Has it seriously been a month since we last posted a story to the blog?! What has been going on? January was a busy month – my (Janet) days have been completely filled up helping with new missionary orientation. And besides that, our internet has been terrible! To make a long story short, we switched to a different company and are rejoicing at (relatively) high speed, reliable internet access. Praise God for such great means of communication, and may we have patience when they don’t work as well as we anticipate.
For January praise God with us that:
1. Second semester is off to a good start.
2. Since January 9 Janet has been helping to orient Wycliffe missionaries who’ve recently arrived in Cameroon. One of my responsibilities was to orient children for a couple of days – that was very fun, including drum lessons and Cameroonian etiquette. Orientation continues to Feb. 10.
3. Covenant World Relief director, Dave Husby and 3 others came through Yaoundé to visit Central African Republic. Praise God their travels went smoothly.
4. Safe and secure travel for others coming back to Cameroon and CAR after furloughs, and for travel back from villages of service to school.
For February Pray with us for:
1. TEACHERS!!!!! Next year will be Michelle’s Sr. year at RFIS. We are short at least 15 teachers for Middle School and High School. Many current teachers are either coming up to a furlough year or will complete their short term assignments. Pray pray pray for new teachers to come. I’ve heard a missionary say, “If no teachers come there will be a mass exodus of missionaries needing to get their kids into high schools in their passport countries” (mainly US and Europe). For a complete list of staff needs go to www.rfis.org/staffneeds
2. The bridge on the road to RFIS is in need of repair. At least once a week trucks are getting stuck between the boards. It’s not a huge bridge, but without it parents have to go a longer way through more traffic to get their students to and from school. We are currently working with the local chief of that neighborhood toward a solution. Pray that they don’t wait till it’s completely destroyed before starting the needed repairs.
3. Orientation for new missionaries continues to Feb. 10. This week the “orientees” are staying in a village to experience what life in the village is like. Pray for good health – several of them are not feeling well – there is a lot of culture stress, especially for those with small children. The final week of classes I will be leading a talk on prayer.
4. Spiritual Retreat Feb. 6-9 for RFIS; Spiritual Emphasis Week for the elementary grades. Pray that the Spirit of God will move in the lives of students. Pray their hearts will be receptive to God’s message to them. And pray for the speakers for each level: middle school, high school, and elementary. Last year many of the non-missionary students accepted Christ as Savior and mission kids rededicated their lives to Christ. Retreat week is a significant time in the lives of our students.
