Hosting the Ns

In 2006, the Ns hosted a student team that I led to Yaounde Cameroon. They were the most gracious hosts and our role was to help jump start some relationships and student gatherings during our time in their city. In 2008, they hosted another team from our church, this team helping them with a leadership conference they were putting together. Again, the most gracious, humble, and culturally sensitive hosts.

Bad picture, but G is second from the left and W is all the way on the right. [Greg who helped lead in 2006 and 2008 in the middle and Terah who lead in 2008 is second from the right.] It was a pleasure to host them and two of their three kids this past weekend. And, of course, when people like us get together, the 4 day long conversation includes topics like:
+ sending churches and global missions strategies
+ their transition of ministry moving from being hands on youth workers to focusing on organizational dynamics and administration
+ psychometrics and high performance teams
+ the demand of a typical season on furlough
+ life overseas while preparing your teenagers for college in another country

I also had some great conversations with their two boys about growing up overseas, being third culture kids and the kinds of things they would love and hate if they got together with similar kids. This is info we will indirectly use for Prague. Loved our time together.

Cam 2006 revisit

We had a get together with Gilles Naine last weekend - he and his family live in Yaounde, Cameroon working with high school kids. They hosted a team that I led in 2006 and then hosted another SPACE team in 2008. We had a great time catching up with some people from both of those teams.

What's most impressed me about G is his sense of catalytic leadership. They've always known their time in Cameroon, as white people, is limited and that Cameroonians will impact their country more than they can. He is always on the look out for emerging indigenous leaders and the investment into these leaders is central to their ministry. He's been meeting for a few years with a small group of students that he calls their 'Timothys' and now those students are starting to take over things. Exciting to hear that some of the students we met in 2006 have now owned their faith and are influencing others in the same way.

Cross cultural workers with exit strategies are bright spots.

The Longest Travel Day of My Life

From the SPACE archives....

Even longer than the time we flew into Orlando after being delayed for seven hours and then I called the wrong hotel shuttle to pick us up...

Cam team - bring some good books!!

One of the Coolest Ornaments Ever

Cameroon is in green.

Mission Trip Quotes - Ice Age 2

Some quotes from Ice Age The Meltdown and real life scenarios where they could have been used.

[Sid, talking about the vulture who is predicting doomsday.]
"He must have been a real pleasure to have in class."
Me, about TFS, who went on a 15 minute rant about how he hates United Airlines, unbeknownst that two United pilots were sitting behind us on the shuttle bus, Brasil, 2005.

[Manny thinks he might be the last mammoth.]
"Look at the bright side - you have us."
Me to my many teams, many times, referring to the leaders as "us."

[Cholly as he breaks wind on Sid.}
"My stomach hates me," and "Don't that put the stink in extinction."
Me and infectious diarrhea in the Dominican Republic, 1993.

"This is too hot. The ice age is too cold. What will it take to make you happy?"
Multiple scenarios huh?

"There are whole continents moving faster than you."
Our whole team through the palace tour after flying all night to Austria, 2007.

"From now on, land safe, water not safe."
After two hours paddling up a river in a dugout canoe, outside of Kribi, Cameroon, 2006.

"Making friends everywhere you go."
After sharing the Gospel with a Pygmy Indian tribal chief, translating from English to French to a tribal dialect and back, outside of Kribi, Cameroon, 2006.

[Sid, arriving at the Fire King place]
"Who is your decorator, this is nice!"
Arrival at our four star hotel resort in Sopron, Hungary, 2007.

[Sid, after all the little sloths tie him up.]
"This is either really good or really bad."
Finding out our team had been bumped off of our flight to Brasil, 2005. [Turned out to be good.]

And some other gems I'm sure you could work in to your experiences:
[Sid to Manny after Manny makes him stop singing songs about extinction.]
"Ok... someone doesn't like the classics."

[Sid says to Manny, "You might be the only two mammoths left."]
"I'm sorry, when did i join this dating service?"

"Can we slow down a little. I'm dying here. It was just a figure of speech! [after seeing the vultures]"

"One truly is the loneliest number."

Cam Team one year later

The Nens were in town a few weekends ago. It was so good to see them and after spending 10 days in Hungary with the same kind of families, it was familar, refreshing and really fun.

Hard to believe it has been one year.

[Related - Cameroon 2006]

The Essential 3 ::: Cameroon - 2006

In 2006, building on the streak we started with 2005, I helped lead a team of 12 students and leaders to Cameroon. Cameroon was also the home of one of GCC's families and they jumped at the idea to host a team of American students. Months of their preparation culminated in our arrival and a short youth camp three hours outside of the capital city. Two days after camp, our team was witness to the first ever student small groups in the capital city started by this missions agency. On to the 3 essential questions:

1. Am I planning to have an impact that lasts for 500 years?
Local, Cameroonian youth workers that are being trained. A host mission family that already has a well thought out exit strategy. Cameroonian students that will be the foundation of politics, science, industry, and the Christ movement when they get older. Three elements that meant our trip was more than a short term mission trip - it was the beginning of centuries of impact.

