Dear Family and Friends,
To our wonderful family, friends and supporters!!
Greetings from rainy, but lushly green Mbingo! The heavy rains have seemed to come on early this year, but we are grateful for a better water supply because of it, and the beautiful scenery around us. These last 3 months have been busy and involved some exciting travel. In March we went to the beach for 3 days in Limbe with our NAB group for our annual retreat and it is always good to get away and hear about what God is doing in other parts of Cameroon and also gain some spiritual and physical refreshment. In April we had the amazing opportunity to go to Greece for the CMDA/CMDE meeting (put on by the Christian Medical Dental Association to help missionary medical and dental professionals be updated). We went on a biblical tour, “Footsteps of the Apostles”, for a few days before the conference with some good friends and really enjoyed seeing some of the biblical places we’d read about for so many years. It made the book of Acts come alive!! Then being at the CMDA meeting with over 700 other mission-minded folks was another amazing time. We heard stories that caused rejoicing over believers added to the family of God and new work being started. We also heard of tragedies that took the lives of missionaries in one country. One theme was evident in every situation – the message of the Gospel of Christ is spreading throughout the world.
One of the best events of the year is the Easter Sunrise Service here in Mbingo. It began this year about 4:15 am when we heard the drums beating at our church to rally the people that it was time to begin the march up the mountain for our service. We hurriedly dressed and joined the group on the mountain. Everyone knows in our village and neighboring ones that the Christians are celebrating, and if they don’t know yet why, they will hear about it in the singing and the preaching that can be heard for miles. Our prayer is that the witness of the church and hospital will continue to go out, so that no one can come to Mbingo and not hear the good news about what Jesus has done for them.
Many of you in our NAB churches are involved in the White Cross ministry. This ministry is comprised of women in our churches who gather monthly and make bandage rolls, 4 x 4’s, baby blankets, caps, jackets, lap pads, and many more things. I have shared this story with one church, but wanted all of you to hear it. This was written by our head chaplain, Rev. Tanni—
“I would like to give a testimony of how a patient was led to Christ through the White Cross Ministry. In the year of 2013, a team of us went to Finkwi Baptist Health Centre. Finkwi Health Centre is supervised by Mbingo Baptist Hospital. At the time we arrived, accident victims were being brought in to the health centre. One of them was sent to the wound care and dressing station. I stood by a nurse who was bandaging the wound and saw a scripture verse paper falling off from the bandage. The verse was John 3:16. I picked it up and presented it to the patient as his gift from the USA. I asked his name and his relationship with God. He told me that he was not a Christian. I used the verse in witnessing to him. He ended up by surrendering his life to Christ and went home with his gift of the verse to share what God had done to him with others.”
So if there is any doubt as to the importance of the White Cross Ministry and how God is using it here in Cameroon, let that be cancelled. As we have said before there is power in the Word of God. We all have access to it. Let’s use it to bring more into the family.
Rick & Debbie