Mommy Karissa

I can still picture Mama Karissa standing in the kitchen and saying with a smile, as I swept up the remains of a broken glass bowl and apologized not for the first or last time, "Here, you learn to hold things with an open hand."

That was several months after we arrived in Cameroon. I've since carried her words with me into situations that seemed to need them, like when all the Djino was gone before I had some, or when the puppies tore a piece of my clothing, or when exciting plans were cancelled or altered. Now, Karen's words take on a deeper meaning, as all of us left here on earth struggle to deal with something that seems to have been ripped from our tightly closed fist.

No longer does the "here" refer to Cameroon or Africa, but life and earth in general. And no longer are the "things" just things, but can be those closest to us, those we feel we couldn't do without, but sometimes have to. Mommy Karissa knew how to keep her hand open, and was one of the most giving and content people I've ever known. In her book, there was always room for one more, always enough food to go around, always a second chance, always something special for everyone. She made coffee cake every Sunday morning because she knew I loved it so much, and and consulted me about which tea to buy and try out next. Despite the pain she dealt with on a daily basis, Karen always had a smile on her face and a laugh you could hear from all corners of the compound.

She was my "African mother" for eight months, and I won't soon forget her gentle and loving influence on everyone around her, including me. Neither will I forget the lesson of holding loosely that which we want to clutch tightly, a lesson that Mama Karissa taught with her life even more than she did with her words.

Another newsletter from Chris that just went out:

Prayers answered; Hurdles hurdled

Thank you to all who have sent messages of concern and encouragement. Reading the FaceBook posts and messages remembering Karen has been nourishing to my heart. I end up crying as I read them. It is a good exercise in remembering, cherishing and grieving! Thank you as well for your prayers concerning the administrative details that were holding me back from returning to Cameroon. I can tell you that your prayers have worked! - Karen’s body was transferred from the hospital to the state morgue on Saturday without us even knowing about it! We learned of this on Sunday afternoon. That means that the police took action on Saturday which was not what anyone expected. - In that her body was transferred, I was free to make the official identification and sign the forms necessary to transfer the responsibilities to the local undertaker of all of what remains to be done in order to repatriate her to California. I did that today. - Via a Cameroonian friend who lives in Pretoria, I was connected to a man from Mamfe who works in the Consular Services at the Cameroonian Embassy. With that connection, I was able to go there today and I will have the visa first thing in the morning on Tuesday.  - We have purchased a ticket on South African Air that arrives in Douala, Cameroon Tuesday night. A colleague is coming to pick me up there. We will stay the night in Douala and then travel to Yaounde Wednesday morning. - Carolin Huber and most of the rest of our household will travel down to Yaounde tomorrow. I’ll see them on Wednesday and arrive in time to take Katelyn to her appointment at the US Embassy to renew her passport. All of this has been facilitated by my new friends, Sebastian and Karen Floor. They serve in director and regional roles in Wycliffe South Africa and they have greatly served me through this process. Though we never met before this, we are now bound together as friends. I will always count them as part of God’s provision. Speaking of provision, many, many of you are asking what you can do to help. Thank you for that. Friends of ours in Grass Valley are offering to receive checks that can be deposited into an account for us to use for the costs of travel, repatriation, burial, etc. If you wish to know how to do this, please drop an email to: Joe Tomkiewicz mailto:joe@sierraadvisory.net Blessed by God’s extensive and caring community, Chris, Karissa and Katelyn Tomorrow morning Katelyn, Lum, Fadi, Carolin, Sarah and I will all travel down to Yaounde to start working on renewing Katelyn's passport and meet up with Chris. Not sure when we'll be coming back, but hopefully it will be soon. Thank you all for your prayers!

New update from Chris that was sent out this morning:

Thank you to all who have sent messages of concern and encouragement. I am overwhelmed with the joy that Karen brought to so many people and overwhelmed with the grief of our loss; of my loss. 

Oceans of grief; oceans of fear; oceans of questions.

Karissa is doing well in that she has a very good support system around her at Biola. Friends have come to her side to support her.

Katelyn, too, is doing well based on my talks with her and reports from others. She is surrounded by all of what is familiar to her. She did say, though, that maybe it really hasn’t sunk in yet. 

Has it sunk it fully for any of us? I doubt it.

I am still in South Africa. There are hurdles to cross before I can return to Cameroon. Because Karen died so soon after arriving here, the doctor cannot sign off on the death as “natural”. Thus, there has to be a state autopsy to establish cause of death. This requires getting the South African police to do their job and apparently that is not always an easy, or timely thing to see happen.

