Today was the day Nyla and I have been looking forward to with great anticipation. We arose by 4:30, swung over to pick up Erika and were on the road by 5am with Dennis, the mission station driver at the wheel. After stopping by a bakery for some warm baguette and weathering the horrifically rutted tarmac of the streets of N'gaoundere, we found ourselves sailing by belly button mountain  on smooth tar on our way to Garoua Boulai. Some of the stretch of road between N'gaoundere is still under construction, notably new bridges, and there were detours from time to time (along with a couple of bush potty stops).  Even so, we cruised in to Meiganga in under 2.5 hours - record time for those of us who are accustomed to the trip taking 6+ hours (especially in the rainy season). The tarmac ended on the road into town and we bounced over the hill to see the town of Meiganga spread below. I looked right away for the house we had lived in (which is on a hill and had always been visible from afar), and could not spot it... we soon drove by the church and onto the mission station - home of our old stomping ground. Dennis drove slowly through and we parked right  behind our old house. All of the buildings we remembered were there along with a few new additions. I quickly discovered why I could no longer see our house from afar - the trees had grown up so high that they completely hid it from view. Like much of what we saw today, the house looked rather dilapidated. All of the homes have been turned over to the Cameroon church and our driver noted flatly that when that happened they pretty much headed into wrack and ruin. (his words not mine!). We took pictures and wandered around a bit before loading back up to visit the home of the local pastor and the woman who heads the Sunday school program in Meiganga. The pastor was still in N'gaoundere, and his daughter helped us find the home of the Sunday school teacher. She welcomed us warmly into her home and expressed much disappointment that we were not staying longer so she could prepare us a meal. From there, we headed down to visit the Lamido (the traditional chief of Meiganga who wields much power. He is a personal friend of Tom Christensen). It is typical for visitors to have to cool their heels for quite some time for an audience with the Lamido. But we were ushered back immediately! He welcomed us with open arms, greeting us warmly and inviting us in to his home. We spent a nice half hour with him in his receiving room where - along with a picture of President Biya, a large picture of he and Tom Christensen figured prominently in the wall decor! He spoke eloquently and was a gracious host, expressing over and over how glad he was to have us in his home. He also stated that (despite being a devout muslim), he has met with our local church leaders to urge them to cooperate and work closely together to grow the Lutheran church. We complimented him on the beautiful new mosque  he is building, took pictures, and hit the road for Garoua Boulai.

The road to Garoua Boulai was only partially tarred. Though the road seemed smoother than I remembered (which was nice!), it was much slower going. Nevertheless, we pulled in to Garoua Boulai at 10:30 am. We drove by Fokpoyano on the new road to the mission station (re-routed to prevent traffic from flowing directly through the hospital as it used to). We parked near the old "mission supply" building and got out to look. Things were much more dilapidated here than in Meiganga.... We started our tour by walking by the Jacobsen's old house and then visited Nyla's old house where we asked if we could have a look inside. Whew. That was tough. The house is still standing and there is a family living there... but wow. It was pretty grim looking. We took some pictures, had a look at the room Nyla and I shared in 7th grade, and continued on our way. We headed by the home where the nurses had lived to see if our Guava trees were still standing... AND THEY WERE! We both climbed up. The trees were bigger, but somehow seemed smaller! It was fun to share memories. The dorm was next. The missionaries here in N'gaoundere had told us that things had gone down hill and so fortunately we had set our sights pretty low. The building is still standing, yes, but it is in a sad state. We asked permission to walk through and took a few pictures of our old rooms, etc. Things are in a sad sad sad state of disrepair for sure. Likewise, time has taken its toll on the school. It was locked unfortunately, but some windows were open in the back and we were able to take some pictures. The crazy thing is that the "big kid" classroom looked the same!!! It is currently being used as an education center and a library has been added to the front of the building.

We next walked through the hospital grounds which truly are exactly as grim and ewwww as I remember. We showed Erika the chapel where we had been confirmed and it too is in a state of great disrepair. Just outside the hospital, we ran into some of Nyla's brother's old friends as well as a friend of my brother Joel's. We took pictures and then walked back toward the main station to find the family that Nyla had been so close to in her growing up years. They came to greet us bearing beautiful mangos and a lovely pineapple. We thanked them for the kind gifts, took pictures and visited together for a while. They were full of questions about our families, parents, and siblings. Nyla then said a prayer and tearful hugs were exchanged as we said our good byes, promising to return soon.

We then spent a bit of time shopping and wandering through the Garoua Boulai market where we found some candy we had enjoyed as kids. It was soon time to load up and head back. As we headed back to N'gaoundere, Nyla and I quietly sat just taking it all in and occasionally giving eachother big hugs. We agreed that all former missionary kids really need to try hard to get back to experience what we did. Both Nyla and I agreed that we hope to bring our husbands and families back to experience this part of our history. After a brief stop to pick up a passenger in Meiganga, we zipped into N'gaoundere before 6pm. I would never ever have thought it possible to make such a quick trip.

The interesting thing is that, without exception, everyone we have met states openly that they feel abandoned by the missionaries. They do not understand why we ended our mission and believe wholeheartedly that things were so much better when we were here working in partnership with them. They have all begged us to return and feel deeply hurt because they believe we have forgotten them. We have reassured people that they are constantly in our thoughts and that we would all come back to visit more if it were not so expensive. We have tried to impress on people the fact that though we may seem very wealthy, it is not easy for us to simply throw out $2,000 for plane fare. Its been tough.