He's been a deacon at his church for a number of years now. Has a real heart for his brothers and sisters in Christ.  His wife sings in the choir.  He sits in the back of the auditorium and notices every new person who attends the services.  Always the first to greet them when they arrive.  Makes sure he visits with them afterwards.  It's a good sized church for here.  Maybe 250 men, women, and children.  

His behavior could be considered strange to the uninformed.  Each Sunday when prayer requests are taken, it's not uncommon for him to quietly slip out of the church and disappear for a period of time. Since he always returns long before the service is over, few notice his absence.  But the new pastor noticed, and the new pastor was upset with this deacon he had inherited when he agreed to pastor this congregation.  After a few weeks of observation he finally called the man into his office for a good dressing down.  What kind of a deacon was he anyway?  His highly unusual and irregular behavior had to stop.  It's a bad testimony to those sitting around him.  They will soon take faithfulness in church attendance just as lightly as the deacon does.  He simply cannot have people in his church popping in and out like tourists! 

When the new pastor finally wound down, the deacon quietly asked him "Do you know why you sometimes see me disappear?" And he proceeded to unfold his story.  If a prayer request were given for a particular member of the church who was sick, and whom he knew would be suffering all alone at their home, he went into action.  Quietly slipping out of the church building, he would drive to their home and check up on them.  He's one of the few in his congregation with a car, so going to their house and returning to church as quickly as possible was not a challenge for him.  Sometimes he would discover that the sick didn't have any water in their house.  Collecting all their water containers, he would drive to their nearest water source, fill them all, and transport them back to the home of the sick.  Maybe the sick hadn't eaten anything all day, so he would snoop around in their cook house and find something he could warm up for them to eat.  He would stay with them long enough to insure that they didn't need him to help in the feeding process.  But always, each and every time, no matter what, he would pray with them.  And when he slipped out of their house and quickly returned to church, he would leave them feeling loved, cared for, and special in the eyes of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  

He did it all with no fan fare, without the knowledge or permission of a soul, with a heart full of love for his brothers and sisters.  And now he was being called on the carpet by his new pastor!  Needless to say, the pastor who jumped to hasty conclusions without knowing the facts was duly chagrined.  And the deacon?  He's going right on being the hands and feet of Jesus.  Nothing has changed except his new pastor's perception of him.

What a story!  What a man of God!  What an honor to count this dear brother as one of our close friends.  There's nothing like a Cameroonian who is sold out to God.  They put us to shame every time.