2. Can both host and teams trust each other because we are partners?
Once again, having a host that was part of GCC's network of families around the world was vital. The experience was built from both sides, balancing need, talent, context and impact.
The crux of this trust was displayed via our trip to the Pygmy village, during our camp. G had decided to stay home since one of our students was down with a stomach bug. Instead, one of his indigenous youth ministry leaders would be the point person. It all worked according to plan, except when she asked me to explain the Gospel to our Pygmy Indian friends. Well, someone's plan anyway.

3. How will I engage the culture?
Host homes. Pygmy indians. Living with Cameroonians in a beach camp. Our students experienced Cameroonian culture first hand. They still remember and they still know - both in their hearts and in their heads - that the Gospel moves relevantly from culture to culture.

Photo: me and ND and Wlson, two local, Cameroonian youth workers in it for the long haul.
Related: 2006 - Cameroon

December Convergence

When we are the epicenter of a community that resources, trains and sends people back and forth from culture to culture, December can be an amazing convergence. Friends from near and far dropped in last night.

Photo: Some of the Cam team with Tkshi from Yaounde, Cameroon.

Cameroon set Pictobrowser

Pictobrowser - a new Flickr tool for an in-post picture browser of any of your photosets in Flickr. This is my Cameroon 2006 photoset. [RSS readers - the actual post has a flash based viewer that is showing all the pictures in that photo set.]

2006 Cameroon - Metapost

Thursday July 27, Day 2
Friday July 28, Day 3
Saturday July 29, Day 4
Sunday July 30, Day 5
Monday July 31, Day 6
Tuesday August 1, Day 7
Wednesday August 2, Day 8
Ask the Cameroonian Missionary
Thursday August 3, Day 9
Friday August 4, Day 10
Saturday August 5, Day 11
Sunday August 6, Day 12
It All Means... [tony's personal debriefing]

Photos: The plaque on the bottom of the wood engraving of the country of Cameroon, the wood engraving. A gift from the Navigator team in Yaounde Cameroon to GCC, Maryland.

Photo sets:20060726Cameroon flickr photoset, Webshots[warning over 900 pictures there]

LB's cultural observations - part 1 and part 2

It All Means...

Well, writing those posts was quite an experience, but I know it was worth it and that's why I plugged on. It meant writing a lot, reading my journal a whole lot and looking at over 1300 pictures. If you read all of these posts, let me know, I owe you a gift or something. The narrative of our trip on this blog was just a representation of what happened - of course, a trip like this contains so many more details. Also, the narrative would be somewhat useless without my own debriefing, so here it is. Keep in mind, these are thoughts directed at me, not you. But if they spur on your thinking, thats awesome.

The Standard Stuff

Photo: G and me.

You know the standard stuff. I don't want to minimize these ideas, because they are important, although sometimes a bit cliched. But important enough to state:

- How great the team was. [Well we did hand pick them so we had big expectations and they rose to just about all of them.]
- Hoping that we - our community of faith - has used this trip as a small piece in the discipleship of some precious students, not just a one shot mission experience that serves only itself.
- There are not many families like the Nens, nor the other families we have worked with, that can leave the comforts of their own culture to risk, serve and bless people and communities in a vastly different culture. After the first three days, I found myself muttering, "I could never live here." They are almost another kind of species.
And over the past few years, every family we have partnered with has said, in effect, "We are honored that you would think of coming here." These families give up a lot and in my conversations with them, they always say how privileged they feel to be doing what they are doing. They are giving life to receive life.
- That students all around the world have pretty much the same concerns. Besides relationships, their future and right from wrong, they all want to live significant, impactful lives.

Ok, now on to the more weighty stuff.

The Church [big C]
I know I've used these two quotes at least a few times on this blog before. But they capture the essence of what I'm thinking.

"But she will live on. She is indestructible. When she dies in one part of the world, she explodes in another. She's global. She's universal. She's everywhere. And while she's fragile, she's going to endure. In every generation there will be those who see her beauty and give their lives to see her shine. Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against her. That's strong language. And its true. She will continue to roll across the ages, serving and giving and connecting people with God and each other. And people will abuse her and manipulate her and try to control her, but they'll pass on. And she will keep going." - Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis

"Church leaders invest too much time answering this question: how do we keep new followers from falling away from the church? Church leaders should instead ask: how do we develop people who MUST? Having a sense of "must-ness" is not about social conformity [ i.e. reinforcing acceptable patterns of going to worship services, giving money to the church, attending a small group, etc]. "Must-ness" comes from an internal motivation inspired by a Jesus like understanding of God's activity in the world.
He calls his followers of both the first and twenty-first centuries to give their lives with him to something greater than themselves. When any person hears Jesus' call and recognizes the intrinsic beauty of what Jesus is doing, he will run with red-hot passion and join swords with anyone and everyone who hears as he does."- Alex McManus

The Church in Cameroon that we were witness to is amazing. It is filled with leaders that MUST. Therefore, it will be indestructible. Though the Church may be fragile, we met many men and women that will give everything they have, have already given everything, and will continue to give whatever the costs in order that the Church may shine. No building, no budget, no location, no social conformity - no matter. And what happens when these types of people rub elbows with students? Multiplication of more of the same. There is a new culture being birthed in Yaounde. My prediction - in the second most corrupt nation of the world, the Church will shine.

