Back Home!

We are back in North Carolina! On January 25^th we made the trip from Mbingo to Bamenda to Douala to Brussels to Washington DC, and finally to Charlotte, NC. Given weather delays along the way, the trip took about 42 hours in total, but Cathen was a super-traveler and made the trip with no difficulty at all (although she did use the potty six times while on the airplanes).

We are settling down in Charlotte, North Carolina, with Lindsay’s parents, and are greatly enjoying the time to reconnect with family and friends, and for Cathen to spend good time with her extended family. She loves seeing her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that live nearby (Matt & Laura and the crew – Caroline, Joe, Sophia, and Collin – now live in Charlotte as well), although she often talks about her Mbingo family.

Our time at Mbingo was an incredible blessing, and we thank God for the family and friends that we have developed there. We are truly blessed to have wonderful families both here in the US and back in Cameroon. The work opportunities we were afforded at Mbingo were tremendous, and we hope to be able to continue that pediatric work, even while at home in the States. I am also hopeful that as a Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) fellow at Carolinas Medical Center (CMC), I might even return to Mbingo during the next three years.

Thank you all for your support while we were away working at Mbingo. We love you all, and we are excited to have the opportunity to meet with you over the coming months. We are indebted to you for your prayerful support of the work that is going on at Mbingo, and we look forward to seeing what God has in store for us next.

Blessings,

JR, Lindsay, and Cathen

Prayer Points

• New job for Lindsay
• Pediatric volunteers to work at MBH while awaiting long-term Pediatrician (hopefully to arrive within 1 year)
• Transition back to life in the US: cultural changes, adapting to a faster-paced lifestyle, learning how to parent Cathen, etc.
• Finding a church home in Charlotte

Some of Our Family from Mbingo: a snapshot of why leaving is so hard...

Lindsay and Judith (Palliative Care Nurse)

The C-Ward Team

Genevieve (Peritoneal Dialysis Nurse)

C-Ward staff after Christmas party for the children on the ward

Pool time with Isaac in the backyard

"Quick! No one's looking!!!"

"We're just hanging out..."

The three kids posing for a portrait

Thank goodness the portrait is over!

Sunday nigh Praise & Worship (JR, Keith, Chuck, and Dennis)

Rick (Poppie) & Debbie (Nonnie) Bardin and Cathen

Kaye & Keith Streatfeild with Cathen

JR, Lindsay, Cathen, and Nancy & Dennis Palmer

Our Duplex Crew: JR, Lindsay & Cathen Young, and Angela, Chuck, Isaac & Benjamin Barrier

Lindsay & JR in formal wear designed and given to us by the CIMS training program  members

Good-byes at the hospital entrance with many of the administrators and department heads:
Dr. Acha (ENT), Joce Kangong (Assistant Administrator of Finance),
Lindsay, Cathen, JR, Victorine Gabe (Assistant Administrator of Personnel),
Ephesians Nfor (Head Chaplain), Dr. Marvis (Ophthalmology)

Cathen & Benjamin

Mbingo