Guy just finished two intensive days of orientation for seminary.  Came back to Shiloh near the end of the day with his head just spinning.  Knew it wouldn't be easy, but had no idea what he would be getting into.  Until now.  He's committed.  Not backing out.  But truly overwhelmed with the enormity of it.  

And it's starting to sink in for us, too.  Realizing what this will mean for Shiloh.  He'll be in school two full days plus two half days per week.  That means he'll only have two half days and one full day to give us.  Plus Saturday.  There will be times when we will up to our eyeballs and beyond with work.  And we will miss him enormously.  But we're committed. Not reversing our decision to let him go to seminary.  

We all see God's hand in this new adventure in the life of Guy.   Not sure what's around the bend for him.  Or for us.  But confident of God's leading.  Resting in Him.  He does all things well.

It happened shortly after they were married.  In fact they had returned from their honeymoon, settled into his apartment, and began living happily after when it happened.  The following day the police knocked at their door.  They had come to arrest the brand new husband.  The young wife desolved into hysterical tears as he was being led off to jail.  How could this be happening to her?  She had finally married her prince charming and now he was being ripped away from her.  She had visions of spending years apart while he waited sentencing.  The justice system leaves much to be desired.  

Meanwhile he landed in the local jail under trumped up charges.  He was confused and bewildered, and terribly saddened to have to leave his precious wife in a state of hysterics.  But he clung to God.  He knew he was innocent and he knew God was  in control of all things.  

In his neighborhood there was a ring of thieves whom the  police had been trying to catch for a long time.  That very night, the night of his arrest, the police finally rounded up the thieves and threw them in jail, too.  The new husband knew some of these young men.  And suddenly he opened his eyes and saw what God was doing.  Here they were in jail together, at least for this night.  He had a captive audiance.  He would share the Gospel with the thieves.  At first they shouted, mocked, and laughed at him.  Who did he think he was, talking to them about God.  He's a common thief just like them.  What does he have to say that they would want to listen to.  But our friend boldly corrected them.  He reminded them that he was innocent.  If he was guilty of the charges, he would not be able to open his mouth.  But it was because he was innocent that he had the right to tell them about his Lord and Master.  The thieves calmed down and let him talk.  He spent the whole night witnessing to them.  And all he could think of was "WOW God!  You do all things well."  In the past he had tried witnessing to some of these young men.  They had scoffed at him and wouldn't listen to him.  But here they were, in jail together, letting him talk.  And they were finally listening to him!  He had much to thank God for.

The following day, proof was brought before the police of his innocence, and he was released.  But he's still praising God for the wonderful night he spent in jail, witnessing to a gang of thieves.

I know you've been in situations like that before.  Someone says something.  Someone else adds a comment.  Third person says another something.  And soon out tumbles something you've never heard before.  And it absolutely takes your breath away.

Today was one of those days.  He's not even our favorite taxi man.  Our favorite was busy.  So was number two.  We moved on down the list to number three.  He was available.  So in God's wonderful plan, our number three was His number one choice for us from nine a.m. until 5 p.m.  And we were blessed beyond description.

Turns out his church does something we've never, ever heard of before.  When a couple announces to the pastor that they want to get married, he puts them in what they call "The College of Marriage."  For five months!  Once a week.  The couple, the pastor, the other pastor if either he or she comes from a different church, and some of the trained elders. Once a week they sit down together and discuss one aspect of marriage after the other.  They start with salvation.  "Tell us how you came to know the Lord?"  "How did it happen?"  "How do you know you are really a child of God?"  "How would you share the plan of salvation with another person?"  And on and on it goes.  Often there is homework.  "Go home and each of you write out how you feel about children."  "How many do you want to have?"  "Should the wife work after the children arrive?"  "How will the children be disciplined?"  Etc., etc., etc.  Everything, absolutely everything is based on the Word of God.  If an answer cannot be found in scripture, they don't start making things up out of thin air.

After five months, approximately twenty meetings, endless soul searching, and honest writing down ones feelings on a wide variety of subjects, the couple is finally declared ready for marriage.  Their graduation ceremony from the College of Marriage is their wedding ceremony.  But the door is left wide open for them to come back every time they hit a snag in their relationship.  The goal is to establish solid, God fearing couples, who work together in this thing called marriage for the rest of their lives.  

