Hospitality Part 1

I'm not much at keepinig up on the blog. But after spending 2 weeks in Cameroon, and taking some time to reflect on it, I'll probably post a few thoughts and pictures in the near future.

"There's the airstrip to our left!" I looked down and saw the runway. It's span was about 300 yards, width of about 30 yards, on about a 30 degree angle up the side of a mountain--kept clear by machete. The edges were lined with people--dozens of black faces with great white smiles--a few fearful children, but mostly men and women grinning from ear to ear, singing, and greeting--a grand celebration. "Tonti!" "Tonti!" they said. "Welcome!" "You are welcome!" It was the phrase we probably heard the most over the span of two weeks. Whether we visited someone's home, or a church, or walked in the market; whether it was a mayor, or an old woman passing in the street: "Tonti!" "Welcome!" The Noni people know how to make a person feel welcome. We were the honored guests, and they made sure we knew it. It wasn't just the handshakes. It was the look in the eye. It was the children who ran out smiling and waving every time we drove by. It was the meals prepared for us. It was the programs, speeches, and music rehearsed and performed. It was the fact that the welcome came not just from a few, but from everyone we met. In fact, it would have been quite rude of us not to greet each person we met. I have much to learn from this kind of hospitality.