Posted in Africa Culture Shock Encouragements and Exhortations

Fear God. Honor the Emperor.

Sometimes culture differences between Cameroon and the US can be pretty shocking. In Cameroon, for instance, and I am not even joking…children respect their elders. I know, it’s a bit hard to believe. This means that when adults are talking, children are seen and not heard. Though I am certain when youth get together they sometimes badmouth their parents, you would never see it in public. This attitude of respect carries over to authorities for adults as well. When the president of the Kwakum language committee arrives to any meeting, people stand. They offer him the seat of honor. Again,…

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Posted in Africa Christian Missions Encouragements and Exhortations God’s Work in Cameroon

“Suffering for Doing Right is my New Normal”

Of all the sorrow, frustration, and pain we have felt during our time in Cameroon, this last week has proved worse. The spiritual warfare has been so intense that I have found myself crying day and night. Without going into too many details, there is one Kwakum person I have invested in more than anyone else and has become my closest friend here. This young man is currently furious with me because I confronted him in sin. At least for now, it appears that he is walking away from the Lord. All at once I feel a deep sense of…

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Posted in Africa Christian Missions Culture

The Angels in Sodom

These past two weeks have been filled with incredible disappointments. Bible translation To start with, I had been working alongside Kwakum colleagues in a particular village for over a year. We have been taking recently translated Scripture and then sit down with two people there, read them the story, and then ask them comprehension questions. These two individuals have learned to read in Kwakum and have begun to understand who God has revealed himself to be, specifically in the book of Genesis. Then, out of nowhere, both of them started avoiding my calls and were “busy” when we arrived in…

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Posted in Africa African Traditional Religion Christian Missions Culture

Do You Believe in Magic (3/3) Magic for Americans

I often have trouble sleeping when we are in Cameroon. One of the many things that bothers my sleep is that I often hear people calling out to me in the night. I then find myself waking up while opening the front door, or calling back out the window. Of course, at that point I realize that there is no one there. When I talk to my neighbors about this, they often get very afraid. They tell me that when you hear someone calling out to you in your sleep, it is someone using magic against you. They warn me…

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Posted in Africa African Traditional Religion Christian Missions Culture

Do You Believe in Magic? (2/3) Magic for Africans

I am not sure how many Africans read our blog, but if you do, this blog is for you. I don’t believe for a second that all Africans hold the same views. With over 1,500 languages in Africa, there is bound to be a great deal of diversity. That said, I have noticed some patterns in African cultures in regard to magic. The Bible has a great deal to say about magic, and I wanted to sum up three biblical truths that deal with the issue of magic. If your culture already agrees with these principles, praise the Lord! If…

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Posted in Africa African Traditional Religion Christian Missions

Do You Believe in Magic? (Part 1/3)

When I ask the question, “Do you believe in magic?”, if you are like me, what comes to mind is either Disney or that one song by the Lovin’ Spoonful. But magic (or witchcraft/sorcery/juju) has a much different meaning to many people here in Cameroon. Here are some recent examples I have heard of: People will go to shamans (French: marabout, Kwakum: kaah, Anglophone Cameroon: ngambe man) for protection, or to have curses put on their enemies. So, at many funerals a special ritual is performed to determine who put a curse on the person that died. Also at funerals,…

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Posted in Africa Bible Translation Christian Missions Culture

How a theory of communication can help make disciples

Since our arrival in Cameroon in 2014, there have been a handful of people from our village that have attended church semi-regularly. The services are conducted in French and this group of people speaks almost exclusively Kwakum. These neighbors put on their nicest clothes, arrive at church, and…sleep through the services. This is very regrettable because our pastor just finished a very long series on the book of Romans where he clearly presented the Gospel of grace. When I asked my Kwakum-speaking friends what they understood at church, I would often get answers like, “I learned that we need to…

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Posted in Africa African Traditional Religion Poverty Prosperity Theology

Animism and Corruption

Most people that live around us live in constant uncertainty. They work hard: clear their fields, plant crops, frequently go out as the crop grows to clear the weeds, and hope for a good harvest. However, they never know if their crop will fail due to out of control fires, rodents, torrential rains, thieves, or for no discernable reason in particular. It is crushing when they come to us at a loss, all their efforts and money spent, with nothing in return. So, many turn to witchcraft. They speak to a “witch doctor” and figure out what sort of offering…

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Posted in Africa Christian Missions Culture Culture Shock

“Saving Face” is Lying

What an amazing Easter! Stacey and I had the privilege of seeing our co-worker and friend Jean Pierre (JP) baptized on Sunday. Baptism is always exciting in our village because the river is a long walk from our church building. That means that the whole congregation (and even a bunch of people not a part of the congregation) end up singing praises to God all along the way. Baptism to me has always felt solemn, sacred, quiet. But baptism here is a party, a time for rejoicing, and very much like the arrival of a newborn. One of the most…

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Posted in Africa Christian Missions Culture God’s Work in Cameroon Video

Marriage: The Beginning of a Revolution

Yesterday was packed with joy from the first rooster crow until people fell into their beds exhausted from all the yipping, cheering, and dancing they did in celebration of something that the Lord holds dear: marriage. It was a day that, I believe, mirrored a celebration in Heaven. Two young believers (Koo and Mami) have taken up their crosses, turned their backs on the ways of their culture, and followed God’s will for marriage. One Kwakum friend told me that he had never heard of two young Kwakum people getting married. This occasion therefore merited the song (composed in Kwakum)…

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