How does this work in the real world where we all live, work, and play?  Our friend, who himself graduated into marriage just a year ago, reports that he and his wife have been tremendously blessed and helped by all they learned ahead of time.  And there is no shame in him taking his wife by the hand and bringing her back to the  College of Marriage for a refresher course on this or that problem they are dealing with.  They feel loved, valued, protected, and blessed beyond measure.  And they feel that it really is possible for their marriage to last a lifetime.  He reports that none of the couples who have gone through this intensive training course have ended up in the divorce courts.  None have separated.  None regret having married the other.  But many (in fact, he claims all) have gone back to the College of Marriage for help with little bumps in the road.  Sometimes they let the bumps grow large before they wisely seek help.  But all of them do so, sooner or later.  And all profit from the wise and godly, Bible based counsel they receive.

What an amazing model this is for all churches all over the world.  And here we thought we came out here to Cameroon as missionaries because we had something to offer.  More often than not, it is they who are teaching us.  And we are blessed beyond measure.

It's not everyday that we clearly see the hand of God protecting us.  But sometimes He makes Himself very visible.  

It happened the other day when Guy was coming back from the village.  After leaving Eyene and before arriving at the Polo turnoff, they came across a large tree that completely blocked the road.  Had Guy and the driver started back to Yaounde just a few minutes earlier, that tree would have fallen on their car.   Those little last minute delays, those times when nothing is working out right, those times when we really should have left five minutes ago and here we're off to a late start, are all ordered by Almighty God.  If we could just develop eyes to see that, we would save ourselves a lot of grief.

Fortunately they were able to turn the car around without too much difficulty.  And fortunately Guy had been through the village of Polo once before.  It had been some years ago, but he thought he might remember which dirt road to take.  They came back into Eyene, turned right at the roundabout, and drove right back past our house.  Before long they were driving past the last house in Eyene.  A short distance later they came to the first house in Polo.  When they came to the Polo hospital, Guy recognized where they were and knew to turn right.  The road was pretty rough, but they were able to make it back out to the main dirt road that leads out to the highway.  

As they passed through Manguisa village after Manguisa village, their hearts were full of praise to God for His wonderful protection.  Though they arrived back in Yaounde considerably later than they should have, they were alive and well.  And the car was intact. Truly, God does all things well. 

Joseph showed up for work an hour early this evening.  He and Papa Jim went right to work knocking apart an old shed of ours.  He's going to take the good boards home and have it remade into a useful storage building.  His wife will use it in her business.  A couple of years ago we helped her get started in a small business.  She's had set-backs and ups and downs, but the business is still going.  She rents roadside space near a school.  Each day she spreads out her merchandise on a small, wooden table, and sells to school children and anyone else that comes along.  In addition to selling phone credit, she sells things like little packets of water, cookies, candies, etc.  Her soon-to-be newly rebuilt shed will be an enormous blessing for her.  Up to now she has had to hall all her merchandise back and forth each day.  But before long she will be able to lock things up inside.  Her life will suddenly become a lot easier.  And Papa Jim is glad to get rid of a tumbling down own shed that is no longer useful for him.  How's that saying?  One man's garbage is another man's treasure.

The medical team is back from the North Region, with stories to tell of their time at the mission hospital.  They saw and did things that in no way resembled the medicine they practice in the U.S.  Probably the doctor said it best.  As a pediatrician in America she sees lots of strep throats, kids with influenza, bad colds, the occasional broken bones.  You know, normal stuff.  But here in Cameroon, she was treating kids all day long with malaria, typhoid, hepatitis, and amoebas.  It's a whole different world.  But they're glad they came. They had a chance to give back to poor people out here on the back side of nowhere.  Wouldn't trade their experiences for the world.  They're returning to civilization tomorrow night a little richer than when they arrived.  And they're already dreaming of coming back..

