The injustice system

When the justice system in a country goes unpaid by its government for any
length of time, I suppose it is only natural that the system devises its own
plan for paying itself. Thus, a system that may once have been just,
becomes a system of varied injustice. Lady liberty has thrown away her
scales and has replaced them with rather large pockets in her trousers.

There are some customs you learn in a foreign country that are easily
adopted, others that you adopt but they always remain a bit strange and some
that you never manage to adopt and whenever they are encountered they remain
as foreign as when you first saw them. To me the justice system shall
always be in that last category. Take, for example, last weekend. Constant
was in Berberati for the week having our agri truck fixed, buying supplies
like shovels and machetes as well as stocking up on spare truck parts. They
very moment he was getting set to return to Gamboula he had an accident in
the truck. We aren't exactly clear as to whose fault the accident was but
it seems that a motor bike with a driver and two passengers ran into the
rear wheel of his truck at high speed. The injuries were not serious to the
passengers, just a bruised ankle and some minor scrapes. The bike was
damaged but the driver didn't have a license or the proper papers of
insurance and such for his bike. Constant and his idea was that they were
both at fault and they both go on their way. Unfortunately, a police chief
(CB) or some such person happened to be on his motorbike only 5 minutes
behind them and as they were just picking up the bike from the ground the CB
came upon the scene and called the police in to investigate. (On an aside,
Berberati now has a cellular tower and has leaped into the future now armed
with cell phones. Good for most but unfortunate for Constant.) The result
of having the police know about your accident is that they have just found
their month's pay check. You see, it is a crime in CAR to have an accident.
Both vehicles were impounded, and Constant was delayed an extra 4 days while
they 'discussed' what his fine would be. In the end, after what might be a
small movie script, mostly comedy, each driver was required to pay the
police 30,000 CFA. That is like sixty dollars. What I don't get and never
will, is that they both had to pay a fine for the mere fact that they had an
accident. It is your bad luck that they happen to find out that you had
one. If the police were never informed, they would have gone on their way
as though everything were normal. Unfortunately for the other guy, he also
has to pay another 30,000 CFA because of driving without a license and
insurance.

Since the accident was partly Constant's fault and we do have 'insurance' on
the truck, technically the other driver could have filed to claim damages
from our insurance. He won't do this though, no one does. Why? Because
then you have to pay the police to write a report, then you have to pay the
court to have a hearing to process your claim. In the end, you end up
paying as much or more than you are claiming for, so why bother? Thus a
very efficient injustice system.

I have many other examples, some that make you want to cry in frustration
from the ludicrousy of it all. You can hardly believe that some of the
stories you hear are true, but they are. People who do not collect
legitimate salaries are very easy to pay off.

On the brighter side of life, I am enjoying how life always steers you back
to the things we are good at. I feel like I'm right back at ECHO today as I
became Roy and Constant's assistant in the office, devising a filing system,
cleaning up receipts and generally organizing things. I like to organize
things. Today is also the French service's Christmas special. Next weekend
is for the Sango service. Today we are treated to choirs, memory verses,
skits and, of course, food. Clarisse is in the French service so I am
looking forward to a good time. We are going to Berberati next week to help
paint a house in preparation for some new missionaries coming to Berberati.
I am looking forward to introducing Darren to my new friends there and maybe
he will treat me to a dinner out at the new restaurant in town-a Christmas
present of sorts. Will report on the trip when we get back.

Darren returns

I am happy to report that Darren has returned from Cameroon safe and sound
and a little bit lighter. His time in the north at a banana research
station was very profitable and will be of great help in our program here in
Gamboula and wherever else we go that happens to be banana producing.
Initially, Darren thought he would be learning to tissue culture bananas in
a laboratory setting. However, once he got there he found that they were
learning an altogether new and different technique. The technique he
learned is perfect for our setting as it requires all locally available
materials, is done outside, in non-sterile conditions, and the results are
still the rapid multiplication of bananas, nearly similar to what can be
achieved in tissue culture. I don't fully understand the technique myself
but I will by the time Darren has finished training me. In fact it is
something nearly anyone can learn without having to know the physiology
behind why it works.

