Fresh Water in Cameroon -- Day 37

French Word of the Day: trahir (pronounced a little like "trah-ear"); means "to betray." In John 13, during the Last Supper, Jesus turns to Judas and says, "What you are about to do, do quickly." What Judas was about to do, was trahir.

Face of the Day: Henri Amabibi, pastor of Buea UMC: Pastor Amabibi recently became the full-time pastor in Buea, after Victor Ayuk took a leave of absence. Henri was a pastor in the Baptist Church for at least 30 years, before retiring, then decided to get back in the pulpit with the Methodists! He is about to celebrate his 72nd birthday!

Cameroon Fact: Again, I'm a little slow on the draw here, but ... did you know that March 22 was International Water Day? At a ceremony marking the event a few weeks ago, Cameroonian Energy and Water Resources Minister, Jean-Bernard Sindeu said that sixty percent of Cameroon's estimated 17 million population have no access to safe drinking water. And the problems aren't only in remote regions. In Yaounde, the daily water requirement is estimated at 150,000 cubic metres; only 100,000 cubic metres is available, less during the dry season. Furthermore, the UN estimates that 700 million people in 43 countries around the world lack access to safe drinking water.

Mission Challenge: Because safe drinking water is so hard to come by, the Mission has been looking into ways to help alleviate the problem in towns where we already have a presence. The best solution is to dig deep wells, or "forages" near a church, which then can be used to provide water for everyone in the vicinity. These are expensive items -- a proper well can cost up to $7,000. We have begun collecting funds to dig our first well, most likely to be located in Obala. If you are interested in raising money for this project, contact me!