October 2008:
Friends outside the Kumba church
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I recently had the priviledge of spending a week with Pastor Sone Charles in Cameroon. He has a ministry that has high priority on meeting the humanitarian needs of his people. But, to understand that you need to know just where his people are!
Some of them are in Douala.
These dear people are easy to meet; it is easy to get to them.
Walking the last 1/4 mile to the most remote village we visited
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But, the larger portion of his people are in Kumba and areas hours from there. The villages--8 or 10 of them--are hours from Kumba, over very rough roads. A few of those villages are actually some hours journey on foot, AFTER a several hours journey by road.
A stop in a village on our way to a
remote village
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This is why I say Sone, and other leaders with him, are really committed to this service they are doing.
So what do you find in the village? Well, wonderful people. You find people who are healthy. But, you find some who are ill. And, sadly, sometimes professional or good health care of any kind is simply out of the question.
Cute kids in Douala
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In some of these villages there are no schools. We wish there were. Some of the basic needs of clothing are there. Not that they are without clothing. But, let me explain it this way. From our own experience here in the US, we use clothes for a while and then they get worn out or we think of them as out of style and so we get new clothes. That is a luxury. Many of these friends simply have to wear what they have longer than any of us would wear what we have. So, this is why I mention this need.
Still, our Cameroon friends are very resourceful. That is, they find ways to keep on going with life. And I have to say they deserve great congratulations for that.
As one who is trained in cross-cultural work I would like to say that Sone can best say what the most immediate needs are there. So, I will leave that to him. But, medical, education, in some cases clothing are all vital needs.
We were welcomed with joy. Pastor Sone and his people have such a great attitude of hospitality. When I think of this in contrast to the hardships they live with, it makes me feel very humble. In fact, it confirms the need for me to be involved with them and the many others I am connected with in Africa.
Joyful friends singing in the village church
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I work as a servant leader in the church. Pastor Sone and his people received me in connection with this work. On several occasions we gathered with them in churches for joyful times of singing and praising God. Then, out of that hospitality I mentioned, they served us delicious food. We ate meals that were nothing short of feasts. There is a pounded cassava food that is the consistency of stiff mashed potatoes and is eaten by dipping balls of it in a very healthy vegetable stew. Another meal is rice with a tomato-based stew over it. All of these are excellent foods. This is just a little background to our experience there.
Youth with great aspirations.
The young lady on the right is studying to be a doctor, though she has a ways to go.
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It was a delight to be in Cameroon. In all we visited four churches--two in villages, one in a medium sized city, and one in the major city of Douala.
I hope this will be not only interesting to you and others in connections with Airline Ambassadors, but that it may be an inspiration for you to continue the good work I have read about on your website.
Best wishes,
Mike Reynen
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