MISSION TO CAMEROON : DOUALA 2014

Crusade announcement

Mission to Cameroon 2014: Evangelism in Douala

We had several programs in Douala. We started with the preparation of the International Bible Camp planned for 2016 in Cameroon with young people of Martinique an Guadeloupe. Pastor Emmanuel KOUM had gathered the pastors of churches that participate in this project ad we discussed its organisation. Later we had a meeting with the young leaders to refine all aspects of the project including tourism.

But the most important part of the mission in Douala will be the implementation of the “Douala For Jesus” project. It was about an evangelistic rally that was to cover five districts of Douala from December 15 to 30, and an evening of prayer with all participating churches on December 24, in a large public square. This night watch prayer was planned to be my last intervention since my commitments forced me to return the next day, December 25^th, to France.

This project was originally to be conducted with 200 evangelists from different churches including about 40 young people from YWAM. We had met before our departure to Tibati for training. They were ultimately about 120. They all had “camped” during the first part of the mission to the pastor Emmanuel Koum’s compound. Women in the rectory living room transformed into a dormitory and men in two flats also transformed into dormitories. We had all of us to be up at 6am to start a personal meditation before joining together at 6:30am for a time of praise and exhortation up to about 7:15am. While I was going for my morning jogging few minutes later, the evangelists were having their breakfast before proceeding to the neighbourhoods of the place where the evangelistic meeting had to take place. The Churches of the invested district had in charge to feed them for lunch and the evening meal were taken at pastor Koum’s where we were all staying. When back from the evening meeting and before diner, we had some debriefing focussed on the actions of the day, which allowed to prepare the following day.

The districts invested were:

The Lion District of Bali from 15 to 17 December 2014, preacher Daniel Mpondo

The 7^th District Bepanda New Route from 18 to 20 December 2014, preacher Emmanuel Koum

The District Makepe Roundabout from 21^st to 23^rd December 2014, preacher Papa Samuel Mahop

The Night watch of prayer was also to take place at Makepe District on December 24^th with Daniel Mpondo as preacher. And that was my last intervention in the “Douala For Jesus” project. The last two Districts to be invested were the Bilonguè from 26 to 28 and the Angel Raphael from 29 to 30 December.

The work was harder in the South who was Christianised before colonisation that in the North strongly Islamic. While more advertising media were used, Christian Radio broadcasted and mass distribution of flyers, banners held in main axes in the city, we did not have an evening audience we had in the North. It reminded me somewhat countries in Europe. Nevertheless, dozens of people came to the Lord, many lives had changed and were saved.

At the time I make this report, I still have no echoes of what happened in the two last areas where I did not participate in evangelism. But I know that the Lord has supported His work and added to the churches many souls. His Name be glorified!

MISSION TO CAMEROON: TIBATI IN THE NORTH

Tibati Town

Tibati in Northern Cameroon

The Maéva Sev is a partner for some years to evangelization in Northern Cameroon, the stronghold of the Muslims. Every year we brought with us international team of Africans and Europeans. But this year, given the situation caused by the incursions of Nigerian Islamic sect Boko Haram in this part of the country, we preferred not to bring anyone in order not to put our friends in danger. It is possible that this is our last mission in this part of Cameroon, because public meetings of more than five people are now prohibited.

Arrived in Douala on November 17, we took the road on 24 to go on to Tibati in Northern Cameroon were the campaign was scheduled from December 4 to 6, 2014. After a short program in Douala, we travelled North with Pikup.4X4. We had three days to travel 1200 km. Having left Douala early on Monday afternoon, we arrived at Tibati on Wednesday around 2pm. E spent the first night in the premises of the SIL were we arrive late in the night and had to leave early at 5:30 am. After a stop at our former “young boy” of the Francophone community of Bonalembe in Douala, who lives now in Bertoua, (half way to Tibaty) were we had a meal, we arrived the town of Graoua-Boulaye late in the afternoon. We spent our second night there and we were accommodated in Lutheran Church compound. This is where troubles began. We had to leave the next morning at 5:30 and suddenly the car refused to start. Yet before we left, Pastor Emmanuel Koum had put it on review for three days and until now it had shown no signs of weakness. We tried to start it by ourselves, but it didn’t work. Fortunately it happened in this centre which had a fleet of identical vehicles to ours. It’s is garage manager who eventually helped us out and we finally left at 7:40 am; but we will encounter a greater difficulty on the Garoua-Boulaye and Tibati rout section, a distance of just under 300 km that took us about 6 hours to drive through, relaying us in turn at the wheel, driving being difficult for one person.

