"Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto Thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered." ~ Psalm 40:5
Blessings at Chicago O'Hare airport! My first blessing was at the Chicago O'Hare airport. Traveling with Swiss Airlines, I was allowed two 50 lb. suitcases, but was taking a third 7o lb. suitcase for the Sanderlin family that would have cost approximately $150 dollars. Right before I left, Leah suggested I take a letter from the church about the luggage being for missionaries. At the check-in, I explained to the manager the reason for the extra luggage and gave her the letter. When she returned, she said they would waive the fees completely (a rare occurrence), even for one of my 50 lb. suitcases that was 10 lbs. over. Praise the Lord for His goodness!
Shiloh House in Yaoundé (the capital city) I stayed at the Shiloh House my first night in Cameroon. The hosts open up their home to weary travelers in the area, not only providing a safe place to sleep, but delicious meals and Christian fellowship.
Airplane Views Pastor Tom and Bethany picked me up in Yaounde, then we flew in Pastor Tom's little "bush" plane to Sabga, where the Needham family lives. What an amazing, breathtaking view of God's beautiful creation, but what struck me the most was the hundreds of villages scattered across the countryside. I realized that these are unreached people groups, souls who have never heard the precious name of Jesus and the majority of these villages are only accessible by foot or plane!
Needham Family http://www.tombarbneedham.blogspot.com/ I met the Needham family for the first time in 2010 at a missions conference at my church. When praying about the opportunity to go on a missions trip, God brought this godly family to mind.
Back Row: Daniel, Sarah, April, Elizabeth, Pastor Tom /
Front Row: Bethany, Kathy, Anna, Barb
Needham's House The Needham family were gracious to let me stay with them a whole month and be a part of their family and ministry.
Church in Amanavil The first Sunday morning we left the Needham's compound to fly to Amanvil for the morning service, approximately a 25 minute ride. Amanavil is a small village settled in a valley surrounded by lush green mountains. When the plane landed, a group of children had come from the village to meet us at the airstrip, full of smiles and hugs. This work among these people is relatively new. Pr. Tom has been going out there every Sunday morning to preach to this small group of believers. From the airstrip to the "church" (actually the school house) was about a 20 minute trek down a jungle path. The boys were taking turns carrying my Bible and two girls carried our hand bags. Part of the path was very steep and had this green "moss stuff" that was very slippery like ice. We also had to cross a small stream by jumping from rock to rock--much different from my 30 minute drive to church in a comfortable van with heat and/or air conditioning. The children were so precious--I just want to bring them all home with me! Pr. Needham preached to the adults (20 or so) on I Corinthians 13, while Bethany and I taught children's church (approximately 30 children). They speak Pidgin English, which uses English Bible words, but most of the other words were foreign to me. All the Bible songs were in English, so I was able to lead singing. After the Bible lesson, Bethany asked if any of the children would like to accept Christ into their life. Two boys were ready to be saved. Bethany asked me to talk with them, but she was there to translate the more difficult words so they could understand in their language. George and Kinsley prayed for salvation that morning. It was so neat to hear many of the children quote John 3:16. Before leaving, Pastor Tom teased that he was going to leave me in Amanavil to work with the people.
Shining Lights Mrs. Needham teaches the teen girls every Sunday after the morning service on practical areas of godly living. They also sing together and work on Bible memory.
Sunday Afternoon English/Bible Class Every Sunday afternoon, Bethany teaches reading, English, and Bible to a group of children. Today, Elizabeth, the teen daughter of a national pastor, did a great job teaching the missionary story...very expressive!
Physical & Spiritual Needs Monday morning Sarah and I visited Deko's compound, because his wife Adama (sp?) had become ill. I was able assess her and bring some medication for possible pneumonia or upper respiratory infection. The next morning brought an answer to prayer as we returned to her house to check up on her. Not only was she physically feeling better, but she was a soul ready to be harvested. Adama had heard the Gospel many times, but today she was ready to be saved! Praise God! Adama is a Fulani Muslim, meaning it will be a difficult road ahead for her if she stays true to the Word of God.
Rosemary Craven While in Cameroon, I met a "distant relative", who I did not know. Rosemary's brother is married to my mom's cousin. What a small world! Rosemary has a wonderful ministry in Cameroon, West Africa evangelizing and discipling women and children, teaching children the Bible in public schools, assisting local churches and fellow missionaries, and teaching ladies at a Bible institute.
