Dearest Friends,
AN AMAZING TIME IN CAMEROON!
This was a very special trip! In my wildest dreams I could not have imagined some of the incredible things that we saw God do in Africa. We shared the love of Jesus with thousands and thousands of children and heard thousands praying in soft whispers or out loud. Many prayed quietly and told us afterwards that they prayed either verbally or by raising their hands.
This is a sweet sight to see! To be honest, I do not usually ask for this kind of response because I’m never sure if it’s culturally correct. Our Cameroon partner, Silas, did this and that is why we were blessed to know how many responded. The children were very shy and this response was a big step for them. Please pray for them to grow strong in their new faith! Their love for Jesus can change Cameroon! More, we found ourselves standing in places that sounded like some great old missionary adventure like the books I read as a child. We stood where witch doctors (jujus) stood and shared Jesus. Tribal chiefs (fons) invited us into their palaces. We saw children walk four miles to come to a puppet show. God opened doors for us to share in Muslim areas and He sent us huge crowds. More, they listened! Adults and children of all faiths trusted in Jesus. They told us!
Doors opened to private, public and Catholic schools. Children thanked us. Priests thanked us. Muslims thanked us. They all were grateful for the program. Chiefs gave us gifts. Not only were we thanked with encouraging words, we received a goat, two live roosters, and a bag of potatoes.
God blessed us with a wonderful new team. Silas, Mary and Humphrey will do a great job for the kingdom leading this new team. Please pray for others that the Lord will call to join with them in this very important work. Pray especially for transportation to and from shows!
Because you prayed, God touched the hearts of a dear couple that provided the funds to supply forty-six schools with children’s Bible storybooks. Now, the children in these Northwestern schools will grow up with our Father’s stories. Because of their generosity we were also able to provide a young pastor in the Northwest & not with the ten Bibles he requested & but with forty so he could teach three youth Bible studies. When we return there in two years, we hope to start a new puppet team choosing team members from this group.
We are forever changed by our time in Cameroon and so excited to see what God will do in Kazan, Russia. We leave on May 1st for another great adventure in following Jesus that requires your faithful prayers!
ONE INCREDIBLE BUNCH OF FRIENDS
This was an extremely rough trip for me physically, but God, the amazing puppet team (Sam, Silvana and Heather) and our Cameroon friends (Silas, Mary and Humphrey) took such precious care of me. They gave me their strength so that I could be strong for the children. I am so humbled by their gifts. On the way home, the Father blessed me through a Swiss Air employee. We always fly economy and arrive coming or going quite tired. When we arrived at the airport in Doula, they put me in business class. On very short flights, I have been upgraded but never on a long flight. I had so much leg room and my legs didn’t swell as they usually do. More, the food was perfect for a diabetic diet. And I slept great! The team said that I looked so well rested when I reached Zurich that they were shocked at the difference. Again, coming to Atlanta, I was blessed as no one sat beside me and I had two seats to stretch out and enjoy. I came home so rested! Thank you Father!
INTERESTING STORIES, BLESSINGS, AND FUNNY THINGS
1.) On the flight from Africa, I sat beside a man from Croatia who lives in the Hungarian speaking part of Slovakia but works on an oil rig off the coast of Africa. His English was broken, but I was able to share with him about Jesus. His response warmed my heart. He said, "I know I have never heard anyone speak like you. It is so wonderful. I must tell you I like it." Please pray for him to come to faith. Ask God to send others to him to finish sharing Jesus with this hungry soul. I knew he was listening because at one point he told me that he collected airline silverware. He stole it! Then he laughed a nervous laugh and said, "Oh, I should not steal sitting by you. I will ask if I can steal it." He did! The flight attendant brought it to him wrapped in a linen napkin. You can have anything you want in business class! (Hee hee) For over thirty-three years he has worked oil rigs all over the world, but he never remembers hearing the Gospel. Please, please pray for him.
2.) You may be wondering what happened to the chief’s roosters. On our last day in Cameroon, we ate them. Silas cooked them and they were delicious!
3.) What happened to the goat? Normally people give a male goat as a gift but it turned out that the chief gave us a much more valuable female goat to show us his true gratitude. A female goat is not to be eaten because it increases the wealth of the person who owns it because you can have offspring. The goat is happily living in the Northwest and Silas promises to cook some of its offspring for us on our next trip.
4.) People in Cameroon eat hippo, monkey, and rat. The rats are fourteen to fifteen pounds and we saw them hanging on sticks for sale on the side of the road. One of our friends described them this way: "The rats here are so big that they say, ‘Here, kitty, kitty.’" Snake is considered a real treat! And expensive!
5.) Clumps of grass in the road tell you to slow down; there is a problem ahead or an accident. They cut clumps of grass to warn drivers because they don’t have emergency markers.
6.) Everyone must always carry their identity papers or they risk going to jail. All of the passengers must also provide their documents, not just the driver.
7.) All of the chicken that we ate in the villages was very tough and sometimes raw in places. Only as we were leaving did we find out that this is the way they like it and they wanted to really bless us with "good" chicken.
8.) There are alot of bugs in Africa. I took showers with roaches that were 2 to 3 inches long. I confess that I love these trips and the incredible places that the Father allows us to share, but I found out that I do not like centipedes. At least, when you have to share your room with 24 of them. When I told one missionary who was from Central African Republic this embarassing truth, she told me about the monster centipedes that they have there. Sometimes, you just need perspective to appreciate the bugs you have.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Our plans are to leave May 1st for Kazan, Russia. I have very few days at home because of an opportunity that opened for us at this particular time. Please ask God to make Sam, Silvana and me well rested for this next trip. Please ask the Father to give us wisdom and clear minds as we have many details to sort before we leave.
In Jesus,
Linda for Sam, Silvana, Anna and Heather