Trip to Zambia

The day after Thanksgiving we left Foumban for a two-week trip to Zambia to visit missionaries there and attend a leadership conference. We stayed with the John Smith family and saw many other missionary families while we were there. We enjoyed seeing old friends and making new friends. We also enjoyed seeing the work of the ministry there.

The first week was the conference, which was held at Central Africa Baptist College in Kitwe.

Danny spoke in one of the sessions. Other sessions were taught by missionaries in Zambia, nationals from Zambia and other countries, and visitors from the United States.

The conference was attended by more than 250 people from Zambia and several other countries.

The conference ended with a graduation ceremony for three students from the college. On Sunday Danny preached at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Wusakili, which is pastored by one of the graduates.

The following week we went to Victoria Falls. It was the beginning of rainy season; so there was not as much water falling as there will be later in the season. It was awe-inspiring nonetheless.

November-December 2010 Prayer Letter

June-August 2010 and September-October 2010 Prayer Letters

New Family Member

First of all to update the water situation: after about a month without water, it finally came back on and has been relatively consistent (for here) since then.

Now for other news: we added a new family member a few weeks ago. After much discussion and debate, he was named Dodger.

No water

It has been more than three weeks since we have had running water in our house. We have been surviving thanks to the spring water our guard gets for us every night and thanks to the rainwater we have been catching. Pray that the water starts running again soon.

Also pray for those who are going to camp this summer. Last week was the camp for girls ages 10-15, and we had 7 go from our area. This week has been the camp for boys ages 10-15, and we had about 10 go from our area. Next week is for girls 16 and over, and the following week is for boys 16 and over. Pray that those who are not saved will get saved. Pray that those who make decisions will be faithful to them.

Pray for us as our coworkers the Loeschers are leaving for furlough next Friday. The only other missionary that will be here for about 3 or 4 weeks is Ellen Doyle. Pray that we survive until the Mossmans return August 10.

April-May 2010 Prayer Letter

Update

We have been busy the last few weeks. We finished the school year at the institute, and the twins finished kindergarten. Jimmy will finish first grade this week. Amy has been walking more and more.

We also spent a week in Northwest Cameroon at the annual camp for Fundamental missionaries throughout Cameroon. It was good to get away for a few days and to spend some time with other missionaries. It was also good to be encouraged by the preaching of Dr. Craig Scott from Denver.

Several of our co-workers recently left for the States. Mark and Rachel Barilla will be on furlough for a year, and Ellen Doyle will be gone for six weeks. Pray for them as they are there and for us as we are here.

Death in Cameroon

One of the ladies in our church died today. Death is handled a little differently in Cameroon than it is in America. After the lady died, it was up to the family to transport the body to the morgue. As in America, those in the church with pick-ups must always be ready when someone in the church is in need; so our co-worker took her truck to the hospital to transport the body.

When we got to the morgue, we first had to wait until the man that runs the morgue got there. Then someone went to the pharmacy to buy the formaldehyde. It was then discovered that the cooler at the morgue was full; so there were several options: 1) move the bodies closer together to make room for one more; 2) move a small body to the floor to make room for the new body; 3) leave the new body on the floor until space opens up tomorrow; and 4) take the body directly to the house. In the end, they decided to leave her body on the floor and put it in the cooler tomorrow when one of the other bodies is taken.

People often wait a long time before the funeral to allow family member to travel in from out of town (I guess that would explain why the morgue was full). Next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings, the church will go to the family's house to sing, pray, read the Bible, etc. Next Friday the family will pick up the body from the morgue and take it to their house. The funeral and burial will be on Saturday.

Washing Machine Repairs

We are thankful for mechanical missionaries who come to visit us from time to time. This week the Studdards, who are missionaries in the Far North of Cameroon, have been in Foumban. Yesterday Randy fixed our wringer washing machine. We are thankful for his mechanical abilities and for the other missionaries here who no longer use wringer washers and who allow us to take parts from their machines to use in ours. Randy did suggest, however, that we start to think about investing in a new washing machine.

Amy has had some major events in her life this week. She has another tooth coming in. She has had 2 teeth for several months, and now a third is finally arriving. She also also been standing up on her own. She usually chooses to do this on a soft surface such as a bed. We have tried to convince her that it is easier to stand on more solid objects, but she seems to prefer the soft cushioning when she falls.

In our prayer letter we mentioned the dust storm that had arrived. We are thankful that the dust has cleared and that it has been raining some the last few days.

Prayer Letter

February-March 2010

We would like to begin this prayer letter with a Cameroonian weather update. Each year around this time of year winds from the Sahara Desert fill the sky throughout Cameroon with sand. The sky stays hazy for several days; in the past, however, it has affected only the sky. This year was different. We awoke last Saturday morning to the visibility in the picture on the right (the picture on the left shows about the same view when the skies are mostly clear) but also to a layer of dust covering everything inside the house. This continued for several days not only in Foumban but in all of Cameroon. We asked people how often this happens, and they said that it has never happened before.

We have had several special services in the church in the last couple of months: Friend Day on February 7, a Family Conference March 18-21, and a deacon ordination service on March 21. Please pray for fruit from these services as there were many visitors who attended them.

We were very excited as the church in Foumban ordained Asong and Samuel as its first national deacons (see photo at right). We are thankful for the example of service these men were giving even before they were elected deacons.

