FROM MANFRED:
Dear Family and
Friends,
Hope you received the email of first
impressions after our arrival in Cameroon. Here is a
brief note from me (Manfred) regarding my first two days in my work.
We
live here in the Medical center complex, where the hospital is and where Marjean
is working, in the town of Mutengene, just a few miles from the Atlantic. But
the school where I am teaching each Monday and Tuesday is about 80km away in the
town of Kumba. My driver picked me up in an old Toyota cab truck at 6:00 am so
that I would be there to begin my 6 hr. teaching day at 9:00 am. Why 3 hours for
a trip that should take 45 minutes? The condition of the road! We started off,
and after the first few miles I did not think I could make it. It is absolutely
the worst road I have ever traveled on in my entire life. Imagine the worst road
you can imagine, and the reality is even worse!!!! There are literally millions
of potholes, many so large that they can swallow an entire car -- and I am not
exaggerating! Because of all the jostling and weaving and climbing up and down
through deep gullies and going down into ditches because there was no way around
the potholes on the road, I started to feel sick to my stomach -- it was just
like being in a small boat and being battered by a very rough sea. When we
arrived in Kumba after three hours of this, every joint and muscle in my body
ached! It never felt better getting out of a car!
Next time I'll tell you
about what I experienced and saw along the way -- I wrote a four-page "journal"
about it, and will have to condense it for you.
My teaching went well. I
was enthusiastically received by the staff and students of the school. The
school building is plain concrete inside and out. Their resources are very
limited, and there is no money for stucko or plasterboard or paint. The first
floor ( which is below ground level) has windows and doors, but the second
floor, where the classrooms are, has no doors yet. There was just enough money
(donated by a church in Maine) to get the windows in. It's probably good that
the doors are still not in, since there is a great breeze occasionally, which
helps in this humid, tropical climate, especially since there is no
air-conditioning. I teach two course, 3 hours each, on Mondays and Tuesdays, for
a total of 12 hours.
Late afternoon is spent with other faculty,
students and staff. I am hosted overnight in the home of the president of the
Seminary, a very simple, modest home, built 50 years ago by a missionary couple.
There is no hot water, but there is an indoor toilet! I sleep under a mosquito
net (it's at night, between about 10:00 pm and 3:00 am, that the mosquitos carry
the malaria virus and infect people). So we take all the precautions necessary.
During the day, we hardly see any mosquitos; maybe because we are covered with a
special anti-mosquito spray that the CDC recommends for this climate and we
purchased back home.
After classes were over at 3:00 pm on Tuesday, my
driver picked me up and we took the 3 hour trek back to Mutengene. It took a
little longer because the traffic was heavier, but I now knew what to expect, so
I did not get beat up as much as on the way there.
I got back in time to
have dinner with Marjean, who told me all about her first day in the operating
room. I'll let her tell you about that herself later -- it is amazing what these
African doctors, who are generalists (except the eye surgeon) have to do,
including complicated surgery, without much of the fancy equipment we have in
the USA hospitals. It is unbelievable -- both their dedication to serve the poor
and their skill!
Enough for now. We are being challenged and stretched
and blessed by being here. Hopefully we can also be a blessing to the people
with whom we work and whom we seek to serve.
My love to
you,
Manfred
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