Then there is the issue of what to do with Karen’s body. Our insurance does not cover repatriation, and that is not necessarily what we want to do, but the undertaker says that is the easiest thing to do. I need to decide what to do.

Then, I need to get a new visa to re-enter Cameroon. That will take some days. I hope to be back in Cameroon by, latest, Friday. Pray with me that all of these details can be handled so that I can get back maybe even sooner!

We are planning to hold a memorial service in Cameroon for the missionary and Cameroon community in Yaounde soon after I return. The Cameroon Branch has its annual spiritual retreat and business meetings starting March 30. Everyone will be together in Yaounde during this time.

Karissa and Catherine McChristian (lived and worked with us for 2 years) are working on coming to Cameroon within the next few weeks to participate in this memorial. They, too, will need visas produced quickly so that they can come with minimal delay. Pray that we can get the visas quickly.

After that, we intend on holding another memorial in Grass Valley, CA, but the timing of that is not yet known. There are just too many details and questions about how it all is supposed to fit together at this point. More info on that will follow.

Many are asking how they can help. Thank you for your concern and questions. Of utmost importance is that you pray.

There is much travel ahead for many people. Pray for their safety. Pray against blockages in their smooth travel. Pray for healing for our hearts. Pray particularly for Karissa and Katelyn’s hearts; for protection, peace and assurance.

We have established a Facebook Group called “Remembering Karen Joy Jackson” where you are invited to post your memories and thoughts and photos of her. Click below to contribute:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Remembering-Karen-Joy-Jackson/426025457489347

If you don’t have access to FaceBook and want to contribute, please send your message and photos if you like to Sarah Newman mailto:newman_48@hotmail.com

Holding fast in the storm,

Chris, Karissa and Katelyn

There have been many people coming by the house and many more messaging us online, and I just want to thank you all for your kind words and support and especially for your prayers. I also ask that you pray for Carolin, who is staying at the house with us, and Sarah and I. Your prayers are appreciated immensely. 

Update on the past few days, copied from the Jackson's newsletter:

March 21

Urgent Prayer

This is an urgent prayer request. Karen fell sick about one week ago with some virus. It seemed as though she was getting better, but then she took a significant turn for the worse in the past few days. Today, Thursday, she fainted. I brought her to Mbingo Baptist Hospital which is about 45 minutes drive from Bamenda. Here there is a great staff of doctors from Cameroon, the US, Canada and Australia. It is a teaching hospital.  The diagnosis is that Karen is in septic shock from a generalized bacterial infection. Her blood pressure was extremely low, and she was very dehydrated. The doctors have been doing all they can for her and she is somewhat stabilized. However, she is in need of more acute care than is available in Cameroon. So, tomorrow we will be flown to South Africa via an medical air evacuation service for her to receive the appropriate level of care she needs. Pray for her quick and full recovery. Pray for Katelyn who is left behind in Bamenda. Pray for Lum, Kathleen and Sarah who are holding down the fort in our absence, as well as Carolin Huber. Pray for Karissa who is carrying a heavy concern for her mother from far off in California. Please join us in claiming a miracle of healing for Karen! More news to follow from South Africa. In Christ, Chris & Karen March 22 Update to Urgent Prayer Request We arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa around 6:30 PM SA time. Karen had been sedated since Thursday night at around 10 PM. She was having significant difficulty breathing, so the doctor gave her a breathing tube to help, in addition to medications to help her relax and sleep. Upon arrival in South Africa, Karen was taken directly to the hospital. All efforts to stabilize her did not work. She passed away at around 8:00 PM South Africa time. Needless to say, we are in shock and in mourning. Pray for Katelyn, Karissa and myself. Karen will be deeply missed by us and by many, many people who loved her pure joy and open, unconditional love for all. I will remain in South Africa to take care of the details of what to do with Karen's remains. Then I will return to Cameroon to meet up with Katelyn and figure out what to do after that. In Christ, Chris, Karissa and Katelyn Please pray for the Jacksons and all those here and in the States. Thank you for all your prayers and support.

