Hello Everyone!
A few years ago, some of you will remember I spent five and a half months in Cameroon, Africa as a nanny for some good friends, Cam and Valerie Hamm, who work there as Bible translators with Wycliffe. It was an amazing time learning a new culture, way of life, Bible translation, and seeing what God is doing in “the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Well, I want to catch you up with what has been happening this past year.
Since coming back from Cameroon I have been praying that the Lord would show me what to do next. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue linguistics right then, wait, or not at all. The Lord provided a job in the business office at a local private hospital and so I ended up waiting. Although knowing that I was where the Lord wanted me, I continued to pray that the Lord would always keep my heart open to moving on should He ever prod. Earlier this year the Hamm’s emailed and told me about a short term position in Cameroon that they thought might interest me. Wycliffe Bible Translators has a sister organization called Wycliffe Associates (WA). They provide support staff for Wycliffe Bible Translators. The position is an assistant to the Director in the Bamenda Regional Office (BRO) in Bamenda, Cameroon. The BRO is the headquarters for all the translation teams in the region. There, they come to work on translation projects together and attend educational courses offered from time to time. Some would shy away from “paper pushing” or office work, but I love it! Always have, and I am very excited to use my skills and interests in a more obvious way for the Lord’s work.
The Hamm’s also informed me of another possible opportunity on the side. They are a part of a four-family team along with four single women missionaries in the Ndop Plain (northwestern Cameroon). The team works among a cluster of ten related languages in the Ndop Plain, with the goal of training local Christians to complete the task of Bible translation in their languages. All ten languages have alphabets and have started literacy, two now have portions of Scripture translated. One of the languages is found in a village called Bamessing, roughly forty minutes from the town I will be working in at the BRO. Currently no further work is happening with this language and the Hamm’s have asked if I would work on the grammar of nouns and verbs in Bamessing. One of the language committee members is a retired English teacher, formerly of Bamessing who now lives in Bamenda not far from the BRO. This project is also very exciting because I can now apply the two previous summers of linguistic studies in real life, with help from some very talented linguists in Cameroon.
So, after a lot of prayer and council, I believe the Lord is taking me back to Cameroon! The assistant position is for two years. This will also be enough time to complete the project need in Bamessing. The position begins this coming January. The Lord has made the way clear so far, and I know that He will continue to do so if it’s His will. Will you please consider partnering with me through prayer and, if you are able, financial support? The monthly cost of living is $1500. I will be sending out updates via email and facebook every two weeks once I’m in Cameroon to keep you updated as I live and work in “ the remotest part of the earth.”