After the training course Darren had 5 days to himself in Yaoundé waiting
for his plane flight to Gamboula. His flight in was BJ's flight home for
Christmas. We miss him at our table already but we are rejoicing with him
for his opportunity to go home for the holidays. Darren did lots of grocery
shopping for us and stocked us up on oats (to make granola), tuna, sardines,
and lots of fresh veggies like cabbage, carrots, green peppers and my
favourite, lettuce. We can freeze nearly everything but the lettuce, so
this week our systems are dealing with a lettuce overload. Not such a bad
thing and it is a nice change from eating spinach all the time. He also
bought me a gift of a can of pringles and a diet coke, both which are rare
and exciting and will make a nice edition to our next movie night.

As for work, Darren is catching up on accounting and I am busy in the
nursery. We are grafting like crazy as well as getting ready 5000 nursery
sacs for planting a high quality oil palm we bought in Cameroon from a
research station there. When we first bought them they were planted 5 to a
sac, now we are ready to divide them out one to a sac. 5000 is a lot of
sacs no matter what way you look at it. We fill sacs every other day in
order to give our backs a break. We are looking forward to Christmas and
spending it with new friends and family but I have to admit feeling a little
home sick today. Some days the problems in this place are too much for me
to handle and today is one of those days. However, I am thankful that
tonight is my prayer date with Clarisse and our times together always cheer
me up and restore hope in me.

A weekend to 'ou tere'

'Ou'-meaning to breath and 'tere'-meaning the body, is the sango combination
of words for rest. Thus, Clarisse and I spent the past weekend in ou tere.
Actually, since July we have been planning a weekend away in Berberati, the
second largest town in CAR, which isn't saying much for CAR, to visit her 3
brothers there and to wander around town, have fun and rest. I guess you
can consider it my Christmas gift to Clarisse in terms of paying our way
there. I haven't had so much yet since being in CAR. We stayed at the home
of her oldest brother who is quite the patriarch. He has worked for the
only well-drilling outfit in CAR for the last 15 years, owned by a Swedish
couple and recently handed over to an NGO to take over its operation. Her
elder brother, we'll call him Rex is now the head of their personnel and
such. He has managed to build quite a nice house, cement and metal roofed.
I was the first white person to be a guest in his house and he was so
pleased to have us. He set up two cots in the living room for us and we
slept side by side. The first morning when I woke up I had forgotten where
I was slightly as I rolled over to Clarisse and said "Good morning", in
English. She knows what it means but I quickly corrected myself. How
different it would be to not hear english for very extended periods of time.
For me it was only three days but it still felt strange.

Clarisse's other brother, third in the birth order also lives in Berberati
and close to Rex's house so we went over there to eat and visit. He too was
so excited to have us visit. He came over the morning we left to thank me
for visiting and to tell me how much joy I brought their family just by
visiting. Clarisse's youngest sibling is also in Berberati, living at Rex's
house. He is 19 and is still in school trying to get his graduate diploma,
similar to our grade twelve. Because of the cost of school most students do
not finish by the time they are 18 because they will have to stop and start
school again and again as they find ways to pay their school fees. I can
only describe him as a strapping, handsome young man with the brains to go
places in the world and the desire, but completely bound by circumstances of
poverty. While I was full of joy visiting amongst the cousins and brothers
and sisters and aunts and uncles of Clarisse, I was also filled with sadness
thinking about the future of these wonderful, good hearted, talented young
people, who, in different circumstances, would be entering top of their
class in university, but instead are left wondering about what their future
holds. I so much desire, as they do, for a future for them that is more
than searching everyday for something to eat, for money for school fees and
clothes to wear. Is there not some way to change their future so that it
includes hope for jobs, for less sadness and poverty and death and
scrounging for the bare necessities? I think if I were really rich I would
give scholarships to put foreign students from impoverished countries
through a Canadian college or university with the promise they would return
to their homes to try and make life better. But maybe that isn't the
solution either. All I know is that I can't get these young people off my
mind and I desperately want to make a difference in their lives here.

