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.

Day 5

We are getting ready for next weeks Cameroon National Convention! Today was another work day preparing generators and lighting.. this convention will be held in the bush.. no joke! Let me explain, this week they went into the bush (approximately 1-2 acre in size) located beside one of their village churches, and cleared it with machetes. The covered platform will be "center field".. the audience will then cover the field surrounding the platform. Next week, after this weekends trip to Bamenda, we will complete the sound/lighting set-up.. all powered off of generators. It is a joy to work with these beautiful people.. such beautiful spirits and hard workers for The Kingdom. Meanwhile.. Heidi had a fun interesting time today at the meat market.

Tonight we ministered in the headquarters church here in Buea. Jesus met us there. Elder Pastor Ilongo and his wife are precious. No matter where you are, there is nothing like the family of God. Never doubt.. His Spirit is moving all over the world!

Love you.. miss you..

 We stopped by the local car wash.

 The local meat market.

 Wed. service in Buea (headquarters church).

 Sweet Elder Pastor Ilongo.

Day 4

Today was a work day. Heidi helped with some administrative filing/moving duties at the Bible School (sidenote: she has yet to remove her fanny pack.. she evens bathes and sleeps with it.. jk). I went with Bro. Riddick to check-in/over-see a village church building project in the village of Mayuka. It is in the foundation stage which should be complete in a couple days. They will have it ready for church in under a month. They can build a 30'×60' concrete slab/block church, like this one, in 4 weeks +/-. What does it cost to build one like this you may ask?.. $10,000(US dollars).

This evening we went to the Grace of God Orphanage in the village of Bonduma. There we sang and had activities and snacks for the children and Heidi told a bible story/lesson. We were also so blessed to be able to give each of them their very own new bible (many adults don't have the luxury of owning a bible, much-less the children). I wish I could adequately express their reactions.. they were happy happy happy. It is through the giving of some of you, our family (TOP family included) and friends, that this was possible. Thank you again! There are some little children in Bonduma that say thank you! The word of God will change their lives!

Goodnight. Love you.. miss you..

  Mayuka village church build.. true Kingdom servants.

 Grace of God Orphanage in Bonduma. 

 Click on video to view (smartphones).

Day 3

Today we went to Douala.. a big city in the valley with a population of 4-5 million. It has 1 UPCI affiliated church. There we ran errands.. buying supplies/groceries etc. We also ate at a great Chinese restaurant!.. sorry Todd & Ryan (they stayed in Buea for schooling). We also went to the local wood carving market.. amazing. We ended the day back home in Buea grilling chicken under a huge moon.

Tomorrow is a work day. We will be working on building a village church and also the Bible School remodeling project.. they have many projects working at this time. Tomorrow evening, Heidi is teaching at the orphanage.

Wednesday is another work day and we will be ministering at our headquarters church that evening. Thursday we leave for a 4 day trip to Bemenda.. a 6 hour drive towards Nigeria. We will be staying in a Baptist Mission guest house. Love you.. miss you.. - Jeff

Day 2

Our second day has come to a close. Already in 2 days, the things we have witnessed and experienced are amazing.. some are unexplainable, felt only by the Spirit. We will come home changed and with many many stories and testimonies.. and we've only been here 2 days!

This morning we ministered in the village of Mile 16. The beautiful people are so kind, reverent, sincere, and hungry for God. I have no idea of today's attendance.. maybe around 75. There were 5 first time visitors and 3 known received the Holy Ghost! To God be the glory.

Tonight, we traveled a little farther down the mountain to another village for a village church sing-spiration.. they love to sing and dance.. they have very talented musicians also.. it all comes natural. This white boy is learning some new dance moves no doubt!

The Riddicks are pure, passionate, kind, and fun people. They make us feel at home. Tomorrow we will drive 1.5 hours to the city of Douala.. population 4-5 million. We love you.. miss you.. - Jeff

 Butchering a pig over the village stream. They wash in this stream.