This means we should take good notes from a movement of Jesus followers that relies not on the material nor the programmatic, but on bands of friends that sacrificially give in order to build deep relationships so that students are reached and so that Christ's bride - the Church - shines on.

Sense of Community

"Stark notes that there were at least two great plagues in the first three centuries (160 and 250 AD) that actually were instrumental in the nascent church's incredible growth rate, which he estimates at 40% per decade. When the plagues came, those who were able fled the city but not the Christians. They stayed and ministered to the sick and dying--Christians and non-Christians alike. Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, writing of how believers responded to the plague of 250 observes:
'Most of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, and with them departed this life serenely happy; for they were infected by others with the disease, drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbors and cheerfully accepting their pains. Many, in nursing and curing others, transferred their death to themselves and died in their stead. The best of brothers lost their lives in this manner, a number of presbyters, deacons, and laymen winning height commendation so that death in this form, the result of great piety and strong faith, seems in every way the equal of martyrdom.'" - Eric Swanson

This description of community sounds like what we experienced, especially the sacrificial part. The people we met in Cameroon gave a lot. Not only material and tangible things, although they certainly did that. Our host families were extremely giving and gracious, cooking the meals [which included special preparation for Americans - and the average Cameroonian meal takes at least a few hours to prepare], opening up their homes and giving some incredibly thoughtful gifts to some of our students. But more than all of those things, they opened their hearts and considered us family.

Family and community are intertwined ideas in Cameroon. Many of our friends lived very close to family and if not, they made visiting a priority, no matter the difficulty of transportation. Every host family had some sort of family time every evening, whether it be songs and dancing, a short Bible study or prayer time. I observed a great deal of gratefulness among the families we got to know - grateful for a relationship with the Creator and grateful for how God has blessed them.

Cause creates community and maybe this is a glimpse of the intersection between a family that is called to meet the world deepest needs - a supreme cause - and the weight of that responsibility. In other words, I suspect that the families we became friends with know that their existence on Earth isn't just for themselves - and they teach that to their kids. They teach it to their kids in how they act, how they care for their families and how they worship and have fun as a family. Not only are they committed to each other because that is what family means, but they are tied together with a common and significant cause.

This means that my idea of community and family is too small. There is much more to unpack here, but the essence is that I need to move our family to some habits of community that relate to getting to know our neighbors better and deeper, to model a concern and priority for our neighbors AND family and to continually challenge the concepts of how our family interacts with the world.

My [I mean, Jesus'] Leaders

Photo: the ladies of the team, and female leaders NLind [second from left], ESunde [third from left in front] and LB [fourth from left in the back.]

"The best leaders are not those who win the most followers, but those who create other leaders." - Neil Cole

75% of this leader team was made of students from the ministry, now turned into leaders. I would like to think I had a little bit to do with their development - the Developer strength showing up again. On a long term scale, I feel like I, or we as a family, have invested a lot in three of them. One of them was in D's 03 dteam, and the two others came up through SPACE in high school right when it first started. Nonetheless, all four leaders, and these three in particular made me really proud. There were many times during the trip where I just sat back and paused, instead of jumping right in, watching them shape, mold and challenge - all with the end goal of creating leaders from our team of students. Seeing them develop was, and will continue to be, one of the most exciting aspects of my life - exciting because I know they will go on and do much, much more than I am ever capable of, whether SPACE is the context or not. These are the leaders that are creating other leaders.

This means that investing in leaders must be done not with followers in mind, but with future leaders in mind. One of the first goals of SPACE was about preparation of others and this means that the preparation goal - now moreso than ever - must be at the forefront of everything we are doing. And SPACE isn't the only context where this leadership idea must be applied.

Empowering Me
I've dealt with a slight undercurrent of low self confidence for most of my adult life. If you have read Wild at Heart, you could think of it as my wound. It certainly has had an affect on all elements of my life from career to fatherhood to ministry. But this trip, oh man, this trip empowered me. Not only was it one of the most riskiest endeavors I have attempted, but besides fatherhood, it was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. Difficult because of the differences in culture, difficult because I was a bit sick at the end, difficult because it was a ton of travel. But heck - I was in charge of a team of 12, going to three different continents, 6000 miles, and a pygmy village, I spent an afternoon crossing Paris by myself. I was in freaking Africa for a week. We all came back alive and no one was hurt. We all had a great time. And all of us contributed to something much bigger than just ourselves.

This means that when it comes to the abilities that God has given me and the calling that God has on my life, I should not back off with the thought of, "God could never use me." If anything, I should be saying, "God, what a life you have given me - let's go together for even more."

Engaging Students for the World's Sake
I'm just as convinced now as when SPACE started that we are on the right track. Just like last summer's team to Brasil, we did it right. A local, indigenous connection. Partnering with a family we knew and that knew us - both who we were and where we came from. A simple, easily-reproducible strategy for follow up. A hand picked team of students that gave of themselves to total strangers and walked away with friends for life. A leader team that knows how urgent the world's needs are and that we cannot, and should not, do it ourselves.

