Cameroon Ministry -- August 2005

Team:        Dr. David W. Anderson and Mrs. Florence Anderson

Activities:

Our ministry in Cameroon during August 2005 kept us quite busy, but we are pleased to report that the Lord blessed our work, and the impact
of our teaching on each "audience" was great.
Crossing Bridges was in Cameroon at the invitation of the Center for Empowerment of Females
with Disabilities (CEFED) and the Center for Biblical Studies (CBS). Our main purposes were: (1) to present two seminars on disability
awareness and ministry , and (2) to teach a course of principles of Christian leadership. We went with a servant's heart, ready to be used in
other ways, and we were not disappointed!  Here are some highlights of the ministry:

Week #1 – in Bamenda (Northwest Province)
• Monday through Friday evening: Seminar on disability awareness and ministry, held at the Center for Biblical Studies. About 56 individuals
attended the 3-hour per night seminar, including pastors, ministry leaders, choir directors, and students from CBS. Several individuals with
disabilities, some of whom are a part of CEFED’s outreach team, were also present.
• Tuesday morning: Met with a dozen members of AGLOW, a women’s group, to speak about disability ministry and encourage them to minister
to and with disabled women.
• Tuesday night and Wednesday morning: Spoke at two sessions of a week-long conference focused on prayer for the nation at Mile 2 Full
Gospel Church, encouraging awareness and outreach to persons with disabilities. The preaching was translated into “pidgin” or French, and
was accompanied by a sign language interpreter as a means of furthering awareness.

Week #2 – outreach and Bafoussam (Western Province)
• Sunday: A three-hour drive farther up the mountains to the site of CEFED’s first outreach, Fundong Presbyterian Church. Four women were
commissioned for disability ministry, David preached, a group of individuals with disabilities performed a sketch, and New Testaments and soap
were distributed to the 71 disabled people in attendance. A stop at the Baptist hospital in Mbingo allowed us to visit and pray with Solange, a
student at CEFED Special School, who was recovering from orthopedic surgery designed to enable her to walk with less difficulty.
• Monday through Friday evenings: Another 3-hour per night seminar on disability awareness and ministry, this time at CBS in Bafoussam,
Western Province. About 24 persons attended this seminar.
• Tuesday morning: A live interview on Radio Bonne Nouvelle, a Christian radio station, allowed Magdalene and David to “spread the word”
about disability ministry.
• Saturday: A visit to the property in Santa where the CEFED Special School is to be built, and the rented home where the school currently
operates. Although not officially in session yet, six of the children were already at the school. Facilities are meager, but it was good to see the
smiles on the children’s faces, to watch them interact with one another and with staff, and to hear the joy in their voices as they performed a
simple sketch dealing with overcoming prejudice toward disability. Some of these children are orphaned (or abandoned) or are not well cared
for in their village, so they have been brought back to school early or, in the case of two girls, stay with Magdalene during school breaks.

Week #3 – back in Bamenda
• Sunday: David preached at four churches throughout the day: Mile 2 and Old Town Full Gospel Church, Bethlehem Baptist Church, and
Christ's Gospel Mission. Each message focused on reaching out to and including persons with disabilities.
• Monday evening through Saturday morning: David presented a short “intensive” course entitled “Principles of Christian leadership” through
the Center for Biblical Studies. Seventeen students were enrolled, plus a few auditors. The focus of the course was on transformational servant
leadership, a new perspective on biblical leadership to those enrolled.
• Tuesday: CEFED held outreaches to disabled persons in Belo and Njinikom, two villages in the Northwest Province. More than 50 persons
attended each outreach, along with local church leaders. Magdalene presented an evangelistic message, to which many responded
enthusiastically. New Testaments and soap were distributed to the disabled folks in attendance, and David brought words of encouragement to
everyone present, and especially to the church leaders.
• Tuesday: Visited a special school in Belo. Primarily focused on visually impaired children and youth, the school also serves students with
hearing impairments and physical disabilities, and has several non disabled students as well – truly an integrated setting.
• Wednesday: A second visit to CEFED Special School in Santa. Nine students were now present. Anna, Magdalene’s sister and the teacher at
the school, had the students recite their memory verses, sing songs, and perform a sketch for us. Another 20 girls were expected to arrive for
school in September; CEFED hopes to rent the neighboring house in order to have the space needed to accommodate all the children and the
resident staff.
• Thursday afternoon: Met with a Baptist women’s prayer group to encourage them towards disability ministry.

The impact of our ministry in Cameroon became evident almost immediately. After just one evening of teaching on disability awareness, there
was much confession and repentance of neglectful attitudes toward disabilities and disabled persons, with clear determination to change, with
God’s help. Certainly, many people became aware of the need to follow Jesus’ example in reaching out to those whom society (civil and
religious) has disregarded and marginalized. At the close of each weekly seminar, there was a time of corporate worship and confession.  Many
leaders from the various churches at which we spoke and from the seminars voiced their desire to follow through in ministry to persons with
disabilities. The leadership of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Bamenda and the Baptist women’s group were particularly responsive. Many who
participated in the disability seminars and/or the leadership course expressed their gratefulness for the teaching and their desire that
Crossing
Bridges
return for a longer time to teach at CBS.

We have many stories to tell of the special people we met, both those in ministry and those with disabilities who serve with CEFED or are served
by CEFED.
Photos from the August 2005
Ministry in Cameroon