Cameroon, Mike Slaughter, and Scaling Summits!

I have neglected to mention a very important event coming up ... the Mission Initiatives Summit, which will feature up-close and specific information on the fifteen initiatives of GBGM, including Cameroon!

The Summit will be held at St. Andrew UMC in Plano, Texas, from April 17-19. Mike Slaughter, pastor of Ginghamsburg UMC, will be speaking at the event, as well as UMCOR director, Dr. Sam Dixon.

For more information on the event, go to this GBGM site. I highly recommend this weekend, and hope to see you there!

Cameroon FAQs

I’ve been back in the States for a couple of weeks now, reunited with family, and praying about our future. In the meantime, I’ve received a bunch of questions about what’s going on from friends all over the country – in emails, phone calls, and through the grapevine. So let me use this post to answer those “frequently asked questions”:

Q: What is the status of the United Methodist Mission in Cameroon?

A: The Mission will continue to be one of the high-priority Mission Initiatives of the United Methodist Church. The General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) will be sending missionaries to Cameroon to continue the work, though these appointments have not yet been announced. But the work will continue, and the Mission needs your support – financial and spiritual – to go forward!

Q: Have things returned to normal in Cameroon, following the riots and unrest last month?

A: Yes, as far as I know. In an attempt to quell the unrest, the President had announced a rise in salary levels for civil servants and a decrease in basic foodstuffs. These changes are due to take effect on April 1^st, 2008. Hopefully, the government will keep its promises and things will continue to improve.

Q: What will happen to the pastors of the Cameroon Mission while they wait for a new Mission Director to arrive?

A: Again, things will continue as normal. Pastors will receive their monthly salary support, rents will be paid, and the various ministries and programs will continue. And financial gifts to the Mission may continue to be made through The Advance, as before.

Q: What will happen to the Magruder family?

A: We have settled down in Plano, Texas. We’re currently living with Leah’s parents, but are looking for more permanent lodging! The girls are enrolled in Plano schools, and adjusting very well to American life again. Rachel made the drill team, Chloe is active in a dance group, and Mallory attends an after-school Science Club. Leah is looking for a job, while keeping track of the girls’ busy schedules. I have received an appointment to be the associate pastor at FUMC Rowlett, where I will be working with my friend, Rev. Katherine Lyle. My job starts tomorrow – on April 1^st, and I’m excited about this new phase of ministry.

Q: Our congregation supported your family as our church’s missionaries. What shall we do now that you’re no longer on the field?

A: Through the General Board of Global Ministries, you have multiple opportunities to continue to support the mission work of the United Methodist Church. You may choose to shift your support to another missionary, working in another place. The Advance office of GBGM would be happy to suggest names and locations of missionaries on the field who need support. You may also choose to continue to support the work in Cameroon, by sponsoring the next missionaries appointed there. Or you can choose to support any number of Advance mission projects, including work in Cameroon, or other West African countries. Again, this information can be obtained by contacting The Advance.

Q: How are you doing? No, seriously … how do you feel?

A: The time at home has been healing and refreshing. Most of all, Leah and I have been absolutely blown away by the support of our friends in the North Texas Conference. I have received numerous phone calls expressing love, support, and encouragement from clergy colleagues, as well as supporters, former VIM team participants, and administrators. Everyone has embraced us warmly, and welcomed us with open arms back into the North Texas church family. At times like these, we are so grateful for the Methodist connection!

Q: What will happen to this blog?

A: After much consideration, I have decided to bring this blog to an end. I will not be deleting it from cyberspace – I’ll leave it here for posterity’s sake. But it has run its course – time to move on to something new. I am going to take a break from the blogosphere for now, but am sure that I will be returning again shortly. When I do, I’ll put a link here. Thank you for being faithful and curious readers … see ya again soon!

Back to Normal?

After four days of tension, Friday was a better day in Yaounde. Everyone woke up with a weary eye to the streets, where only a few taxis were running at first. By midday, however, the streets were beginning to fill.

In the afternoon, I even got in the Mission car and drove downtown, where I ran into the usual traffic jams caused by rude taxi drivers! People were walking the streets, shops and markets were open. There was even a greatly reduced presence of police and gendarmes.

In short, I think things have returned to normal, though there are still reports of isolated problems in the countryside.

After it got dark, I heard rumbling in the distance, which made me worry for a second, until I realized it was only thunder! We then had a good old-fashioned thunderstorm, punctuated with lightning flashes and a good amount of rain late into the night. That's unusual for this time of year in Cameroon, but greatly welcomed.

As I wake up on this Saturday morning, the air smells fresh and clean. Like a new start.

I'm grateful for the calm. And I'm looking forward to Sunday, March 9th ... my departure date.