The brother and sister duo who come to Shiloh quite often called and asked for two rooms.  Since they are just here overnight, and since they have to leave before 8 a.m. Sunday, we can accommodate their request.  But this means that we will be rolling up our sleeves and working just as soon as they leave.  You see, we have three others scheduled to arrive by train from the North shortly after 10 a.m.  It's a holiday weekend and we're full up.  We've even had to turn some away.  It's always like this with a long weekend.

You're probably wondering which holiday we're talking about?  Don't worry about it.  We don't know what it's called either.  It's some Muslim holiday or another.  

I've often said that if a person wanted the maximum paid days off work, the ideal job would be to work either for the American School of Yaounde (ASOY), or for the U.S. Embassy in Yaounde.  You see, they have paid days off work for all American holidays, all Cameroonian holidays, and all Muslim holidays.  It doesn't get any crazier than that!!  

But after thinking it over, I'll stick with our ministry instead.  We're on call 24/7, 365 days per year.  We do get the rare time off, but only when another member of our team makes the sacrifice to fill in for us while we're gone.    Yeah, we do get worn out at times, and yeah, some random down time would be nice, but mostly we love what we are doing and wouldn't trade it for the world.

Just one of the many perks of this ministry is listing to the brother and sister duo who are singing their hearts out.  They always spend an hour or two in song when they first arrive, and then off and out until they leave.  What a blessing!  It's worth far more than a day off with pay.

Due to an uninvited and unwanted bout of nonspecific lower back pain, Papa Jim and Mama Alice are not in the village at this time.  It's the older Mama Alice who is out of commission.  Papa Jim is here to comfort and help the invalid.  

Guy, our faithful assistant, is representing us in Eyene this month.  He left early this morning with bags of food for Papa Pollycarp and Mama Clair.  But first he's going to our village house to do some yard work.  With the seasonal rains, the jungle growth really takes off.  

Papa Pollycarp turned 80 just a couple of days ago.  While age is taking a tole on his body, he grows more alive in Christ every time we see him.  Guy will study God's Word with this dear couple.  They are so hungry for solid Bible teaching.  It is such an honor, a joy, and a delight to be with them.  We are missing this visit very much.

Let me encourage your heart tonight with a true story.  It's about a dear Cameroonian friend of ours. 

Like so many others, he was born and raised in a strong traditional religion family.  They were not involved in any church of any flavor, but they faithfully followed all the traditional religion obligations.  Just so you'll know, traditional religion in all it's many forms is nothing more or less than the worship of the devil and his demons.  Our friend bears scars all over his body from little cuts made by the sorcerer as he was doing his various evil incantations to ward off this and that in this young life.

He has several older sisters.  Our friend is the first born son which is a very important position. He has younger brothers and one more sister.  When he was twelve years old, his father dropped dead in front of his eyes of a massive heart attack.  His mother was very pregnant with her last child at the time.  It had not been a good marriage, but at least her husband had  a good job, and money was not a problem.  They were part of the very small middle class out here in Cameroon.  Immediately the sorcerer showed up to let the new widow know that someone had put a curse on the family. It was that curse that killed her husband.  She would soon be loosing each of her children, one by one.  She needed to do something quickly to break this curse.  In utter fear (traditional religion is a fear-based religion) she began doing whatever the sorcerer said she must do.  And he began bleeding her dry.  When she was finally reduced to abject poverty, she came to her senses and made a break with the sorcerer.  She was now feeding her family through subsistence farming.  Life had become very, very difficult.  She still clung to the traditional religion, even though she no longer had the means (or desire) to pay for protection for her family.  Somewhere along the way, her second son, who is two years younger than our friend, heard the gospel and was soundly converted.  He suffered much persecution at the hands of his family.  Basically, they were afraid of the demons.  If he abandoned their religious practices, who would carry them on?  And what would the demons do to harm them for letting their son follow this false "cult"?  That's their name for Christianity.  Our friend freely admits the he led the way in persecuting his brother, and their mother was right behind him.  But six long years later, she finally declared that her son had found something true, and she wanted what he had.  So she gave her heart and life to the Lord and has never looked back. 

