Gretchen Harro

Looking for real estate in a Cameroonian village is much like viewing houses in the US, but without the help of the real estate agent. You have to ask a different set of questions. Here are some of the questions: Does the roof leak? Are the walls crumbling from moisture coming up from the foundation? How bad is the road leading to the house? Is there grass growing in the gutter, or on the roof? Are the 'anti-vols' (burglar bars) well installed in the windows so that you can't pull them off with a crow-bar? Are the windows larger than your hand's width? Is the house built into the side of a hill which holds the moisture? Does it look like a friendly neighborhood? Is there electricity and a source of water, such as a well or a cistern with a functioning pump? Then you take all this info and hope to hear from the owner someday soon. How did we finally find the right house and get in contact with the owner?

One day Dan Jealouse suggested we go together to look at some houses over on the next ridge. We looked over the wall and through the green gate of this one house, and thought it looked promising, but how to find the owner? We learned he would be coming to the village in the next few days, and could stop by the Jealouse's house. We talked with him about the possibility of renting his house, and were impressed with its large living and dining room, kitchen, pantry, 2 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms and front and back porches. The only catch was that the inside of the house has not been painted, and the floors are awaiting tiles. So, the scary part for us has been to advance 27 months worth of rent so that our landlord could buy the materials needed for finishing the house.

We gave him a down-payment of the necessary money, and asked him to use his own good credit rating to get the rest of the materials. Not only did he consent, but he offered to give us receipts for everything he would buy. (Amazing!) So today, when we return to the village from YaoundŽ, we will give him another "tranche" (slice) of the money.

Please pray that he will come through on his promises of having the house done quickly. We're thankful that this new owner has brought electric lines to his house, and that there is chlorinated water actually coming into the house from a pipe. We're looking forward to living in a new area of the village where others will know first hand what is happening in the area of Bible translation in Yemba. Thanks for your prayers and interest in this work, and in us.

Love, Gretchen

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Stanford University Update
Please pray for the numerous Christian groups on the Stanford University campus in this new school year. The UPC Mission Committee sends support to several of these groups.


Dan Clendenin, with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, leads three Bible study groups for faculty and graduate students (medical, general and physics). If you would like to know more about this ministry, check out the Stanford IVCF website.

Johannes and Christa Rusckow reach out to international students and visiting scholars from over 100 countries and cultures. They offer Bible studies, special outings and retreats. Visit their website.

Alex and Susan Van Reisen are also with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Alex leads the undergraduate fellowship group at Stanford and reports that 150 students came to the IVCF Stanford new student reception! Susan is the area director and oversees work at Stanford, Santa Clara University, Ca. State Monterey Bay University, and U.C. Santa Cruz. Visit their website.

In these uncertain times, please pray that students will be drawn to the message of hope that is proclaimed in these groups.