Well, back to the weekend. Saturday we arrived early in the morning after
getting a 5:00am start with Constant in the agroforestry truck. He was on
his way to Berberati anyway so we took our chance and got a ride with him.
After visiting all the relatives we set off on foot with Chris to the first
of two markets. The nearby market to Rex's house is considerably large,
though nothing at all like Yaoundé, and we wondered around looking at the
different vegetables, fabric and the various things for sale. Clarisse
bought curtains, (used), for her new addition to her house to help keep the
mozzies out. I nearly fainted as I was overcome suddenly by fatigue due to
the effects of the amoeba medicine I had just finished taking. After
resting some at a little shop selling beans and rice where we ran into
Clarisse's niece, Mesi, we continued on to her other brother's house for a
visit and some lunch. After lunch we took a short nap or siesta, which is a
total white person thing to do here but was much appreciated by Clarisse.
It was hot out and she fell asleep in an instant. When we woke up at 3:00
her relatives were teasing her and calling her white because she took a
siesta. She didn't mind though and we did the same thing the next two days.
In the afternoon Chris, Mesi, Clarisse and I went down to an even bigger
market to look around and stroll. Clarisse was in search of a few things
and I was just looking around. The funniest thing was Clarisse and gang's
reaction to the variety of cat calls and the like I get when I am out
walking around. People, young and old alike, love to call lout, "hey, look,
white person!" Or they start talking about me and don't realize I speak
Sango until one of our group says something to me and I respond back and
then that leads to more laughter and calling out 'hey, she speaks good
sango!'. I am quite used to being the centre of attention wherever I go
now, as if I am a circus act, but it gave Clarisse and them a surprise and
caused no end of laughter between us all. We found a brand new restaurant
in the area with cold drinks, cakes, real menus and satellite TV that was
beaming in a soccer game. I treated us all to cold drinks and we shared a
piece of cake that had canned peaches in it. A first for all three of them.
It was so much fun. Saturday night we sat up talking about all sorts of
things. Chris and his nephew, they happen to be the same age, go figure,
sat asking me all sorts of questions about the world of white people. It
was so much fun and once again I was so thankful for the ability God has
given me to pick up and understand a foreign language so quickly.

Sunday, we went off to church the morning and did more visiting and shopping
in the afternoon. We left Chris behind at one point and returned to the
market. When he learned we had left without him he sought us out in the
market, which isn't an easy task. He acted much like our body guard the
whole weekend. If a guy approached me and started to be a pest Chris would
step up and 'take care of him'. Given the circumstances I was glad to have
him around and it gave me lots to laugh about. I am sure Darren would thank
him. I am sure I can take of myself but it was fun to watch him step up and
take care of the white lady. Later in the afternoon Chris borrowed Rex's
motorbike and took Clarisse and I on a tour of the various cartiers and all
the way out to the airport, which is actually more than just a strip of
grass. It has buildings and a little control tower with most of its windows
in tact all the way around. The funny thing about it all was listening to
peoples comments and exclamations as they saw a white lady sandwiched
between to black people on a motorcycle. I felt much like a human Oreo
cookie. They figure the safest spot on the bike is the middle so I did what
I was told and got in the middle. I much prefer riding with Darren but the
breeze was nice and I once again provided the town with its daily
entertainment. No need to go to the movies tonight kids, we saw a human
Oreo cookie today! Chris, much the gentleman, took things nice and slow and
it was the highlight of our day.

Monday we had planned to return home with Constant but his truck was being
fixed in the ICDI garage and wasn't going be ready until Tuesday. Clarisse
had to be back on Tuesday in order to get back to work so we started to
figure out a way to get back. While we sat at the house getting our stuff
ready, Clarisse doing some last minute things at the market, Chris went in
search of a traffique. Normally, traffique's leave early in the morning but
by the time we found out Constant was going to stay another day it was
already 3:00. Around five o'clock Chris came speeding up on a motor bike
taxi to tell us that he had found a traffique with two places left but we
needed to leave in a flash (a real word used in Sango; flash). So we
mounted the bike and gave the town one more show and arrived just in time
for the departure of the last traffique of the day. A real traffique is a
12 passenger minivan that they stuff 16 people into and charge 2000CFA a
head to get to Gamboula. The inside of our's was full and had only one
person riding on the top. They can be dangerous in that they usually drive
too fast and are loaded with stuff so high that they easily tip over which
is not safe in the least. I was given a seat of honour in the front beside
the driver. Clarisse was put in the very back out my range to talk with
her. The unfortunate part of the trip was the soldier that squeezed in
beside me. He happened to be our soldier from Gamboula, currently stationed
at the customs office at the Cameroon border. He is a pain in the butt and
is always ready to harass us for bribes. Monday was no exception as he was
very drunk and had a loaded gun. He had the gun cocked and ready to shoot
the whole way, just waiting for his chance to shoot a bandit on the road.
He told me that if he had to kill someone on the way to Gamboula, a bandit,
I was not to cry. Yeah right buddy is what I was thinking. He was so drunk
he would have to stand five feet fm the bandit in order not to miss him.
After an hour of me removing his hands from my arms or leg and placing them
respectfully back into his lap he got the picture. The hardest part was
that he kept asking me question and I couldn't understand a word of what he
was saying. His sango is from Bangui, the capital, where they tend to slur
their speech and combined with alcohol I couldn't get a thing he was saying.
He was obviously frustrated and I just sat and kept silent. At the half way
point he bought some grilled beef and then drifted off into a drunken
slumber much to my relief. The driver kept asking me if I would be his
'friend'. Right! After all that I still think I would take a traffique to
Berberati again, since in the end it is worth the reward at the end of the
trip. The key is to arrive early so you can grab a window seat and then
Clarisse can squish in beside me. It took 3 hours to get back to Gamboula
and while it was good to be home we could have spent another five days with
out missing much, except Darren of course.

