A preface to the trip.

I just wanted to start this blog out by mentioning how it all began.

Back in May, 2009, Carine Toussaint, the missions director at my home church in Princeton, NJ, Westerly Road Church, contacted me about a possible trip I could take in which I could be really useful. She had just come back from Africa spending a week in Cameroon and a week in Morocco. In Cameroon, she stayed with a family, my new host family, the Lokkers. She had mentioned how Bob Lokker, the dad, expressed an interest in needing someone with mechanical skills/could work with their hands. Carine and I had been on a few missions trips with Westerly Road Church before, specifically to Mississippi to do Hurricane Katrina relief and then again to Brazil. She thought of me when talking to Bob and told me about the opportunity.

She mentioned how there are a lot of motorcycles in town that need consistent repairs/maintenance. She thought it could be a wonderful opportunity for me if I was willing to make the trip. She gave me Bob's email address, I got into contact with him, and ever since it's progressed to where I am now; actually in Cameroon.

I'll be staying at a guest house a few hundred yards from where the Lokkers live. From what I gather it's just outside of the town of Banyo, a small village of about 400 or so people. I'm not positive on these details since I'm not there yet but I'll be there soon and can update if necessary. There will be a shop for me to work in with some basic mechanic's tools. I brought two suitcases with me on the trip, one carrying mostly my personal belongings and the other one carrying mostly some specialty tools that I would need to do repairs. In addition to performing repairs, I'm hoping to teach how to do the repairs to some individuals in the town so that they may continue to do their own repairs once I live, thus saving them money. I'm also hoping to do some carpentry work with Bob, specifically installing a kitchenette in the guest house where I'll be staying as well as probably some other projects.

I'll be here for four months and am hoping to make the very best of it. I'm very excited for what lays ahead in what I'm sure will be a life changing experience.