National Believers
Tuoloh Baptist Bible Church One Sunday morning, Kathy, Bethany, Franklin (one of the teen boys), and I walked one hour to Tuoloh Baptist Bible Church. The church is located in a valley, so most of the trip there was down hill. At times, the path was very slippery because of all the rain in our area. Praise the Lord that none of us rolled an ankle; because there were a few times I thought I could have while running and sliding down a steep, narrow path. If I come to Cameroon again, I think I will bring soccer cleats :) When we arrived at the church, we could hear them singing hymns from their hearts unto the Lord. Their singing was very sweet to my ears, especially hearing the children singing out very loudly with confidence and in tune. After Sunday school and the morning service, Kathy taught the ladies for a couple of hours from the book of John, while Bethany taught the children outside. Then, the ladies showed us where the new plot of land was located, so they can build their own church in the future. Pastor Moses and his wife, Isabelle, were such a blessing to meet. They are very humble and happy people. They live in a small brick hut with a kitchen, a living room, and one bedroom plus 5 children. While walking, I enjoyed hearing the salvation testimony of one of the ladies in their church, Veronica. She had been baptized in a Convention Baptist Church, but did not know that she was lost and on her way to Hell. Pastor Moses told her about the only way of salvation and she trusted Christ 2 years ago. Unfortunately, there is a CBC church just up the hill from Tuoloh Baptist Bible Church, which I am sure brings confusion to many who have been deceived by trusting in good works and baptism for salvation or by experiences and emotionalism. Pray for the people in this village to understand and being willing to accept the Truth from God's Word! Since the walk there was mostly down hill, guess what the trip back to Sabga was like---mostly up hill! We did stop at the top of one of the grassy hills to enjoy a small lunch, surrounded by a breathtaking view of mountains, valleys, waterfalls, and a beautiful blue sky. Bethany and I went right to Rosemary's house, where she teaches an English class on Sunday afternoons before the evening service. Praise the Lord, the Chief's (from the medical clinic) daughter believed in Christ today after the Bible story. Continue to pray that the Chief would be saved.
Village of Akwaya Pastor Felix & Evette are burdened for this village and have been called by God to start a church there.
Living Hope Baptist Church Pastor Julius is the pastor of Living Hope Baptist Church located in Sabga, Cameroon. This is the church that Needham family attends when they are not ministering in the village churches. This church is the sending church that trained the national believers who are starting churches in the surrounding villages.
Visits in Sabga We often went to the village of Sabga, just down the hill from the Needham home to make visits to the homes of the Fulani Muslims, who need to know Jesus Christ.
Thebeau Family http://thebeaustoafrica.blogspot.com/ This young family are missionaries in training. They were such a blessing to get to know. God has blessed Ty and Miranda with three precious children, Abigail, Nathanael, and Hannah. I recently found an updated picture of their family with more children, Clement, Deborah, and Titus. I included a letter written by Miranda in March 2012 that shows the REAL spiritual battle that our missionaries face. This showed me my need to more earnestly hold the ropes in prayer!
