Hosting Cameroon

This is SPACE's good friend PT and I. He is the country director for Cameroon for The Navigators and a good friend of the Nens and served as one of our team's hosts when we were there in 2006. The term "host" is a large understatement given American's idea of host versus Cameroonian's idea of host. But our team will find that out this coming summer. He was in town recently and met with our 2008 team, giving them a little bit of an overview of the culture and environment they will find themselves in this summer.

In 2006, our team helped start the first ever high school Navigator small groups in Yaounde, the capital city, ever. Keyword - ever. The big deal is not about our team, but about helping start specific environments for students to gather, connect, have fun and transform into something more. It's really fun for me to tell you that the majority of those groups are still meeting today.

This summer's team is also going to start something new. The Navigators run a country wide conference every summer and there has never been a great opportunity for all families to come - mainly due to the lack of a kids program. So our team is going to run that, allowing husbands and wives to attend sessions together. Like in 2006, the service this team does is going to last for a while.

If you are going to go to Africa, this is a great way to go. A host family that used to live where you live and understands all the cultural adjustments; a committed and top notch, indigenous, local ministry team on the ground; and great opportunities to ignite and pass on relationships and opportunities for the long term. Hosts that we trust, a solid indigenous team, and catalytic opportunities - these are all elements that make long term impact truly viable.