Randi Walle

Our trip now half over, we said good-bye to our friends in the Cameroon and boarded a five-seat Cessna operated by SIL for the four-hour flight to Bangui, Central African Republic. We had some anxious moments, trying to make the weight limit–we had to leave a few things in Cameroon from our luggage, but we

Rob Peterson, our young SIL pilot, grew up in the Philippines as a missionary kid and is the son of a pilot and the brother of a pilot. Originally from the Holland, Michigan, area, Rob went to Moody Bible Institute and then Bryan College and had his flight training at the Moody facility in Elizabethton,

Didier, our illustrator, was never without his sketch pad and he drew continuously. This was his view, from the second seat of the Cessna, of the four-hour flight from Yaounde to Bangui.

One of the gauges on the dashboard of the plane was a location finder. This photo was taken just as we crossed over the border from Cameroon into the Central African Republic.

This was our first view of Bangui as Rob-the-pilot made a long, sweeping right turn, lined up with the runway, and gently landed the Cessna on the tarmac.

Our first event in Bangui was to gather in the missionary guest house to give thanks for a safe trip. Missionaries Heidi Sisson, Tina Walker, Janet Varner, and Tim and Ginger Hock met us there. Dr. Francois Ngoumape (center, flowered shirt) gave thanks for the safe trip. Then we all enjoyed a pizza together, topped

Prosper Atchombat, a Cameroonian who works with CABTAL, the local Bible translation unit of Wycliffe Bible Translators, has been one of the key figures in helping to get the new youth magazine launched. He and his wife attended our writers’ seminars, and before we left they invited us to their home for dinner with their

One of the local pastors arranged for us to spend an afternoon with some teenagers from his church, teaching some basic principles of writing and editing. Pray that some of these young people will catch the vision for impacting the world for Christ through the ministry of writing and publishing!

Before we left Yaounde, we helped Jana Puhl, the youngest daughter of Karin and Frank, celebrate her sixth birthday. Her “oma” (grandmother) called from Germany to wish her happy birthday, and we sang to her and gave her some candy. Jana was so proud of her new orange skirt and quilted purse!

One of the highest honors visitors can receive is to be invited into the home of a Cameroonian family for a traditional African dinner. We were invited to the home of Emile, who is helping to plant the new church we visited Sunday, and who is a part-time gate guard for the home and property