Standstill

On Thursday, we all went to Sabga for a number of great reasons...we always enjoy the cooler air and fellowship with the Needhams.  Actually, my family accompanied me to Living Hope Baptist Church where I gave the guys there first Homiletics test.  Abby, Elena, and Elias walked over to visit Rosemary, a missionary friend who lives nearby.  We all then went up the mountain to the Needhams house to check on the progress with the planes.  The Needhams were celebrating their 38th wedding anniversary, so they left for a few hours.

The work on the Sportsman is about finished or maybe even finished.  Check the blogs of Gospel Flight (www.gospelflight.blogspot.com) and the Needham's for more info (www.tombarbneedham.blogspot.com). Hopefully, they will have internet today and be able to update you from Sabga.  I am going up in a little bit today to discuss the plans for the Glastar and see the Sportsman. 

Unfortunately, we were not able to get the new camshaft and other needed parts during the time-frame that Don Wright is here.  That poses a number of problems that we have been praying about and will discuss more today.  Please pray with us for wisdom and for the Lord's will to be known and accomplished.

Here are pictures of Thursday's visit to Sabga...

 

Elena visiting the new kittens...

...and hoping to take one home soon!

The work on the Glastar engine at a standstill...

...the work on the Sportsman about finished!

More airplane work today...

 

Abby's growing Sunday School class yesterday. 

Work on the planes continues today.  

The crankshaft is on a custom-made engine mount getting ready to be preserved from the "weather" until the new camshaft arrives from America. The engine crankcase on the ground ready to be cleaned.

 

The cam follower on the right is the reason for our engine problems.  It is rusted and pitted acting like sandpaper on the camshaft.

The cam lobe on the right is the one that was worn down a tenth of an inch.  You can see from the cam lobe on the left that it should be a little more pointed.

The cam lobe and follower...Pray that the new ones arrive soon.  

I went up to the hangar for a few hours this afternoon after my Monday Homiletics class at the Bible institute. I was able to help Don Wright start the clean up process on the engine.  They had just finished splitting open the engine crankcase.  Don preserved the expensive crankshaft to protect it from dirt, humidity, and the elements to keep it form rusting.  Don assured me that he can put the engine back together again!!   See the following two blogs for other pictures and updates: www.gospelflight.blogspot.com and www.tombarbneedham.blogspot.com

Cause of engine problem found...repairs hopeful

Don Wright and Ted Setzer arrived safely in Cameroon to begin work on the two airplanes.  Ted Setzer is heading up Tom's Sportsman project.  Don Wright is heading up my Glastar project.  Daniel is helping on both projects and I am helping on the Glastar and trying to learn as much as possible.  It is a valuable experience to be able to work with Don on this major project.  Bro. Tom had been flying the Glastar quite a bit since his plane was grounded, and the airplane developed a rough running engine over the last few weeks. The engine has close to 1300 hours on it right now.  We were advised to plan for a top overhaul of the engine which involved replacing all four cylinders.  Don and I removed the four cylinders today, and Don found the major culprit of the rough running engine.  One of the cam lobes and followers was bad, which was causing a loss of power and allowing oil to accumulate in one of the cylinders.  Several phone calls are being made and more new parts are being ordered.  We are praying Don can replace the camshaft while he is here which will take a miracle of logistics and lots of hard work.  It also adds close to another $2,000 to the top overhaul cost.  Tom and I are splitting the approximately $7,000 repair.  Please pray about helping us with this unforeseen cost to help us get the Glastar back into the air and back into the bush airfields.  Please pray for all the parts to be able to arrive in Cameroon soon.  Please pray for Don, Ted, and all of us to be able to complete these two major repair projects on the two airplanes. 

 

Work begins...

Using the specialty cylinder removal wrench...

Holding the number two cylinder after removal...

The offending cam with a rounded edge causing the loss of power...

All four cylinders and pistons removed...

Praise the Lord for Don and Ted's expertise and willingness to come to Cameroon to work!

End of February Christmas package

 

We received a Christmas package from Abby's family today...always fun no matter what time of year!

Matching aprons! 

Homiletics

 

I am thankful for the various ministries that the Lord allows us to be involved in here in Cameroon already.  Here is my "Homiletics" or "Preaching" class at the Fundamental Bible Institute in Sabga.  As a new missionary, I am honored to be teaching my first class here.  All of these guys are planning to graduate this year.  Dr. John Goetsch from Lancaster Baptist Church in California graciously donated 10 of his books which were our textbooks for the class.  Thank you, Dr. Goetsch!  One of our burdens as missionaries is for the current leadership and the up and coming leaders to be able to have access to good books written by solid fundamentalists and especially independent Baptists.   If you are able to help us in any way, please contact me about the books that these men are desiring to own for their own personal libraries.  They truly are a great group of young Bible preachers!  Pray for them!

