We got home from Jacob Lake on a Sunday afternoon and Maren was heading off to Girls Camp early Monday morning. She had packed everything before our trip, so she was ready to go. She loves Girls Camp, and was especially excited for her first year as a YCL. She did a great job and really enjoyed herself.
While Maren was at camp, I was "lucky" enough to be doing inventory at the library. Actually, it's not bad, just repetitious. I was able to work all my hours in three days and rewarded myself with a nice relaxing massage--ahhhh :)
We celebrated Pioneer Day by eating at Smashburger for lunch and grilling up hot dogs for dinner that night. I'm sure the pioneers sacrificed all they did so that things would be better for those who came after them. I am truly grateful for them. (And I'm sure if they had had Smashburger, they would have eaten there...)
Carson witnessed an amazing miracle in July. In his words: "So we have this recent convert in our branch by the name of Brother D. He's always working. Unfortunately, he doesn't make a lot at his job; 50,000 CFA a month. So it's enough to skate by. But, due to some problems with the bank and another guy for whom he signed this big contract who then skipped town, he owed the bank 1,390,000 CFA. For you folks keeping score at home, that's around 2,600 USD. And that's A LOT of money here. So he received notice of it and that he had eight days to set up a loan plan. So he was telling us this and he was visibly distressed. It was quite sad. He was super stressed and worried about what he was going to do. But despite all this, he asked us if we would take his tithing to church so that we could pay it for him. He wasn't sure if he was going to be at work Sunday and he said that if he left his tithing money at his house that he might spend it for something else. So he gives us 3,000 CFA to pay on Sunday. So I was very touched by his faith and diligence with his commitments that he has made. But now is where the story gets crazy. So we show up to church on Sunday and it turns out that he was there. So I gave him his tithing back and he promptly paid it, but then he told us something amazing had happened. He said, "come to my house on Tuesday and see the great miracle that has taken place in my life." So we show up and he starts telling us his story. He went to the bank to set up his loan payment plan and they gave him this folder full of stuff that he was supposed to fill out. On his way home, he ran into a branch member who used to be a banker in Bamenda and he told D that that loan plan was a trap and that if he filled out the stuff that he would be stuck. So he said to D, "Give me that. I'll tear it up right now to show that you don't need it." But D said that he had a feeling not to give it to him, so he didn't. When he got home, he opened up the folder and within was a paper that said, "this document certifies that Mr. N_____ D____ has paid in full the given amount and is no longer indebted to us." (More or less like that) And it was stamped, signed, and authorized and everything. It was legit. So somehow, his 1.3 million franc debt just got paid. It just was paid. It wasn't the guy who ran away who paid it. The money just got paid. He kept saying, "Jesus paid it, Jesus paid it!" It's a true, real, bona fide, miracle that I witnessed this past week. There's no other way of explaining it. It just got paid... It was an inspiring story about faith and blessing of tithing paying. My goodness, it was amazing." What a wonderful experience for him to witness.
Maren and I were able to spend a few hours at The Living Planet Aquarium and that was a lot of fun. Here are pictures from that day:
Since you like animals, you should come check out our zoo in Buffalo NY. We've got a baby polar bear. Add that to the fact that were only 20 miles from Niagara Falls and we have the best wings in the world, and you'll quickly see that Bufftown is a great place. Buffalo 4 life!
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