Quiet Streets, Anxious Moods

Yaounde is extremely quiet this morning ... maybe too quiet. No shops, schools, or offices are open. The streets are completely empty of cars, taxis, motorbikes, trucks.

The school located next door to our house is closed, though a few students showed up early this morning. They've all been sent home.

I am happy to report that when I awoke, we had electricity and water. Rumors were circulating last night that those services would be cut off at midnight. I'm taking precautions in case that happens. But everyone is still wondering about the long-term implications of President Biya's hard-line approach to the rebellion.

I am so relieved that our last VIM team of the season got on a plane Saturday night, before the troubles started. Other short-term missioners in Cameroon have not been so lucky: see this story.

I am not in any danger; I'm just sticking close to home, and waiting for a sense of normalcy to return to the streets. Thanks again for all your prayers!

Tense Times in Yaounde

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks packing and preparing to move back to Dallas.

But things have taken an odd turn here in Cameroon.

On Monday, taxi drivers throughout the country staged a strike to protest a recent hike in fuel. But the strike has turned violent and deadly in several cities, especially Douala. Though the labor action was officially called off by labor unions and government officials on Tuesday night, the rioters have kept up the pressure. And the violence spread to Yaounde today.

Throughout the city, protesters have blocked and barricaded streets, threatened stores and businesses to close, and tried to keep all forms of transportation at a standstill. In response, police and gendarme have engaged in a low-level form of warfare, including tear-gas and riot gear.

I have been receiving a series of warnings from the Embassy, cautioning American citizens to stay indoors. I’ve kept the advice, while making calls to friends around the city to compare notes and hear the gossip.

The riots represent something far more than just displeasure with the cost of gasoline – President Biya has publicly announced his intentions to change the constitution to allow him to serve as president indefinitely, for one, an immensely unpopular decision. Add to that the rise in costs of all sorts of items, the closure of a private TV station in Douala because of its reporting on opposition activity, and general unhappiness with the government, and you’ve got a situation ripe for trouble!

President Biya appeared on television tonight, appealing for peace and calm, as well as reasserting his role as leader of the nation. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning to see how it played in the countryside, but the people I’ve talked to tonight were unsatisfied by his comments.

For more information on what’s happening, here are some news reports.

I am scheduled to get on a plane and rejoin my family on March 9. I’m asking for your prayers to make sure that I make this flight – if not earlier! And pray that the violence comes to a quick end.

The people of Cameroon have long prided themselves on remaining a peaceful country, unlike their neighbors. Please pray with me that they do not succumb to the fate of so many other African countries in the last few decades. And remember especially the pastors and people of the United Methodist Church in Cameroon.

Good Grief, Not Again!

I look back at that last post and think to myself, “Dang, am I pitiful-sounding or what?!”

I used the word “grief” in the post, and it occurs to me that our family is truly grieving. It means that we’re going through the same process that we’d go through if we’d lost a loved one, or faced some other disaster. That would explain my alternating feelings of anger, depression, guilt, and resistance.

So I pulled out a small, thin book that I have carried throughout my ministry as a pastor. It’s a book called “Good Grief,” by Granger E. Westberg, with only 64 pages and large print. I re-read it and was reminded that I am going through the same exact feelings and emotions that grieving parishioners I have counseled in funeral homes and front parlors have had.

I needed desperately to hear these familiar words of comfort again.

Westberg explores ten stages of grief, which he believes are simply a normal process for anyone experiencing loss. The first five have to do with physical, rather obvious signs of grief: “We are in a state of shock,” “We express emotion,” “We feel depressed and very lonely,” “We may experience physical symptoms of distress,” and “We may become panicky.”

But the last stages hit closer to home: “We feel a sense of guilt about the loss,” “We are filled with anger and resentment,” “We resist returning” – these feelings I understand. I have spun through these stages repeatedly over the last couple of weeks.

The truth about our leaving is that we are facing a couple of matters that have made it very difficult for us to do ministry. Not only do we have ongoing residency legal issues, but we have some people actively resisting our work. The Board finally decided that it would be safer for us to leave the country and accept reassignment; instead, we have requested a leave of absence from mission work, and will be returning to the Dallas area.

So, yes, we feel guilt – guilt over not being able to handle the situation successfully, guilt over not being able to manage. And there has been anger – which we’ve turned a number of different directions. And resentment – oh yeah, plenty of that.

It’s Lent now. But Easter is coming. Right around the corner. And so are the last two stages of grief: “Gradually hope comes through.”

And “We struggle to affirm reality.”

Ashes of Grief

Ash Wednesday is an appropriate day to announce that our time in Cameroon has come to an end (see January 10 post). It’s not our choice, nor our decision. We’re not happy about it, and we’re greatly heartbroken.