When it comes to multiplying students to engage culture, to serve out of themselves, to be embarrassed because they don't understand the language, to learn to be leaders - all of it is because the world is desperately waiting. And someone better go.

So this means, the more trips we can do the right way, the more students we can engage within the right framework of our must-have goals, a simple process and top-notch leaders, the more the better [and not necessarily within SPACE all the time.] It also means we should continue to do our homework and press the boundaries of conventional thinking on what makes a good missions trip. And, when we have done that homework, when the planets line up, when our top-quality, sacrificial leaders sign up and go for broke; we will see human history be marked, our friends and family will witness centuries - not decades - be transformed, we will see the multiplication of students and leaders that catalyze individuals, families, communities and nations. And that's the logical outpouring of having God's word in our hearts.

Sunday Aug 6 - Day 12

We landed in Paris early this morning. A good flight out of Cameroon, mostly ontime. Our bags also made it here with us - 12 people with 23 bags. Amazing. Our hotel is great, we arrive via the airport shuttle around 10am and our 3 rooms are ready. The weather is a bit overcast, but shortly clears up and ends up being an absolutely gorgeous day here.

I am still sick. At certain times, my stomach explodes. It makes for a lot of fun in the airport. I send the team into the city with the other massively capable four leaders. GM leaves me his phone since both his and LBs work here in Europe. I sleep. And sleep. And sleep.

I awake in the early afternoon , deciding that I don't want to waste any more time. On the train into the city, I text LB saying "Im on the way in to meet you." As soon as the message gets sent, the phone dies - low battery. Interesting. I just spent a week in Africa, I'm sure I can figure out how to meet my team in Paris.

As if a week in Africa wasn't enough of an adventure, I'm having one of my own this afternoon. I'm almost 40 years old. I live a life of predictability. No one else on earth knows exactly where I am right now. I am traversing through one of the worlds greatest cities and I don't know a bit of the language here. I love it.

I pop out of the Cluny subway station and am amazed at my first real sights of the city. The slow pace of life, the community of outdoor cafes, the beauty of the city scapes - so cool. I grab a banana and a bottle of water and just walk for blocks. Finally, I decide that I should figure out how to reach the rest of the team.

I hop into an internet cafe - my first real computer time this whole trip. After a little while, D and I google chat - it's great to communicate in real time even if not over the phone. Eventually, LB and I text via her phone and my email account. I get directions and go.

The team has been having a debriefing and reentry discussion for the past three hours. From all accounts, it has been intense. The environment for it has been great - a neutral location, not at home and not near our ministry locations; a beautiful day; no distractions of family, work or school; and the venue being right underneath the Eiffel Tower. Perfect.

After I meet up with them, we take in more sights - the Arc de Triomphe, dinner in a neighborhood near the Bastille, souvenir shopping near Notre Dame. We arrive back at the hotel a bit later than we had wanted, but it was a perfect day.

Tomorrow, we arrive home.

Photos: Notre Dame, Emilie and I, the team.

20060726Cameroon photoset

Saturday Aug 5 - Day 11

Hard to believe that our time here in Cameroon is coming to an end. It has seemed like both forever and just yesterday since we arrived. This morning is spent doing some more souvenir shopping in the market area. Part of our team also splits off to tour a local medical clinic. Medical clinics are more the norm here for routine medical issues rather than hospitals.

At one point this week, W says, "They will take her to that hospital, it's kinder since its run by the Chinese." Here in Yaounde, there is apparently a large population of Chinese immigrants. No wonder the blondes on our team get more attention than me. The Chinese here run hospitals, own Chinese restaurants [of which we see two] and bring all of their own building materials, drivers and comforts of home. There is no Chinatown per se, but they have extracted and implanted their own cultural environment. During all of our time here, I only see one Chinese person. On another occasion, as I walk towards the market, a Cameroonain calls out to me "Ni hao?" - Mandarin Chinese for "How are you?" Mandarin Chinese in Yaounde Cameroon. How about this planet?

We have a big lunch at the Nens - sloppy joes. We depart for the airport in the late afternoon and work our way through the interesting process of leaving the country. First, there is the tax that we have to pay on every piece of wood that we have purchased. The tax is also higher on ebony carvings. Then we pay our exit tax - a fee required from everyone who is leaving the country. Thirdly, we go through all the security checkpoints, having our carry on and checked luggage scanned. We then check in at the airlines and get our boarding passes. During this whole time, which takes about an hour, there is a whole entourage of Cameroonians who have come to see us off. Many of them get dressed up and a few of them give some of our team some very thoughtful gifts, including some wood carvings, necklaces, and such. Once again, we are overwhelemed with their kindness and sacrifice. We are evidence for a local custom that states "visitors are full-fledged members of the Cameroon family." So very true. Finally, we return to the main terminal area where we say our goodbyes, and head up the stairs to the gate.

Photos: downtown Yaounde, some of the ladies.