I think what was so neat about it was how it reminded me of my family back
home. How my dad's family tend to live in clusters in the same cities. 3
here, 4 there, and they help each other out, get together for meals and for
fun. I miss that part of my growing up and I found it in Clarisse's family.
Like my dad, she also has 11 siblings so there are many similarities. Rex
was off to another village Monday morning to retrieve some well equipment
but before he left he gave me a painting of an African scene he bought in
Bangui and a beautiful traditional stool as souvenirs of my stay with him
and his family. I could tell you all his merits and the kindness he pours
out on his family and orphans he looks after, but suffice it to say that I
am now part of a very special family that will forever be part of me. May
they feel welcome at my home anytime.

Hmmm, amoebas

Just wanted to post a quick note to say why I haven't written a longer one
in some time. Between being busy, preparing for the coming of the heads of
the project's largest donor organizations and finding a slew of amoebas
having a tea party in my intestines, I am quite tired and haven't had much
time for writing.

One note about amoebas though. Don't leave home without medicine for them,
namely Flagil. I am not sure how people can believe we once descended from
the lowly amoeba because they sure don't get along with human beings in the
least. You know you have them when a simple case of traveller's diarrhoea
feels like child's play comparatively speaking. The meds for it are
supposed to make you even sicker for a spell but so far I am resisting them
well and have only required a loss of appetite, although raw carrots sound
really good. Thanks to our neighbour I dined on a bunch yesterday but will
have to do without for the rest of the illness. You can only get them in
Cameroon and they don't grow too well here. Anyway, not to be complaining
or anything because I do feel much better, can spare the weight loss and I
am eternally thankful that a medicine against them exists in the first
place. And besides, I am told that now that I have suffered through amoebas
and the cure I am a 'real' missionary. Whew, passed that test...

The winds of change

Dry season is officially here complete with a big dip in the humidity and
ashes scattered on the porch each morning. Dry season is the time when
people start clearing new fields for planting by burning the weeds and
trees on new patches of land. I can understand why this is such an
attractive practice as the fields are quite large and doing it by hand with
the help of burning is already a long an arduous process in itself. I also
know it is dry season because I am finding myself drinking 2 litres of water
in a morning without having to go the bathroom!

As for the tree side of things, we are getting ready for a three day visit
from the head of the Food Resource Bank and Covenant World Relief, both
major donors towards Roy's program here. They have also helped us with
funds for the pygmy program. We are getting everything looking spic and
span and it seems fitting to do it this time of year as we would be have
been doing the same thing right about now at ECHO getting ready for the
annual conference. Along with FRB's visit we are hoping to hear what they
think about future work here and that will help set the tone for our
programs in the coming year. We are hoping to have funding to do a grafting
and tree propagation seminar in each village with an active agroforestry
cooperative starting in January. This would take up much of my time and
would be welcome as I love any opportunity to teach.

Darren and I are well though we are both trying to shake the tail end of
colds off. We are at the end of squash season and so we have been eating a
lot of it lately. If you know any great recipes please let me know. BJ
loves squash so I haven't had any menu complaints as of yet. Our cook,
Leonard is gone for the week at a regional church conference so I am in
charge of the house this week. I suppose I should be relishing my new found
womanhood but quite honestly I would much rather be in the garden working on
all the many things that need to be done. Besides, bending over a stove
when it is already 35 Celsius outside isn't too appealing here.

