Philemon and Linda in front of their house. 

Pete with the infamous yellow strap and the washing machine. 

The team from Bethlehem Baptist Church. 

Sam in his room.

Anna in her room. 

Jessica and Linda spontaneously wallpapering the bedroom. 

Tom Steller speaking at the Perspectives Course in Ndu. 

July Update

Dear praying friends,

We have been “vacationing” at home this summer, and apparently being so relaxed that we haven’t been keeping you informed! Hope this makes up for it and lets you know we are fine and keeping busy even when school is out for holidays.

Philemon had a great visit in the US in May, and though it was far from relaxing, he enjoyed ministering and being ministered to. He was able to visit several churches besides Morningside Baptist Church in Iowa, where he spoke at their annual mission weekend. Yes, he did eat at McDonalds, but even more deliciously at many homes! All who saw him attended him well: he was refreshed and renewed by your concern and prayers and counsel. Thank you! Since returning he has been reorganizing his office, and preparing for the fall semester which will start in mid-August.

We have been vacationing at home because there is a short-term team here from Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis. They are helping to teach two sessions of the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class in two locations here in Cameroon. This course is the culmination of the work Travis and Susan Myers (BGC term missionaries) have been doing at CBTS. Philemon taught two sessions here in Ndu, and will be traveling to Yaounde next week to teach there. The response has been great, and we pray the class will have a lasting impact on the church. There are 9 members of the team, including one twelve year old who is a good friend to Benjamin and Samuel. They are spending lots of time playing outside and going for jaunts into the forest, but the PlayStation is also being way overworked these days.

One couple, Pete and Jess Johnson, came not to teach but to do electrical work (Pete) and computer work (Jess). She has designed good-bye and birthday cards, done craft projects with the kids, helped cook, cleaned out a huge spidery storage closet with me, illustrated some health posters I made, and generally made herself so useful that it will be very hard to see her leave. Not to mention the CBTS website she is designing! (By the way, if you didn’t already know about their team blog, the address is www.cameroonteam.blogspot.com. I did today’s blog, and I didn’t even know about blogs until I read about them is World magazine! I used some of this letter in it, but there are other things you’ll want to see, such as pictures of us and of CBTS.)

Missionaries need all types of support, as you have often heard. The Yongs are here to teach, and we have some other little areas of ability also, but home repair is not one of them. Pete has fixed some things that would be a snap for many of you, but we were clueless. The biggie was to investigate the wiring in our new house. For the year we have lived here, there has been some mystery current floating around, which would zap us at odd moments when we were least expecting it. It seemed sometimes like it was lying in wait at some of the outlets, reaching out as we would walk by. (Perhaps I am giving electricity too much credit, but it was getting a little scary!) The house had been fully grounded, we had been told by the construction team. We thought it would take Pete a full week to rewire the house and fix the problem, but it took him an hour to discover that the grounding wire was there all right, but had never actually been connected to the house wiring! Bingo, no more shocking experiences!

Another job we had on Pete’s job list was the washing machine. We brought one in our sea container, because the alternative is hiring a full time laundress to hand wash, which is really hard on clothes. But the new washer had never worked, even once! It threatened to tear the bathroom apart with its wild vibrations during the spin cycle. I don’t mean a polite “I’m unbalanced” sort of vibration, I mean “I’m going to rip out the tile and probably the sink, too!”

Again, Pete did what no one else had been able to (we hadn’t even looked at it, knowing the hopelessness of our abilities.) There was a yellow shipping strap securing the motor for transport. The poor motor was trying desperately to free itself so it could properly do its work. We had envisioned machine parts scattered all over the floor…Pete cut the strap and now it purrs like a kitten. Problem solved.

So you see we need all kinds of help: Jess-type skills, Pete-type handiness, and you-type prayers and giving. We aren’t much good by ourselves, but with our team of supporters standing with us, God will surely use all of us in the big job of bringing the church in Cameroon to maturity.

With gratitude for all you are and do,

Linda for the Yongs

Carrying the picnic table down to the house. 

Sam playing with the Myer's new kitty. 

A trip to the internet cafe

It's a sunny Monday morning, just the right day for Jessica Johnson to create a blog for us, and show us the ropes. We got up early and had some pancakes, bumped to Banso (which is an hour away.) We have been checking news in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and finding out the latitude and longitude of Ndu so we can properly set up the automatic functions on our telescope. Some members of the family are looking for video game cheat codes. Anna doesn't care about the internet, and has gone shopping with Dad, who is hoping that our favorite little "supermarket" (about 1/4 the size of a 7-11) will yield Heinz catsup, shrimp chips, and maybe *please, please* some Pringles.

Jessica and her husband Pete are here for a little over a month with others from Bethlehem Baptist Church. The others on the team came to teach a summer course at CBTS, and Pete and Jess are here for practical help. She is putting together a movie for Anna's friends back home, has taken a lot of pictures, and given lots of creative help and friendship. Pete has fixed the washer, the oven, the electrical problems in our house, and rewired some of the innovative wiring on campus. Plus, we have had such a good time together! If you don't know them, they are cheerful and enthusiastic folk, just what one wants in a visitor from beyond!

My time is running short here, but welcome to our new blog! It feels SO trendy to be doing this, and I generally resist "trendy" with all my heart and soul, but this particular piece of modernity seems like just the thing to keep us in touch with you!

More later! Linda for the Yongs