Friday Aug 4 - Day 10

This morning is a light one with not much responsibility for us. All of our team meets with our hosts at a local vocational/tech school for a quick tour and for G to meet the principal and introduce us to him. Our visit serves for G to follow up on a potential lead with this school for a possible partnership in the future - something like running an English camp with the students of the school and maybe paving the way for hosting future visiting teams to make that happen.

The tour of the school also gives our team more insight into what it means to be a Cameroonian student. This school teaches plumbing, concrete and masonry, woodworking and English and two of the Nav youthworker team have jobs here. They give us tours of their classrooms. The rooms are the size of an average American high school classroom, with just a chalk board in the front. They have rows of combination seat and desk furniture made out of wood. Other than that, that's it. No posters, no computers, no teacher's desk. Additionally, there are 150 students per room. Another stark aspect of how good we have it in America - one that makes an impact on our team. We also see the woodworking, masonry, plumbing and areas.

After the tour, we take a walk down the road to a little cafe where all of us eat lunch - a rotisserie chicken with fried plantains and sodas. This particular meal tastes a lot like an American meal - something right out of Boston Market.

Our plans for the afternoon will give us a really good feel for the actual quantitative success of the camp. Our team splits into three groups and we travel separately to the three homes that host the first small group follow up with the camp kids. Seeing how many camp kids show up to the first small group - and which ones - will really determine the quality of the camp and set a course for the next few months.

ESunde, BB, TriciaB and I travel with Cmfort via taxi. BB and ESunde have never ridden in a taxi before, ever. It's a fun ride, with two of us plus the driver in the front and three of them in the back - all in a Toyota Corolla.

Our small group meets at Karlls house - also the host home for NLind and LF. Karll is one of the many Nav youthworkers to watch - she loves Jesus and loves students and has a hugely warm and inviting disposition to her. Our small group goes well, with seven students showing up. Our time includes sharing verses or passages that have spoken to us recently, an extended time of prayer and talking a little bit about what future gatherings will include and look like. All in all, our small group had a great turnout. Hearing from the other groups, sounds like they had good turnout too.

Right after the small groups, all of us meet at the Nav center. For my group, it's a short walk from Karlls. All of the Nav team is also there and we have a little send off/thank you party to close our week here. The whole Nav team is there, even some people that are not based here in Yaounde.

It's an amazing time of singing, praying and listening to our team share. What most astounds me is how giving the Cameroonians are. They give each of us an incredibly detailed woven straw bag with intricate patterns, stitching, handles. To top it off, they present me for a gift for GCC - a wooden carving of the country of Cameroon that stands about three feet tall, with detailed outlines of each province, animals and a dedication plaque [see the Metapost for detailed images.] The initial thought that keeps running through my head is, "What an incredible, incredible gift!" When that thought finally wears away, I think, "Customs should be fun with this."

After our time there, ADress, CHayes and I go to Ptrs house, along with BB and GM, for dinner. BB and GM have lived there all week and have invited us so we can get a sense for a real Cameroonian home and meal. Dinner is potatoes, rice, beets, cole slaw and rooster. After dinner, we spend a little time with the extended family and their kids singing various praise songs and watching the kids dance. Apparently, every night is family night like this.

Family and community is an ongoing theme that impacts our team and tonight is one of the examples why. The sense of family and community is strong in Cameroon. You care about your neighbors in a sacrificial, engaged manner. Your extended family is family - in the strongest sense of the term - they are part of your social, spiritual and financial responsibility. As visitors, we are treated, well, like family. What would it mean for me, and my family, to extend this concept of community to those that we live around and to our real family? And how does this idea interact with the principle that "Cause Creates Community?"

Photos: ESunde, GM and AW in one of the classrooms and the votech school; the whole team at the Nav center; Mrtin, EllyK, LB, TriciaB and Rachel.

Thursday Aug 3 - Day 9

Our team has spent a restful night in their host homes. I think all of us feel that slight sense of home away from home since we came back from camp. We all meet at the Nens in the morning and have a great time for our team. Team time includes talking about John 1 - the idea of Jesus and John the Baptist being sent. Sent away from home, sent to initiate, serve and give a message, sent into the unknown. Even after camp, with almost half of our trip over, the text frames our purposes here. One of the things we must instill in the next generation is that the Church is on the move. God's very idea of the Church is one that is mobile, not in the physical sense, but in the sense of movement and momentum - the Church is called to the very people that are not part of it yet. Many times, that requires being sent out and away from what we know. And for our team, it means 6000 miles by plane, 300 miles by bus, 10 miles by canoe, all in 7 days.

I try to have our leader team meet every day or two to get a pulse on how they are doing, how they think the team is doing, any issues we need to address and to pray together. GM sums up this morning well in commenting, "We are a real team this morning." So very true. I've said it before - I think this type of role as a leader is one of the most difficult - traveling with students to another culture, working some kind of ministry task with people you have never met, staying healthy and alert, being dad, mom, nurse, leader, servant, all on a 24x7 pace. I've been very fortunate - this leader team is one of the best I have worked with. One clear indication is that they share my sense of urgency about preparing students - we didn't bring them 6000 miles to coddle them and do ministry for them. We brought them 6000 miles to push them to the edge of their lifestyle regarding risk, mission and reaching those who haven't been reached yet. My experiences in the past few years tell me that leadership requires modeling endeavors that are so out of the norm, that they will be successful only if God comes through and intervenes.

