Author: Stacey Hare

The first time we met members from one particular village, after we explained that we wanted to write down their language and translate the Bible, said, “If you don’t pick the letter for the sound “s” that we want, we won’t touch your Bible.” These words echo in my mind as THE meeting to choose an alphabet approaches. This Tuesday, in a Kwakum village called Beul, representatives from every Kwakúm village will be coming to decide which letters they want to represent the sounds of their language. I have been indirectly preparing for this meeting for years and intensely preparing…

Fruit that comes from suffering and sacrifice is surely the sweetest kind. As the farmer nurtures his tender young plant, day in and day out, he nurtures it not only by pruning and watering, but with his very heart. And then, when that tender young plant becomes a strong tree that bears much fruit, he enjoys that fruit with a satisfaction that his neighbor, who also shares in the fruit, cannot. Jesus explains it in these terms, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). That which we invest in, care about, and pour into will…

I have had numerous conversations with single Christians, wondering if their standards for the ideal spouse were too high. Perhaps, they thought, they just need to bite the bullet and settle for that less-than-ideal guy. What’s funny is I have also heard Christians speaking the same way about missions teams and organizations. In some ways, joining with a missionary team is even more sober than deciding who one will marry. The typical married couples in the States will not have to endure the same kinds of stressors that are put upon missionary colleagues. Missionary teams plant churches together, make translation…

My day began by watching my deceased neighbor be buried in his front yard. My day ended by watching another neighbor beat a little boy violently. It has not taken long for us to remember that death and violence are a part of everyday life here in the village. And there is a part of me that asks the question: Is it ever okay to put my headphones in to drown out the constant strain of yelling that surrounds our home? Is it okay for me to look the other way while a grown man beats a whimpering child? Is…

When we were in Cameroon our last term, we would often spend our Saturday mornings working on our “yard.” This means that we tried to tame the jungle with a couple of machetes and a handful of 1st graders. We have about an acre of land and planted grass more-or-less blade by blade. Other missionaries gave us cuttings of their trees and we planted them in our back yard. Through the years of our first term, we tried to convert the land around our house from the wild jungle into something manageable and something beautiful. We worked really hard but…

As we have been saying goodbye to friends and family, people have been asking us how we feel about going back to Cameroon. In the midst of trying to see how much we can shove into suitcases and eating as much ice-cream as we can, there are three main feelings that keep coming to the surface: Dread, Trust, and Resolve. Dread We know that we are soldiers going back into war. Our war is not one involving guns or tanks but instead we battle and against the spiritual forces of evil that have held the Bakoum people for generations. We…

Mary T. Lederleitner in her book Cross Cultural Partnerships writes about how money matters cause many divisions in cross-cultural partnerships: Cross-cultural partnerships are on the rise. They have become a primary method in which churches and organizations engage in global missions. Partners from different cultures and contexts start working together with the hope of accomplishing great things for the kingdom of God. Yet despite their noble dreams and aspirations, working through cultural differences that surround money can become overwhelming at times. Over the years I have witnessed often that these cultural differences about how funds are utilized and accounted for…

There is so much work to be done among the Bakoum and surrounding people groups. The efforts of Dave and I are but a drop in the bucket. We would love to see full-time literacy workers, someone to come start a Christian school, church planters, people to work with children, and medical workers. The people groups around us are also without the Scriptures. We simply need more life-long workers beside us in Cameroon. Pray that the Lord would send out more laborers among the harvest in Eastern Cameroon Pray that the Lord would send out Bible translators for our neighbors:…

Working through the kinks of a writing system can be a very emotionally charged process (in some countries it has caused riots). Therefore, please pray that the process of proposing, testing, and implementing the writing system would be peaceful. Pray that the Bakoum writing system would be standardized and used. Pray also for literacy. If we attain an excellent writing system, but this writing system is not taught, then it is nothing more than a trophy without any function. Pray that we would have a thriving literacy program – that we would have writers’ workshops, that we would train teachers…

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.  John 13:35 Pray we’d love like Christ. Pray that the love that Dave and I have for one another and for our children – that it would not be assumed to be part of “white-people” culture, but instead would communicate that our love is an overflow of the love with which we have been loved by God. Pray for physical health. Pray especially for Dave as he spent our last term sick half the time. Pray that the Lord would keep us…