Cameroon

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. – Psalm 91:1

Psalm 91:1 characterizes much of our trip, which began many months ago, when Dr. Bennett Lee shared with his classmate Rev. Joeys Itue, his involvement in medical outreaches with CC Pasadena. Dental services are one of many needs in Cameroon, so Bennett, his pastor Ben Yu (San Gabriel Presbyterian Church) and Joeys began praying about the possibility of conducting an outreach there. In April, the team met for the first time.

After much prayer, the Lord confirmed He wanted us to go. Almost immediately, the attacks began, some of the heaviest we had encountered in a long time. We were hit every way imaginable: physically, financially, emotionally, and spiritually. But we dwelt in His secret place, and we rejoiced. Clearly, the Lord had great plans if the enemy was already working that hard!

During our weekly prayer meetings, the Lord fashioned our assignments, via Joeys and his church back home. In addition to the dental clinic, they were already planning crusades in two areas, Limbe and Buea. Pastor Ben would speak at the crusades and conduct several church seminars. Bennett and Bill Bernson would also conduct trainings for the brethren who minister to new believers. Damaris Bernson and I were to conduct two days of training for the teachers in the children’s ministry, plus teach the children on Sundays. Additionally, Bennett, Bill, and Ben were asked to preach on Sundays, with each brother preaching at a different church. The months of preparation proved a journey in and of themselves, as the Lord stretched us, sanctified us, and taught us like never before. We continued to “dwell in the secret place of the Almighty.”

Finally, the departure date arrived! After three five-hour flights, we landed safely in the city of Douala. We had an hour-long car ride ahead of us, which afforded us the chance to get to know many of the pastors at whose churches we would be ministering. One of the first questions was, “How have you prepared for this trip?” They were thrilled to know our home churches were praying twenty-four hours a day for the duration of our stay.

A wonderful, warm reception awaited us at the home of Joeys’ colleague, who had a typical Cameroonian dinner ready for us. Many of the church members greeted us with a handshake or a hug and the words, “You are welcome,” the characteristic Cameroonian greeting. It was the first of many displays of Christ-like love we received throughout our stay. Despite their own great needs, they gave and gave. Their childlike faith in Christ humbled, convicted, and inspired us all at once.

The following morning we set off for our first visit to the village chief. Protocol dictates showing proper respect to the chief upon entering his village. Your leader must greet him, introduce the team, and explain the purpose of the visit. After the meeting, we set up the dental equipment and encountered the first in a series of electrical issues. The dental clinic met with the most attack on this trip. Rarely did the power work, and when it finally did, we only had time to see a handful of patients. We set up and tore down the equipment about ten times, as they took us from village to village to tend to the people. Finally, at our last village, Bennett realized this was the first outreach we did not have a gospel message being given while the people waited to see the dentist, and perhaps this was the reason for our difficulties; we had displeased the Lord. We prayed and repented. One of the coordinators came and informed us the witches in the village had put a curse on the power. Right after he said that, we prayed again and as soon as we said, “Amen,” the lights came on. From then on, things ran smoothly, and we saw roughly fifty patients that day. We spent an afternoon working in a hospital in Buea as well. Joeys mentioned one reason he could not get the people to make appointments prior to our arrival was because they could not believe that someone would actually provide dental care for free. We could feel their gratitude and love after we tended to them.

Our frustrations with the dental issues were blown away by the unbelievably moving worship. It was all we could do to keep working rather than stop and listen when the waiting patients broke spontaneously into a worship song! Anywhere we went, the singing sounded better than a Bose sound system. At the crusade, they sang and danced to worship the Lord. Their joy and love for God shone through in the purest most inspiring way. After the altar call, Pastor Kulu asked each of the team members to come to the microphone and pray, and the Spirit moved some of us to tears before, during, and after. Many of the villagers gave their lives to the Lord that night, including one of the witch doctors, or juju priests, as he is known. The village chief’s first prayer request was that they would remain good Christians. By the time we left, Emmanuel, our driver, also accepted Christ. Please keep all the Cameroonian brethren in prayer.

In all things, the Lord is victorious, and I could go on for pages about all He did. The seminars and trainings went well. About eighty children attended our class on Sunday! Two gave their life to Christ after class, and I counseled one child who wanted to rededicate his life. We met the mayor of Buea, who has scriptures on every wall of his office. Bennett got a chance to give a gospel message on a national radio show, which turned into a “Pastor’s Perspective” –type question and answer hour. None of us got terribly sick or injured. Blessings abounded as we joined Cameroonian believers to “dwell in the secret place of the Most High…abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

By Letty Arreola