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The year 2024 was a year of big changes for us. These changes had a huge impact on us and continue to shape our world in 2025.
New Faces: There were big changes in the Cameroon Baptist Convention in 2024. A new executive president was voted in. Rev. Dr. Teke John was officially installed on January 11. We will miss working with Rev. Dr. Charlemagne Nditemeh, as we have appreciated his leadership since 2021.
CBC Health Services (CBCHS) has been led by Prof Tih Pius Muffih since 1985. During Maureen’s first term serving in Cameroon, Pius was the administrator at Banso Baptist Hospital (BBH) where Maureen worked in the Children’s Ward. It has been great to get to know Pius and his family over the years. He has done so much for CBCHS! He will definitely be missed. In his place, Mr. Ngum Samuel is working hard to continue the work of CBCHS and uphold its mission to “provide excellent health care with genuine compassion to all who need it as an expression of Christian love.”
Celestine & Maureen
Dr. Atanga & Maureen
Ekoumdoum Staff
New Places: In December, we packed up our apartment in Yaoundé, Cameroon. It was hard to say goodbye to our friends we have loved and worked with for so many years. Living in the country feels very different to just visiting for short trips, and with our new home base in Calgary, Canada, this is our reality. Maureen is continuing her work as the acting NAB Cameroon field director but will only visit Cameroon for face-to-face meetings two times per year. However, the bulk of Maureen’s work continues unchanged, as the majority of her work is done via email, WhatsApp, and Zoom.
New Rhythms: There have been a lot of adjustments moving back to Calgary and settling into life here. With an eight-hour time difference to consider, sometimes late night or early morning messages, meetings, or emails are the best way to elicit a quick response from Cameroon. Maureen misses attending events and having meetings on our veranda when CBC leaders passed through Yaoundé. Our trip in November and December was Maureen’s first experience with a short visit versus living in Cameroon. It was an incredibly busy time where we packed in everything we possibly could. Thankfully, it was a very productive time, and Maureen was able to meet with many different people. She even had a meeting scheduled on the road when she was traveling, as the people she was meeting with were driving away from the city she was driving to on the same day!
Craig was also kept busy at Rain Forest International School. His position as director of Administration and Finance has remained empty, and so they were very grateful to have his assistance.
One of the highlights of our trip to Cameroon was hearing and seeing how God is working in Cameroon through the CBC. It is such a blessing to come alongside in so many different areas. I don’t have space to share all the stories, but let me share one.
The CBC is sending out national missionaries to remote areas and to least-reached people groups in Cameroon. They currently have thirty-nine national missionaries. God is blessing this work in exciting ways. One missionary experienced the collapse of the temporary structure of the fledgling church he had started. When the missionary and the church members decided to build a permanent structure, the people of the village and the chief’s representative told them they would have to make a sacrifice to the god of the village or they would not be permitted to build there. The missionary and church members knew they could not make this compromise, so they gathered together at the church site for an all-night prayer session. In the morning, the villagers came to the site and told the group they could build the church – no sacrifice to the gods were required! God heard their prayers and rewarded their steadfast commitment. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they stood firm and God rewarded their steadfastness. The Assist a National Missionary special project provides funds to purchase motorcycles to enable national missionaries to travel to remote areas. It also provides Bibles and ministry materials to these pastors. You can assist them with a donation by going to nabconference.org/give/special-projects and scrolling down to the Cameroon projects and looking for Assist a National Missionary.
Pastor Felix – CBC national missionary
CBC national missionary with donated motorcycle
Another exciting thing we want to share is that all the needed funds for the Saker Baptist College Water Project have been received! We are thankful for the generosity of so many individuals and churches. Currently, the project work is 75 percent completed. When all the work is done, three new water pipelines will have been installed, twenty new filling points constructed, one additional bore hole drilled, and three 5,000-litre water tanks and three 10,000-litre water tanks will be functioning to provide water for all the students, staff, and nearby community. Over 1,400 individuals are benefiting from this project. Thank you for your support of this project and these students!
Saker students filling water buckets
New water-collection point
New water tanks
Babies are a precious gift from God, and we want to see mothers supported as they prepare for baby’s arrival, as well as when these little ones are delivered! At the maternity ward in Ekoumdoum Baptist Hospital in Yaoundé, about 107 babies are delivered each month, and 365 women come for prenatal clinics. The maternity ward is crowded and needs more space to ensure the safety of the moms and babies who are being born there. Ekoumdoum Baptist Hospital has been stretched to the limits of what they can do in the space they have. There is currently no room large enough for the women to gather in for classes, health teaching, and checkups.
Ekoumdoum Baptist Hospital Maternity Ward
If they could build a space with a meeting hall, examination rooms, and delivery rooms, the current maternity ward could be reserved for the women post-delivery. The capacity for deliveries would also be increased, and the privacy and comfort of the women would be greatly improved. Women come to Ekoumdoum for the antenatal clinics because they recognize the high level of care they receive, but they know that the hospital does not have the capacity to be able to have all of them deliver there.
The dedicated staff are doing what they can and they have managed to start the construction of a new maternity unit, but they lack the funds to complete the project. This is where you can help. Please pray the needed funds will be raised, and if you can, please make a donation to the Ekoumdoum Maternity Project. The funds raised will complete the building, finish the walls, tile the floors, install electricity and plumbing, and provide basic furnishings. In the next couple weeks, the project will be added to the Special Project list for Cameroon. Then you can go to nabconference.org/give/special-projects and make a donation. Your contribution will provide a safer environment for moms and babies.
Maternity project under construction
Thank you for continuing to partner with me as I continue my ministry in Cameroon.
God bless you!