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Six Months In and Looking East
No, we haven’t become mystics or anything of that sort. Looking East is what we’ve begun to do in the last few days since receiving a firm project assignment. For the next few years, we will be working primarily in the Makaa language community, which resides within the East Region (or province) of Cameroon.
Since our arrival (already more than six months ago…hardly believable), Chris has largely been in a transition role – something rather flexible to get acquainted with the country while dabbling in work with a couple of different projects. During that time, a long-term plan was being worked out. There were discussions with different language projects and the decision was made to make Makaa our “anchor project.â€
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Discussing drum types while visiting the Iyassa language group.
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What does this mean for us and how will we involve ourselves in the Makaa language community for the next couple of years?
- We will remain based in the capital city, Yaoundé, most of the time. This decision was largely driven by the amount of transition that our kids have already had over the last three years, their ages, and their educational needs. We may, during the summer, live for periods of time in the Makaa community, pending that housing is available. Chris will probably spend about one out of every five/six weeks there during most of the year.
- Chris will spend much of his time in “Language and Culture Learning.†This means that he will study the Makaa language with a language helper here in Yaoundé (there is a fair-sized Makaa-speaking community here in the capital). He will also study with a Makaa musician to learn the nuances of their music.
- We will often attend a church that is primarily composed of Makaa people in a neighborhood fairly close to where we live. This will allow us more opportunity for language and culture learning.
This “anchor project†will serve a couple of different functions. First, it will be a starting point from which, after a few years of concentrated focus, Chris will be able to function as an arts consultant to the whole of Cameroon and perhaps to other areas of Africa. Also, the language and culture learning will offer an opportunity for arts research and to document the culture. This is important to the government of Cameroon as well as the people themselves and lends credibility to our work in the country.
The New Testament translation in Makaa was recently completed. In fact, there was a small celebration just a day after our arrival last July marking the completion of the typesetting. The Makaa New Testaments are being printed and will be delivered for a dedication celebration sometime this summer.
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Presentation of the completed Makaa New Testament, July 31, 2014.
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As a background, the East Region of Cameroon has some complex dynamics. There are several language groups in the area that tend to form the lines of social rivalries. Alcoholism is rampant and many of the Christian churches that do exist in the area are not spiritually healthy. The East is mainly a thick rainforest filled with natural resources, yet the population remains quite poor. It is also a vast area that is not densely populated and suffers from a lack of educational opportunities. We pray that in spite of these challenges, the Makaa and others around them would find their hope in God’s greatest gift – Jesus Christ.
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A remote road in the dense forest of the Makaa zone, East Region, Cameroon.
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As for our family, we are doing well. We enjoyed a quiet Christmas together followed by a few days at the beach in Kribi with three other families. Noah, Kristin, and Ben are all doing well in school. Noah is playing with the co-ed volleyball team at Rain Forest International School (RFIS) this term. Lori assisted for a two-week stretch with the orientation of new personnel that arrived in early January. Chris spent a weekend in January with the RFIS running club on their annual hike of Mt. Cameroon. We are thankful for the diversions we have, but also for the routine and flow of life that we have settled into.
Thank you again for your prayer and financial support. Soli Deo Gloria.
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Lori & Damaris (far right) with the group of new arrivals in January.
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Ascending Mt. Cameroon with the RFIS running club.
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Chris got a grill for Christmas! Made from an automobile wheel, it is a true example of African "repurposing."
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Top: Helping local fisherman bring in a net during our visit to Kribi at New Years.
Bottom: Lobé Falls, near Kribi.
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Our overseas mailing address:
Chris & Lori Gassler
SIL BP 1299
Yaoundé, Cameroon
Email: clgassler@gmail.com
Blog: gasslers.blogspot.com
Skype: thegasslerfamily
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Wycliffe Bible Translators
PO Box 628200
Orlando, FL 32862-8200
Wycliffe Bible Translators, USA accepts tax deductible donations by mail at the above address or at www.wycliffe.org. If donating by mail, please include a separate note indicating a "Preference for the Wycliffe ministry of Chris & Lori Gassler, account no. 248482." You may also donate to the Gasslers' Wycliffe ministry account online.
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