March 19, 2008

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from Cameroon! It is now two months since we returned home following half a year visiting churches throughout the United States. We went from one coast to the other, and were welcomed with generous hospitality and an eagerness to hear how God is at work in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It has been wonderful for us to see anew how God is at work in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). We have witnessed our church seeking to maintain its connectedness and striving to be faithful to the call that we participate in God’s mission, nearby and far away. There are challenges ahead for our church, but we remain hopeful that the work God has begun in us will continue. We returned to Cameroon feeling tired, yet refreshed, encouraged, and supported. Thank you!

Having begun to move house just four days prior to leaving for the United States last June, we spent the first weeks after our return trying to fix it up get settled. Christi helped prepare for the General Assembly meeting of PC(USA)’s Joining Hands partner network, RELUFA. She has also succeeded in setting up a blog for our family. We will use the blog to share our experiences as a family and our encounters with people we meet through our ministries. This will be in addition to newsletters like this one.

On returning from a recent two-week visit to Congo, I found Cameroon in turmoil. Increasing prices for staple foods and fuel are squeezing families who already cannot always put two meals a day on the table. Exasperation with rising prices, bleak prospects for youth, and political frustrations fueled demonstrations and rioting that have left between 40 and 100 people dead. Calm has returned, but many issues remain, and there’s potential for more protests. Please pray for this situation, for serious dialogue and a dedication to the good of the nation, not just for an elite subset of it. The pain of increasing prices is felt throughout Central Africa; it’s already critically gripping vulnerable people and communities and threatening their day-to-day survival.

Getting textbooks into the hands of teachers is a priority of the Presbyterian Community of Congo, which runs more than 500 schools.

Building on the trip of May last year, I will return to Congo to focus on the education ministries of our partners there. In the Kasai regions, the Presbyterian Community of Congo is elaborating a strategic plan to improve education by the 500 elementary and high schools they operate. Four priorities emerged from that planning session: improving the infrastructure of schools; ensuring all teachers have a copy of a textbook or teacher’s manual; establishing an effective continuing education program for teachers; and ensuring that school supervisors have the means to visit schools, some of which are hundreds of miles away on rough dirt roads. Our other ecumenical partner in Congo, the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa, will start developing its strategic plan this May. Several Presbyterians from the United States will join in the discussion on how to engage PC(USA) churches and members in support of the initiatives and efforts by the Congolese churches to improve their ministries.

Presbyterians have a rich heritage in educational ministries, although we’ve struggled in recent years to make that known and to keep it alive. In Central Africa, the church’s involvement in education remains very important. Schools continue to provide Christian education and to welcome youth and their families into the church. Where there’s lack of both quality and quantity in public education, the churches meet a tremendous need. In Congo, churches are responsible for the operation of two-thirds or more of the schools. When the Cameroonian government published results from last year’s national examinations, 90 percent of students in church schools passed the exams compared with only 65 percent in government schools—and even less in other private schools.

Pastors dedicating crosses to be used around the campus of the Presbyterian Girls Secondary School in Limbe, Cameroon.

The Presbyterian Girls Secondary School in Limbe, which was inaugurated last month by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Nyansako-ni-Nku, moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, is ranked among the best schools in Cameroon. We blogged about our recent visit to this school.

Children have a right to basic education, yet many are unable to attend school. Research shows a direct correlation between education and other measures of development, particularly of girls. Education leads to improved health for adults and children. It decreases infant mortality and birth rates, and it increases earnings and quality of life for individuals, families, and communities. Education also builds the foundation for people to make informed choices, which is a key to developing democratic societies.

As we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, may we find renewed strength to be messengers of God’s love and grace!

Jeff (and Christi)

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 9