It is hard to believe all that happened this week. D&C 1:23 says that the weak and simple will proclaim the gospel to kings and rulers, so I guess I am weak and simple.
Since the mission president’s flight was cancelled, he
came the next day and was here only 17 hours before his early morning bus. We rearranged all of his appointments and
squeezed in Zone Conference and about 10 interviews. He and his wife were busy every second and
didn’t get much sleep. Sister Coleman
did a great job feeding all 10 missionaries and the Cooks and providing snacks
for various other guests.
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| Zone Conference |
The next day Sister Coleman was ill with some kind of
flu. Elder Ndonda also reported that he
was extremely ill. I checked with Dr.
Cook and started him on anti-malaria meds.
He admitted that hasn’t been taking the doxycycline that all
missionaries are supposed to take daily to prevent malaria.
On Wednesday Princess Tchamgoue Bernadette Stephanie took
us to meet a village chief (or king), Majesté Tchatchoua Tchande Clemence Emmanuel. Chiefs really are treated like kings except without the authority to tax. We had a nice visit with him, one of his
daughters and two nephews that he calls his adopted sons. His home is decorated with an impressive
array of photos of him with various VIPs, such as Jesse Jackson, Desmond Tutu,
and numerous Cameroon leaders. He once
had an audience with the pope and is friends with Jacques Chirac. Many of his family members live in
Minnesota. He asked how our church
differs from his Catholic Church. We gave him most of the first discussion and presented him with a Book of
Mormon. He wanted it endorsed so I wrote
my testimony and we signed it. Then he
wanted out phone numbers here and in California so we wrote them, too. After 2 hours we asked to be excused to get
home for piano students, so he insisted that we come again for 2 more hours the
next day. That appointment was cancelled
when his daughter gave birth.
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| Chief Tchouchoua, Wife, Princess Stephanie |
He also said that we have to come to his village, Bafang,
for the burial of a former chief, who is the princess’ grandfather. I called President Cook and got permission. More on that below.
After that visit Princess Stephanie said that she wanted us to
meet with another Christian. Since
Sister Coleman had students I had to go alone.
I hate leaving my companion but was glad that I didn’t miss this
meeting. The Christian turned out to be
the Commandant of the Gendarmerie, who is an ordained Pentecostal minister and
wants to start his own church. He
started our meeting with a prayer and we had a good time talking about how
Jesus changes hearts. I briefly
explained the Book of Mormon and presented him a copy with my testimony. He promised to read it and seemed anxious to
get started. I noticed a piano keyboard
and asked about it. He wants lessons so
I offered Sister Coleman’s free services.
His office is only about 4 blocks away so I think he will come. He asked me to call him next week after
Wednesday.
He gave me a business card and wrote on the back “BV
laisser circuler cet ami de Cameroun” (kindly let this friend of Cameroon
pass), signed it, and said that if we have any problems with the police we can
call him. Hooray! I have a “Get Out of Jail Free” card! I plan to carry a laminated copy of it everywhere.
I got stopped by cops three times Wednesday. The first guy said that he recognized me and
that he wouldn’t stop me again, but his buddy 40 feet down the road told us to
pull over. I said that we just talked to
the guy back there so we let us go. Then
5 minutes later as we were coming back we got stopped on the other side of the
street. We had the princess in the back
seat and she rolled down her window and chewed him out in royal style for the
30 seconds it took him to check our papers.
Next time I’ll have my special card.
Tuesday was May 20th, National Unification
Day, kind of like our 4th of July.
Almost everything was closed and there was a spectacular fireworks
display in the evening, launched from an overpass on the highway. Because it was Tuesday, Monday was also
treated like a holiday, making a 4-day weekend.
On Wednesday the line to pay water bills at the water company had about
100 people. It didn’t seem to be moving,
and then someone said that the machine is broken so I left. I still had a day before it is overdue.
Since Monday was Zone Conference, the Douala Elders
postponed grocery shopping until Tuesday.
Then they found everything closed so they asked if we could spare some
food since they were out. We invited
them over and fed them leftovers from the Zone Conference and the Cooks’
visit. Lucky for them the Cook’s visit
was abbreviated so we had extra. We
don’t usually keep food for six people on hand because with the heat and small
refrigerator it is tough to keep it fresh.
I went to pay our electric bill and found an incredibly
long line. I asked
the guard at the door if I could just print my bill on the computer since it
wasn’t being used. Instead, he sent me
into the managers’ office where I was greeted by a Christian woman that we had
met on a previous visit. She really took
a liking to us and took care of me in VIP fashion, sending a courier to pay our
bill. I felt guilty not waiting in line,
but was much relieved, because I really didn’t have the time.
Paying our water bill was another adventure. We went back several times because 1. The
power was out, 2. They closed at 3pm, 3. The line was incredibly long, 4. The
machine was broken. Finally I asked
Romeo and he said to skip the line and ask for help in the offices. So I asked the lady at the information booth
and she said she would pay it for me. I
handed over the bills and my money, got nothing in writing, and trusted "Madame Jo" to
pay it. I’ll go back tomorrow for the receipt.
