The Letter

Greetings from the shadow of Mt Hood and the green Pacific Northwest. Our five –year mission in Buea, Cameroon is complete. We are discovering a new mission field in the urban centers of Portland, Oregon.

There is no way to satisfactorily summarize the changes at Buea 7th day Adventist Health Centre since our arrival in December of 2009. The place has gone from a languishing day clinic with two nurses and a handful of outpatient clients per week to a flourishing health complex with multiple health services and an expanded team of health care providers. The outpatient clinic now services an average of 500 clients a month. The inpatient 11-bed hospital has an average of 75-90 bed-days per month. The OB department runs a rapidly expanding ante-natal clinic and delivery service with around 20 infants born per month in labor and delivery. Directly correlated with the infant deliveries is the vaccination program. And thanks to our community nurses and social mobilizers, the health centre has also begun to promote preventative health through home visits into targeted neighborhoods.

None of this would have been possible without the dedication of the Cameroonian staffs (and the nearly 70 international volunteers) who blessed the Centre with their enthusiasm for service and willing helping hands. Many thanks to the following volunteers for their service during 2014: Christine, Brooke, Elaine, Missy, Hannah, Arnoldo, Esther, Shelly, Clarissa, Megan, Hanna, Vanessa, and Glory.

The year 2014, has been marked particularly by international travel for us. In April-May, we attended the CMDE/CMDA conference in Greece. Prior to our arrive at the Eritrea Retreat Centre, we spent a day in Athens walking around the ruins of the Acropolis, Mars Hill, and other ancient structures. We also visited Ancient Corinth and had fun imagining hearing the Apostle Paul preach.

In July-August, Bill took a hiatus back to the U.S. to begin preparations for our final return from Cameroon. He found a car that “fit” him… a Honda Fit and has been in love ever since. 19,000 miles later, he still maintains it ‘fits’.  During this trip Bill drove 8,861 miles through 22 states.  He was able to visit and receive the hospitality of many friends across the country, including a few former volunteers from Buea.

In late September we bid the health centre and Buea our last goodbyes. We flew back to Virginia with our dog, Jordan, and our cat, Milo, in order to spend some recuperating time visiting Trixy’s parents. Dr Manuel and Elma Bellosillo will continue the work at the health centre along with the help of a recent recruit from the University of Buea, Dr James Mbinta.

After our time in Virginia, we set off on our cross-country drive through 12 states (adding Tennessee, Kentucky, and Nebraska to the previous 22 states of Bill’s earlier trip) in order to end up in Portland Oregon.

We are extremely grateful for all the hospitality we received along the way, especially the Thordarsons during our extended time in South Bend and the Connells for providing us a place to stay during our house hunting. After a concentrated search, we made an offer on a house and following the inspection, took a last minute trip down to Los Angeles for a Carnival cruise to the Mexican Riviera: Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. By the time we arrived back in Oregon, we were ready to settle. We finally received the keys to our new house on December 07. Jordan and Milo joined us December 19.

We wish you and yours a happy holiday season fill with love, joy, and peace.