“If pain didn’t exist, we could never know comfort”
With all fresh memories of you I am missing you so much. Is it real that you have gone ahead grandpa? Lord, it is difficult to accept.
Well grandpa, I thank God because out of the mercy He has, I had the opportunity to talk and to hold you grandpa that morning before you died.
I will miss those names you used to call me by.
A peaceful deep in the Lord Jesus I can imagine.
I hope to hold you one day just as you asked me that morning to. You will ever remain in our memories knowing that we shall meet one day to part no more. I Love you forever.
Farewell!
Ba’a, as I most usually referred to you, you left too soon Grandpa, too soon for me… First thing I can honestly testify is that I arguably spoke the most consistent Limbum in my life during those times we spent time together, even though I know I was one of your favourite picks when you chose to keep it English. I so very much admired your enthusiasm in everything you set up to do, and your inborn ability to stay so alert to all the things around you and the zeal to know about most of them. As much as your endless attention to detail coupled with your straightforwardness in reproaching anyone anytime something went wrong, made you stand out as the disciplinarian figure in the family, I always manage to get off with most of our time spent together being dominantly capitalized by our jovial moments. You always did everything to ease any form of tension and always made sure you treated me like your very own baby even when my height kept rocketing by the day. Anytime I got to the village, my mum can testify, Grandpa always put out that same night or the very next morning, like a tray or two off eggs coz he knew how much I loved eggs for breakfast and dinner. It was in Ntumbaw that I ate between 6 and 10 eggs each time I’m having breakfast. I know there’s always a chicken that comes up the very next day as well, and the honey, and the trip to the farm and the list goes on and on. What is there not to miss Grandpa!!!When I was in boarding school in St Augustin, Banso,I actually took out some of my outings, while my mates will be trying to head to town to see family and friends, and went to Ntumbaw instead, to see my Grandpa. As much as I can’t leave out the fact that I don’t really ever remember leaving Grandpa’s yard back for school without a 5000frs or so(which would really account for a lot once back in the dormitory),it was also largely because of that welcoming, hospitality and genuine love feeling I get each time I was with you.It felt like such a resource nurturing experience each time I spent time with and left Grandpa, I always managed to come off refreshed and relatively back to the basics in terms of life in general and the immediate things I needed to be busy with to stay on the right`est’ path. I know how much you wanted me to grow up to become someone worth being, and that’s the most torturing aspect of you living for me, because I feel like you didn’t get to see enough. I know anyway, that you’ll be watching from high up there, and I can already solemnly promise to you right now that you wouldn’t be disappointed. I remember our last trip together, flying in and out of the country for 6days,a first in the circumstances that we were in; I count that trip today as such a blessing to my life as amidst the little hitches that we might have gone through, that was actually one of the few chances I ever had and managed to actually serve and be of assistance to you physically, in just a pleasurable little way for me to show you how much I appreciate your very existence and the life that you lived. This very close communion we had almost 4weeks running, just gave me the chance to realise how light spirited and easy going a person you actually were, and just expected a certain consistency in standards for everyone at any given situation. The most you thought me and probably everyone else reading, is the idea of truth and steadfastness to the values we believe in.Above all you were a man of truth and your legacy remains as that of a respectable long serving government personality who stood by his word and the truth all through his career and entire life. I will go on to write a huge chapter in a book right now if I have to go on talking about how I felt about and for you Grandpa, because I’m getting emotional with each new word I type. I love you Grandpa and we’ll forever miss you. Greet Ma Lokeh and everyone else for me, and till we meet again. Your legacy lives on Grandpa
Dear Grandpa,
We used to call you “Tarrkfru e ku Ndop” when you were in Ndop (for grandpa from Ndop) and later on “Tarrkfu e mi Nwa” when you worked in Nwa - for “the grandpa from Nwa respectively” . Deep and painful is the shock and the feeling I have had from when news reached me that you were gone!
Grandpa, you were a pillar of strength and love. This combination of strength and loving compassion made you an extra ordinary man and grandpa to us.
You respected the value of discipline and lived a life that exemplified that in everything you did. Through your words and deeds, you taught us those same values, values that I carry with me to this day.
You were full of energy. Grandpa I will always remember you as someone who knew the value of hard work and the dignity that comes when a person takes responsibility for his or her actions. You knew what it meant to be courageous when others stumbled in fear. And you knew that discrimination, in any form, was wrongful and sinful. Today, when I look back, I now clearly understand why you never gave in to fear nor favor.
Grandpa, I remember so well in the early nineties when you visited and taught my brother -Ngala and I the many lessons that one learns as a child in order to become a responsible adult. We both filled nursery bags with compost together with you and you showed us how to plant a seed, to nurture and care for the budding plant, until it could thrive on its own, and you did so always with love in your heart. These were life-lessons that you were sharing with us. Every time I reflect on those years & activities, I clearly realize that you were putting us through one of those classrooms without four walls. From preparing the soil to planting a seed, carefully nurturing it and to watch it grow, you gave us an early opportunity to learn the the values and importance of patience & hard work that can transform thoughts into reality, seeds into plants & fruit trees, handwork and determination into success. "Beri weh Tarrkfu" (Thank you grandpa!). Lessons that helped make me, and many others, into who we are, and are struggling to be, today.
Every time you visited Nkambe, you often brought gifts to us. we were always sure of being spoiled with various fruits and gifts. I remember my siblings and i would trick you into giving us folk medicines for cold and cough that you made with ginger roots. It used to taste so good and we loved tricking you into having more and i so badly miss you and those days. We loved it when you came to visit and missed you when you left. Grandpa, you knew the value and the importance of family. And it was you who carefully taught me our family tree and its history when you visited us in Douala about 10 years ago.
Grandpa, your belief in Christ was no secret to anyone who knew you. You were not ashamed of your Christian faith. The thought of this aspect alone relieves me of the excruciating pain of missing you because I know you have gone home to meet with our heavenly father. Grandpa as you go, March on with confidence. Do not fear or worry about us but Go with Peace and be rest assured your legacy lives on! May the Peace of our lord and Savior Jesus Christ be with you until we meet again. Take my regards to our forefathers who journeyed ahead of you. Until we meet again, you will forever be missed.
Grandpa, "Jerr Bong bong"!
Prosper MEYE GWE
Pa, I last saw you in April 2011 at Shufai's home in Banso, where you were recovering, having received medical care at the Shisong hospital. You were so happy to see my 10-month old son and though still frail, you tried to carry him! You were still able to laugh and joke with me and despite the state you were in, you still worried about what to give us to eat or take with us! This was so typically you; no one left your home empty handed, even if it meant giving me produce and kolanuts from your farm in Ntumbaw, like you did the previous time I visited you there. You were such a family person and took so much interest in my life and the well-being of my children. You will be greatly missed but you leave each and everyone of us with our own unique memories to remember you by. Rest in peace Pa as you go to meet those who made this journey before you.