About two weeks later, someone shared the gospel with our friend and he, too prayed to receive Christ as his Savior, due in large part to the big change he was watching take place in his mother's life.  But nothing happened.  He kept living his old life.  Nothing changed.  A short time later, someone else shared the gospel with him and once again our friend prayed to received the Lord Jesus in his life.  Again, nothing changed.  After a time, a third person shared the gospel with him and for the third time he became a Christian.  But this time God intervened.  Two weeks later his brother's friend learned of a job opening at Shiloh and shared this opportunity with him.  Though he was out of work himself, he decided to give this opportunity to his older brother.  And thus the older brother showed up at Shiloh, applying for the job.  When we interviewed him for the position, he told us he had accepted the Lord just two weeks prior.  

 

Many years would pass before our friend shared the whole story of the multiple salvation experiences.  He declared to us that he is confident that if he had not come to us at that time, he would still be wandering out there in the world, always accepting the Lord but never really showing any evidence of the new life.  He hates to think where he would be and how his life would be.  He has told us many, many times that everything he knows about God he learned right here at Shiloh.  It's true.  We have had the thrill of watching him grow up in the Lord.  He came to us a baby who didn't know anything at all.  We were the ones to point out sin in his life, and work with him to leave that behind, and move ever more deeply into our Lord.  What  a thrill it has been these last nine years to watch him be transformed more and more into the image of God.  He's no longer that young man who knew absolutely nothing.  Now he's a married man, with two children.  He's an elder in his church.  He's on fire for the Lord.  And he puts us to shame all the time. 

Our God can do all things.  Nothing is impossible for Him.  And it's His work.  We are just called upon to be faithful in doing our little part.  He is the One Who brings people into His Kingdom. 

It's altogether unfair when you stop to think about it.  Which nobody does.  But that doesn't change the facts.  It's just not fair.  

Churches make all over their missionaries.  Their prayer letters are faithfully prayed over.  They are eagerly sought after to speak at various groups in the church when they are back to the States.  And on and on it goes.

But nobody, and I do mean nobody, ever stops to think about the fact that there never has been a missionary who is a Lone Ranger.  There is a whole host of people behind every single missionary who ever went to the field in the service of our Lord.  And those people are the unsung heroes of the ministry.  They are the ones who do all sorts of mundane things, well out of the limelight.  They make it possible for the missionary to stay on the field.  The list of tasks they faithfully and voluntarily do is long and varied.  If I were to try and list them, I would surly overlook many things.  Suffice it to say, those hidden ones are quietly laying up treasure in Heaven.  One day, when we get Home to Glory, the enormous impact they have had on spreading the Gospel around the world will become known.  When rewards are passed out, it will be amazing how many will be awarded to this hidden group of very valuable members of the Family of God.

All day long I've been focusing on one of those "hidden" ones who make our ministry run much smoother.  She deserves a gold medal for all that she does for us.  But nobody even knows her name.  And it's just not fair.  That is, until we look at things in light of eternity.   It's better to receive praise from God than from men.  

He was ushered into the presence of his Lord and Savior this morning.  And all over the city, and indeed, all over Cameroon people are mourning his loss.

He started life in a village outside of Bamenda, in the English speaking part of Cameroon.  Somewhere along the way he put his faith and trust in the risen, living Lord of Lords and King of Kings.  God blessed him with a good wife and four children.  He became a successful printer.  Soon he was able to purchase his own printing press and open a shop.  The business grew and he was hiring young men and training them in the printing business.  In fact many professional printers in Yaounde today owe their start in business to this man.

God began tugging at his heart.  After much prayer and soul searching, and will the full support of his dear wife, he sold his business and his machinery, and went to seminary to become a pastor.  He was one of the oldest men in school.  It was not easy to land back in the classroom at his age.  And it was a struggle to find the means to support his family.  But God's call was on his life and he never looked back.

He was ordained a pastor and sent to an town just outside of Yaounde to begin a new work for our Lord.  He and his wife and their growing children rolled up their sleeves and went to work.  It was not easy, but God was faithful.  Little by little people were coming to know the Lord and a Bible study was started.  In time it grew into a full fledged church.  Eventually the church started a new church in another neighborhood without a gospel witness.  And the pastor's church once again went from small to large and another new church "hived" off from his church.  This happened many, many times.  Some of the churches that started from his church were now starting other churches.  The Gospel was spreading.

