Departing Flight Terminated

Cameroon is just reminding us these last 24 hours that we are in a third-world country! Our departing flight booked for 2am this morning, was terminated due to "airport security issues" in Younde. We have been in contact with our travel agent and trying to get out tonight.. there is only one flight each day out of here for Istanbul. Meanwhile, today here in Buea, we woke to no water and electricity. 

Yesterday, we went to the coast again and went swimming in a crystal clear mountain stream that flows into the ocean. Very refreshing. 

We will be home as soon as we can. Love you.. - Jeff

Leaving Changed

As we lie here in the Riddicks great guest chalet, on our last night here, we have mixed emotions. So happy to be going home tomorrow, but also a little sad to be leaving Cameroon. We have fallen in love with the Riddick family, the ministry, the beautiful spirited people, culture, and landscape of Cameroon.

The Riddicks have been first class. Such sweet people to have us here.. give us a wonderful place to sleep, awesome food in our bellies, took time from their busy family schedule and activities to make us feel at home (and we did feel at home), drive us all over Cameroon to show us the beautiful people and landscape, sometimes even while fighting sickness in their bodies, and let us have the privilege to minister in 3 local churches and the Cameroon National Convention. They are passionate, powerful, and perfect servants.. not only to the Kingdom of God, but also to the people of Cameroon. 

We go home with new perspective, renewed burden, wonderful memories, and great stories (oh.. and sore weary legs). Only time will tell what these 3 weeks were really all about. We are leaving changed. 

We fly out of Douala to Younde tomorrow at 2am.. Younde to Istanbul.. Istanbul to New York.. New York to Raleigh.. arriving Saturday at 10pm. Lots of flight time and time changes. Love you.. see most of you soon.

Below are pic's of the village churches we visited while in Cameroon.

 The blue one.

 Second on left.

Last Week Fun

It's been a great start to our last week here in Buea. On Monday we took some trials, by way of ATV's, to (in my estimation) some pretty remote villages.. only because they're really not accessible by a normal vehicle. We had a great time.. only had 1 wreck. It's crazy to see the amount of people that live in these regions.. dwellings all over these mountain sides. Oh did you know, Cameroon has a population of 20 million plus.. a country the size of California. 

 

Tuesday we woke to pouring rain that ended at noon. We then went to the coastal town of Limbe to a Primate sanctuary. Unlike U.S. zoo's, all these monkeys inhabit this local region of West Africa.. the second biggest rainforest in the world. That evening we had dinner guest.. Missionary (Independent) friends from up the street. Former Missionaries in Ghana, they are now here in Cameroon. The gentleman was born in Elizabeth City, NC.. what's the chances.

 Thank God for the Easy-Shop!

 

Today, Todd and I climbed some of Mt. Cameroon. We took off at 5am with a hired guide.. our first hour was by flashlight thru rainforest. Todd made it about an hour and turned back. George (my guide.. w/ rubber sandals) and I then continued climbing.. approximately 4,000 feet over 4.5 hours. We made it to our destination Hut 2, which is halfway up Mt. Cameroon.. rested 30 minutes and started back down. The worst part about this mountain, in case you want to come one weekend, is the incline and the loose lava rock.. very unstable footing. We made it down at 2:30pm.. total time of 9.5 hours. And to think, they have a mountain race every year and the record time to the summit and back (21 kilometers) is under 5 hours! To be honest (my opinion), the accomplishment, views, and fat burned is still not worth the climb.. haha. I actually passed out at the bottom.. I ain't never felt this weak. I'm going to lay down and die now. 

Tomorrow we're going back to Douala. Down to a couple more days. Love you.. miss you..

*click on pic's to enlarge.

"His Mission - Our Mission"

It is the Monday following a very busy, wonderful, powerful weekend of Cameroon National Convention! To say the least, I think we're all pooped. 

