Some Updates

I've been weak at writing... I'll try to update y'all on the goings on!

Matt IS going to Africa in a week.  He'll head to Atlanta where he'll meet Bob Schill; from there they'll fly to Paris, then into Cameroon, Africa.  The work? They need to work on some designs for an existing HUGE hospital in the area.  Western hospitals are rare, but needed.  You can read the info in our last post, if interested in Cameroon. Please pray Matt will be effective as a teammate, and also come home safely to his waiting wife.

Our house is almost done! It has been 8 months since we bought the house, and we've had some wonderful help with fixing it up. We've gutted the entire thing and had the electric done, the walls insulated and rebuilt, we mudded, sanded, painted, put flooring down (in a couple rooms we had to put a FLOOR down...), built counters, cut cabinets from existing cabinets donated to us(!), cut trim for the rooms, doors, window, began sewing curtains... All of this in 6 rooms.  We are GRATEFUL for this house. It is the cutest thing now... still quite quirky, as both of us had NEVER done any of this, really, before.  But it's wonderful! Praise God for how He provides!

Some TECH Team responsibilities are changing. I'm a graphic designer at MTT, as you probably know, and in the last few months, my manager has started focusing me on advertising-like projects. PR kinds of things.  I'm having a blast.  Still doing the design work, but I've also started on our Facebook presence, e-mail ads, bulletin ads, and program ads. Pretty fun stuff! 

What else? Feel free to leave a comment regarding anything I should blog about, as I've been feeling a little bit uncertain what to put up!  Thanks!!!  :)

Cameroon (also spelled Cameroun)

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon (French: République du Cameroun), is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is called "Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua. Cameroon is home to over 200 different linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. English and French are the official languages.

This is a pic I found on Wikipedia from Cameroon.

In 2001, the literacy rate of Cameroon was estimated to be 67.9% (77% for males and 59.8% for females). Most children have access to free, state-run schools or subsidised, private and religious facilities. The educational system is a mixture of British and French precedents with most instruction in English or French. Cameroon has one of the highest school attendance rates in Africa. Girls attend school less regularly than boys do because of cultural attitudes, domestic duties, early marriage and pregnancy, and sexual harassment. Although attendance rates are higher in the south, a disproportionate number of teachers are stationed there, leaving northern schools chronically understaffed.

The quality of health care is generally low. Outside the major cities, facilities are often dirty and poorly equipped. Endemic diseases include dengue fever, filariasis, leishmaniasis, malaria, meningitis, schistosomiasis, and sleeping sickness. The HIV/AIDS seroprevalence rate is estimated at 5.4% for those aged 15–49, although a strong stigma against the illness keeps the number of reported cases artificially low. Traditional healers remain a popular alternative to Western medicine.

... AND BOB SCHILL IS TAKING MATT THERE IN 3 WEEKS TO WORK ON A LARGE "Western" HOSPITAL!!!!  (More to come!)