GOOD NEWS!

I hesitate to share the following news, since we’ve had some false starts and disappointed hopes in the past. But … I think we are closer than ever to receiving our church registration.

Last week, we received a call from the Director of Public Affairs at the Ministry of Territorial Administration. He informed us that the Minister had signed our dossier and sent it to the Presidency for a final signature.

On Friday morning, I visited this Director in his office and asked for a copy of the paperwork that had been signed by the Minister. He told me that he could not allow a copy to leave the office, but he let me see it.

And sure enough – there was Minister Murafa’s signature!

After three and a half years, the paperwork has finally moved off a civil servant’s desk in a government office, been signed by the top person responsible for approving new churches, and been forwarded to the President! This means, for all practical purposes, that the Mission has cleared all security checks and been given the thumbs-up. The President’s signature is simply a formality!

All we can do now is wait. I have no idea how long it will take, but I do know this – one morning in the near future, there will be an announcement made on the radio that President Biya has signed the official decree authorizing the United Methodist Church as a legal religious association in Cameroon.

And then the party will begin! Until then, though … we can still use your prayers.