Perspective of Being Both Far Away and Near

To this point it has been great overseas, but lately it has made certain events seem so distant. For example, big events like Japan seem far away or things that effect our friends, such as J and Katrina coming back to Jackson, the Youth Center happening at Westwinds, or a fellow missionary in MI losing his wife to cancer, are easy to slip from our mind, yet it opens my eyes that it can seem so easy for people to forget about us here in Yaounde. But yet through the spirit we are gifted to remember even if it is just for a moment to pray for those that are near to us as friends, our church families, and for those more far. What I am trying to say is thanks for all those taking a moment to reply to our newsletters. To share with us your lives and to help us pray and encourage those that are dear to us.

At the same time it really has been a blessing to watch Westwinds from Yaounde as we are now in a different community here, but to take a moment and worship the way that we most connect to God and to hear Dave or as this weekend hear Ben speak. It helps as Leah and I watch Westwinds online to feel connected to the lives of those at Westwinds and in Michigan. I am learning that I must be intentional to email and call friends and family. As we seem so far away it is so odd that through email, Facebook, Twitter, and Skype we can seem to connect as we did in the States with those that we did not always see in Jackson. I am not saying any of this out of being homesick just on the contrary. I feel that we have the unique gift of using technology for Leah and I to live in Cameroon, but yet stay connected and involved in the lives of our friends and family. For me I am beginning to realize this and choosing t make the required effort to “plug in” not at the expense of our involvement in life here in Yaounde, but to complement our new lives here. I am encouraged that through the spirit and by making the choice we are able to feel and become interdependent as the body of Christ, just as he wants us to be.

Joy and Peace in Christ
The Janowiaks
ps below are two more pictures