New congregation planted in Cameroon
Dearest in Christ,
Greetings from Cameroon, one of the best countries in the world! I am so sorry for the long delay with my report. The internet situation in my area, Wotutu, is getting worse as the days are passing. It is not easy to upload a picture, and I love making a pictorial newsletter. We do hope you are doing well, and we do hope you entered into 2026 with great ambition for the work of God in your area. We wish for you the best of your health and we wish you the best in all you plan to accomplish this year.
We are doing fine after storms of challenges from family and ministry. It has not been easy with me as brethren have suffered loss. Some have had desperate health issues and other major challenges, but our God is still sitting on the throne. We thank you for all your prayers to God on our behalf.
Last December, Elder Randy and his wife from the overseeing congregation of the Bible school, were here from STC Minnesota. They visited the school after an absence of several years in which they could not travel to Cameroon. Randy came to teach the book of Hebrews. We had a great time with them and it was like a reunion for us here.
While the elder was teaching inside, his wife's sister Robin Martin was also busy outside in our open veranda teaching the sisters. Our student preacher’s wives were with her, learning from scriptures on how they can be supportive to their own husbands in the ministry. The wife’s class is a great blessing to our student preachers, because before this class, most of the wives of the preachers could not really fit into the work of their husbands. But since we started the class, the story is different and the outcome of our graduates' work in the field is amazing. We took a family picture with them to immortalize the reunion. It was good that we did so.
From all indications, we can see growth among our students. From the time they came to the Bible college, until the day of their graduation, they will experience growth and zeal in doubles, to serve the Lord and His church. Please keep our students in your prayers as we are already in 2026, which is the graduation year for them. Graduation will be in December 2026. This is the worst part of their lives, as the devil is never happy that they are being trained to go out and attack his kingdom.
“We Think Souls.” This is a strong slogan for us here, because we are aware of the priceless nature of a soul. It is always a good time for us, when we are reaching out to souls, because scripture teaches us that “The One who wins souls is wise.”
Thinking souls, and robbing from the strong man’s house, is a driving force for every batch of students in the Bible college. Evangelism is our mission and our mission is evangelism. The month of February was dedicated to the hinterland mission and it was a time for mass evangelism for all the students in the Bible college, for me, and the house parent of Brightland Christian orphanage here in Wotutu. We decided to go to the Mbu Bakundu area to reach out to souls. We left Wotutu at 5 AM in our school van. It took us 5 hours to reach the place where we could not continue with the van because the roads were too bad.
After 5 hours of driving, we went to Wone village where we have a small congregation. We were able to drop the van there under the watchful eyes of the preacher there who is planning to be in the next batch of students. We took a motorcycle from Wone village and started off into the hinterlands of Mbu Bakundu. Within 3 hours we made it to Mambaba village which is a village in Mbu Bakundu kingdom but not our final destination.
In Mambaba village, we rested for 1 hour. We used this hour to share tracts and to preach the message of Christ to the villagers who came to welcome us and to give us water to quench our thirst. It was kind of them. We don’t have silver and gold to share, so we gave them the word of God which was much appreciated by them.
After resting, we embarked on our journey to Mbiaka, which cannot be accessed by a car or a bike. We started trekking into the forest with our bags, tracts, and food items for us to eat while there. We were inside the rainforest for 2 hours and were soaked with sweat and tiredness. But we finally made it to Mbiaka and were embraced by the brethren there, who were aware we were on our way to meet them. The love and hospitality we received, made us forget the memories of the trekking, climbing hills, and crossing rivers.
We met people with smiling faces, as we shared the saving message about Jesus with them. Interestingly, most of them could read and write very well. That made it easier for us to reach out to them with the good news, as we moved around sharing the bread of life free of charge to them.
We were tired, but seeing how these people were eager to listen to the word was so encouraging to us. Our sweat soaked clothes got dried up without our notice because of the love we received and because of how the people were responding to the gospel.
We met people in their huts and kitchens and they suspended all domestic work to listen to us. They asked questions and nodded their heads because the answers came from the Bible. Some gave us cooked food, as a way to show appreciation for our efforts in reaching out to them in their own homeland.
The young people in that village were very excited to know more, and to truly check the scriptures to make sure that we are not there to deceive them, and to introduce a denomination. They said that the young people who had lived in big cities and were not ready to once again get a polluted message, like what they had gotten in the cities.
The chief of the village in Mandongo invited the entire team into his palace for lunch. While there, we had an ample opportunity to appreciate his kindness by sharing the gospel as we worked the whole day. The chief decided to obey the gospel and because the stream for baptism was really far away from the village, we should wait for when it is time for us to go for his baptism, because the stream was on our way and from there, we could continue on to Mbiaka. The chief was baptized alongside nine other souls in Mandong village. A new congregation was established and they experienced New Testament worship last Sunday when twenty-nine souls worshipped God in Mandongo village.
The chief gave us one hectare of land so that we can use it to construct our worship hall and also to use part of the land to grow food that the preacher will be feeding on. That was great of him. This land is a great asset to the congregation due to its fertile nature.
Christian education is a great tool that can be used to reach out to young minds. We use Christian education to reach out. Souls are being touched with the gospel, so it is a panacea for church growth.
PLANS
We shall be going into another hinterland in the month of March. We will have mass evangelism in Definda Balue to reach out to the people there. This village is bigger than Mbiaka and Mandongo. Please pray for us, so that the impact will be greater for His glory.
APPRECIATION
Thank you very much for all you are doing to keep this work going. It is great to be a part of it! Please, faint not, because there is a season for you to reap what you are sowing today. Please kindly share our report with others.
Make a great day.
Elangwe and family