Ashes represent, of course, repentance and fasting. But they can also signify loss, grief, the end.

And that’s exactly where we find ourselves at the moment. We’re at the end of a significant chapter in our life, which has come quicker than we expected. Though given a chance to accept reassignment by the Board, our plans now are to return to the Dallas area, where the children have already settled into school. Beyond that, I don’t have a clue what will happen ... I’m still in shock myself.

I plan to bring this blog to its natural end once I get back to Texas. But until then, I’ll keep it going, and try to keep all of you informed on our whereabouts, plans, and future. We ask that you simply keep praying for us, for our extended family, and for the people of the United Methodist Church of Cameroon.

Breaking the Silence

Yes, it’s been almost two months since I last posted.

No, it’s not because I a) am lazy, b) am tired of blogging, or c) have mysteriously disappeared in the rainforest.

Let’s just say that the last two months have contained a number of surprises for the Magruder family.

The biggest surprise is that I am writing this post from Dallas, where we have been for the last several weeks.

To make a very long, complicated story short, we encountered some difficulties in Cameroon related to my residence permit and legal status. To avoid the potential that I might be separated from my family, the Board (thankfully!) decided to bring us back to the States for the holidays. This enabled us to enjoy time with our extended families in Dallas and Austin, as well as remember what it means to be “cold” again!

I also traveled to New York for a meeting with the Board to discuss the future. We decided together that I should return to Cameroon to try to work out the problems, but that Leah and the girls would remain in Dallas until further notice.

I am on my way back to Cameroon at this very moment, and will start blogging again on a regular basis. Please keep us all in your prayers. I’m going to miss the family greatly … but I trust that God will take care of us all.

Online Again: Second Week of Hymnal Notes

Hooray, Internet access is back! You can't believe how difficult life can be without email, Dallas Cowboy game results, and the Methoblog ...

Anyhow, I have a lot of catching up to do. Here's the second week's worth of posts from John Thornburg concerning his work recording music with the Cameroon Hymnal editorial team:

Subject: First day of recording

Hi, friends. After the extraordinary day of opening for Gateway UMC, today was just as good. I had to start the day in the bureaucratic prison also known as the Air France office in Yaounde. I'll leave it at the fact that when I took a number (72), they were serving #46. Nuff said.

When Wes picked me up from my enforced captivity at Air France, we went to see the Roman Catholic basilica in Yaounde. It's a place John Paul II visited twice, and it is absolutely stunning. There are mosaics depicting the seven sacraments that are simply amazing, and the stations of the cross are just as beautiful. The architecture is meant to portray the Blessed Virgin spreading her protective arms over the 12 apostles, so the ceiling beams are like wings. But it's so hard to see the opulence of the building contrasted with the utter poverty of those who attend. Perhaps like those who went to medieval cathedrals, it stood in stark contrast to their homes. It still gives me pause, even while I stand in wonder of the beauty.

Recording began today. Here are the highlights:

-The ambient noise is a factor, but not debilitating. Just a lot of roosters, and workers digging a trench around the building for drainage.

-We had a wondrous Congolese man join us today to play the synthesizer. To say his playing was amazing would be dramatic understatement. The guy was flat out brilliant, even if the synthesizer leaves something to be desired. I wasn't keen on using the synthesizer because I was afraid the singing would be drowned out, but the team over-rode me. The proof will be in the pudding when I bring my trusty little digital recorder home and we see what we have.

-We had another Anglophone join us for the recording. Her name is Ruby, and she's a true gem (no pun intended). A wonderful voice, a great spirit and she's bilingual so the singing in French didn't bother her. Of the five singers on the recording, four are completely bilingual, and the other is close to it. It’s a gift from God.

-There were lots of great moments; their wonderful singing in Spanish on “Santo, santo, santo”; their really energetic rendering of “Siyahamba”; their passionate and rhythmically intense rendering of “We will not give up the fight.” But the greatest moment was when I felt it was time for us to allow the Anglophones to shine. They’re the more oppressed group culturally, and generally the Francophones look down their noses at them. But I asked Pastor Solomon Mbwoge and Ruby to teach us the pidgin chorus, “Big, big thing Jesus e do'am for me.” It has the wonderful line, “E butter ma bread an E sugar ma tea.” Well, the Congolese guy found licks no one had ever heard, then Ruby went to the standing drum. We practiced for a while, and then the miracle kept unfolding. Ruby realized that Alexis, one of the Francophones, was a better drummer than she, so she pulled him over to the drum, and he took her place as the song leader and enlivener. Then Pastor David realized that he knew a version of the song in his local language, and that made him so happy he started dancing. It was just one of the great moments of the trips here. The group had received two new members, and they didn’t know each other, and it was song that started forming the bonds. Wow. Like the spiritual says, “Give me Jesus.”