Thursday evening at 9pm we had to mediate a disagreement in an apartment between Elders.
Friday, with some trepidation, not knowing what to expect, we took an overnight trip to Bafang for the
funeral of a King (Chief of a village).
It is a 200km drive each way through beautiful hills, valleys, farms,
and villages. There were 2 tolls and
about 100 ridiculously large speed bumps so the drive took about 4 hours. Our goal was to meet and share the gospel
with kings and village nobility and anyone else. We took 40 copies of the BoM and hundreds of
brochures. The key, of course, was that
we brought Princess Stephanie to introduce us, and we are friends with Majesté Tchouchoua. We expected him to be there but he missed it.
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| View of Bafang from our Hotel Window |
The princess made hotel reservations for us which were
much cheaper than we expected, at $30.
After arriving and getting settled she took us to meet the highest,
level 1, superior chief of Banka who is over all of the other chiefs in the
area. He was in the “Sacred Room” and
declined to meet with us. Then she took
us to meet the Catholic Bishop but he was away so I just said a few words to
him on the telephone. By then it was
dark so Princess Stephanie recommended that we skip the deuil (wake) because
the road is too difficult. We dropped
her off at her sister’s home.
The next morning she and her princess sister took us back
to the highest chief where we were told to come back at 1:00.
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| Carvings in Chefferie Gateway |
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| Ceremonial Gazebo |
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| Building in Chefferie |
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| E.T. Visited Cameroon |
Next we went to the burial of Chief Thomas Tcheuko Ngalee
Sengape. We went about 10 miles down a
difficult dirt road through the jungle, glad to be in a 4WD truck. The usher gave us plastic chairs in the front
of the crowd of about 500 under awnings and tall elm-like trees in the village
common area. The site would have made a
great campground for those who want to get away from it all, although they do
have electricity and water. The scenery
was beautiful with lush foliage everywhere around the buildings, which were
decorated with intricate wood carvings.
Although we were an hour late it seemed that the Catholic Mass had just
begun and continued for another hour. A
lot was in the local language, but it was interesting to see the elegant
African clothes, watch the proceedings, and examine the insects and spiders in
the grass at our feet. Then was a series
of eulogies for another hour followed by a meal.
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| Sister Coleman by Casket Holding Purse She Made |
Finally, as we were leaving, the princess started
introducing us to the nobility and her relatives. Nobody seemed interested in us so we left
nothing behind except a few gifts that the princess insisted upon. At least they know that we didn’t come to
take anything from them. And in case you were wondering, nobody got buried at the burial. The chief was actually buried a month ago.
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| Mingling With Nobility at the Burial |
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| Woman with Sticks on her Head |
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| The Road to Bafang |
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| A View of the Landscape |
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| Amazing Scenery |
Our next stop was the local king, Majesté Tchappi
Tcheukam Joseph, Chef Supérieur. We
followed him from the funeral to his chefferie (palace.) The 2 princesses gained entry and we had a
short visit. We gave him a BoM and some
brochures, testified of the BoM, and said that we hope to someday have a church
branch there. He wanted to discuss it
with his council and wanted 20 books so we gave them to him. I asked what we could do for him and he asked
for roads. The princesses explained that
women often give birth in the fields because the roads are so bad they can’t
get to a hospital. I promised to look
into it but said it is outside the scope of what the Church normally does. Most of the conversation was in the local
dialect with the princesses interpreting because the chief doesn’t speak French
well. One of his aides brought the book
and brochures from me to him as he sat on his throne.
As we left I asked for a photo so he led us to the road
to pose. The princess whispered that it
is customary to pay so we gave his aide $10 and took some photos with him. If you have ever wished for decorating tips
for your royal palace, just fill the room with poster-sized photos of yourself. That is the latest style.
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| Princess Stephanie, Majesté Tchappi, Princess Deva Glory |
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| Entrance to Chefferie |
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| Courtyard at Chefferie |
We went back to town and tried once more unsuccessfully
to see the highest chief. His aide
apologized and blamed it on youth, since the chief is in his 20’s.
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| Statues in Front of High Chief's Palace |
After the long drive back to Douala we were glad to get
home. We dropped off the princess with
her luggage in a dark, dirt alley downtown where she said she knows
someone. Of course, most streets are
dark, dirt alleys, so she didn’t fear for her life.
On Sunday I spoke in Bonaberi Sacrament Meeting on “The
Church Today.” After the meeting block I
got a message that the entire Douala branch had been invited to our pool for a
child baptism because the branch font sprang a leak. We raced home, arranged chairs, and invited
the gathering crowd inside for the service.
It was the biggest crowd in our home yet with about 40 people. The family (Hippolyte) brought lunch for
everyone. By the time everyone left it
was about 5pm and we were late for dinner with the Nkong family, but they weren’t
ready for us, so it was no problem. The
more we get to know President Nkong the more impressed I am with his wisdom and
kindness.
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| The 3 Billy Goats Gruff walked past the Bonaberi Chapel |
That's our week. What did you do this week?
