A little bit of History

February 24th

Cameroon is an under served, under developed country located on the other side of the globe.  Compared to other African countries, Cameroon has a relatively high political and social stability that has permitted for the development of petroleum and timber industries, roads and railways. Nevertheless large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as subsistence farmers or have no jobs at all. The quality of healthcare is generally low.  Most facilities are dirty, poorly ran and poorly equipped.  They bare little or no resemblance to facilities we are accustomed to here in America.

In Cameroon there is no health insurance and those who come to the hospital are very ill.  Many have endured unbelievable obstacles in great pain, on 3, 4 and 5 day treks in from the bush with severe burns, babies stuck in the birth canal and other atrocities just to reach medical care. In reality, Cameroonians often seek treatment at the hospital as a last resort.  The most common practice is to first seek out whom they call traditional healers. We would most likely call them witch doctors.  The traditional healers use roots and herbs to mix up healing ingredients, sometimes rubbed on the skin, other times worn in a pouch around the neck or even drank. Occasionally they will perform some type of minor surgical procedure.  Then later, when despite this treatment, the patients’ condition does not improve or worsens further, they will finally take them to the hospital.  In some cases these potions given and procedures performed will ultimately be the cause of death, but in the minds of the people, it will be the hospital that killed them, because that is where their loved one died.

Cameroon is a bit larger than the state of California and it is often referred to as “Africa in miniature” for its geographical and cultural diversity.  There are beaches along the ocean, tropical rainforests, mountains and plateaus, and to the far north, savannas and deserts. There are many different tribes that live within the borders of this country and although French is the national language, there are over 250 languages spoken within the borders of Cameroon. There are actual teams of missionaries in which their sole purpose is to translate the Bible into these native languages.  They truly have not heard the word and do not have the option to believe, when there is not even a Bible for them to read in their own language?  This is a mission very different from the one we are on, but in general, just good food for thought.

We will be traveling as representatives of the Cameroon Healthcare Development Program (CHDP), which is affiliated with SMDC, Global Health Missions and the ELCA (to name a few)  We are excited about being given the opportunity to help others and to share our journey with all of you. We do not consider ourselves missionaries; in fact some would consider us the exact opposite.  However, we feel called by God to reach out to the people of our world especially those who are less fortunate than us, all of whom are God’s people.  We are not qualified to judge or instruct them on religion, but as part of our work we will be ministering to their spirit, regardless of their religion or the lack of it.

There is a high level of religious diversity in Cameroon and reportedly 2/3’s of the population practices Christianity.  However in the Adamawa province where we are headed 80% of the population is Muslim and practice the faith of Islam.

For sure there is no question that in this land we are headed for, we will be in the minority, perhaps in all ways possible: racially, religiously, economically and linguistically for sure.  You have to make sacrifices both personal and financial to embark upon a mission such as this and mostly have a lot of faith that the God who has reached out to you will provide the way.  We pray that somehow in the midst of being isolated in this world where nothing will be familiar to us, that he will show us the way and then give us the courage and strength to follow his will.

Time is really running fast now.  Less than 6 days to departure.  We will be carrying medical equipment being sent by Global missions, CPR dummies, and many supplies donated by CHDP, Mercy Hospital/Ambulance service, The Diabetes  Center, Salem Lutheran Church and the community at large.  The outpouring of support is nothing short of amazing and our suitcases are overflowing.  You start out thinking that you will have everything all neat and organized, but then reality sets in and we have to keep shuffling it all around, trying to make it all fit and still meet the weight requirements.  Thanks to everyone who contributed, it will all be put to good use.

February 20th 2012

CAMEROON AFRICA

This is our Blog…The blog created by Steph Nynas and Llonda Thompson.  Our Hope is to take all of you on this journey with us.  We recognize that this is a journey that many will never have the desire or get the opportunity to take. Yet it is a trip that is very important both to the people of Cameroon, Africa and to those of us sitting here in our nice comfy homes here in the USA.

God has called us to not only to open up our hearts and our minds to these very deserving people, but also to try and reach yours.  Perhaps one of the most important things that we can accomplish is to raise awareness and bring those of us sitting on this side of the globe to the world of Africa. They live in a world very different from ours... Many have little more than a fire to keep them warm at night, let alone a house with a floor and a door, running water and electricity.

We are beginning this blog prior to our departure to try and bring you all up to speed with where we are going, and what we plan to do.  Sitting here we are capable of doing many things right here in our home, such as the map above, that is nearly impossible to obtain from there.  Some days the electricity will be out and there will be no water for a shower. On other days there will be no internet (our only connection to the outside world as we know it) and that can be quite unsettling.

 

Leaving on March 2^nd, first we will take a nearly 24 hour flight from Minneapolis to Douala, Cameroon.  Douala sits on the ocean and is very different from the place we will travel to in-land and to the north…  Ngaoundere, Cameroon is our final destination.  Luckily they tell us that the planes are currently flying, at least someplace close to our destination.  From past experience I know that we cannot rely on this and may need to make alternative plans for travel.  Trust me when I tell you that the alternates are not easy and would make our trip from Douala even longer than our travel from this side of the globe.  Buses and trains there are nothing remotely close to those we have the luxury of traveling on here, & that would be the only other way.  It is hard to describe really, so for now, we pray for the plane and a 5 hour bus ride.

We are going for a very short stay in the terms of missionary work to this part of the world, and we will have to hit the ground running.  Having been there before, this will be easier for me, but I know very challenging for Steph.  Being weary from travel, the culture shock, the way of life, the heat, & all we will see at the hospital, can be very overwhelming.  There is much to be done immediately upon arrival. It is challenging just to prepare food so that it is edible and to be able to drink clean water.   Modern conveniences that are part of our every day life are not the norm there.

In Many ways, I feel like I am being called back to Cameroon again so that I can bring Steph along.  She has many talents that will go really far in improving health care for this village and this country.  God could not get her to there without me, so my role is largely supportive of her.  Yes, I will be performing many other duties, but feel that my main job is to put her in the right place, with the right people, with interpreters to help her get the job done.  She has a stamina far beyond mine and I will be doing all that I can to meet our basic needs, so that she does not have to worry about them.  I will support her and steer her through obstacles that are not pertinent, so that she can focus more fully on our mission, the mission to improve health care in Cameroon.

Here in America, we can make the difference for a patient or 2 or 3 at a time, but there we have the capability to impact the way that healthcare is delivered not just for not just a hospital or community, but a whole country.

Prior to departure to this remote destination in Cameroon, we had to first visit the Travel center at the Duluth Clinic. We have to be educated and vaccinated for tropical diseases.  Let me see…there are shots for yellow Fever, Meningitis, typhoid, Hepatitis and Rabies. (Yes rabies, even the domesticated animals have not been vaccinated, so you cannot take the chance).  While there we must take prophylactic medicine to prevent malaria and have a ready supply of antibiotics to treat diarrhea.  I’m sure that I probably missed a few but in general when you leave there you feel somewhat like a pin cushion from so many injections.  You feel sick and who knows which injection left you feeling that way.

On top of that you need passports that are stamped with a VISA to visit this country.  You need official invitations, pictures, proof of vaccinations, and a registered bank account before you even apply.  We got our passports back officially stamped with Visa’s just this week, so a big weight has been lifted off our shoulders.  Other than packing, we are ready to travel.  Less than 12 days now, so no more procrastinating.