A humble man, he was devoted to his wife and a good father to his children.  Unless you really got to know him, you would never imagine he was used  by the Lord in such a mighty way.   He was still in his 50's when the end came.  He quietly and faithfully accomplished so much for the Kingdom in his short life.  

He is gone from this life, and we miss him terribly..  But he has entered into the fullness of life.  One day soon we will be reunited in Glory where we will spend eternity together in the presence of our Lord and Master.

  

Awhile back Doris invited us over to her place.  The landlord had been doing a lot of work on her little apartment and she wanted us to come and see the finished product.  We were amazed at how nice her place was.  She's located right in the middle of a bustling neighborhood.  There are all sorts of little stores within easy walking distance from her.  In fact she steps out her gate right at the intersection of two neighborhood streets.  Amazingly, her church is right next door to her place.  We teasingly told her she probably sleeps in on Sunday morning until the opening song wakes her up.  Then hastily dresses, grabs her Bible, dashes next door, and arrives before the song is finished!  She's part of the leadership team at her church, so she doesn't actually do that, but she could if she wanted to. 

Her front gate opens onto a smallish, but nicely tiled patio.  She's conveniently hung cloths lines there.  And her own private bathroom (no modern plumbing) is in a closed in corner of the patio.  Next we went into the apartment itself.  We hadn't expected such a good sized living room/dining room combination.  There's a long hallway with her kind of large bedroom off of it.  She's turned the hallway space on the other side of her bedroom into a simple kitchen.  It's cozy, compact, and handy.  

Doris had prepared a tasty meal for us.  We were five around her table.  She was so excited to have her boss come to dinner.  She went all out with a beautifully laid out table.  Doris is the on our Team who has taken to my napkin folding instructions.  

We had a grand time talking and laughing while we enjoyed her good cooking.  Then Papa Jim asked if there were any left-over maintenance jobs he could help her with.  And so he ended up spending the rest of the afternoon repairing her front door so it would lock properly.  She was pretty grateful to have a boss who doubles as a father for her.  She never knew her father and never knew the love of a father.  Not until God brought her to us over four years ago, that is.  She tells everybody that Papa Jim and Mama Alice are the parents that God gave to her.  We're real proud of how our daughter has turned out.  She's a continual blessing to us.

It's over with.  Two weeks.  Fourteen men.  Multiple impromptu concerts in the library.  Hand washing done at random times out back.  Men lined up to iron prior to going to their class.  Opening and closing the gate over and over again in the morning and again in the late afternoon right up to bedtime.  Late night laughter.  Early morning radios playing multiple stations.  Fourteen men sharing three showers.  Muddy shoes traipsing all through Shiloh.  Sweeping, moping daily.  Bathrooms cleaned every other day.  All those sheets changed after one week.  And now washing sheets and towels for the final time.  Listened to many sincere words of appreciation.  Nearly everyone wants to come back again and bring their wives.  And suddenly it's over.  Shiloh is strangely quiet.  But not empty.  Quickly cleaned three rooms.  Other people arriving for weekend individual retreats.  We say a lot of "Good-byes" here at Shiloh.  And lots of "Hello's" too.  We carry these people in our hearts forever.  And someday, someday soon, we'll be in Glory.  No more "Good-byes".  Together for all eternity.  Can hardly wait.

