Wednesday, April 18, 2018

There And Back Again...

A Missionary's Tale

Hello again - long time no chat.

I know it has been some time since my last post but a lot has happened and I have been processing the experiences and the implications.  On a positive note, I took a trip to East Africa and my friend Catherine came out to meet me.  We met in Nairobi with plans to go on a small safari and then to climb Mt Kilimanjaro.

Since Nairobi is a large city (and apparently known for its crime and challenges to visitors) neither of us really wanted to spend too much time there.  As a result after only a couple days in the city, we made our way to Arusha in Tanzania, where we quickly found (or they found us ;) an organization that would take us on safari.

We opted for a one-day trip into the Tarangire National Park and had a very blessed visit that included seeing a lot of animals such as elephants, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, gazelles, etc. etc.  Interestingly enough and much to our amusement (but not the driver's) we had two flat tires within the span of a couple hours.  



Our next adventure, and the main reason for meeting up, was to have a look at the African continent from on top of Mt Kilimanjaro.  Catherine and I had done some research and we had found a company called Gladys Adventure that we hired to be our guides up this lovely mountain.  (Incidentally if you are considering hiking Mt K we highly recommend this outfit.)

As luck would have it we had perfect weather for the week that we were on the mountain albeit a few cold nights.  Our crew was great and I could not believe the quality of the food we were having on our hike; especially given that all of the food had to be packed in and the water fetched from sources on the mountain that were often not adjacent to the campsites.  We were quite spoiled :)
Speaking of being spoiled, our crew sang to us as a welcome and Catherine was able to capture the song on video.




On the day we summitted, the sky was as blue as could be and despite the long, steep and exhausting morning we were rewarded with spectacular views of the glacier and the mountain.  




All in all our trip was such a great experience! But as Catherine got ready to return to the US I unfortunately was not allowed to return to Cameroon to continue my missionary work.  Since the political situation in Cameroon had deteriorated, the directors of my organization had made the decision to pull all the missionaries from country.  Since I was not in country I was not able to say good bye to my friends and co-workers, and also left most of my belongings back there. This has been hard for me to adjust to and I have struggled with finding myself back home without the chance of returning to Cameroon.  It has taken me some time and the support of several to process this loss and mourn the premature end of my work in Cameroon.

But as with many challenges and changes in life there is a silver-lining.  I have been given the opportunity to continue my missionary work and have chosen to do this in Ecuador!  For those who don't know, my parents are both from South America so this will give me a chance to live and work on the continent that my parents were born on, and certainly understand my roots better.  And since I have adventurous friends, we have already begun to discuss the possibility of climbing Mt Aconcagua :)

I am looking forward to the experience I have ahead of me but I am also looking backwards to all those who became my family while I was in Cameroon, and who I miss terribly!  Please continue to pray for the end of the unjust treatment that so many face in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon.

In Christ,
Marco

New Blog:  http://marcoinecuador.blogspot.com/