August 1, 2007

Dear Friends,

People ask what a “typical” day is like for me in Cameroon. Here’s a recent snapshot.

It is 5:00 a.m. I stagger sleepy-eyed toward the kitchen to put on a pot of strong Cameroonian coffee. This is perhaps my favorite time of day. I hug the hot mug to my chest and feel the warm steam rising on my face taking away the damp chill that comes at night during the rainy season. I return to bed with mug and Bible in hand. A loud noise erupts from the bathroom. It’s the sound of water gurgling and chugging through the pipes. “Good. I will have plenty of water to heat for bathing.” The water company turns on the water every morning around 5:30 a.m. and turns it off between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. during the rainy season. During the dry season, there may be days without water so you learn to keep extra on hand.

At 7:00 a.m., I hear Marguerite calling through the window, “Ma?” “Yes” I reply, “I’m coming.” Marguerite is my young and beautiful French-speaking house helper. I give her instructions using a combination of bad French, English, and hand motions complete with sound effects. Marguerite, along with her husband Edouarde, and their 1-year-old daughter Shirley, live in the quarters behind the house. They named their daughter after me, which is an honor in this society and places a certain social responsibility upon me.

Shirley Hill on a typical day at the office, working on a training program for health workers.

By the time I pull into the parking lot at the synod office it’s past 7:30 a.m. “I’m going to be late for devotions again,” I chide myself. Every Monday and Friday morning, all the office workers gather for worship and prayer. I tiptoe to my assigned seat along the side wall and join in the hymn. People sit according to their position in the church. Hierarchy and protocol are observed not only in government but church as well. People linger after devotions to greet one another before heading off to the day’s work.

Today is an office day. I will spend it working on reports, checking emails, making plans to visit various institutions, attending meetings, and discussing HIV/AIDS work with the church’s national coordinator.

There is a knock at the door and enters a female journalism student from the University of Buea. “Excuse me, Reverend, but may I have a word with you?” The young woman wants counsel on how to find a graduate school in the United States or Europe where she can combine her interests in mass communication and theology. I offer counsel and send her off with a prayer. Such interruptions are commonplace. You never know who or what will walk through your door. My thoughts return to the work at hand.

Recently, I visited 17 of the church’s 20-plus health institutions and made suggestions to the Health Services Board, which met in June. The board adopted many of the recommendations, among which was the installation of incinerators in all our health units for disposal of bio-hazardous waste. This is part of a plan to reduce employee risk of exposure to blood-born diseases and hazardous materials. Another recommendation is the adoption of an HIV/AIDS post-exposure protocol. For the incinerators, I want to talk to the project leaders at Prespot, a pottery business owned by the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC).

Prespot in Bemessing. The kiln inspired the concept of incinerators.

Prespot is located in Bemessing in the Northwest Province. I toured the facility some months ago and learned they were upgrading the quality of the clay and wanted to produce incinerators in addition to pottery ware. It would be nice if we could contract with them to produce and install the incinerators. When I try to call, I discover there is no communication network in Bemessing. Then a colleague informs me one of the leaders fell very ill and had to be air-lifted back to Germany. After conversations with several other people, I receive the name of another contact person only to find the number is no longer working.

Communication in Cameroon is difficult at times. I am still searching for a way to reach someone by phone. Otherwise, I will have to travel to Bemessing, a six- or seven-hour trip. This requires careful planning if it is even possible to achieve during the rainy season. It also means additional costs for travel, lodging, and meals and it will slow the process considerably. Scenes like this one occur frequently and help explain why it takes so long to get things done, why it costs so much to do it, and why the people here are so patient!

By now, the day is long spent. It is 3:30 p.m. and I must leave in order to get to the weekly Christian Women’s Fellowship meeting at 4:00 p.m. By 6:30, I am home in comfortable clothes ready to eat “chop” and watch a movie. There is a knock at the door: it’s my neighbor. She wants to discuss a personal problem. So much for the movie. At 10:00 p.m. it’s lights out!

Praise God with me for

• Those who are supporting this work through prayers and financial giving.
• The adoption of recommendations to the Health Services Board.

Prayer requests

• That God will guide and direct us on how to turn the recommendations into reality.

Peace,

Shirley

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 318