Happy List Wednesday

• Mangos! Also known as golden and magical orbs of heaven that delight the soul!
• Imogen Heap on rainy days
• (speaking of rainy days) Rainy days
• And the thunder and lightning that accompanies them
• Movies that make me cry (of which there are many)
• Not being sick
• Rumi
• Drawing horses on my notebooks (I'm afraid nothing has changed, Mother)
• When Maimu takes her hair out of braids
• Folare (juice made from hibiscus flowers that's dark purplish and yummy)
• Finishing my schoolwork early!
• My hoard of chocolate
• Bananas every morning
• Irish accents
• New colorful Cameroonian fabric
• Not worrying
• Ballroom dancing in the kitchen
• Making lists so I can cross things off

Volare

Interesting week, to say the least. It sped by as per usual – have you looked at a calendar today? Do you realize it's March? Not just March, but March 16. The Ides of March came and went, and I didn't remember it at all, which is sad because I didn't get to walk around the house telling people to "BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH" all doom-and-gloom-like. (And I also forgot to give out my Harry Potter valentines to everyone on Valentine's Day, too. Sniff.) The months have been sneaking on by, all sneaky-like, and I'm afraid that my last (suddenly measly and scant) four months will sneak right by in the same sneaky way. I feel as if I was on a spaceship, and spent some time in a closet or some spaceship nook reading a book, then came back out and suddenly discovered that we went into light speed and no one told me, and here we are nearing some planet in the Outer Rim when I thought we were still hanging around Coruscant. What is that about? Africa is this weird, magical, contradictory continent where time doesn't matter one whit, but still manages to creep up behind you and bite you in the butt, just like Fiver did to Jane a few weeks ago.

But happy things have been happening, which is partly the reason for my shock and reluctance to part with the distinct charm of West Africa, and also this blog post. Riding the horses has lately become our daily activity, and I can pass it off for exercise which means getting out of working out, and MANGOS ARE HERE which means a continual state of sticky fingers, slimy faces, and taste buds floating in a sea of bliss. Today I wrote an essay for my World Lit class, which may not sound very lovely, but I personally just LOVE the feeling of finishing an essay. It ranks right up there with eating the hoho part of an ice cream hoho cake, and taking accidentally excellent pictures, and turning off the alarm and going back to sleep. AND we finally had a quiet, restful, relaxing day of doing absolutely nothing after a long string of busy go-go-go weekends that were more exhausting than the week. I woke up today feeling yucky, so Sarah and I stayed in bed watching Across the Universe and Friends, and then we had a pizza and movie night just for us, since last night we hosted the missionary Bible study. And now I have nothing more to say, so goodnight to you all and happy 8 months!

Happy List Monday

• Bubble trousers which are oh so comfy
• Mango juice
• Not having a broken computer
• Hilarious card games
• The Office
• Writing
• Making numerous grand and happy playlists
• Jane
• Excessive amounts of guacamole
• The prospect of rain
• Doodling
• Learning new words [philumenist: someone who collects match-related items, i.e. matchboxes, matchbook labels, etc]
• Pomegranate tea before bed
• Lovely fabric
• Meowing at Fiver
• The veranda
• Pictures of Fulani children

Lots of Pots and Dots and Jots

Good evening, ladies and sirs! Here are some pictures from our trip on Tuesday to PresPot. You've heard me talk about PresCafe and PresCraft, where they have beautiful artisanal pottery and wooden works of genius! Well PresPot is their pottery center, where they make all their lovely dishes and such. It's just over the hill, outside of Bamenda about an hour or so, located in the Ndop in a town called Bamessing, and so Tuesday we took a whole bunch of people out there on a field trip.

Into the woods! Just down to where they dig

Where they dig for clay

Mugs after the first firing

Pots that have yet to be dyed

And yes, I must admit I bought a few things! But only small light ones that I will be able to take home on the plane with me... including a wonderful green teacup with an elephant on it! :) It was a nice adventure in the middle of the week, but it has helped these seven days to dash on by without so much as a by-your-leave. I could swear it was just Friday, and yet here it is again tomorrow! Golly gee whiz. We've been keeping busy with school and riding horses and guitar lessons and welcoming Carol back to Bamenda! She's been in the North for over a month teaching literacy classes for the Imaniya - Fulani believers. Tomorrow is our wondrous and weekly pizza and movie night, then Sarah, Katelyn, and I are going to spend the night in Bali with our Peace Corp Georgia and some other volunteers we know there.

On the way back from the Ndop... the view is gorgeous!

Just so you get an idea of how much fun riding is!! :D

Middle Earth

Here are some tidbits of our lovely weekend and adventures out to Mbingo! Africa is beautiful, you all should come!

Into the bush!

Fulani man we met along the way

A typical Fulani bridge

Africa = Middle Earth

Psalm 121

[A song of ascents]

I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber;
Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm – he wil watch over your life;
The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.