Many years ago, a love for Africa was born in the heart of a little German girl.
Sometimes I say, “I’m African, not because I was born in Africa, but because Africa was born in me.” Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to go to Africa , but I never thought that my dream would actually come true.
This past summer, the Lord opened the doors for me to go to Cameroon to work with some friends in our ministry, “Seeds of Truth 4 Africa.” I already knew that the people would have many needs, so I brought a whole suitcase full of baby clothes and a box of medical supplies: bandages, alcohol wipes, vitamin E oil, charcoal, goldenseal, etc.
The Lord worked the first miracle for us at the customs checkpoint in the Cameroon airport. An officer in plain clothes ordered us to open the box containing our supplies. “What is in the box?” he demanded.
“Medical supplies,” my friend Charles answered, breathing a quick prayer. “They are to be used for missionary purposes.”
“Well then, I need to have proof from the Ministry of Health.”
However, after opening the box and seeing only the baby supplies which were packed on top, the officer just asked us to close the box and go through. Praise the Lord! Charles later told me that for customs procedures in Cameroon , that is very unusual.
When I arrived at our destination, I noticed almost immediately the great medical needs. Besides the very low level of income, there is also ignorance about God’s simple ways of staying healthy. I was so thankful for the medical supplies I had brought with me! Soon we had an overwhelming host of people coming to us with various medical conditions. The people generally do not see a doctor, so most complaints had lasted a very long time. Though we didn’t have a lot of medicine or knowledge, we did our best, and the Lord blessed beyond what we could imagine.
“Your medicines are so wonderful!” one of the villagers told us. “No,” Charles replied, “our God is, not the medicines.”
Besides ministering to the many medical needs, we also did home visitations and Bible studies. Soon after I arrived, we were invited into a home where a 21-year-old girl had just given birth to triplets. After sharing about last day events and the soon return of Christ, we prayed with the family, especially for the newborns. “Please come again to pray and share with us,” begged the elderly man whom I assumed to be the head of the household. “This means more to us than any money that you could have given.”
When Joseph learned about the Sabbath from our Bible studies, he said, “With the truth that you have and the method you work [medical work], we can have more than 1,000 churches in less than 10 years!” Joseph now worships with us every Sabbath and faithfully invites many others.
However, when God’s work is flourishing, the devil doubles his efforts. The pastor of Joseph’s former church (Pentecostal) went to the village chief to complain about our activities. He told the chief that Joseph was bringing strange people into his house to have studies and worship with them.
“They have helped and are helping many people with their health programs,” the chief replied. “Even my wife is getting better from her head problem after following the advice they gave her. Why are you complaining?” The chief told us he will support our work no matter what. After all, his two grandchildren are attending our Sabbath worships!
Please pray for our ministry in Cameroon . The field there is ripe for the harvest. The few worshipers are asking for a building in which to worship, and Joseph has already offered land for a church building and treatment center. This is an opportunity we cannot let slip!
Dec.07 – Jan. 08
