Abele Update

Many of you have been praying faithfully for Abele, his family, and the Baka missionary team. Thank you for your faithful prayers, your expressions of concern, and your caring questions about how everyone is doing now. I received an update from my teammates today, so I thought I'd pass it on. Please keep praying.

Abele and his father Sanda

From an email update from Barry and Desma:

We got to the clinic in the morning and watched as the kids visited with their father. Margaret, our friend and househelp, also requested to come with us. She addressed Abele with a sort of recounting of Ecclesiastes chapter three and we were able to witness compassion, exhortation, and encouragement in true African style communication. We took note, because what she said truly seemed to minister to Abele. She said that this was his time to suffer, but this time will not last forever and his children are still there waiting for him even if he goes to prison (which is inevitable). She explained to him that despair will kill him and exhorted him to seek the Lord and lay these things before him. We were amazed at Margaret's ability to communicate so much spiritual insight to him in his hour of need.

After Margaret left, Ebote began to talk to Abele which seemed to bring out more regret and remorse on Abele's part. He began to cry out about all that has happened. He named his children in his cries and even admitted that this has caused trouble between the families involved. It was at this point that we began to talk to him about accepting the full blame for his sins. There were many issues surrounding and leading up to the actual murder and he seemed to be pointing out the blame of others. We encouraged him to let others deal with the sins they have committed and to focus on what he has done. I shared Romans 6:23 with him and noted that death has come as a result of his sin and that it is far-reaching, pointing out that he cannot truly ask for forgiveness until he accepts the fact that he is to blame. We went on to share with him his need for confession to God first in order to receive His forgiveness and then to the others involved when he has the opportunity. He heard God's word with tears in his eyes and we are encouraged that he is taking the beginning steps.

Abele will probably be transferred to the district prison this next week and we know that this is going to be a long process, but we are also praying that God will be glorified in the end. Abele prayed over his children before we left.

Prayer for Abele

Early this month, I sent out an email requesting prayer after a tragedy in Cameroon. Since some of you may not have gotten this email, I'll copy it here before posting an update.

Dear Friends and Family,

I am writing with a heavy heart to ask for your prayers. On December 31^st, I received word that there had been a tragedy in Cameroon. One of our close Baka neighbors and friend Abele became drunk during the New Year celebrations and stabbed and killed his wife, Iya. Abele was beaten by some villagers and then was taken to the government clinic by the gen d’arms (police). Abele and his family are the Baka team’s closest neighbors, and naturally, we care deeply for them. The loss of Iya will be deeply felt by the team.

Also, the couple has 4 children, ranging from about 13 to about 3 years of age. Their names are Kinge, Epele, Joe, and Kunde. They will be cared for by family members. Please pray that they would experience the love of God in the midst of their grief.

Pray also for Abele. This act of violence was very out of character for him, and was due in part to drunkenness. When asked why he did it, he said that he remembers stabbing Iya, but doesn’t know why. He also said that he would kill himself if he was given the opportunity. He is deeply distraught after this tragedy and is also suffering physically after a brutal beating. Pray that God would heal his body, but more importantly, pray that he would remember what he has been taught about God and cry out to Him in the midst of his pain.

Pray for the families of Abele and Iya. Abele’s family is fearful of retribution. Pray for protection for them.

Two other people were injured during the stabbing, so pray for a smooth recovery for both of them.

Also, pray for the community. It is customary for lengthy death ceremonies to take place, sometimes for several nights. These “celebrations” are accompanied by drinking and dancing. Pray that the community would see that drunkenness can have horrible consequences.

Lastly, pray for the Baka missionary team. The Abbotts were in Yaoundé, the capital city, when this happened, so the Conrods were left to deal with this alone. Pray that they would be able to process their thoughts and grief well, and that God would give them an extra measure of wisdom and grace when dealing with the individuals involved in this tragedy. Praise God that both couples are out of the bush right now at an annual conference for Cameroon missionaries. They are surrounded by friends who understand the challenges that the team is facing.

Your prayers are much appreciated. Thank you for all the encouragement and support that you have poured out on me. I truly thank God for you.

In Christ,

Jennifer

Orange Land

I'm in the middle of the last few weeks of preparation. I've got so much to do. One of the projects that I have been putting off is going through some of my old notes from college. Much of it was burned in the fireplace, but some will be tape bound and stored for future reference. It is all full of memories. One of the assignments that I came across caught my eye. I thought some of you might be interested. Here is the introduction.

As soon as we left the paved road, everything began to melt together into a hot orange dust. I had only arrived in Africa a couple of days earlier. It could have been the motion sickness or the jet lag, but the blur was definitely the color orange. As heavy-laden logging trucks whizzed by at twice the speed any sane driver would, they seemed to pick up buckets full of the fine orange dust and deposit it on the giant leaves of the great, green forest. The houses were even made of it. They were constructed of long straight sticks, and the orange clay was used to fill in all of the spaces and smooth out the rough spots. Some of the houses were finished with a thin layer of cement on the walls, to make it more pleasing to the eye, and to tell all who saw it that the owner was wealthy enough to buy cement for his house. However, the dust covered the cement too, so that even the prettier houses seemed to be one with the earth around them. Teenage boys walked the dirt road with the coolest clothes that they could scrounge up. They wanted to be in the spotlight, to be the best dressed in their little village. However, even the coolest of clothes attract dust. Women worked in their little houses and outside in the open with their babies strapped to their backs with a length of cloth. Even the infants had an orange glow about them. Older children played soccer in cleared areas of forest. Their shoeless feet kicked up even more of the orange powder, and each child went home to his mother where he was dusted off with the same cloth that had secured his younger sibling to the back of his mother only a few minutes before. It too, was orange.

Sing to the Lord

For years I have believed that King David must have been bipolar. When I read his writings in Psalms and studied his life in I&II Samuel, I noticed that he had very high highs and very low lows. He was either praising God exuberantly or he was in the depths of despair. He was probably just a charismatic personality, and things weren't worth writing down unless they were something that he felt deeply about. Whether coming from a high or a low, David usually came back to a correct perspective of God. Psalm 13 was a good reminder of God's unfailing love today.

Psalm 13

For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever?
How long will you look the other way?
2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

3 Turn and answer me, O LORD my God!
Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
4 Don't let my enemies gloat, saying, "We have defeated him!"
Don't let them rejoice at my downfall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
6 I will sing to the LORD
because he is good to me.

The Mantle

Today I watched The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring. You know, I think every one of us can identify with Frodo Baggins at some point. Often he pauses, and the look on his face says it all. “Why was this burden given to me. I cannot carry it alone. I am weak and I fight against such darkness.” His struggle with his responsibility drives him to the brink of giving up, but his resolve is strong, and he continues, supported by the few who call themselves the fellowship.

We have also been given a burden to bear. Ours is not an instrument of great evil, but it carries power greater than Frodo could ever imagine. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t bring destruction, unnatural long-life, or division. No, it brings hope, abundant life, and unity. It is the very love of God poured out for us.

Often I wonder why I was chosen to carry this load. I consider giving up, but though my resolve is weak, my Sustainer is the source of all strength. There is nothing else to do in this life but carry the mantle of the Gospel. Those of us who do so bear the title of Beloved. He does not promise a life without struggle. His promise is to see us safely home. Home to the place that He has prepared for us.