Miranda Writes We have been going through some things lately that makes us feel as though we are in a Christian film instead of in real life. For almost a week, we saw young Muslim men saved every day. Among them, was a young man named Nuru (noo-roo). A couple of days after he had visited Ty, he brought his Nigerian friend for Ty to share the gospel with him. We then learned that Nuru had taken a stand to no longer go to the Mosque. He said, “How can I serve two masters?” Well, Nuru’s family decided that if he would no longer go to the Mosque, he would be as though he were dead to them, and he would not be welcome at their house. Nuru came to our house late one night with nowhere to sleep, so we opened our house to him. He stayed at our house for two days and came tovchurch with us, but then the family attached. Four brothers showed up at our house in the afternoon asking for Nuru. Seeing the four angry men, I took the children into our bedroom and locked the door. Nuru came to the door for one second and quietly went back inside. Hearing the back door open, I snuck out quietly to see him running up the side of the mountain as fast as he could. As the brothers kept demanding for Nuru, Ty came back inside to see what was keeping him. I said that he ran for his life. Going back outside to explain this to the brothers, they were extremely mad and threatening Ty. They said that we were hiding him inside of our house. God gave Ty wisdom, and a gentle answer, or I believe it would have gone very badly for us. Their threats were harsh; saying that this is; if we were to have Nuru in our house again, it would be very bad for Ty’s wife and children… They demanded that Ty go to the Lamido’s with them (that’s like the villages mayor, if you would). So as I looked out of the bedroom window, I saw Ty walking away with them, not knowing where he was going (that was a bad feeling!). As I watched out of the window for him, he came back about 20 minutes later, RUNNING into the yard (ohhow I shuddered). I ran to open the door for him and locked it behind him. He said, “Lock all of you in the bedroom. I’m going out the back door to call Tom and I will come around to the front. Open the front door for me when I knock.” Once I heard a knock on the front door, I opened it quickly to find that it was not Ty, but one of the mad brothers. I quickly slammed the door and locked it, having flashbacks of the robbery. I let Ty in again through the back door and went to the kids in the bedroom. As I watched out the window, I saw Ty give the brothers all of Nuru’s things, and they eventually left. When Ty came back in we locked the door and let the kids out of the bedroom. T y explained what happened; they took him to the Lamido’s, let Ty say two words, and then they went off in Fulfulde. When they finished, the Lamido’s looked at Ty and said, “You have only been here a short time and look at how much trouble you have caused! You are not to have Nuru in your house. If he comes to you, just drive him away. Also, you are not to be preaching Christianity in Sabga. If you continue to preach we will drive you from Sabga.” Ty was shocked, as that was not what he said when we first moved here. Ty said, “Is it better for me to obey God or you?” They said, “God (Allah).” Ty said, “Because my God tells me that if someone comes to me that does not have a place to sleep, or food to eat, I am to help him.” They said, “Well, you are not to help Nuru, you are to drive him away.” Nuru came back that night after dark. Ty allowed him to sleep in our house again; was I scared? I was. Early the next morning, Ty prayed with him and sent him to his family. I was very scared for Nuru that he was going to get beat to a pulp, but God went before him. To make a long story shorter, the brothers eventually told him that if he would not repent, they would send him to prison with years of hard labour until he did repent. They then would send him to Yaounde to a Muslim school with high stone walls that he could not get out or somewhere North to learn Islam. In secret, his mother told him to pretend to go North, but run away. Even she knew how terrible those options were for her son. So he said he would go North. That night, after dark, Nuru knocked on our door. When we opened it, he handed us a long letter and ran away again into the darkness. As we read the note, he explained this all to us, and how he planned to hop off the bus that was taking him up North. So, the next afternoon, we received a phone call from Nuru, saying that it had been a success. Right away, we asked him not to tell us where he was, so that when his brothers asked, we would not feel that we had to lie. Ty gave him the phone number of a believer that he could call. God has now provided him a job, and we are helping him with some small finances until he can make it on his own. Please pray that God would provide him a place to rent very soon. In all of this, I would like to say that God has taught me some things about trusting Him. At first, I was very scared. I thought it not wise to go against the orders of all of the Muslims around us. “After all, (my flesh thought) it would be better for Nuru to sleep outside than for him to put us all in danger.” While he was staying with us, I always made sure that the doors were locked, and the kids could not go outside. During the day, I could see his brothers and other men searching our yard for Nuru. I was convicted that I was not trusting the Lord, but I told Him that it was too hard of a situation! After all, it’s not every day that Muslim’s come and threaten your lives! (Funny how our flesh can reason). That night I woke up with a terrible anxious feeling that we are very foolish to not have an armed guard (like a lot of the other missionaries). I felt overwhelmed and terrified (looking back now, I can see that it was an attack from Satan). The weight of it all, and my not trusting the Lord, hit me. I cried and cried. I was so scared for my children and our well being. Ty asked me if I truly believed that my God is still the same God as in the Bible? It wasn’t that I didn’t believe that God was able to deliver us from wicked men, but I was scared of what God may allow. Ty reassured me with verses, turned on a sermon and then left for Bamenda. While he was gone, I told the Lord that I felt I could not trust and asked Him to speak to me through His word. I opened and read Acts 15. Verse 25 and 26 really hit me: “It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” If they were willing to hazard their lives for their Saviour, why wasn’t I? I there decided to trust the Lord, even in this hard situation. Since then, I have had wonderful peace in the midst of my storm, and it doesn’t seem so hard. In Christ, Miranda