Today was the second annual tomato paste making day at Shiloh.  The day started at 6 a.m. when Eric, our favorite taxi driver, picked Guy, our assistant, up at his house.  Traffic was light at that time of day, so they rushed across town to a market I've never been to before.  It's where all the produce grown in different parts of the country are trucked to.  I'm told it's a wild and crazy place.  People called "Buy-Um-Sell-Um" arrive early in the morning to greet the trucks as they roll into the market.  They quickly barter for the best price, purchase whatever quantity they want, and head off to markets all over the city.  Or, people like us show up once a year during the height of tomato season, and buy a ton of tomatoes.  Guy picked out five large boxes for us.  Then they rushed back across town, arriving at Shiloh just as the rest of our team was coming to work.  We filled every large basin we own with water and got busy washing the tomatoes.  Then came the cutting phase of the process.  That is, cutting combined with lots of talking and friendly banter.  Even hard work can be turned into fun.  Next the tomatoes were put into very large pots and cooked for an hour or so.  When they cooled down a bit they were then put through a large sieve to remove as much juice as possible.  Eric and his taxi came back and took Francis, our cook, and many containers of cooked and strained tomatoes to be pulverized.  There are ladies all over town who own large machines that are used to grind all sorts of things from grain to tomatoes and everything in-between.  Meanwhile back at Shiloh, the rest of our team was busy washing our very large pots and filling them with water.  It takes forever for that much water to come to a rolling boil.  Time to wash all our canning jars and lids.  When the tomato paste returned to Shiloh, the process continued.  Finally the water was boiling and jars and lids were sterilized.  Near days end jars were filled with our new tomato paste, lids tightly screwed down, and back into the water they went.  Twenty minutes later out came rows and rows of jars of freshly canned tomatoes.  Tomorrow we will can tomato juice.  Then we will put our canning equipment back on the top shelves of the pantry for another year.  

We have calculated our savings and are paying just one third the price of store bought tomato paste.  Cameroon cuisine calls for lots of tomato paste, so this is an important savings for us.  

Hard work?  Yes.  Lots of fun?  Yes.  Profitable?  Very.  Repeatable?  Definitely.

The invitation said 10 a.m. Wednesday.  The first monthly missionary woman's Cooking Club.  Cost 500 F.  Been called lots of names in my day, but never a good cook.  At my age, it's time to launch out into the deep.  Try something new.  Sounded like fun.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll discover hidden talent.  Registered to attend.

Five ladies, representing as many mission boards, gathered at the founder of the Cooking Club's home.  Learned how to make Spring Rolls.  Fun.  Easy.  Tasty.  Will add a whole new look to our Shiloh menus.  In fact, we have a big event coming up in early October.  This will be the perfect touch!  I know Francis and Doris will quickly catch on to this recipe.   Drop over when you're in the area.  I'll teach you how to make Spring Rolls, too.

Listen!  Can you hear it?  It's coming from the library and penetrating every corner of Shiloh.  They do this every couple of days.  Spontaneous gathering together to sing.  Early on they found our guitar, two African drums, and a basket full of rhythm instruments.  Fourteen men lifting their voices in praise to our Lord.  This spontaneous choir blesses us every time they break out in song. They're here for two weeks and we're loving every minute of it.  Especially when the choir's singing!

It's "sickie time" again at Shiloh.  Guy has been battling typhoid for nearly a week now.  The cure is actually worse than the disease.  It's dreadful.  Never, every get typhoid.  Avoid it at all cots.  Take my advice.  Save yourself a long, drawn out, horrible illness.  It's worse than anything you can imagine.  I've had it twice in my life which is two times too many.  And that makes me an expert on the topic!!!

Joseph has been off work and back at work and off again for the last few days.  Finally went to the doctors.  They ran a bunch of tests and started an IV.  Standard procedure.  Undoubtedly they are treating for malaria.  Treat first and ask questions later.  That's the mantra out here.  Our brand of malaria is so deadly, it's nothing to play games with.  Tomorrow he gets test results.  When we learn what it is, we'll have some idea how long he might be laid up.  

Praising God that our May 4th robbery compelled us to hire a guard for Joseph's night off.  That means we have someone to fall back on when Joseph gets sick or needs time off for some other reason.  Romeo is always glad for the extra work which comes with extra pay.  And we are more than glad to have his help.  Otherwise the rapidly becoming elderly Papa Jim and Mama Alice will be going up and down stairs letting men in an out of the gate until nine p.m. or whenever they settle into their rooms for the night.

So even in "sickie time" we can find much to praise God for.  In everything give thanks, He admonishes His children.  

Sent a text.  Asked if she could come talk with me.  Had a question to ask.  Texted back to say Shiloh is brim full of people, but we could try to find a quiet corner somewhere.  The living room emptied out just prior to her arrival.  And so we settled in for what turned out to be a two hour visit.

She wanted to make reservations for a group she is in to come and use the library.  Couldn't make the reservation.  Conflicted with another event.

