Friday, April 12, 2013

60th Birthday Singing Bush & More



Several people ask what I did on my birthday in Cameroon. Let’s see…
First things first. Followed my Dad’s example who started off each day with prayer and Bible study. I spent time in reflection and thanksgiving for the 60 years given me, remembering that neither of my parents reached age 55. Looking at bigger picture…I have Snowden family members who were involved in ministry to some extent into their mid-80’s and early-90’s.
 Read from “Prayer of Jabez for Women” PC Kindle. In chapter three,  Darlene Wilkinson says, ‘Eventually I realized that by asking God for more territory, I was really saying to God, “Let me do more for You. Expand my territory so that I can have a greater impact for You.” ‘  I prayed for expanded longevity, health, agility, and impact for God…and as Jabez prayed, “Keep me from Evil that I may not cause pain.” The particulars are best left to God and it will be exciting to see how He answers these requests.
Moving along…one teacher friend had suggested we could take a taxi downtown to a restaurant that sells ice cream and sandwiches to celebrate my birthday. Sure!
When I arrived at Sarah’s compound (across road, slightly uphill), she said we wouldn’t have to go down to main road for a taxi, and started going toward her four story apartment building. Hmmm…I saw no one in any vehicle waiting to join us.  What’s up?
Then it happened…it seemed that the very tall bushes by the stairwell started singing “Happy Birthday”…and continued to sing. Finally… out from behind popped my principal and the teachers from Greenhouse, A Learning Center for Missionary Children (we were on spring break, though all of us in town had been there some preparing for the Joint Learning Session). What a delightful surprise!

Thank you Mary, Monique, Naomi, Sarah, Carolyn, and Barbara for the lovely lunch!
After a meeting with the general director and other newbies in prep for branch meetings, it was back to my apartment to check Facebook birthday greetings. As I came down my compound’s main drive hill, “Happy Birthday” arose from the playground – the sweet little voices of some of my preschoolers from storytime. Thanks Liset for leading that.
Later in the afternoon came what I longed for …phone calls from my sisters Pat in Kentucky and Juanita in Ohio. They had some trouble getting through, but I so appreciate their persistence.
There were birthday greetings from colleagues at morning branch coffee break and on our compound playground – the gathering place. I heard that an offloading of newly published scripture was starting across the road and hurried over to watch. What a privilege to watch the 80 boxes of 40 Oku New Testaments per box being taken to a storage room to await dedication ceremonies. I’m researching details, and plan to share in a later post.
The electricity was off approx. 12.5 hours, starting well before noon. My computer and cell phone batteries nearly went dead, but I took my handy little 32-LED rechargeable lantern  to see where I was walking to a neighboring compound that has a generator and recharged both.  THANK YOU Facebook friends for all your birthday greetings and kind words. You truly helped make my 60th Birthday/first one in Cameroon very SPECIAL. How special? I copied and pasted each greeting/name to a Word doc to make my celebration last longer. Such a blessing to hear from folks from so many seasons of my life.

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