Airplane Repair Month

Bro. Don Wright with Gospel Flight is coming back to Cameroon to assist in the repair of the cage to Tom's Sportsman.  The plane was damaged when a downdraft caught bro. Tom on a landing a month ago.  Also, my Glastar has been having engine problems and due to the high time on the engine, we have decided to do a top overhaul of the engine.  Bro. Don was able to order four new cylinders for the engine at $1,000 plus per cylinder.  So we are faced with an unexpected $5,000 overhaul on the top half of the engine.  Bro. Tom and I are splitting the cost, so we are praying for financial help with any of that amount!  Please pray for bro. Don with Gospel Flight and bro. Ted Setzer with Glasair Aviation as they work on these two airplanes for the next 3 weeks!  Please go to www.gospelflight.blogspot.com for more information.

Bum Trip #3

 

Ernest eating Njamma-Njamma and Foo-Foo with chicken at the Mayor's house.  The Mayor was extremely kind and hospitable to us while we were there. 

Three of the Fons of the Bum people

 

Three of our new friends in Bum.  Pray for one of them, Elijah, who trusted Christ as his Savior.

 

On the way back, we stopped to see the Fon's son in Kamine.  They gave us plantains, pineapple, palm nuts, and other produce.

 

I decided to buy some more coffee in Kamine!  

 

Back home after another long drive!!!  Praise the Lord for the car working the whole way and for safety on the bad roads. 

 

Elias soon discovered one of my leftover snacks from the trip...corn nuts.  

We praise the Lord for the spiritual fruit of the trip including people saved and many receiving their very own Bible.  This survey trip was an amazing experience, and we made many new friends.  However, we were all very glad to get back home to see our families.  As Pastor Ernest expressed to our friends in Fonfuka, "We like em for kam, and we like em for go." We love to come, but we love to go back also! 

Trip to Bum #2

 

First Baptist Church of Fonfuka (and possibly the NW province) planted in 1922.  They have a new building next to this one.  We found out about the history from the Fon.  We started the one hour trek to find the grave of Jospeh Mamadu, the Cameroonian evangelist who brought the gospel to his people.  Along the way, his descendants began the trek with us to accompany us to the site.

 

Trekking to the Mamadu gravesite

 

At the gravesite, the family and descendants of Joseph Mamadu, including his second wife!  They were thrilled to see us come pay our respects to this great Baptist preacher. The man in the orange shirt must have been in his 90's and shook our hands with such energy!  He said the next time we see each other would be in the sky on the way to heaven to see Jesus! 

 

Youth Day in Cameroon, a national holiday.  We were invited to sit with the guests of honor! 

 

  

Ernest drafted to referee the afternoon football game of Youth Day in Fonfuka!

Trip to Bum #1

 

Chrysanthus, Ernest, and I prepared to leave for Bum.

 

The Ndu Tea Estate

 

The Fon (chief) of Kamine.  He asked me to bend down a little for the picture!  He asked us to arranged a time to come back and preach to his village which was on the way to our Bum destination.

 

Sunset as we approached the town of Fonfuka, the headquarters of the Bum area. It took us about 10 hours but had made several long stops to see things and people along the way. 

 

A temporary foot bridge across the River Kimbi.  It took these guys about 10 minutes to get their motorcycle taxi down the hill across the bridge and back the other side!

 

The new bridge under construction

 

Resting during the heat of the day in "downtown" Fonfuka!

Journey to Bum

On Tuesday I'll be traveling with two Cameroonian pastors to the villages of Bum, Fonfuka, and Ngonakimbi.  This is further up the Ring Road than any three of us have been, so we are excited to be preaching in new territory.  We are going to support an evangelist friend who is preaching in the bush.  We are unsure of the condition of the road and where exactly we will have to park our car. We think we can drive at least for 6 or 7 hours before considering other means of transport.  We may have to hire motorcycles and also trek some of the way.  Much of this trip will only be possible in the dry season like this.  Pray for souls to be saved, our evangelist friend to be encouraged, and for safety on the roads and in the villages.  Also, please pray especially for Abby, Elena, and Elias while I am away!  You can follow my trip on one of the links on this blog page. 

Wum airstrip follow-up

 Menchum Falls on the way to Wum. The next picture shows us at the top of these falls. 

View looking back at the Menchum River from the top of the Menchum Falls. 

 

Felix, Tom, and Daniel at the top of the falls.  We found a spot that literally was on the rocks in the middle of where the river tumbles over the falls.  Very impressive and an impossible place to stand in the rainy season.

 

Me at the Wum (pronounced like "womb") border.  Two and a half years ago, Abby and I went with the Needhams to see this town.  This was a long delayed follow-up to that trip.   We are desirous to put in an airstrip for church-planting.  The town is only 60 miles from Sabga but along a long bumpy twisting road.  I think it took 3 hours to drive there.  This place would also be a great place to land when the weather turns bad on the way to or from the Akwaya airfields. 

 

The chief's regent, wife, and one of the traditional councilmen. They will have a meeting soon to determine if we can still use the proposed airstrip site.  Please pray!  

 

The site for the airstrip.  If approved, we will be back in a little over a week to begin the week long task of clearing the spot for the field.  

 

Wum Lake

 

School kids happy to receive gospel tracts.  

 

Pray for Wum! 

 

On the way home...the Menchum River receding a little during dry season.  Pastor Julius was able to lead a man to the Lord that we picked up here and gave a ride to.