Christmas

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas happenings...

 Opening presents on Friday night

 Thanks for the things from America!!

 Elena and Elias stomping on the bubble wrap, and Chloe laughing at them :) 

Kids singing at the Christmas morning service...

 Visiting a family from church and eating with them after the service on Saturday morning. 

 We took a car load of church people and went to the Needhams for the afternoon...

Christmas night at the house...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!! 

Merry Christmas from Cameroon!

We wish you all a merry Christmas!!  I don't really have time to post now or for a few days, but we wanted to post a picture we took tonight and a wish you all a wonderful day!  Abby and a neighbor lady fixed a wonderful meal for our Christmas dinner tonight.  After we ate, we read the Christmas story and sang some songs with the kids.  After it was dark, we put the presents under the tree and were blessed in opening so many wonderful treats from our families back home...thanks for everything!  We miss you all!!!  I'll post more later...

Meyerim kids

So, I have been swamped flying this week, but it has been fun.  Yesterday on my first flight to Meyerim, Akwaya, I landed and taxied up to a pretty sizable group of kids.  They greeted me with their usual smiles and "welcome, Pastor Sam..."  But when one of them looked in the back of the plane, he started shouting and cheering.  Soon a bunch of the kids ran to the back of the plane and did the same.  I couldn't figure out what they saw in my cargo that interested them so much.  A few minutes later, one of the men from the village asks me where his school teachers are.  I asked if he meant the two ladies that I flew out a few days ago, and he said that they were the ones.  I told him they were coming on the next flight and that I didn't realize that they were teachers.  I asked if the kids were cheering because they didn't see their teachers in the plane, and he affirmed that that was the reason...so you see kids in the bush of Africa are pretty normal after all!!! 

However, when I did fly their teachers back into the village on the next flight, they gave them a royal welcome that would make anyone happy! 

Pray for the children in Akwaya!!

Back to work...

I welcomed a three week break from flying, but during that time I missed out on some beautiful flying weather…no rain and good visibility.  Now the harmattan dust is here with poor visibility.  Praise the Lord for his safety during the unpredictable weather of rainy season, but now we pray for safety during the challenges of dry season dust, smoke, and haze.  We were able to catch up on some ministry in Ndop and spend a little more time together as a family the last few weeks as well. 

We watched with interest on TV the visit of the President of Cameroon to our regional capital of Bamenda the last few days.  His visit to this region was very important to the country, and we praise the Lord for a safe and successful trip for him.  The skies were busier with military and transport planes, which was one reason why I was grounded from flying for at least the last week. 

Today on my first dry season mission, I was able to finally fly in to Akwaya to bring out Pastor Felix.  He has been waiting for me for a week due to illness.  Praise the Lord he is doing better and is looking forward to some time out of Akwaya.  He mentioned the Lord’s hand in the village of Matene, which is one of the hardest places for him to reach on foot.  Pray for Felix’s knee, which is really hindering him lately, and another reason why he needed to fly out. 

Believers Baptist Church news

Thank you for praying for our church planting efforts in Ndop Town, Cameroon.  We had a good baptism service a few weeks ago, and this last Sunday we adopted our church constitution and began official membership. 

 Me and my buddy on the way to the water...

 Testing the water...slippery rocks, moderate current, cold water...wouldn't trade it for anything!

 Taking it all in...

 Praise the Lord for lives changed through the Gospel of Jesus and obedience in baptism!

 Singing by the water...

 Abby usually plays the preludes, the offertory, and introduces any new songs.

 Two of our new members signing the church covenant.   

Chrysanthus and I working together to plant this church and others. 

Visit from the Fon

The Fon made me a messenger of his palace earlier in November, and he came to visit us in our own house yesterday.  His palace is hard 9 to 11 hours away, so we were happy to see him as he took care of business in the provincial capital nearby.  He also introduced me to some of his own people who stay in our town. 

Visiting Camp Joy and getting a "tour" from Pastor Ernest.  Ernest was with me the first time we met the Fon in February. 

Pray that the Camp Joy ministry will be a way to reach some of the young people for Christ in his villages.  The Fon is excited about the opportunity.  We can either take the camp ministry to them by transporting the staff via airplanes or we can fly a few campers out of their villages to Camp Joy.  This would all depend on getting an airstrip put in, so pray for the necessary permissions from the national government.  

Lastly, we took a tour of the hangar, airplanes, and airfield in Sabga.  Pastor Julius knows the Fon as he was with us reaching the palace a few weeks ago. 

Praise the Lord for open doors for the furtherance of the Gospel! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Here are a few pictures of the day's activities for us in Africa...

 playing at the Wright's house...

 We slept at Ellen's house...Elias getting into a bit of extra sunscreen

 getting ready to leave for the Mossman's for the big day...

 Chloe all smiles...

 ready to eat at the Mossman's

 Elena and Faith Ann

the evening praise service...

Fun in Sabga

Since I have been flying so much, we have been staying in Sabga for a few weeks.  Here are a few shots at the Needham's house...

Chloe has found her thumb!

 Chloe with one of the Fulani family staying at the Needham's bungalow. 

 Riding a horse is always one of their favorite things to do

 Elena gave this flower in a tub to Abby.  Elena told Abby that it means she loves her. 

 Elena "reading" to Chloe.  Chloe will sit and listen for as long as Elena will read. 

 Fun on the swings! 

Yes, its quite chilly up here in the evenings. 

Abby and I on a picnic in the mountains behind Sabga.

November Flights

November was a busy month flying out of Sabga with many missions to Akwaya.  Lately, I have been flying a number of government officials in addition to the usual medical flights and ministry friends. 

Government official leaving Sabga for Akwaya

Government official leaving Akwaya for Sabga

Civil engineer working for the government on a telecommunication project in Akwaya.  Hopefully, in a few months Akwaya will have some form of phone service. 

bro. Godfred returning from Akwaya's monthly men's spiritual retreat

Returning to Foumban with Ellen and her friend from Akwaya.  They went out for about 3 days to encourage and support Felix and Evette in the ministry. 

Rarely, I fly alone full of cargo for the people in Akwaya.  The cloud cover and rains have extended well into the normal dry season. 

The airfield in Sabga on a picture perfect day! 

Elias and I on the dirtbike at the end of the same day...thunderstorm in the distance.