We used to be close.  Real close.  I'm old enough to be her mother, but age didn't matter.  She used to pour her heart out to me at very deep levels.  And then she broke the relationship.  No provocation.  Had dreams to chase.  Other interests to pursue.  Left me wondering what I'd done wrong.  

At random intervals she'd come back for a brief visit.  Mostly to brag about how high she was soaring.  The relationship was never the same.  After some years she finally revealed that all that glitters is not gold.  Her dreams had become nightmares. Everywhere she turned was a dead end.  Wished she could go back in time and do things differently.  

That was her last visit.  Today she confessed she has changed.  She's not the same girl she was  back then.  She's learned a lot about life.  Grown up.  Matured.  Stronger in the Lord, too.  

And we talked.  At deep levels.  She has come back to the relationship.  Older and wiser.  Regretting the lost years.  Grateful Mama Alice is willing to forgive and forget.  

As she was leaving thanked me for all we had shared.  Said she had been to a banquet.  Was leaving well fed, with plenty to drink, metaphorically speaking. 

Shiloh exists for people like her.  We make every sacrifice so that this lady, and many others just like her, can learn to walk well with God.  The ups and downs of relationship are well worth it when we see individuals progressing towards godliness in all their ways.

He brushed past me in his eagerness to catch up with Papa Jim.  With a big smile and a friendly "Here, let me carry that for you," he tried to grab the box out of Papa Jim's hands.  Not being new in the country, Papa Jim hung on tight and said he would carry it himself.  Disappointed, the would-be-thief walked on ahead and disappeared around a bend in the path.  We laughed at his failed attempt and kept on trudging home.  Soon another eager young man brushed right past me and eagerly offered to carry Papa Jim's big box.  Obviously a box that size must be filled with gold!  Soon we were ringing the bell at Shiloh.  When Francis opened the gate, he extended eager arms to help relieve Papa Jim of his burden.  This time, Papa Jim relinquished his load to our trusted cook.  And we laughed and laughed at the silly thieves who thought they could out-fox us.  Sorry guys...we've learned a few things over these last twenty-five years.

It was promising to be a nice day when I let Joseph, our guard, out at 6 a.m.  But by 6:30, when the doorbell rang, it was a different story altogether.  The one and only jogger at Shiloh at the moment jogged his way back home barely in time to miss the storm.  A serious wind was blowing trees, bushes, and our wind chime.  Sure enough, the rain soon followed.  A light rain quickly built up to a full fledged storm.  Thunder, lightening, and rain, rain RAIN!  It was wild, wonderful, and cold.  The tempature had dropped down to 70 degrees.  Almost shivvering weather.  

Small problem.  The fourteen men staying at Shiloh for two weeks needed to go out in this weather.  The serious students start stragling out of Shiloh around 7 a.m.  The perpetually late ones dash out of here close to 8:30 a.m.  Though it's only a five minute walk to CABTAL where their training course is being held, five minutes in a torrential downpour is something else again.  I started passing out unbrellas until they ran out.  The Johnny-Come-Lately types got to enjoy the full effects of the rain.

They should start coming back withing the hour.  I'm curious to see how just many unbrellas will find their way home to Shiloh.

4 a.m.

Pitch black outside.

Taxi picked us up.

Crazy time of day.

Streets of Yaounde practicially empty.

No traffic = no delays.

Fourty-five minute trip shrunk down to fifteen. 

Observed a hitherto unknown phenonomon.

Highly trained, well skilled, dead serious policemen stand in groups of four to six at stratigic interesections.

All vehicles (which includes ALL vehicles) are pulled over.

Police on high alert surround the car.

Flashlights shinned in our eyes.

Request to see our identity cards. 

Waved us on our way.

Advanced to next group of deadly serious policemen.

Follow same procedure.

Arrived at bus company in record time (police checks notwithstanding).

Marveled at the level of security during hours normally spent in bed.

Didn't used to be like this in the dark of night.

All as a result of Boka Haram.

Grateful for a country that takes the job of protecting their citizens and we expats seriously.

 

Do you like poetry?  I stumbled across this one in a book I'm reading.  I've heard it before, but this time around it really grabbed my heart.  Thought I'd share it with you.