Subject: Second Day of Recording

Today's lesson: God even protects Luddites from themselves. We had been having an extraordinary morning, enjoying the immense talent of the Congolese keyboardist and doing songs that we enjoyed. At 12: 15, having recorded 8 songs, I was about to switch on the little digital recorder to capture "O for a thousand tongues to sing", and what appeared on the tiny display screen but "Out of memory." It might as well have said, "You stupid man."

But then, as if coming as a divine piece of forgiveness for my inability to understand my own equipment, the power went off, so we lost the keyboard. That was a Holy Spirit time out, so we quickly re-strategized our afternoon and went to lunch.

The afternoon turned out to be a vigorous and highly productive conversation about how song teaching would take place, and I have spent the last few hours drawing up an action plan and budget for the team to look at. It's an exciting prospect. And my technology hero, otherwise known as Wes Magruder, was able to transfer all the data from my recorder to his computer and put all the files on a thumb drive, so we're good to go in the morning with the remainder of the recording.

Highlight of the afternoon: having Collins Etchi, the mission's office manager and health team leader, teach me a Creole song from Sierre Leone that he had just learned on a trip to a health conference sponsored by the Board of Global Ministries. "Thankee, thankee, thankee. Tell Papa God thankee. Weti i do for me (what he does for me), I go tell am thankee." It's a sweet, wonderful melody.

Blessings to you all. Tomorrow is the final day. Keep us in your prayers.

Offline in Yaounde

Thanks to a fiber-optic cable problem 60 kilometers offshore of Douala, we have had no internet connection in Cameroon for the past week and are not expecting it to be repaired anytime soon. I am writing this short note from the office of a friend who works for the United Nations and has a satellite connection. I expect you won't hear much from us for the next two weeks or so, but I'll catch you all up on the Mission when we're back online!

Creating a Hymnal, Part One

These days have been exciting and intense. Not only have we opened a new church in the last week, but we have been hosting another visit from Rev. John Thornburg. He’s been meeting with the Cameroon Hymnal editorial team at the Mission Office over the last week and a half.

Every evening, he returns to the house and writes an email to supporters and donors, with some of each day’s highlights. With John’s permission, I am posting some of his news here.

Subject: Day Two in Cameroon

Hello, friends.

I’m comforted by Aesop tonight; slow and steady wins the race. That is our pace; but it’s the pace we need to use. It seems that each hymn, song, or chorus raises new issues to solve, some simple and some complex. Of the 102 pages we need to proof, we've finished 32. The work in the morning proceeds well because we are rested, but the heat and humidity and some of the intensity of our conversation makes the work in the afternoon much harder. I had a bishop once who said that his idea of hell was that it stayed 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon forever. I begin to believe it as I saw the eyes of the team glaze over just about then.

We discover that there are almost always at least two versions of every song we come to, sometimes in both languages. So then it’s a matter of what fits the context.

The day started with a wondrous conversation with Solomon Mbwoge, the one Anglophone on the committee, about the short songs in pidgin which he had brought for inclusion. My favorite is:

Big, big thing Jesus e do-am for me

E butter my bread and e sugar my tea

Solomon then said, when I asked the literal translation, “Jesus has done an enormous thing for me.” Amen to that.

Or,

I will likam for waka with Yi (I am happy to walk with Him).

I was also introduced to the fact that the further the team walks into this project, the more they get to what their “heart song” really is, i.e., they get in touch with the deepest things that song does in their lives, and so they want to make certain that all the songs that trigger the deepest things get into the book. So, we keep re-defining the real nature of the book, even as we attempt to move toward completion.

I also had one of the most humbling yet strangely comforting moments of my life this morning. Late yesterday we had looked at “The First Noel,” given that it was available in both French and English. I did a silly, careless thing and didn’t read carefully through the French, presuming that it stuck close to the English. When we got to it, to my horror I realized that it referred to “all the white angels.” Pastor David said that we could not have a hymn that presumed that all angels are white, and of course, he was right. So we excised it on the spot, and I said I was in complete agreement. But the passing of the night convinced me that I must offer a full and complete apology for my oversight. I started the day this morning making that apology, and, as I say, it was quite humbling, yet their graciousness was one of the more uplifting moments of my recent days. Like Tom Hanks’ character in A League of Their Own says, “If it was easy, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.”

Subject: Day Three in Cameroon

There is a well known acronym in Cameroon; WAWA. It means West Africa Wins Again, and it's used to describe the fact that even if you've made a plan, that doesn't mean the plan can happen. It was a WAWA day.