When we reached Tibati, we were greeted and shown our place of accommodation to the Catholic mission by the Church Leader of a church in planting process that was accommodated by a very charming young lady Sister Clementine. She is very committed to the Lord and courageous. It was she who took care of or restoration and stewardship of all during our stay in Tibati, although she was not feeling well. Upon our arrival we had contact with churches of the place to organize public meetings that had to start on December 1^st after a promising approach with local church leaders, only two churches have finally joined us for this action. We have scheduled a meeting the following day to finalize the organization. Originally scheduled at 11am, we had to postpone it to 1pm because most of the church leaders were teachers in colleges and high schools instead. Then we started the training seminar 4pm.

To summarize, we have provided training of supervisors and evangelists who were responsible of supervision at public meetings. We visited the city authorities, the Mayor, the Deputy Prefect, the Prefect and other senior officials. But we also visited the Muslim religious authorities, the Lamido, op leader of the Muslims an guarantor of Islam in the Region, who has received and accept us to pray for him. We had a full night prayer meeting that was held at the Full Gospel Church on Friday night and on Sunday we were sent to different churches. Thus I was a speaker to the Full Gospel Church of Tibati.

We started public meetings at the esplanade of the former Town Hall of Tibati and we preached alternately, my Cameroonian colleague Emmanuel Koum and myself from Monday to Friday. The worship band began the evening as people were arriving. After 30 to 45 minutes of praise, a film was shown before the preacher proclaim the gospel and invited listeners to conversion. Every night, a hundred people stood to give their lives to the Lord. For me it is always the greatest of miracles.

We had to take the decision to stop the evening meetings a day before scheduled, given the situation that appeared to us, especially as only two churches were involved and they were not prepared to coach so many people. Moreover, the Spirit of the Lord has convinced us that we had to leave a day earlier. Already throughout this mission we had permanently experimented spiritual warfare. We didn’t want to disobey and we left a day before the scheduled date. In fact, we were invited to meet with the Lamido that ay and the vision that I had received was that if the Wisemen had been very well welcomed by King Herod, in contrary to what he ha asked them, they did no go back to him on their return. From then it became imperative that we had to leave the territory before the supposed time of that visit, which was done!

We faced many harship during this campaign, but we also had many victories and we have seen the Lor at work. Throughout this mission, we have seen many lives changed, pastors who disagreed reconcile and work together on the same project, hundreds of men, women and children come to Christ, sick healed and lives rearranged. On the way back to Douala, other hardships awaited us: we had to drive about 900km in 17 hours and then, after a night sleep in Yaounde, it took us six hours to cover a distance of 265km with a 4X4 Pickup that made its last miles at the speed of 20 km/hour. But we were happy to be back to our place of accommodation in Douala. Thank You Lor!

THE DIASPORA PEOPLE OF EUROPE CONSULTATION - MADRID 2014

The "Casa Escorial San Jose"

From September 30 to October 3, 2014, was held in El Escorial near Madrid in Spain, The annual Europe Diaspora consultation for the Evangelization of the Diaspora settled in Europe.

The Consultation brought together departments from across Europe and involved in evangelization of Europe and the Mediterranean basin. Some departments are very sensitive, and given the recent events we have experienced in France and Europe, let me not give more details of our work here.

We shared mutual experiences and were able to enrich us with them. This was the opportunity to meet potential partners with whom we have interesting discussion. We found the progression of evangelical in Europe, particularly in Spain, which was for a long time a Catholic bastion.

The workshops and presentations in plenary sessions were very informative. However, we regret that despite the suggestions we made in previous years, there were so few representatives of the Diaspora in question. This gives the impression that European stalled in the evangelization of their country and seeing the rapid expansion of immigrant ministries would take control of those movements, while the ministries of the diaspora of various nations would be better able to reach immigrant populations in Europe. They would all benefit working together without mind control or hegemony of one side or the other.

We must recognize, in defence of the organizers, the legacies of colonization makes this somewhat complicated collaboration, immigrants from former colonies are very reluctant to give the association hand in fear of being swallowed up by those of former colonial power. A working reconciliations between these nations would be a big advantage to reach all people not yet reached by the Gospel in Europe, should they be immigrants or natives.