The purpose of our trip to Cameroon was to meet the physical and more importantly the spiritual needs of the people in these villages.  You could say those goals were accomplished.  There was a young boy who had fallen and bonked his two front teeth.  Because they were dying, they needed to be pulled out.  He lay there and took it like a champ.  There was a small girl who had an infecton on her ankle so the nurses cleaned it and gave her some medicine.  So these were medical services that the team could offer.  Most of the local people also received a toothbrush and Dr. Mitchell explained to them the importance of using it daily.

We were also privileged to be able to witness many of the local people come to know Jesus as their Lord.  Idol worship and witchcraft are common in those parts so in some cases these folks were saved directly out of those practices.  Two of those people physically confirmed their faith in Christ by burning their idols immediately.  It would be appropriate to point out here that idol worship and witchcraft are unfamiliar to Westerners and so they seem unreal.  Well, being near these things brings a sense of reality to the spiritual realm, but it would be right and good for us to remember that the “more common” sins from which we have been saved are no milder than these.  We all were dead in our sins, guilty of idol-worship and rebellion against God and so in need of a Saviour.

A special thing for me to see was the establishment of local churches in these bush villages.  Felix, a young pastor, had recently moved to Olulu to become a local pastor.  The last week we were there, 4 believers were baptised and several were added to the number of believers.  These things were a major encouragement to me and I only hope that I played a small part in the harvest there.