It was very hot, the building we're working in was so full of noise we could hardly hear each other, two members of the team are battling recurrent illnesses, and the power was out, so we didn't have any real light to work by or the use of a fan. Therefore, it was miraculous that we had the kind of progress that we did.

We've made a major decision about recording. The team was flushed with the realization that we could actually get the book printed in Cameroon (we got that word two days ago), and so we were hoping to have the second miracle of having the recording happen here, especially if we could find a way to empower the team to make the major decisions about what to record. I brought a proposal that would have me making a master recording of the tunes, just my single voice, so that each of the team members has a recording of every tune in the book. That way, they can learn and master the tunes, and gather on their own time and with their own musicians, train additional singers, and then do subsequent recordings. This is meant to address the whole pedagogy issue, i.e., the fact that the book is of little value if we don't have good song teaching.

We still have to build a budget and an action plan for their recording sessions. The team enjoyed the two sessions they had this summer in my absence, and despite the normal tensions of committee work, they are one of the little miracles of the United Methodist Mission in Cameroon, reaching beyond the normal parochialisms in some wonderful ways. Because none of the members of the team has a bank account, or any real hope of having one anytime soon, doing budgets is not a skill they have. All the money they receive is spent immediately. So the work in building a budget is fascinating to them.

Subject: Day Four in Cameroon

Well, the force was with us today. Literally, because we had electricity in the building today, so we could see our notebooks, and figuratively, because the Spirit was alive and active. We worked from 9:00 until 12:30 today, and when I suggested that we only work in the morning, I could see the relief written on their faces.

But the shorter work time practically doubled our creativity. It also didn't hurt that it was cloudy so the temperature was more moderate.

I love the developing sense of empowerment and discernment in the group. When they want to delete something from consideration, they have wonderful reasons, and they seem unafraid to suggest the deletion of things that I brought for them to consider. That's a great relief, because I didn't want them deferring to my suggestions just because I'm paying the bills. When they want to alter texts, it is for solid linguistic and theological reasons. So, it was a great day.

We are now off until 1:00 p.m. Monday. The Anglophones in the group will practice their songs over the weekend for recording purposes, and I have a long talk scheduled with the Anglophone pastor. I asked if he would talk to me about Cameroonian history and politics and he was delighted. I'm very eager for that time with him.

Cover Girl & Boy

While we were home during the summer, a local reporter interviewed Leah and I for a story which is this month's cover article for The Allen Image, a magazine in my hometown in Texas. Peggy Helmick-Richardson did a great job of telling the story of our lives for the last three years. Read it here!

Opening Gateway, Part Four

Simbok is a new neighborhood in Yaounde, which is one of the reasons why Simeon and I thought it’d be a great place to start a new congregation. You might even call it the leading edge of urban growth. New houses are being built in every direction from the church.

But new housing developments also have their drawbacks. For one, nothing in Simbok is paved yet. Even when it’s dry, driving to Gateway UMC is an adventure. Four-wheel drive is not a necessity, but almost.

There are other problems in Simbok, too; the electric company hasn’t exactly figured out how to keep the lights on 24/7. We have a generator in the back room, but it is temperamental.

I arrived at the church an hour and a half early on Sunday morning. It had rained throughout the early morning hours, and I expected our grand opening to be … sloppy. And it was!

Sure enough, the power was off, and we couldn’t get the generator started. But a crowd was gathering.

Simeon’s feelings were torn. He desperately wanted to be able to show off the new microphones and soundboard we’d purchased for the church – he wanted things to be loud!! But he was also determined not to start the service too late.

So at five minutes after ten, two guitarists and two worship leaders started singing choruses in the sanctuary. After a few songs, four of us (Simeon, myself, Rev. John Thornburg and Pastor Solomon Mbwoge) processed down the middle aisle and took our places. (John and Solomon are in town for a meeting of the hymnal editorial team – more on that later!)

Simeon was the liturgist for the service, with help from John and Solomon for various other pieces of the service. We heard a beautiful version of “Jesus is the Answer for the World Today” in French from one of Simeon’s seminary classmates.

I preached from the second chapter of Joel. I spoke about the beauty of “new things” and the fact that Jesus Christ is in the business of making all things new, now and forever.

And following the service, we did the most “Methodist” of things … we ate together! Simeon’s wife, Therese, oversaw the meal of chicken, fish, ndole, sanga, bread, baton, plantains and sweet cake.