After a short break, we gather again with G and W for our camp debriefing. The purpose of this gathering is to go over the details of the camp and learn from it. Before we left camp, G had the students fill out a quick evaluation. As we begin our discussion, W reads from a bunch of the evaluations. The question of whether our trip was worth the investment is answered - as she reads some of the answers, she is visibly moved and brought to tears. This singular instant is the positive indication of success.

We have lunch at the Nens and right after lunch, LF gets bit by their dog Smokey. Not a huge bite, but it is close to warranting stitches. She's a trooper though and does fine, relaxing at the house for the whole afternoon. The rest of the team hits downtown in the afternoon for some souvienr shopping.

The shopping experience is also wild. Bartering is expected here and our team has fun doing that with our local hosts helping out. The exchange rate is 500 Central African Francs to $1 American dollar. A nice African button-down shirt cost 7000 CAFs ($14), and an official Cameroonian soccer jersey cost just under 3000 CAFs ($6). In other words, buying stuff is cheap. Since buying stuff is cheap, many of us felt a bit awkward about really bartering. Some of our hosts told us we paid way too much for some items, even though the difference meant very little in terms of American money. Part of the market area also includes a whole set of tailors, seamstresses and shoe cobblers.

After dinner, G, CH, ADress and I spend a little bit of time brainstorming about what makes a successful student small group. We have a great discussion, especially since CH and ADress have come out of a very successful small group experience in their high school years. Their Dteam leaders have done it right - and you know who you are.

Photo: Our team with the Nen kids; shopping at the market in downtown Yaounde.

Ask The Cameroonian Missionary

Most of you know I'm kind of nosy. I like to refer to it as inquisitive - call it what you will. So imagine what a time I had living at the Nens and getting to ask them questions of all manners at the most random times during our trip. Listed below are some of the questions I asked them. Some of the answers might be summarized a bit.

Q - What do you worry about the most when it comes to raising your kids in another culture?
A - My biggest worry is that there is a large medical issue that cannot be resolved in-country. An accident, disease or something like that. We do have a special medical SOS type of medical insurance, extra than the normal, that we get via our mission organization.

Q - You have been here in the country for 18 months now. If you could boil it down to one essential and crucial piece of preparation, what would it be?
A - African Orientation Training - 3 months of not only technical skill training for living in Africa, but a real life training regarding communication, team work, etc. We landed on Monday. The orientation started on Wednesday with the three families in this term being split up into teams, given money and having to take a taxi from one side of town to the next. Over the next 11 weeks, we were trained in anything and everything having to do with living in Africa, with the eventual goal of living in a remote African village, which we did for three weeks. Making yogurt, skinning animals, prepping food, you name it, they taught it to us. Our village hosts couldn't believe we paid money to be able to live with them. It was much more difficult on us than our kids. At the end of the village section, our kids cried when we had to leave.

Q - How comfortable are you living here.
A - G - about an 7 or 8..
A - W - about a 7 or 8 living here in my house. When I'm out in the city, maybe a 5.

Q - Last significant book you read and why?
A - Andy Stanley's "7 Checkpoints for Youth Leaders", because the 7 checkpoints are significant themes and we used them to center the material for camp.

Q - Describe what kind of counsel you give to students thinking about full time or vocational ministry?
A - I tell them that it's a combination of getting involved in ministry, God speaking through the Scriptures and seeking the wisdom of mentor-type people. Students need to be actively involved and getting them involved in the ministry they come out of as leaders is a great way to have a check and balance for vocational ministry.

Q - Other significant books in your growth?
A - Journey of Desire, Eldredge; Lost Art of Disciple Making, Eims; Master Plan of Evangelism, Coleman [I gave him Unstoppable Force by Erwin as a gift]

Q - What was the first thing you did when you got here in terms of ministry?
A - The first thing was just to observe the culture. The team looked to me to give them some answers and a plan. But my job at first was just to observe and be a learner.

Q - [to Gbi, their daughter] Do you see movies?
A - Movies here are only in French. So we love to get DVDs from the States.

Q - Is there a McDonalds here?
A - There used to be one McDonalds, but business wasn't good enough so it closed.

Q - What are some of the options for schooling and your kids?
A - Home schooling, which we do right now. There is an American International school, but it is very expensive. There is also a MK school, run by Wycliffe/SIL, that we may look into when they are older, its better for middle school/high school.

Photo: CH, ADress and G, eating beef skewers from a roadside stand.

Wednesday Aug 2 - Day 8

We close and depart camp early this afternoon. It's been a really fun time and the Cameroonian kids seem to think so too, by their request for pictures with us, getting our email info and having us sign these Frisbees we brought from the States. Frisbees were a new thing for them here. It's another fortunately uneventful trip home, except NLind's suitor, who after repeatedly trying to get her phone number, jots his down and throws it at her through the window.

