricity out. He missed his flight so we went home with
Elder Ndonda nearly in tears. I found
the Republic of Congo consulate (another MIRACLE in a city with no addresses)
and we went there for an express visa.
They needed a photo so we went to a studio and got one. We paid the consulate $200 and were told it
would be ready in 2 hours. Two
hours & 45 minutes later they told
us that the letter of invitation was missing a signature. An hour after that we paid $100 extra to “fix”
the problem. 30 minutes later we got the
visa. Back at the airport with a new
ticket we found that the name on the ticket didn’t exactly match his passport, as
it used a variant of his 3 first names.
We got that fixed. His baggage
was overweight, so we paid $16. Finally,
at 7:30 pm, we got him through the paperwork and taxes and on his way, still
distressed about the missing tablet. We
were so relieved. We had had to cancel piano
lessons and ignore all of our other work for that day, but we had an important
learning experience.
We learned that the mission is so new
that the office staff doesn’t know about visas.
From now on we will make sure visa applications are submitted well in
advance. We also learned that there is a
Congo consulate near our home and we can get visas there without help from
Yaoundé, yay! They normally cost $60 for
Europeans and $140 for Africans.
Really. I know that sounds
backwards, but it is true. Other visa
problems in the mission prevented us from getting another missionary to replace
Elder Ndonda, so now we have a team of 3.
We were asked to go to the airport, pick
up two Elders returning home to Yaoundé, and take them to the bus station. The problem was that by the time we got the
email we were already 3 hours late. We
dashed to the airport and found them patiently waiting. This is Africa.
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| Elders Olama & Omam Returning Home |
The internet quit working both here and
in Yaoundé, so possibly in all of Cameroon for almost 2 days. That caused a lot of grief. The Elders couldn’t write home, we couldn’t
download transfer letters, we couldn’t download Elder Ndonda’s flight
information, and we found how much we truly depend on the internet for
exchanging reports and information.
We had to pay $20 to retrieve a small box
with $10 worth of birthday candy sent through the post office. I argued but saw that it was useless because
at that moment another customer was creating a scene over a similar charge. We never know what to expect. We called the missionary and he almost
declined to pay, but he really wanted the letter in the box. Maybe it is better to send packages through
DHL. Church materials always come
through DHL and we never have to pay. I
don’t know how their prices compare or how customs are paid, but the local
office is DHL Bonanjo, Douala, Cameroon.
If you try it, include my name and phone: Elder
Coleman, 76 31 07 35. They call me and I
pick it up. We go there often.
I backed into a parked taxi that I didn’t
see. Fortunately, our bumpers were the
same height so there was no damage and the owner said no problem. Nobody wants the cops involved.
Now for some general observations:
Before I came to Africa I thought that
missionary life would be great for Africans.
They would have 3 meals-a-day, medical care, decent housing, etc. But I’ve learned that it is more difficult
for Africans than for Americans.
Africans are not accustomed to the idea of getting up early, following a
rigid schedule, and working a full day.
If they go to a different part of Africa, maybe 300 miles away, the food
is so different as to give them digestive problems. They don’t like taking medicine to prevent
malaria, since they are accustomed to just getting malaria occasionally. Communication with family is difficult
because their family usually receives no mail or email. That leaves twice-a-year phone calls.
Most people here are dark black but I don’t
think about it. I don’t even notice skin
color unless someone is white or albino.
Color seems so unimportant. But
we’re learning that Africans see very subtle shades in skin color. These make a big difference in how people
interact. It is sad that people always
find ways to discriminate. They need the
gospel.
The rainy season is in full swing. That means that the temperature is cooler and
comfortable and it rains off and on every day, sometimes hard enough to make
driving difficult. Potholes are getting
worse. In a nearby, neatly mowed lawn a
10x20 foot sinkhole opened up about 6 feet deep. Or as they call it here, “A new place to
throw trash.”
Ebola is a big issue in Africa now. Missionaries have been removed from some
areas. Fortunately, it is still far from
Cameroon. We have been given
instructions on how to avoid it and what to do if it arrives. In case you didn’t get the word, don’t eat
bats or monkeys.
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| District Meeting: Elders Colindres & West |
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| District Meeting: Elders Johnson & Bacera |
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| District Meeting: Elders Hatch & Rakotondrabeharison |
This is Samuel, one of Sister Coleman's best piano students.