Last week was productive yet full of sadness at the same time. Living in
such a small place there are hardly things that are kept secret for too
long, including stuff you don't want to know about. While there are many
Christians here there are also a lot of people still involved in what we
would generally term black magic. While on the outset some of it seems
harmless, other practices are far too terrible to say out loud. After
hearing some of the goings on around here I needed an escape from the
reality that we live in. Us three ladies used drastic measures to escape
and we watched the first two movies in the Anne of Green Gables series. It
was wonderful, so wonderful that you hardly want the movie to be over. Jan
is away this week so we are waiting for her return before watching the last
one.

Last week's events weighed heavy on my heart; come Monday morning and as I
was by myself, watering trees in the nursery, it gave me pause to think
about my own village back home. It made me think that when it comes down to
it there isn't any difference between the two worlds we live in. We are all
humans, we all sin and we all fall short of God's glory. The things that
seem so nasty here aren't any nastier that the abuses and sins that are
committed in our towns back home. The only difference about home is that we
aren't likely to meet any of the victims or know any of the perpetrators in
our sheltered lives. I now feel more compelled to not only pray for
Gamboula but for my own home town. How funny that living here has served to
expose the inadequacies of where we come from.

Saturday I spent the morning planting manioc with Mama Paulien. It was a
lot of fun and not particularly hard work unless you are prone to a sore
back (which I am not). However, word spread quickly about the white lady
out planting manioc on a warm Saturday morning. Seems this is the first
time this has happened in these parts and I am sure I was the topic of many
dinner conversations. I guess this is to be expected. They all thought I
wanted to learn how so that I could go back home and make a big garden for
myself. Unfortunately we don't at all have the right climate for it.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our American friends. Know that we are truly
thankful for each of you.
Ange

Finally a hero...of sorts

For those of you who know me well, you will recall that I once tried to
donate blood with near disastrous results. Let's just say that I never made
it past the initial blood-typing finger prick. Years later I tried to give
blood again during one of the Red Cross' 'Holiday Hero' blood donation
campaigns. Needless to say they had me in the computer under 'never to give
blood again'. Well, today my blood was called into action and I stepped up
to the job, donating almost a full pint to the cause of life-saving. Anita,
our Swedish administrator in Berberati, a person on whom we rely on for
many, many things, recently developed a kind of cancer like illness in her
bones requiring her to have blood transfusions every 4-6 weeks for the rest
of her life. We happen to be the same blood type and since she required two
units of blood, both Darren and I gave this morning. Darren gives all the
time back home so to him it was nothing new, but this was my first
successful time and given my history, I had Darren and Aleta watching over
me the whole time waiting for any signs that I might keel over. I must
admit that it was not an entirely pleasant experience but it sure beats
going to the dentist!

So, in light of the approaching Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, I
encourage all of you, especially those who have never given before, to
donate blood this year. Make it your Christmas gift to your local
neighbourhood. Besides, blood is kind of like money, when you give it away
you can always make more!

Happy blood letting,
Angela

Finally Home

For those of you not on our e-mail list, I thought I would post our most
recent newsletter that went out over e-mail. Drop us alline if you wanted
to be added to our list. We only send out an emailonce every 5 or 6 weeks.

Greetings from Central Africa!
We realize it has been a very long time since we e-mailed an update to
everyone, but we hope you received our latest newsletter by mail and have
been able to check or blog once in a while. We have been on the move since
July 1 which accounts for some of why we haven't e-mailed in so long. Let
me give you a month by month look at what we have been up to.

July: We spent the month in Bayanga, the extreme southwest of CAR, working
amongst the Aka Pygmies. We did a lot of village visits, planting trees,
working with individuals in their cassava gardens, helping people access
peanut seed, as well as helping the missionaries there with a school
nutrition project for the Aka children. In a village near Bayanga there are
30 Aka children currently attending school but they lag behind for a number
of reasons including inadequate access to food in the morning. We did a
clinic on sweet potatoes and helped with planting techniques as well as
giving out planting material. It turned out to be a very significant
project for that village. We had hoped to remain in Bayanga for the rest of
our term but it will not work out for us there in terms of housing and such
so we will return in the spring for an extended stay if the Lord wills it.