The church was very excited about the teaching at the Family Conference by Marshall Fant, a visiting pastor from the States. The people showed their eagerness to learn as they asked many good questions and faithfully attended the sessions. On Saturday of the conference, the ladies had a special session, which lasted an hour and a half. That was immediately followed by the regular session, which also lasted an hour and a half. Many people then stayed another hour for a question-and-answer session. Biblical instruction on this subject is a great need in Cameroon. Purity before marriage and faithfulness in marriage are concepts that are completely foreign to most Cameroonians. Danny is currently examining marital customs here from a biblical perspective for his dissertation for a Doctor of Ministry degree. Pray that this will be a means of teaching biblical principles concerning these issues throughout Cameroon.

Please pray for wisdom for us and our coworkers as we plan for the future. Pray for us as we continue to bring the Bible Baptist Church of Foumban under complete national leadership. Bringing the church under national leadership will allow us to expand our ministry, and we need wisdom to know which direction to go.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support. Please continue to pray that the Lord will meet our need to increase our monthly support. Please also continue to pray for the authorization of the Cameroon Bible Fellowship. We pray that the Lord will bless you because of your faithfulness to pray for us.

In Christ,

Danny, Carrie, Jimmy, William, Joel, and Amy

God's Protection during Travel

We are thankful for God's protection as we traveled to Sabga on Sunday.

In the few days before we left, we started hearing the noise of the brakes grinding. The brakes got weaker and weaker as we drove to Sabga. We are thankful that the brakes lasted until we got there.

Just before Sabga, there is a big pothole between two curves in the road. It covers most of the width of the road; so most people go onto the shoulder on one side of the road to avoid it. As we rounded the curve approaching it, there was a car coming rather quickly from the other direction. He was on the shoulder on our side of the road. Danny did not think the other car would be able to make it back to its side of the road before we reached it; so he started moving toward the left side of the road. The other car then began moving to that side of the road; so Danny slammed on what was left of the brakes and started moving back to the right side of the road. The cars missed each other, but the other car ended up in the ditch off the left side of the road. We pulled over and made sure everyone was all right; then we continued our trip. We are thankful that God protected us and that nothing worse happened.

We arrived in Sabga and got the work done on the car (including getting the brakes fixed). We had a good time while we were there and are thankful for the rest we got while we were there.

Travel Plans

Thank you to all of those who prayed for my mother's surgery. It seems to have gone well. They did not have to amputate the toe but only had to clean out the infection and take off part of the toe.

We are planning to leave tomorrow to travel to Sabga (about 3 1/2 hours away) to visit some missionaries and have some work done on our car. We plan to stay for a few days depending on how long the car work takes.

We finished the 3rd quarter of the Institute for this year. We will take a week off and start the 4th quarter next week. I will be teaching Hebrew, Sermon Delivery, and a one-week intensive course on the Corinthian Epistles (April 19-23); and I will be writing a written correspondence course for Introduction to the Old Testament. We had planned continue videotaping some courses this quarter but will not be able to because the camera needs to be repaired. Pray that we will be able to get the repairs done and have someone bring it back out in a couple of months.

Continue to pray for our church here in Foumban. We are having a Family Conference March 18-21. We are also having the installation service for the deacons on March 21. We are continuing to teach an evangelism program in Sunday School. Pray that people will have a burden for evangelism and attend the classes to learn how to witness effectively.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for these requests:

1. Danny's mother will probably have to have a toe amputated on Monday.

2. Amy has an ear infection and has had several ear infections over the past few weeks.

3. We will be ordaining our first Cameroonian deacons on March 21.
4. We will have a Family Conference March 17-20.
5. We are finishing the 3rd quarter of this year at the institute and will begin the last quarter in a couple of weeks.

6. We are evaluating the future of our ministry in light of hoping to be able to establish full national leadership in the church in Foumban.

Prayer Letter

December 2009-January 2010


We would like to begin this prayer letter by thanking each one of you for your consistent prayers for us. We would also like to thank those of you who support us financially on a regular basis and from time to time. We are always grateful for the extra gifts we receive at Christmas.

Christmas was a busy time for us this year. We had our usual Christmas party with the other missionaries here on December 22. On Christmas Eve we had a service at the prison where our team has been preaching and giving medical care to the prisoners. Some of the ladies in our church help put together a small bag of toiletry items for each of the prisoners (see photo). Our church also had a special service on Christmas day.

The following week we escaped the activities surrounding New Year’s Day by going on vacation to Limbé, a city on the coast (see photo). For all of you who are up to your ears in snow, please note that we would gladly trade the beach for some snow. While we were there, Amy turned one year old.

In January the Bible Baptist Church of Foumban elected its first national deacons. We are thankful for this great step toward complete national leadership in the church. Please pray for the deacons as they take over the service responsibilities in the church. Please also pray for wisdom as we move towards having a national pastor as well. We were encouraged recently by one of the young men who is training for the ministry. He was faced with a difficult personal decision; but after seeking the counsel of several spiritual leaders, he made a decision that demonstrates his desire to put his ministry above other considerations. We are thankful for this evidence of Christian growth in his life.

Please pray for an upcoming Family Conference in our church in March. A visiting pastor and his wife from the States will be teaching at the conference. We are looking forward to much-needed teaching on being parents.

Please continue to pray for the authorization of the Cameroon Bible Fellowship. The American Embassy here has been following up on its progress recently.

Please pray for wisdom for us and our coworkers as we plan for the future. Bringing the church under national leadership will allow us to expand our ministry, and we need wisdom to know which direction to go.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support. Please continue to pray that the Lord will meet our need to increase our monthly support. May the Lord richly bless you with all spiritual blessings.

In Christ,

Danny, Carrie, Jimmy, William, Joel, and Amy

Welcome

Welcome to our blog. We will be posting our prayer letters as well as updates between prayer letters, pictures, etc.