Here is the report from a participant's perspective in the middle of the team's vision trip to Cameroon.
We had a lovely road trip on Thursday and spent most of it drinking in the scenery while listening to music. We also enjoyed snacking on some traditional snacks: plantain chips, chin chin (similar to shortbread, but crunchier), peanuts sold in a recycled whiskey bottle, and pineapple. It was interesting to find parallels to life back in Canada while traveling through the Cameroonian rainforest. The windy roads through the forest reminded me of driving through the forests of Cape Breton last summer, with the mountains and valleys (but switch out the maples and pines for baobabs and palm trees). We were thankful to our driver, Talla, for being careful when passing slow cars on the road, especially when we had to cross the median to do so.
We arrived in Mbouda around 5 PM and got a tour of the Ndop cluster translation center by Anna Grove, a Canadian working with the scripture engagement team in Cameroon. She read us a short passage from the Bible in Chrambo, the tribal language of the village she grew up in as a missionary kid. They fed us supper at the center: traditional fufu, which was very good, but very filling. It was disconcerting to discover that there was still supper to be had at the monastery where we are staying afterward! Anna then gave us a bit of training in Audacity, an audio recording and editing software, so we could help check translated stories at the center.
On Friday, we came to the center for breakfast and then experienced the scripture engagement workshop firsthand. We sang together, prayed together, and then worked through the story of Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4, applying it to our lives (for me, that meant turning to Jesus immediately with my fears since He alone has the power to do something with the circumstances). Once we talked through the characters, setting, theme, sequence of events, climax, twists, opening, and closing, and key terms, the teams were ready to craft their stories. It was interesting to see how difficult words like “waves” or “in the back of the boat” can be to translate. This was because there are not many large bodies of water in Cameroon, and because it is difficult to describe the difference between "behind" and "in the back of". The representatives from the language communities then worked through a recording of the story, refining it line by line in their language. We got to sit in on this process, and it really gave us an appreciation for how difficult translation can be. After that, we worked on some back translations of stories that had previously been learned so that they could be subsequently checked. Zach and I got to help type the stories. Mine was the paralyzed man in Mark.
Some unexpected tasks that could use our skill sets included working on scripture songs that can also be used in local languages (Kara and I) and designing a banner for the center (Kari, with her graphic design talent). We chose John 20:21 and Luke 19:10,9. The Luke reference was chosen because some language groups haven’t yet been able to translate John. Some of the key parameters for the songs included: try to use a familiar rhythm, keep in mind the lower pitches typically sung, think about using a call-and-response style, and avoid singing about suffering, since that is viewed as likely to make it happen.
Later on, we visited the market to buy some mosquito nets and some traditional fabric as well as some extensions for Kara and I to get our hair braided. I was glad that we had some local guides with us to show us around and help bargain.
We wanted to do some service while we were in Mbouda, but it was difficult for the team there to predict things that we could do. We helped with some cleaning and yard work and organized the bookshelves.
Saturday evening, Godfrey, Kari, Kara, and I headed out to our home stays with members of the community. It was cool to experience how other people live in a different part of the world. We had delicious meals and great talks with our hosts. Kara especially enjoyed learning more about Bible translation from Pastor Pius’ perspective, who was involved in the Chrambo translation from orthography to distribution. While there were some uncomfortable experiences with different cultures and different facilities than we are used to, it was cool to see how we can do with a lot less than we normally have.
On Sunday, we went to church in the morning. We were able to share two songs with the congregation, and it was fun to have everyone join in on “The Final Say”. It was fun to see Pastor Pius practicing what he preached about hospitality while Kara and I visited. Pastor Ephesian also kindly preached in English instead of Pidgin so that we could understand his message of blessed are the poor in spirit, understanding they can do nothing, but depend fully on God, and blessed are those who mourn over sin.
After the service, we went back to our homes. In the evening, I got my hair braided for three hours. Kari, Kara, and Damaris got their hair braided the next day. It was a busy couple of days for the hairdressers!
On Monday, we spent more time at the workshop. Some of us helped buy new items at the market for the center and varnish their new recording booth. I got to help out with some checking of the Bible stories with Pastors Edward and Derek and the Babungo team. I didn’t know how helpful I was being, so it was nice when they asked me to help again after lunch with another story. It was great to see again how much work goes into translating the audio file. Lois was excited to get peanut sauce for supper after talking about it the whole trip. We all went back to the monastery for our last night in Mbouda.
Tuesday morning, we tried spaghetti omelet sandwiches (a classic Cameroonian breakfast) and participated in the devotions at the workshop. Kara got to present her song in the Babungo language with Mary, who translated it for her, which was very cool. After pictures, we headed back to Yaoundé for the last week of our trip. Last night, we were able to share some of what we have learned by visiting the workshop in Wycliffe Canada’s prayer meeting for the Ndop Cluster language projects. We are looking forward to making the most of the rest of our time in Cameroon, learning more about the media side of SIL, and visiting a few schools. Please pray for:
- The Ndop language speakers, who give up so much to come to OBS workshops, would continue to make the difficult choice to come and, by doing so, bless their community with a greater understanding of the God who is relevant to their lives.
- Pray that we remember the stories all the different people are telling us, so that we can pray for them and share God’s work when we return. And thank Him for all of the wonderful things He has allowed us to experience already and the hard work of translation that has already happened in the workshop.
Thank you so much for your prayer support. We see God’s hand at work every day, protecting, guiding, and teaching.
In Christ,
Naomi and the rest of the Transformation team!
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