Convention began on Thursday night and ended Sunday morning. Pastor Danny Lewis of Kirbyville, TX was our night speaker. Day speakers were Missionaries Terry, Rusty and Adriane Riddick, Sis. Donna Lewis, Pastor Eta Benson of Cameroon, and myself.. so enjoyed this opportunity and fellowship. We cherish the time we spent with the Riddick's and the Lewis's.. current and former Missionaries. We came to serve and bless Cameroon, but by far, we ourselves have been blessed the most.. life-changing. I also have some new dance moves.

Sunday morning's attendance was around 550.. the biggest single service crowd for the Convention. God filled 11 with the Holy Ghost! The Convention theme was "His Mission - Our Mission".. the response to the Word was amazing. The vision has been cast and caught.. ministry and church unity, revival, and evangelism.. with a 2014 focus for every church to double in attendance. I have no doubt in my mind that it will happen!

Today is our day of rest. This is our last week here. This week we may: climb some of Mt. Cameroon, go swim in the ocean, go swim in a local spring, have some more clothes made.. maybe go to a zoo. We have had a wonderful life-changing time but we are ready to come home for Christmas. Love you.. miss you..

*click on images to enlarge.

 The ministry of Cameroon.

 w/ Missionary Terry Riddick and Pastor Danny Lewis of Kirbyville, TX.

 w/ Missionary Cheryl Riddick.

 w/ Pastor Eta Benson of Cameroon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Buea, Cameroon! We love and miss you all dearly.

Today is the start of National Convention. We pray for a word and move of God for His people!

Last night, our French interpreter from Yaounde was in transit for Convention on a passenger bus.. their bus struck a truck head-on. He was the only one in the front of the bus still alive! Praise God. However, his jaw is broken in 2 places and hopefully he can make it into surgery today. Please pray for our brother.. he is our French voice in this country. Also, pray for traveling mercies for all of our brothers and sisters traveling today to this Convention.. they will travel from all over Cameroon down long, rough, and dangerous roads.

Love you.. miss you..

Glorious Life in Bamenda

Had splendid church this past Sunday in Bamenda at Glorious Life UPC.. Pastor Isadore. Sweet sweet people. Heidi taught the children in Sunday School.. I taught the Bible Class. Bro. Riddick, who is feeling better, preached the worship hour. Such a sweet visitation of His Spirit. 

One man that was there was the son of a witchdoctor.. and because he has chosen to leave the "family practice", his father prayed evil spirits, spells, and prophecies over him. He received the HOLY Spirit! 

After service, we hit the road back to Buea.. 7 hours. Back to our lil' chalet! This week is National Convention. Love you.. miss you..

 The man laid out in the red shirt is the son of the witchdoctor who received the HG!

 The woman of the Isadore family, Sis. Riddick, and Hi-C.

  Pastor Isadore.

 Hanging out with the Chiefs.. that's how I roll.

Bafut and beyond..

We woke in Bamenda this morning. Our accommodations at The Baptist Mission are nice.. just some bugs :) Our guest house overlooks the hustle, bustle.. pollution of the city. This city sits in a valley surrounded by the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen. Sidenote: they say 1 in 3 woman in Bamenda have AIDS.. sad truth.

We hit the road to Bafut today.. a village just north of Bamenda. There we visited the Bafut Royal Palace.. beautiful history of this still traditional region of Cameroon. Many here still practice and worship false idols and gods. Sidenote: the last known human sacrifice done here was in 1914. Crazy truth.

We then continued northeast another 2 hours.. this is the bush! Vast valleys of rainforest, rice fields, large rivers, rough dirt roads, and small villages. The children, some half naked, run after us shouting "white man, white man". We are always on guard.. never afraid, just aware of our surroundings. These roads are known for crime.

We arrive at one of the biggest most beautiful waterfalls in west Africa. It was here that we truly believe the Lord quickened and protected us. As we came back to our vehicle (we were the only ones there), a car with 6 men pulls up, parks in front of our vehicle, and 4 passengers jump out.. the driver and passenger riding shotgun remain. 2 of the 4 men then stand in the middle of the road behind our vehicle, the other 2 approach us while trying to make small talk about the area. It was during all of this, that the Lord seemed to speak to us.. "Get in the car!" We did. Bro. Riddick had opened the back of our vehicle where Todd had his hand on our "back-up".. just in case. We drove away safely. We really feel that the Lord protected us from robbery and, Lord forbid, maybe even worse.