Other observations from the morning:

… Pastor Solomon leads our congregation in Kumba. He was asked to pray before the scripture readings, and he gave an interesting twist to the story of Wesley’s Aldersgate conversion. In the middle of his prayer, Solomon said, “God, give to us the experience that John Wesley had when he heard your Word proclaimed and felt his heart cooled…” Of course, Wesley claims to have had a “strangely warmed” heart, not a cooled one, but then again, Wesley didn’t live in a warm climate!

… I never was able to get an official attendance count, because people were still entering the building as we were singing our final hymn! But midway through the service, I counted over 60 people.

… More important than the number of people present was the spirit in the room. The service was upbeat, friendly, and -- sorry, Solomon! – warm.

… I still don’t know if this will be an English-speaking or French-speaking congregation. We translated everything into both languages on Sunday, just to cover our bases. But in the future, it will be interesting to see what kind of people gather on a regular basis. My experience in Cameroon thus far indicates that it is very difficult to incorporate Francophone and Anglophone Cameroonians into the same church; it appears to be better to offer two separate worship services.

Our Reality

Yesterday was one of those dichotomous days that I WOULD have traded for the world. First, we had our opening day for Gateway UMC. It was wonderful, and we saw the potential for God's work to be done in the neighborhood of Simbok. It was lovely with lots of visitors and a wonderful meal to follow. It couldn't have gone better, except...

During the middle of worship time, Wes left the room and had Collins return to ask me for all the money I had in my purse. I had no idea why, but I handed him my wallet and off he went. Wes finally returned to mouth the words, "Djibril's son died." I have never been able to lip-read very well and was wondering what in world he was trying to say to me. He finally slipped me a note that said the same. We were devastated. We knew that Ayoudou, 22, had had cerebral malaria for nearly two weeks. Wes had rushed Mr. Djibril (pronounced jee-breel) to the hospital one day last week and prayed with Ayoudou and had heard reports that he was slowly recovering. We were very hopeful.

The Djibril's are Muslim. They are devout, and we talk about giving God the glory and thanks for so many things that happen during the course of a day. Even though we know that Mr. Djibril doesn't call God "God", he does with us so that we understand he is thanking the same God we are. I know that some of you do not believe we worship the same God but please don't comment to me about it. I won't change my mind, and it's not appropriate in our time of grief.

I guess I haven't said who Mr. Djibril is. He is our driver. We inherited him from the previous missionaries and have always felt uncomfortable about the fact that we have a driver and no other missionary in Yaounde does. It's not that we don't drive, both of us do, but Mr. Djibril is a master at navigating those crazy taxi drivers and horrible roads that Wes has to encounter every time he goes to the Southwest Province. But even more importantly, we keep him because he has (had) eight children, and we love him. Wes and I weren't willing to put this man out of a job just because we could do for ourselves what he could do for us. I truly couldn't imagine not having Mr. Djibril in our daily lives. He keeps us up on the news of the day (he's an avid radio listener as he does not read or write French but Arabic). He corrects our muddled French, and we can always count on having a good laugh with him when we see some of the bizarre scenes on our daily treks around the city.

So after church, in the late afternoon, we filled the car with Geni, Philippe, Collins, Rev. John Thornburg (our guest for two weeks) and the five of us. We went to the market to buy food knowing that the Djibril's would have a houseful of people for several days. In the Muslim tradition, they bury their dead the same day they die. We knew that Ayoudou would already be buried by the time we got there.

We arrived at his home in the Briquetterie (the Muslim neighborhood in the city of Yaounde). In his little house were all his relatives and friends. All the women were inside and all the children were out. The men of his community and he were at the mosque. This is how they grieve, men separate from the women. But we had called to say we were coming, and Mr. Djibril came from the mosque to greet us. We arrived before he did, and we were able to greet and hug Mrs. Djibril. It was really, really difficult. As a mom, that is my worst nightmare. How must she feel? I can, and I can't even imagine. Then entered Mr. Djibril. He greeted everyone first with a handshake and a thank you for coming and then he embraced me and we cried. All I could say was how sorry I was. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!

So, as in the Cameroonian tradition, we sat there. Just sat. That's what you do, just sit and show solidarity in your sitting. After an hour or so, we knew it was time to leave. My blessing was getting to hold Baby Leah, Mr. Djibril's eighth child named after me. She's sweet and was quite happy to be held by all the strange white folks in her house.

To have and lose a child in the same year...I won't ever know how that feels.

Opening Gateway, Part Three

Tonight, Jesus’ resurrection was a rainout at Gateway UMC …

Simeon had the idea to show the film, “The Passion of the Christ,” on Saturday night before the Sunday morning opening worship. I must confess that I wasn’t real thrilled about this choice. For one, I question whether the gruesome film is appropriate to be seen by small children, who certainly would be in the audience. Secondly, I also question the atonement theology that the film perpetuates.

