Report from Mamfe: Caring for Orphans and Putting Up New Signboards

The following report comes from the English-speaking congregation in Mamfe, which is located in the far Southwest Province, not far from the border with Nigeria.

Mamfe UMC

The year 2006 was a successful year for our church as we experience a remarkable increase in the number of Christians. This is as a result of the evangelical works of our pastor and some of the elders in our church. The chronological arrangements of church activities cannot be omitted:

• Every first week of the month the church council sits to deliberate on pertinent issues of the church like schedules for evangelical visits to hospitals, prisons and our local churches in the villages. The comportment of some elders and Christians in our church is also brought under scrutiny.
• The women’s wing assemble every 15^th of the month to see how they can improve their local unit and develop skills of creativity and independence.
• The United Methodist Church Mamfe Local AIDS Control Committee (UMCMLACC) sits twice every month to talk and raise funds for transportation to sensitize our churches in the village and the local population.
• The pastor and some delegate from our church officially went to plant the United Methodist Church sign board at Ayukaba as a cell group under the auspices of brother Thomas.
• The pastor and elders of the church visit orphanage homes once every month to preach and pray for the orphans. We have created a United Methodist Church Mamfe orphanage home made of helpless children in our congregation; there are volunteers who give financial assistances to these children from our church.
• We have regular prayer meetings every evening from 4:30-5:30 pm
• The choir led by Sister Christy Agbor has experienced a dramatic change with introduction of new songs for worship and praises.
• The pastor has made successful out-station visits to our churches and prayer cell groups in Defang, Akiriba, Sumbe, Ewelle.
• There was a joint service held in our church with Christians of other denominations to pray for those who are going to sit for public examination; this was done under the auspices of Evangelist Sister Christina and Evangelist Agbor Paddy.

We are hoping with the grace of God that Mamfe will host a convention November this year, inviting our brother churches from Sumbe, Akiriba, Defang, N’chang, Ayukaba, Eyanchang, Kembong, etc., to assemble in Mamfe to pray for the growth of the United Methodist Church in Cameroon and the world as a whole. We shall be grateful for financial assistance from the mission office to realize this great vision. We shall also be grateful if the mission office can support our local and control committee financially to realize its projects of mass sensitization, as well as the orphanage home.

Thanks for cooperation,

Pastor Samuel Egbe and PPRC Chair, Agbor Kimgsly