 When God Wants to Drill A Man

         Author Unknown

When God wants to drill a man,

And thrill a man,

And skill a man;

When God wants to mold a man

To play the noblest part;

When He yearns with all His heart

To create so great and bold a man

That all the world shall be amazed,

Watch His methods, watch His ways!

How He ruthlessly perfects

Whom He royally elects!

How He hammers him and hurts him,

And with mighty blows converts him

Into trial shapes of clay which

Only God understands;

While his tortured heart is crying

And he lifts beseeching hands!

How He bends but never beaks

When his good He undertakes;

How He uses who He cooses,

And with every purpose fuses him;

By every act induces him

To try His splendor out -

God knows what He's about.

 

Changes come to this culture in interesting ways.  With the advent of satellite TV and internet a few years back, the Western world is closely watched.  The younger generation is quick to pick up on fashion, style, the newest and latest from Europe.  The latest technology is discussed and eagerly awaited.  And when it eventually arrives, those who can possibly afford to, rush to acquire and catch up with the West.

One of the newer things to arrive here in Yaounde, Cameroon is police on bicycles.  For many, many years bikes were exceedingly rare.  Frankly we thought they would be utterly dangerous in the traffic patterns that are a normal part of life.  But eventually bikes and biking has come into the culture.  And here come the traffic cops on bikes.  At the busiest intersections in town you can now find one, two, or even three bikes just standing there in the middle of the road.  And two to four policemen are fanned out from the bikes, blowing their whistles, waving their arms, directing traffic.  It used to be when a policeman blew his whistle at a car and motioned for it to pull over, a driver with something to hide would hit the gas and go careening out of there.  But now all the police have to do is jump on a trusty black bike (with "POLICE" painted on it, of course) and go zipping off after the offending car.  With the atrocious traffic jams busy intersections are now famous for, catching a runaway driver is as easy as can be.  

Not all new things are bad.  We heartily endorse this new innovation in Cameroonian culture here in the big city.

Watching people grow in Grace.

Watching them increase their knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

That is our biggest perk.

That is what keeps us going day in and day out.

In-spite of every setback.

Every attack from the enemy of our souls.

 

Here's three current examples.

Shared to encourage your own heart.

Example number one is a married woman.

Our relationship over these last two years has been turbulent. 

Calls herself a Christian.

Doesn't act very Christian most of the time.

Makes life miserable for her husband and others.

Determined to continue the relationship as long as she lets us have any input into her life. 

Takes a lot of grace to be her friend.

Pray often.

God is her only hope.

And then last month she began attending a wonderful church.

WOW!

Goes by herself.  

Has been faithful for a whole month now.

Starting to see the Grace of God at work in her life.

She has a new found peace.

Our God is in the life changing business!

Encouraged to keep on in this relationship.

Second example is a married man.

Not very bright.

Severe speach empidement.

Has an entry level job.

Not capable of a more responsible job.

Sweet disposition.

Had recently joined God's family back when we first met.

Spent many hours with him over a long period of time.

Papa Jim in particular has poured his life into this man's life.

Not one to catch on quickly.

Takes lots of patience and perserverance.

Over the span of several years of investment in this relationship,

finally seeing real spiritual growth take place.

No longer new in the faith.

Able to come up with refreshing spiritual insights of his own.

We are blessed beyond mesaure. 

Encouraged to keep on in this relationship.

The third and final example is a taxi driver.

Known the Lord for some time.

Got caught up in "Prosperity Gospel".

And other such falseness.

Papa Jim and the rest of us have tried uncessfully to share with him.

Knows what he knows.

Often wonder "Does he really know the Lord?"

And yet there seems to be a real interest in the Ture and Living God.

But now, after all these years, he is changing.

He's still attending the same church.

But his eyes are being opened to the truth.

As he watches people fall away from God when "prosperity" passes them by,

he chooses to run to God.

Spends more time in the Word.

Discovering what GOD says about the issues of life.

Walking away from false doctrine.

Blessing the socks off of us.

Never expected our investment in this life to pay off.

The God of the Impossible can do all things.

Greatly encouraged to keep on in the relationship.