Grandchildren become friends

Sunday, 1/30/11-- So I’ve not been able to publish any posts yet (no personal internet connectivity found, though I’m asking nearly everyone I meet). And I’m actually sitting in the dark right now, but for the light of this computer. The electricity in all of Yagoua has been off for the past 12 or so hours. I was laying here in the dark, sweating and praying it would come back on – when much to my excitement it did, so I turned on my computer, as it’s only 8:30 p.m… But it just went off again, so I’m thinking I may have to shut this down and finish later. My computer fan is working too hard to keep the computer cool…

I keep quoting that “God delights in every detail of our lives.” (Ps. 37: 23), and I’m asking Him if this hot darkness is delighting Him… He is a big God and has the big picture in mind. Yet I’m a small person and would love for the lights and fan to come back on.

Today was a God-blessed day. We arrived for church late, but they were waiting for us and rang the bell just after our driver got us there. (The lights and fan just went back on – thank you God. I almost longed for the cold of Wisconsin a little while ago but the fan may have had to be off all night for that to happen. And, I better not joke about this just yet…) It was all I could do to not cry through the whole church service, as I worshipped in spirit with people (mostly children of people) my grandparents had spent their lives trying to reach with the good news of Jesus. I so wanted to stop the service and ask if they are staying close to the Lord, and not simply attending church, but I didn’t think that would be appropriate. (And I wouldn’t know how to ask it in Masana or French, anyway.) I’m pretty sure the answer would vary by person, like it does in the US.

The children were the ones I connected with most, as they quickly, shyly, and genuinely returned my smiles. Adults gathered around us after the service to shake our hands and greet us, and it was then that Jonas, reached out to me in English and mentioned my grandparents’ house, and was pointing to a building just behind the church.

This caught me by surprise so I asked him if he was sure that was the house and he said, “Yes. Come and see!” As I approached the building, so famous to me from pictures, tears welled up and I couldn’t speak. Jonas simply smiled at me and nodded. It is a pretty dilapidated building but it was beautiful to me. I walked up on the veranda, as little iguanas (or similar) scattered, and pictured my grandma pouring mid-day tea. Two older men were sitting nearby on a bench so I pulled out my pictures of the house from years ago and showed them, as well as Jonas. Then Jonas pointed to a picture I had of the Model T and said, “You want to see the car?”

I just laughed, thinking it was a joke. And then he asked again… He took me to a grassy spot about 100 feet away. There, low to the ground sat a lovely rusted chunk of chassis – my grandpa’s Model T Ford! (For more about this Model T, see this post.) I handed him my camera and sat on the remnants of the car, laughing at this unexpected historical encounter. But the best part of the day was yet to come…

Sunday afternoon found Solveig and I resting in our separate rooms at the Catholic mission – our beautiful, peaceful “hotel” on the outskirts of Yagoua. We were hot and tired and wanted to rest before Jonas was arriving at 3 p.m. to talk about a project he’s working on which may intersect somehow with my writing project.

Around 3:15 Jonas and Augustine arrived and by the time they left at 6 p.m. I had two brand new, awesome brothers. Jonas and Augustine are not related to each other or to me, but get this: our grandfathers all knew each other and worked together! Their grandfathers were two of the first three pastors that graduated from the Cameroon seminary. And since both Jonas and Augustine speak English quite well (they say not so well, but I disagree), we had so much to talk about. They are followers of Christ and share many of the same concerns that Solveig and I share. The hours flew by and when they left, I was praising God for bringing all of us together. We took pictures and exchanged contact information. We will try to stay connected for sure, but whether that happens or not, I’m looking forward to hanging out with these brothers in heaven some day.