Glastar News!

Last week on the 11th of February, Cameroon was celebrating its National Youth Day.  We, however, were celebrating some of our own good news.  I had email from an assistant pastor waiting for me when I got back from our getaway telling us that their church had paid off our airplane.  After a month of seeking the Lord, the church voted to pay the balance of just under $22,000!  We are now enjoying a completely paid for bush plane that is busy supporting gospel preachers in remote regions of Cameroon!  Praise the Lord and continue to pray for safety and the spread of the gospel with this airplane! 

Tom Needham getting me checked out on a new airfield yesterday.

My first flight in my paid-for-plane!!  I hope to use this airfield in Lassin as a base for our outreach into Fonfuka, Bum.  It will still take a few hours by motorcycle taxi to reach Fonfuka from this field, but that is better than 9 hours hard drive from my house! 

On today's flight (above and below) I flew two men into Akwaya to sign documents to get a telecommunications center built in Akwaya.  That is a necessary thing that many of us take for granted.  Right now, there is no phone service in Akwaya unless you climb a mountain or have a satellite phone. 

Thank you for praying for and supporting the aviation ministry in Cameroon!

Our last week with Mom and Emily

Time has sure flown by and having my mom and sister here has been awesome!  Here are some of the pictures from this last week:

A breakfast picnic at the Mbingo rest house.  We had a great getaway day there last week.

Mom and Emily were able to get some good pictures of the kids to take home.

 Mom teaching Sunday School

Emily and Abby playing preludes and offertory.

Kids singing a special

 Abby and I on our Valentine's Day motorcycle date!

Happy Valentine's Day!  Abby and (not sure who) made a cake!  I even found a card and flowers in town!

At Camp Joy visiting with Eugene and Marabel.  Mom bought some of his artwork to take back to America.

 Camp Joy

 At a stream/small waterfall down in the valley at Camp Joy

Mom and Emily's visit

Here are a few pictures of the last few weeks.  Mom and Emily have one more week with us in Cameroon...it has been great to have them!!!

Enjoying some family vacation time on our way to pick up Mom and Emily...swimming in Yaounde

Swinging in Yaounde...

Playing games back home in Ndop...I can win this one "Ten Days in Africa", but I am still due for my first win ever in Settlers of Catan

Mom with me and bro. Sunday on a trip to Babungo.  Emily went with me on our Friday outreach, and you can see pictures of our interesting day at her blog.

Walking to Sunday's house

Mom and Emily's first njama-njama and foo-foo meal.  Its a local staple of boiled corn meal and huckleberry greens with tomatoes, onion, and palm oil.  Some serve it with either beef, chicken, or fish.  We love it! 

 Opening a suitcase full of great stuff from America!

 Pizza party!

 Opening a Christmas package from Jessica and Andy.  It was sitting lost in our local post office for two months!!

A blast from the past...Arch books, yes!!

 Hot wheels!

 Evidence from a rain shower...

Abby and I taking an off-road date and making a visit to a family from a village 40 minutes away. 

Tom and I flew a few missions on the same day into Meyerim, Akwaya.  On two trips, I was able to fly in three people including Pastor Felix's wife.  Tom had flown her out due to the war a few weeks ago.  Things are quieting down there now, but continue to pray.  I flew my own assistant pastor, Chrysanthus out of Akwaya from his successful preaching trip with Felix.  They trekked a full day to Matene and had their first baptisms, 9 new believers! 

On a short hike near the Mbingo rest house where we are taking a day off!! 

Mom and Emily arrived!

We took a mini-family vacation and drove to Yaounde, our national capital on Wednesday.  Thursday was full of some official business and shopping.  Friday, we picked up my mom and sister along with a fellow missionary.  I'd like to post more pictures later of our whole vacation and trip, but here is one of us all for now. 

Road Conditions

Hi Anna, these pictures give a little bit better view of the conditions for most of the way.  Unfortunately, I have to agree with Abby that the roads here are just a little bit worse than Ann Arbor.  Ann Arbor will prepare you a little bit for the roads here!  The people are saying that the road we took is the worse condition its been in for many years. 

We found out the Fonfuka Road (above and below) was supposed to be closed...we didn't get the memo, and there were no road blocks.  There were 5 different plank bridges along the road and several were ready to fall apart.  We made it safely across seeing the bad condition of the planks but ignorant of the real danger.  Praise the Lord for protection! 

 

This is part of the infamous Ring Road that has had a promise to be tarred (blacktopped) for the last 25  years. It sure is a beautiful drive in the bush though, just a bit time-consuming and rough on the vehicles. 

We plan to leave on a road trip to Yaounde on Wednesday to get my mom and sister Emily.  The drive is about 7 to 8 hours all on blacktop! 

Third Bum Trip

Thank you for praying for me on my last trip to Bum, and for praying for Abby and the kids while I was away for three nights.  We are located on the south-side of the Ring Road, and exactly at the north-side is the Bum area.  The Lord is working there to open doors for the gospel even though originally the gospel first came to the entire Northwest Region through the Bum area back in the 1920's.  They surely need a fresh understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  At a funeral we heard preaching from a Baptist church there that insinuated that a paid-up membership card was as good as a passport to heaven.  Indeed, pray much!

 Almost half way to Fonfuka, Bum on the east side of the Ring Road just before the Ndu tea plantation.

 One of the many places to see the beautiful River Kimbi in the Bum area. 

A potential site for an airfield in Bum.  This location takes 8 to 9 hours to reach over terrible road conditions and would be about a 15 minute flight. 

 My favorite picture of the trip!  When I got out of the car to take a picture of the Ring Road sign, these kids came out from nowhere running to me.  They happily agreed to stand in the picture and loved seeing it on the camera when I took it.  They are part of the Fulani Muslim school near Kimbi. 

 A burial service in Kimbi. 

I wanted to call Abby before it got dark, so someone took me to the top of a hill that overlooks Kimbi town. 

 We showed the Jesus film in Pidgin English to hundreds of people from the town of Kimbi.  Chrysanthus is preaching the gospel halfway through the film. 

In front of one of the fons of Kimbi shaking hands with the messenger of his palace.  He is my counterpart as I am messenger of the palace at Laka-Bum.  Praise the Lord for the message of the gospel that was given through Kimbi this trip. 

From left to right: Pastor Chrysanthus, Tanto of Kimbi palace, Tanto of Laka-Bum/Pastor Sam, and Pastor Ernest :)
Pray for follow up in Bum as we'll organize a trip for two pastors to go back in February.  Pray for government officials in Yaounde to approve airstrips all across the NW, SW and other regions.

Happy New Year!

 Some of the kids on our New Year's Sunday

 Elias and Elena finally playing with our snow that we got in the mail last year...they had lots of fun, and David enjoyed seeing "snow"!

 Since the kids cousins all have their picture watching snowman, we had to get one too.  We gave them the video for Christmas this year. 

This picture was a huge answer to prayer.  I mentioned in the prayer letter, that we needed an American instructor to give me my biennial flight review.  A friend of Tom Needhman's came to Cameroon last week to help with another mission in the very town where we live, and he is a flight instructor and mechanic.  He put me through a thorough but fun flight test, and I am now good to go for two more years.  Being a mechanic, he fixed Tom's plane and mine as well!!  Praise the Lord for how He answers our prayers! 

My Glastar and Tom's Sportsman after a busy day of flying yesterday. 

I had to get Elena's picture today before church as I thought she was looking quite pretty!