We've been told since we've been here to wash our hands a lot so as to not pick up something. So far, I'm working on emptying my third bottle of Purrell. Even with that, I've developed a weird stomach ache this afternoon. I think I know what's coming next.

We arrive back to the Nens house in Yaounde around dinner time. Shortly afterwards, our team is split as they all go back to their respective host families for dinner and the rest of the night. It feels great to be back here, a strange small feeling of home in a far away land.

Although the camp was definitely a fantastic experience, it is only a piece of the overall ministry strategy, significant for our time here but by no means the only piece. Camp was a flashpoint of momentum - there was a ton of work that went into taking initiative, building relationships, camp invitations even before camp started. G and his team have already put into place followup for using that momentum - three small groups that meet in neighborhood proximity around town. Take note - these are the first high school small groups that meet in Yaounde for the Navigators - ever, possibly for any student ministry ever. In terms of our team, and SPACE as a whole, the strategy in Yaounde fits perfectly. A local, indigenous team on the ground. A long term plan. An immediate followup.

It's being shortsighted to consider our team's impact only on these 37 students. I don't think its too audacious to consider all of Yaounde being changed because 37 kids started to live big lives, intent on serving others and impacting their country. Given enough time, all of Yaounde and all of Cameroon.

Photos: All of camp; NLind and some digits; Frisbee signing.

Tuesday Aug 1 - Day 7

Today is our last full day of camp as we leave for Yaounde tomorrow afternoon. We've told our team repeatedly to not squander our time here and to continue pouring into their new friends as much as they can. They are doing a great job of just that. This morning, EllyK and TriciaB talk about their spiritual disciples - how they journal, read the Bible and spend time with God. A basic goal of the camp is that some of these students understand a little bit better on how to have some base spiritual disciplines. Of course, EllyK and TriciaB do a great job. They naturally tell their stories and the other students listen intently. EllyK's blond hair helps. Two to watch in the future.

I'm a bit under the weather today - feeling groggy all day long. On most trips I run, I get into a rut around this time - day 6 or 7. I spend most of the afternoon trying to sleep it off. By the early evening, I'm running a slight temperature. Camp goes on fabulously without me. I've been smart though - I chose some fabulous leaders that go on without me. I have zero concerns about their ability to serve and lead. The evening has the camp doing a talent show with all of the teams performing some kind of skit or music. From all accounts, it was a great time.

Typical breakfast is some kind of baguette with peanut butter or chocolate spread. This culture is one that is not stressed out about time. In fact, time is more or less a suggestion. It is more important to make an appearance than to actually be punctual. I wrote before about the handshake between men. Women are greeted by two or three kisses to the cheek, alternating sides. So, a kiss on the left cheek, than right, than left again. It's cool. There is an underlying religious element to Cameroonians, many go to church but are not serious about Jesus. They may know the Bible very well, but may not be very serious about it. Kids don't have inherent value in the culture - that's why there really isn't much for them to do. Every story in Cameroonian fashion must have a moral to it. The idea of Seinfeld - a show about nothing - makes no sense. Music is huge, Cameroonians love to sing. Cameroon is the 2nd most corrupt nation in the world. It is also the 2nd most stable country in Africa. Many non-government organizations - charity and relief and development organizations - have their African headquarters here in Cameroon.

One question that must be asked is whether this trip has been worth the expense. Our overall costs were roughly $30,000 - the bulk of that due to airfare. With a team of twelve and spending 11 days in-country, that works out to a burn rate of about $200 per day per person. Granted the longer you stay, since the costs in-country are so low, the better your value. Is running this kind of camp, building these relationships and encouraging our missionary family worth $200 a day? Missions is not untouchable - it is unrealistic to say that as long as it is missions, it is inherently good and valid. Each trip needs to be critically assessed to make sure that the investment is wise. One of the best ways to do hedge our bets regarding our investment is to work with missionaries that we know and trust - ones that also know us. Another great way is to put the experience together in partnership - knowing what talents and gifts each party or team bring to the experience. Finally, we make sure that our hosts know at the beginning of the conversation that they can decline to host a team if it doesn't work for their ministry in the significant context or time.

Was this trip worth it? Was it wise and a good investment of our time and resources and not just a token missions trip? We get our answer later this week.

Photos: EllyK, TriciaB and G talking from up front, the human knot game, playing on the beach at sunset at Kribi.

20060726Cameroon photoset

Monday July 31 - Day 6

One of our team members, BB, has spent a part of the early morning in the bathroom with stomach issues. I readily offer him up as a token sacrifice to the stomach gods that be so that I may escape his dire situation. But hey, I'm a leader. Around mid-morning, NLind is with him as it comes out the other way - well she wanted to be a nurse. We let him sleep it off for the rest of the day. The rest of the day is simply known as "Pygmy Village." Not a store in the mall, but an excursion that all of the camp will take - riding in dugout canoes upriver into the jungle to visit a pygmy tribe. No I'm not kidding.

Right after breakfast, we pack it all up into three Toyota Minivans that serve as our transport. We drive about 20 minutes and then get in a combination of 4 canoes.