But I decided to defer to Simeon’s wisdom on this matter. He wanted to show the film, and so we did. We set it up on the screen outdoors, and instantly gathered a crowd. There were at least forty people sitting in the arranged rows of chairs, while again, a number of people watched from the roadside.

We watched one hour and forty minutes of blood, spittle, and flogging. Just as the nails were being pounded into Jesus’ hands, however, it started to rain. I had to dash to the projector and laptop to get them under cover as soon as possible, unplugging cables as I went.

Fortunately, there was no damage of any sort, but within seconds, our crowd had vanished, returning home with fresh images of a dying, bloodied Jesus in their head.

One of my criticisms of the film has always been that it glorifies Jesus’ sufferings to a ridiculous extreme, and thus, distorts the meaning of the atonement. Furthermore, the resurrection takes up only a miniscule amount of screen time; the film is 98% death and only 2% resurrection. Yet a true and faithful understanding of Jesus’ atonement is that it comes as a result of his faithful life, death AND resurrection. You cannot separate any one of those three elements.

And last night, my fears came true – we presented a Jesus without resurrection! That just isn’t a true gospel story.

Other thoughts about the film:
… “The Passion of the Christ” is a stunning visual account of Jesus’ story, more striking than “The Jesus Film,” for sure. It also has less dialogue. I think this makes it easier for people on the street to follow the story. The action is very simple and clear; when Pilate washes his hands of Jesus’ guilt, for example, we get a close-up of the bowl, of his hands, of the water dripping. Then we get a flashback to Jesus’ washing hands at the Last Supper. It’s an easier film to follow, with a clearer dramatic arc, than “The Jesus Film.”

… My favorite moment in the film was the release of Barabbas. The character in the film is an unsavory, ugly man who grins and laughs maniacally when he finds out he will be released. The crowd laughed heartily at this!

… When it’s not raining, showing films in the front yard of Gateway could be a tremendously fruitful evangelistic event. I think we’re going to have to find a way to do this on a regular basis!

Opening Gateway, Part Two

It rained all afternoon in Yaounde, forcing us to move our Friday evening program at Gateway UMC indoors. This was only a problem when we realized there was no power … Fortunately, there is a generator in the office, and we were able to get it going.

Simeon had asked me to prepare a PowerPoint presentation on the subject, “Who are United Methodists?”

In the end, thirteen brave souls showed up to hear me tell the story of John Wesley and the people called Methodists.

(No, that’s not a huge number, but YOU schedule a program called, “Who are United Methodists?” at your church, and count how many show up!! Am I right?)

The crowd was actually quite interested in the stories of Wesley, the revivals, and what the United Methodist Church believes. The PowerPoint was full of pictures of eighteenth-century England, as well as contemporary Methodist churches and some of the wide-ranging activities of our boards and agencies. I also talked about the vision of Gateway UMC, and introduced Simeon as the pastor.

The questions at the end indicated that people were actually listening, and quite interested!. One man stood up and said he’d never heard of United Methodists, but was ready to join the church, and wanted to be in the choir!

There were questions about what the name “Methodist” means, about our practice of baptism, and the differences between Methodism and Pentecostalism.

I find myself in situations like these often in Cameroon. I’m constantly defining, explaining – and even, defending – Methodism.

And in these situations, I stick to the basics -- Methodism is an evangelical movement with a simple mission: to make disciples of Jesus Christ. And Methodists are nothing but disciples of Christ who are seeking to put their love and faith into action.

Opening Gateway, Photos

Opening Gateway, Part One

Pastor Simeon has been bugging me for over a year to start a new church. Last September, when I asked him to move to Yaounde to attend seminary, I told him that we would be able to open a new congregation in the building where our new office is located.

Simeon immediately was excited – he named it Gateway UMC, after a church we’d visited near Houston, Texas. He began making plans, assembling a music team, and thinking about what kind of equipment we needed.

But things dragged … the building took longer than expected to be finished, then I was out of the country during the summer.

We also didn’t quite agree on the proper strategy for a new church start. Simeon has the “if you build it, open it, and turn up the sound real loud, they will come’ attitude toward church starts.

I emphasized the importance of building a core team first. In fact, when I left for the States, I asked him to start gathering a prayer group once a week. Then I gave him a sheet of paper, numbered one to twelve and, “When you have filled this list with people who are committed to attending this church, then we’ll start.” Then I added the proviso, “And none of these people can be related to you or to me!”

By the time I had returned at the end of August, he had seventeen names on the list.

We finally set the official Gateway opening for this Sunday, October 28. But there are festivities scheduled for the entire weekend.

