by Mary Speckmaier '03

Where is Cameroon? I had never heard of this country until two and a half years ago. 

When I was a senior at Texas A&M studying accounting, God changed my life. Status and money were no longer my goals in life. The desire to help others using the talents and skills that God has given me is what I wanted to do. 

Six months after graduation, I got on a plane and flew to Cameroon, Africa.

Mary with her missionary co-workers outside their office in Cameroon.

Since then I have worked with Wycliffe Bible Translators volunteering as an accountant for their branch in Cameroon. I do not get paid a salary. My financial support comes from churches and Christians. The main goal of Wycliffe is to translate the Bible into all languages. In Cameroon alone, there are more than 200 tribal languages that are spoken.

I had always wanted to travel and work on an international level, but I never dreamed that it would be in this setting.

It has been interesting and sometimes challenging living here. Most of my colleagues are Cameroonian, and I also work with missionaries from more than 13 different countries. I have enjoyed learning from the people that I work with. My boss, Philip, is from the Oku village up in the Northwest province. He has been my mentor and has taught me more about international accounting than I could have ever learned from a book. He is also a man of integrity and faith. 

Our cashier, Joseph, is the chief (king) of his village. He is a very educated man who has a lot of village responsibilities in addition to his regular job. My other co-worker, Dolores, is a 66-year-old retired chicken farmer who is the bookkeeper.

It’s from within this odd mixture of people that I have learned so much professionally and personally. 

My favorite memories are from the times I spent in small villages. In these villages, there is no electricity or running water and life gets very simple. I find myself not wearing a watch, not in a rush but just taking each moment as it comes. I enjoy the laid-back atmosphere of Cameroon.  I have learned about “African time,” which means that most events do not start on time. 

In time, you can adjust and make a place your home. 

After two years of bleaching fruits and vegetables, filtering water, bargaining for prices, living with no air conditioning and speaking in French—all of this seems normal to me. Being an accountant in Africa is far from boring. There are challenges and differences, but by God’s strength and grace, there is so much joy in working here. 

I love to look out of the taxi every morning on my way to work and see mountains and rainforests. I love seeing the colorful clothes that people wear. Most of all I am very thankful to God for this opportunity to work here. Each day is a new adventure.