Rejoice with me as I celebrate a new step in the journey of the Baka to Christ!!! I have been amazed at the wondrous work that God is doing on behalf of the Baka through good times and bad, happy moments and sad.
For what seems like a very long time, I have been praying for this little people group who need Christ so desperately. One of the prayers that I have been praying is that God would give them a song to sing. I don’t just mean any old song, but a song of redemption and worship to our King.
I dream of the day that all nations will be gathered to Christ. I cannot imagine how great that day will be, but I bet each tribe will be worshiping our Lord in their own way, their own tongue, and their own song. These songs will blend together in a beautiful orchestra of voices and hearts poured out before God. The Baka will be among that great throng of people, and they will be singing their own song of praise in perfect harmony with the rest who will be gathered that day. The exciting part right now is that we are beginning to see glimpses of what that will look like.
A prayer letter came to me the other day from my friends Barry and Desma, who recently went back to
The best part of the week, however, came on the last evening. Pierre (our Cameroonian friend who is a believer and has dedicated himself to sharing the gospel with the Baka) invited me to prepare some verses and a few words for a meeting with the Baka. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I borrowed a French Bible from Samba. Phil and Reda had left it to him as he is capable of reading a great deal of French. I wasn’t prepared for the beautiful glimpse of things to come.
We began the meeting with a couple of songs that Pierre and the Baka have worked together to write in the Baka style. It was a beautiful sound and I could pick out enough words in Baka to know that they were singing about God’s goodness. Their voices rose as if they were putting all they had into the melodies. There were divided parts as one person after another (Lendo, Mbaka, Samba) would lead certain songs sometimes at
I also shared with them that we were sad that Phil couldn’t be with us, but that we are content that he is now in heaven with the Lord. They replied with the same phrase.
After I finished, they clapped and then sang many other songs. Before the last song, Samba led a prayer. I must remind you that Samba was one of the young men that passed their days on Desma’s porch when she lived here before. Now he is a man with a very large heart. He prayed a long prayer and I was so moved to hear the tone of his voice as he prayed. It sounded familiar even though I couldn’t understand most of the words. Later when
You can imagine my joy at hearing such amazing news. Though I cannot expect that all of the people who were at that little meeting are true believers at this time, it is still so encouraging to see leaders beginning to emerge, leaders who will be used by God to further the Gospel among the Baka and surrounding people groups. The Baka are beginning to hear the melody that God will press onto their hearts, and I dare say, some are humming along already.
This raised a question in my heart about whether I would be of any use in the Baka ministry. After all, it will be a couple of years before I will be able to get to the mission field, and there may be the beginning of a growing and vibrant church among the Baka at that time. But God nudged me a little and showed me how much more work there is to be done. Even after a church is established in this encampment of a couple hundred, there are still 40,000 more Baka souls who need to know His saving grace. I think that there will be some missionary involvement in this task, but I hope that the Baka themselves will see that the joy that they receive in Christ should be shared with their tribesmen who are scattered throughout the rainforest. Romans
(If you are interested in reading the text of Barry and Desma’s prayer letter, see the comment section)
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Here's the text of the Abbot's prayer letter as promised
Greetings from Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. We are currently enjoying being reunited as a family after a week apart. Desma and the kids, as well as Laurel (our teammate) and her kids, stayed in Yaounde while the men made a setup trip to the village where we will live.
The week started off with a very warm greeting from the Baka who live around us. Many had congregated under the mbango (grass shelter) for that purpose. We greeted them as many others joined the throng. We were reunited with familiar faces such as Abele, Ia, Samba, Lendo, Sanda, Mbaka, and many others. What an encouragement it was to see them after so long. Needless to say, Desma was very jealous about not being able to make this first visit, but was encouraged with the news I brought back from there.
Most of the week was dedicated to making sure the houses were ready for the families to move in. So we repaired screening on the windows, got the solar water pump running, and put up solar panels on both houses. Other odds and ends were tackled as well as meeting key officials in the area. All of this went smoothly and we are happy to have gotten a good head start.
The best part of the week, however, came on the last evening. Pierre (our Cameroonian friend who is a believer and has dedicated himself to sharing the gospel with the Baka) invited me to prepare some verses and a few words for a meeting with the Baka. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I borrowed a French Bible from Samba. Phil and Reda had left it to him as he is capable of reading a great deal of French. I wasn’t prepared for the beautiful glimpse of things to come.
We began the meeting with a couple of songs that Pierre and the Baka have worked together to write in the Baka style. It was a beautiful sound and I could pick out enough words in Baka to know that they were singing about God’s goodness. Their voices rose as if they were putting all they had into the melodies. There were divided parts as one person after another (Lendo, Mbaka, Samba) would lead certain songs sometimes at Pierre’s prompting sometimes more spontaneously. After the first two songs, Pierre said it was my turn. I read to them in French from Jeremiah 17:5-8 which talks about the tree planted by the river which never ceases to bear fruit and doesn’t notice when the heat comes I proceeded to explain briefly how God has many names . . . one of which is the river of life. I explained that whoever plants himself close to this river would experience the blessings of God. They replied in unison with a hearty “ie sakindi” (yes it’s true).
I also shared with them that we were sad that Phil couldn’t be with us, but that we are content that he is now in heaven with the Lord. They replied with the same phrase.
After I finished, they clapped and then sang many other songs. Before the last song, Samba led a prayer. I must remind you that Samba was one of the young men that passed their days on Desma’s porch when she lived here before. Now he is a man with a very large heart. He prayed a long prayer and I was so moved to hear the tone of his voice as he prayed. It sounded familiar even though I couldn’t understand most of the words. Later when Pierre explained the content of the prayer, my heart was very glad. He prayed for our trip back to Yaounde and for our families and children. He also prayed for our teammate Reda Anderton and her children as they continue to grieve the loss of Phil. He prayed for the people of Mayos as well. We closed with a song as everyone shook hands with everyone there.
I brought this story back to Desma and you can imagine the tears that flowed from our eyes as we saw together another step in the Baka knowing the hope that they have in Christ Jesus.
We may be further down the road than we know in Mayos (our camp). Keep praying! God is faithful to answer the cries of his saints for those who do not know.
That the Baka may know Christ,
Barry, Desma, Brianna, and Brendan Abbott
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