By God's amazing enablement, we have seen great progress. Yet we still have much to do. Right now Bruno and I are in the beginning stages or our work. Below is some of what God has been doing recently in our work.
I apologize that we don't have new pictures with this page right now. We've been so busy ministering to people that we have had little time to take pictures. But we will try to get some pictures to show by our next progress report.
Praise4Progress
Progress Report – Updated end of April 2010
Since you are one of the people standing with Bruno and me in the work God has called us to here in Cameroon, we consider ourselves accountable not only to Him but also to you.Whether you have invested financially into our work, or given some of your time in prayer for us, or both, you are a part of this work.
Youth Mobilization
The purpose of the Future Leaders Program is to train up a generation of future leaders who will know and apply the Word of God.The means for accomplishing this is the scholarship program that we started, which enables youth from poor families to go to high school in exchange for them attending discipleship classes and doing development work that benefits their communities. The progress that we have seen in this domain of ministry is as follows:
The program was created and has gotten off to a good start, with 51 chosen as recipients of the scholarshipthis past year, and 52 who have been chosen for this coming school year. Since the beginning we have seen many of the students growing spiritually as a result of our work. We have seen several of them save money to buy their own Bibles and start to study the Word of God on their own. Some of them have come to us to for advice when facing various challenges at school, and we have seen God work through these challenges to draw them closer to Himself.
The field work and development projects that we did with the youth to raise money for next year's scholarship program have not produced the income that we hoped they would. Part of this has been due to thieves, and to cattle getting into our field and destroying crops. However, while these hindrances have been a discouragement to us at times, we have also learned much through them. The projects have produced at least some income, and we now know better how to protect our projects next year.
Life-On-Life Discipleship
The purpose of this part of our work is to help believers grow in their faith and become strong so that they can mentor others in their faith and be a light for Christ in their communities.The means for accomplishing this goal is building friendships and doing life with men who wish to grow in their faith. The progress that we have seen in this domain of ministry is as follows:
1) I have prayerfully chosen three men, whom I believe God desires me to especially invest in over the course of the next few years.
2) God has given each of these men a desire to grow in Him, and we have had many times of fellowship together.
3) Assan, who became a Christian last summer, is passionately pursuing a deeper relationship with Jesus. He is especially growing in his prayer life, learning what it means to talk to God as our Father.
Church Planting
The purpose of this part of our work is to mobilize, train, and enable local Cameroonian churches to plant communities of believers among people groups and villages that do not yet have any ongoing relevant Christian witness.The means for accomplishing this purpose is talking to local church leaders and casting vision.The progress that we have seen in this domain of ministry is as follows:
- Networking: We met with church leaders from over 30 different congregations (mainly Baptist and Lutheran, since those are the two main denominations that work in our area). We discussed with them how they can be involved in reaching the nearest unreached tribe, which up until then had no ongoing Christian witness.
- Praying to the Lord of the Harvest: We encouraged the church leaders to start prayer groups in their congregations, prayer groups that would be regular in praying for the unreached people (whose name we can't give online) to be reached with the Good News. We helped start about a dozen such prayer groups, which continue to function within their respective local churches.
- In early December of 2009 we had a meeting of church leaders in which we asked them to identify people within their congregations, and especially within the prayer groups, who may be qualified to become missionaries - to be sent to live as Christian examples among the ___________ people. After getting a list of names, we began visiting the different churches and meeting with these missionary candidates. Right now we have about 30 people, who are willing to go to live among the __________ people and show them who Jesus is through their lives, as well as words.
- We have planned and prepared a training program for these missionary candidates, who will be going to minister among the unreached tribe. We have set up a mini-Bible School, right in Yimbere (the small village in which we are based). The professors are all volunteers, and we have written our own curriculum. Its has been a lot of work, but God is bringing all the details together and we are excited to see what God will do through this school. The first session of intense training took place from January to March of this year. The second session will take place from September to November. It is after this second session (which we are preparing for right now) that the 14 missionary couples who we are training will be sent out to live among the unreached villages, and form church plants there.
- If things continue as planned, then by Christmas of 2010 there will be two churches planted among the nearest unreached people (whose name we cannot mention here for security reasons). The communites of believers will be planted in two different villages that are not yet touched by the light of Jesus Christ.
So that is some of the visible progress that God has blessed our work with in our first 10 months of work here in Cameroon.Please join with us in praising, magnifying and exalting God Our King for his lavish goodness to us and all that He is doing to advance Him Kingdom among every nation, tribe, and tongue for the Glory of His Name.
Thank you so much for your involvement in this work of the Gospel.
Your Fellow Servants,
Sammy and Bruno
Email: theunreached@gmail.com
Our mailing address: B.P. 22 Bankim Par Foumban, Région de l’Ouest, Cameroon W. Africa
The field work and development projects that we did with the youth to raise money for next year's scholarship program have not produced the income that we hoped they would. Part of this has been due to thieves, and to cattle getting into our field and destroying crops. However, while these hindrances have been a discouragement to us at times, we have also learned much through them. The projects have produced at least some income, and we now know better how to protect our projects next year.