For example, we kicked off things on Thursday evening with a showing of the Jesus Film on the front lawn of the office building. Simeon has friends at Campus Crusade for Christ of Cameroon. For a tiny fee, they'll come to your location with their own generator, screen, loudspeakers, and 16mm movie projector and show the film.

I sat and watched the film with at least sixty people, all of whom were neighbors who had been attracted by the noise and excitement. Simeon and I arranged rows of plastic chairs for people to watch the film comfortably.

But there were at least another fifteen to twenty people who watched from the roadside. Even a few motorcycle taxis slowed down to watch!

A few observations while watching the Jesus Film:

… For several reasons, this kind of evangelistic event wouldn’t fly in most American neighborhoods, though it's a big hit in Cameroon. For one, the movie is badly dated and it’s not all that great. Let’s face it – the life of Jesus doesn’t quite stack up against Spiderman 3 or whatever else is showing at the local Cineplex. Second, the picture and sound quality of most American home entertainment systems is far superior to what we watched outdoors last night. Third, most people prefer watching in the privacy of their own living rooms, with easy access to the refrigerator and bathroom. And fourth, there was a bald evangelistic invitation at the end of the film. The invitation was not to attend church, nor was it to take a free book or gift – it was an invitation to repent and accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. And yes, five children came forward to do just that.

… During the three reel changes, one of the Campus Crusade presenters preached to the gathered crowd about the meaning of the life of Jesus for them. Of course, it was a standard evangelistic call, but I noticed that there was a great emphasis on the healing and deliverance miracles of Jesus. This prompted me to reflect on the fact that Africans resonate more with this part of the story of Jesus than do Americans. American evangelists focus on salvation from “sin,” but Africans emphasize Jesus’ power over sickness and demons.

… My favorite part of the evening came at the end of the film when a smiling, risen Jesus appears to his disciples. The crowd broke into spontaneous applause. I was filled with an unspeakable joy; clapping for Jesus in Cameroon … That’s what it’s all about for me!

Taxi Wisdom: Very ... What?

The second installment in my new series of taxi slogans is confusing, and requires a bit of exegesis. If you can't quite make it out, it reads: The Very Boy. Which raises the question, "How is 'Very' used in the phrase?"

Does it mean the driver is extremely masculine ... as in, "he is very boy-ish" ... or is it a kind of precise identification ... as in, "this is the very one ..."?

Interesting question ... or not.

Putting the "Circuit" Back into Methodism

I have recently wrestled with the age-old problem of ecclesial supply and demand: too many churches, not enough pastors.

In the case of the Cameroon Mission, the problem is particularly acute because of poor transportation and communication networks, as well as a lack of adequately trained people.

I was comforted by the fact that John Wesley had the same problem in 18^th century England during the revivals. And I became intrigued by his solution – organize the cell groups and societies into “circuits” and train a team of lay preachers to visit them in a kind of rotation. On the American frontier, this idea was exploited to its fullest to reach pioneers and on-the-go adventurers.

When I served as a pastor in England ten years ago, I discovered that the British Methodists are still organized in this way. In my case, I served as one of three clergypersons in a circuit of five congregations. Every week, I preached in one of the five churches, though I had pastoral responsibilities for only two of the churches.

Ideally, I would love to have a qualified, spiritually mature, and energetic pastor placed in every village, town, and city in the country to work in the ministry full-time, but of course, that’s not practical!

Circuits help meet the basic needs of every core group of Methodists, while allowing flexibility to meet new evangelistic opportunities. It also gives us time to evaluate the progress of new, young, wannabe preachers, and offers them the opportunity to test their call.

So last week, I called together a few of our pastors, plus some of those wannabes … and we created a circuit!

The Lekie Circuit is located just north of Yaounde, and is made up of eight “preaching points,” for lack of a better word. Two of the preaching points are actually considered solid churches, with a full-time preacher: those are the churches in Monatele (Pastor Jean-Blaise Bikoy) and Obala (Pastor Lemec Nemy).

The other six points are cell groups, or struggling churches. Their Sunday services will be led by one of five preachers, all of who have been worshipping as United Methodists over the last several years, and who will rotate around the circuit during the month. We drew up a preaching plan for the first month, deciding who would preach where and when.

I also put the fledgling preachers through a short, one-day course in Methodism, salvation, leading worship, and preaching. We bought the pastors brand-new Bibles, complete with concordances and dictionaries, and gave them cell phones so they can stay in touch.

Now we begin to pray … for Lucien, Joachin, Roland, Roger, and Igance … the new true Circuit Riders of the United Methodist Church in Cameroon!

It’s still considered an “experiment”; we’ve drawn up a preaching plan for four months. After that, we’ll reevaluate, and see what new trails have been blazed!