I thank the Lord for "Sheaves For Christ" who purchases, through the giving of our students, vehicles for our Missionaries. They would not be able to do God's work without them! In this region it is really rough and remote.. and we travel fast. Just like the US military, once we leave areas of safety, we go with purpose and go fast!

Bro. Riddick has all symptoms of Malaria.  He is taking treatments and feels strength already. We will stay another night in Bamenda.. preaching here Sunday. It was another splendid day in Cameroon. Love you.. miss you..

 Bafut Palace courtyard.

 Bafut Temple. They would do human sacrifices here. Last one was 1914.

 Typical mud block dwelling.. this one is in great shape.

 Man bathing in the river.

 Handmade canoes.

Day 7

11:00am: We are on the road to Bamenda (blog to be posted later). We are making this trip during the daylight.. we must make it before dark (this route is dangerous for travel after darkness). With a population around 300k, it sits in a separate mountain range 6 hours northeast of Buea.. still in the same river basin, the second biggest rainforest in the world! The temperature today is 90º+.. very humid. A river in this region also has the "goliath frog".. can weigh up to 6lbs.

1:00pm: As we drive our views are vast ranges of banana, plantain, coconut, pineapple, papaya, tea, cocoa, sugarcane, and rubber tree plantations. I find it hard to describe the beauty with words.. even pictures can't capture it. All along the way is village after village.. shanties, dwellings and roadside vendors sell bread, corn, grapefruit, melons, bananas, nuts, dead jungle cats, snakes.. all kinds of goodies. Only fruits that are inside the peel are safe for us to eat. 

The homes here in the coastal region are mostly block, metal roof and dirt floors. The further we drive today it gets more and more remote, the dwellings are mostly mud and grass. I cannot get good pictures (sorry Jenny) because of the rain and our speed.. and we ain't slowing down!

The region in which Bamenda sits is very traditional. The people are also more aggressive. The majority still believes and even worships the traditional idols and gods. Witchcraft is seen and practiced all over Cameroon. But praise be to Jesus, there is an army rising up! His church is growing.. His gospel, this truth is being spread!

3:30pm: We are now 2 hours out from Bamenda and the "good" road just ended. It just got muddy and rough. Our footlockers (luggage) are behind the truck on the trailer.. good thing we ducktaped the seams.

This weekend in Bamenda, we will stay at the Baptist Mission. Please pray for Bro. Rusty Riddick, he has been sick for 2 days. As for Hi-C and I, for the most part we are healthy.

 Roadside picnic.

 Del Monte banana plantation.

 Mucho bananas.

 Coffin on top of a van.. there is a body signified by the green tree branch on the left taillight. No joke.

 

 Bamenda from the mountain top.

Day 6

Today I want to introduce you to some beautiful people. They are true servants to the Kingdom of God. They assist and serve our Missionaries, Mission, Bible School, and local churches.. they have been first-class service to us since our arrival.

Oscar, JoJo, and Derrick are "Jack-of-all-trades".. landscapers, painters, carpenters, plumbers, church builders, saints and servants. They have such humble joyful beautiful spirits.. love being around them everyday.

Katherine serves The Riddicks. She is a great cook and house cleaner. She has cleaned our chalet spotless daily since our arrival.

There is a massive mansion filled with great treasure waiting for these in heaven! They are teaching us how to serve.

Change of topic.. In the news today, the police burned a man to death in public. He had been charged with stealing. Sad truth.

We leave for a 4 day trip to Bamenda tomorrow. It is more remote than our current location.. may not hear from us for a couple of days or so. Love you.. miss you..

PS - I ate a pack of Oreos today (bought at the "American store".. really expensive).. praise Jesus!

 Oscar, a Prince of a local village who passed his seat as Village Chief to his brother because he wanted to serve the Kingdom of God instead.

 JoJo

 Derrick

 Katherine (she wouldn't let me take her pic).

 Zaboo and Raven.. home security! They lay at our door all night.