Departure 2017

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Dear Loved Ones of TATENDA International;

We fly today!! Yes, it will take us about 22 hours to arrive in Douala, Cameroon, after starting out from Boston, then to New York, then to Paris, and finally…… AFRICA.

We are excited, scared, and ready. Sr. Victoria is a foot reflexologist.  Nicki has already told her at the beginning of this trip that her first patient will be…Nicki.  Thank you, God, for skilled hands. Our feet will need them.

Recently, we received documents from the sisters in Cameroon… all in FRENCH. So we will be stretched on this trip to adjust to bilingual elements. I am sure that our knowledge of African people will help us with this, though.  Cameroon is the size of California and we will be in the French-speaking area, much to our surprise.  But we are both adaptable and willing. The sisters there are enthused and we are too. Having taken down “a forest” with copies of materials in English, we hope the communication will go smoothly. Thank you, Sr. Marty, for all that help.

And thank you, Jackie Koziak and Brandis Haagsma, for helping us put batteries in the alarm clock gifts and Mary Lou Verla for supplying the batteries.  Regina and Richard Nast in Tucson, thanks for the seeds for each sister, and, Annette Gardner, for sewing all the cloth gift bags and donating the clocks.  Thanks, Beth Sterck, in Colorado, for helping us get a CD player for the sisters, who don’t have one, and grateful thanks to Pam Van Wechel and Dr. Richard Tardiff for the computer that will allow us to send Updates. We are also taking along a full set of Nicki’s four books for the entire community to enjoy. Our bags are full!!

Nicki’s new Cameroonian neighbors have been a big help in orienting her to the issues of food, climate, and clothing. So we are going on their suggestions and are ready for rain and mud.  Red mud.  But we also know that “cold” to them is not cold to us… however, humidity does make a difference, so we will see.

As we journey forth, we celebrate all the love that is moving with us… from you… from God.  Thanks for tracking our whereabouts and coming with us. We rest secure in your prayers and support.  Many blessings as you start your summers and we will be thinking of you, too.

Again, TATENDA, for all your support.

Nicki Verploegen and Sr. Victoria Anyanwu, SC