August: I returned home to Canada for the month, courtesy of my family, to
take part in my sister's wedding. She is now Sarah Thorp, and it was
wonderful to be part of her day. I also had the opportunity to speak at a
couple of churches as well as a local Victoria radio station. It was good
to be home but truthfully, Gamboula feels like home more than any place
else. Darren returned to Bayanga for nearly 3 weeks along with BJ, the
veterinarian next door, and Matt, a student from the US who came out for a
month. Darren did some more work with the ag projects we started in July,
following up with villages, as well as building relationships with some Aka
men. They were able to take part in a traditional hunt with nets in the
forest, as well as fishing with large nets in the Sangha river.

September: Darren turned into a computer technician in September when he
was given 7 laptops and one desktop to put into working order. Our living
room looked like a computer warehouse for a while. The neighbours received
these computers from the US to give to national leaders in our area (the
pastor, bible school director, hospital staff, etc.). They all had work to
be done on them and Darren knows the most about computers so he volunteered
for the job, with a little prodding from me! He finished right at the end
of the month. I went to Bilolo, about 4-5 hours south of here with 2 of our
ag workers to give an agro-forestry seminar. There are 2 SIL/Wycliffe
families living there and we were invited by them. We had 75 participants
including 8 Baka Pygmies from the area. Now that we have made contact with
them we plan on going back to the Baka villages during the dry season. They
look like the Pygmies we worked with in Bayanga but they speak a different
language. Fortunately Sango is fairly universal. It was a very interesting
trip for me and I encourage you to read about it on our blog. It is
entitled 'A lesson in respect.'

October: On the first of the month we were off again, this time to Kenya,
for our mission's triennial retreat. We gathered with 136 other
missionaries from around the globe for a week of conference and a week of
retreat, plus an extra 5 days of vacation, just the two of us. We had a
fabulous time and feel more than ever a part of our mission and the work God
is doing in the world. We attended some good workshops on AIDS and on our
own spiritual formation. We heard about the direction our mission is
taking, we were encouraged to continue on in our work with excellence, and
we were able to visit and hear about the work being done all over the globe.
It was a good time of fellowship, prayer and fun. Yes, we had a lot of fun.
With a group this big NMSI was able to negotiate good prices for
accommodation and such in Kenya, so we were treated to all sorts of good
things, all in the name of fellowship of course. We climbed Mt. Longonot, a
nearly extinct volcano in the Rift Valley, visited lake Naivasha as well as
the Masai Mara, Kenya's famous game park. We saw four of the big five and
we even pet a somewhat tame zebra that was wondering around our
accommodations in the Mara, the Mara Buffalo Camp. I was less afraid to be
face to face with a zebra than I am with a horse! We finished the retreat
on the beach in Mombassa where Darren got to know some guys in NMSI well as
they played 4 hours of volleyball a day. I took the time to visit with a
few newly marrieds to give them encouragement and listen to their concerns.
We spent our extra vacation days in Mombassa, soaking in some equatorial sun
(bad, I know) and finding time to read. We returned to Gamboula yesterday
to find things pretty much as we left them.

Coming up: The next two months we will be finishing out some bean variety
trials as well as getting the gardens in order for a visit from one of Roy
and our's major donors, the Food Resource Bank and Covenant World Relief.
Lots to do. Darren will be getting things ready to start his tissue culture
project and we are all three of us writing an agro-forestry manual for
distribution to the villages we work with. The deadline for the book is
January. Yikes!

Prayer: Please continue to pray for peace in CAR. The number of reports
about bandits on the roads is increasing and we have decided to not leave
our town until we hear more favourable reports. We do feel safe where we
are but we do covet your prayers. Darren will be travelling to north
western Cameroon at the end of November to attend a one week course on the
tissue culture of bananas using methods developed by a Cameroonian research
centre. Darren never imagined that his education and gifts in biotechnology
would come in use on the field, but to the glory of God, they are just what
is needed here to speed up the production of many important plants including
bananas, plantains and spineless peach palm.

We are now able to receive mail through Cameroon. Please e-mail us for the
address. Our e-mail is bossbugs@yahoo.ca and we continue to be able to
receive text only, a couple of pages maximum. We appreciate hearing form
all of you and look forward to it! We are finding tremendous joy in our
ministry and are seeing many good fruits of our labours, both in the edible
sense and in relationships formed with those whom we serve. We are becoming
more and more sure of a long-term call to Central Africa and would ask for
your prayer regarding vision for the long term.

Each one of you is special to us and are prayed for. May God's favour rest
on each of you.
Angela, for the Boss duo.