The lodging caretakers at the beach have set this up for us, including bringing a list of basic staples for the village - soap, matches and salt, and a huge bottle of whiskey we all thought was water. We are told the pygmy village is a touristy kind of thing, except we don't see any other people the whole day. Touristy is in the eye of the beholder I suppose. G ends up staying back at camp to take care of BB, also using the time to continue to tweak his talks.

The canoe ride is uneventful. We hear monkeys but don't see any, although people in another canoe later said they saw a few. I thought I saw an antelope, but it turned out to be a goat. Give me a break, I live in the suburbs.

Cameroonians believe that there is a spirit of water, a spirit that does not have the best interests of humans in mind. Couple that with not knowing how to swim, you have a chicken-egg combination - people die because they don't know how to swim and they are afraid of the water because people have died and there is a spirit that lives there. Many of the students here ran into big opposition from their parents about the camp because of both the beach and the river ride. It's pretty amazing that most of them were allowed to come in the first place.

The pygmy village is a surreal experience. There is no water or electricity and they live in a complex of thatched roof structures, built out of branches, leaves and sticks. They are all fully dressed in clothes when we arrive, and there are all ages of them from little kids to older, grandmotherly types. They are just a bit shorter than us and top of the roofs come up to about my shoulder. They marry other pygmies from other tribes and they go into town only when they need something vital. They don't speak English or French, except one of them named John. That's kind of random. They also have a dog or two.

In the back of my mind, I've been asking myself if this kind of thing is even morally right. The scenario is a bit too exhibitionist and consumeristic - bring a boatload [literally] of white people to see a village of pygmies. To be blunt - it sounds too much like a zoo. I love exposing students to the concepts of engaging another culture - I don't think we have a choice, the future depends on it. But it has to be an engagement, not a viewing.

At one point, JM tells me that she wants me to talk to the tribal chief about why we are there and about Jesus. I collect a few thoughts ranging from "I'm going to do what?" to "Maybe other gods talk to this guy," to "This should be interesting." In the end, I share just a little bit about how we are here from America because there is a God that talks to us, gave us a book and created everything that you and I see here. Not necessarily right from the Four Spiritual Laws. I would speak to Wlson, who spoke French to one of the canoe drivers, who spoke the pygmy language. The answer would come the other direction. After our short dialogue, there was also a short question and answer session and then the pygmies did a dance for us, with hand made drums, singing and pulling some of our pale skinned teammmates into the circle of dance. Surreal.

We arrive back at camp in the late afternoon, have a snack and continue on that evening with normal camp stuff, including a talk and small group time. Quite a day in Cameroon.

Photos: one of the canoes, NLind dancing with the tribal chief, me and the chief.

20060726Cameroon photoset

Sunday July 30 - Day 5

Sunday is our first full day of camp. The schedule is similar to a retreat with talks immediately followed by small group time, meals and games and beach time in the afternoons. G is smart enough to know that small groups are the medium by where relationships are built and lives are transformed. Therefore, small groups are a major component of this camp.

Besides the games, our team also has responsibility for small groups, along with the Cameroonian Nav team. Out of six small groups, our team has been split so that each group has both American and Cameroonian leaders. Although not quite as straightforward, our team's job is to assist, dialogue, ask good questions and listen a lot. The relationship between teacher and student in Cameroon is a 'teacher talks, student listens' idea. Interactive discussions are not the norm but is the environment we are trying to shape.

LF and I are in JM's group. She's a fabulous lady who works as a teacher in Yaounde and has intentionally 'adopted' about 8 or 10 high school students over the years and a bunch are here at this camp. I'm amazed at our first few small group times, some of the students are sharing very deep parts of their soul. JM first met G - get this - 13 years ago when they were both on a summer YWAM project in Benin. Now, G and W live across the street from her and serve together. The wild adventure that is God's plan.

During the morning talk, ADress from our team shares his story about how he became a Christian. It's a good story, one that I know a lot of students, American or not, can relate to. I'm convinced that one day, someone in Cameroon will point back to the time here as the beginning of their story with Jesus.

Cameroonian men have this really cool handshake. It's kind of hard to describe, but its the normal shake your hands, which moves into both of your hands gripping each other like you are arm wrestling and then your fingers pull on each other as your hands move away and you end the shake by making a snapping sound as your fingers pull off of each others. Like I said, hard to explain, but very cool.

Today is also my anniversary. D is a saint for letting me be in another country on this day, the second year in a row. I would call her, but I don't see a phone booth anywhere. (haha)

Our team is a bit more vigilant during beach time today. I assign the three lifeguards to stay at the outermost line in the water so the Cameroonians will know how far is too far. I can relate to the concept of water being a new medium, whereas our students don't remember a time when they couldn't swim. Some of our kids give beginning swimming lessons to the Cameroon students.

Besides G, my two other roommates are NDne and Wlson. NDne is a closet evangelist. Soft-spoken with a gregarious smile, he comes alive when speaking about the Scriptures. Wlson spends as much time with students as he can, usually right after small group time, getting to know them and what is in their head. Both are high school teachers and both have a heart of gold.

Photos: mealtime at camp; G and ADress upfront during one of the talks; NDne, me and Wlson.

20060726Cameroon photoset