Author: David M. Hare

We often hear comments from friends and supporters that they wish their children could come and visit us in Cameroon for a time. What they mean is that their kids have been expressing attitudes of ingratitude or entitlement and they believe that some time spent in an African village will help them to see how much they have to be thankful for. We all chuckle, and sigh, with the recognition that we are not going to fly a child to Cameroon just for an attitude check. However, whether these parents know it or not, there is a greater problem with…

Dave was interviewed this last week for a podcast and also preached at The Mount Church in Clemson, SC. You can listen to them at the below links: PODCAST: Around the King’s Table Pastors George and Brian of The Mount Church in Clemson sit down with Dave Hare to discuss translation and ministry in advance of Missions Week at The Mount. SERMON: Habakkuk: Global Missions with Dave Hare Dave preached a sermon which describes our ministry in Cameroon, and also traces through major themes in the Book of Habakkuk.

We wanted to give you an update of what is going on with us in the States and also what has been going on in Cameroon. In the US We have been tremendously encouraged by the mature believers all over the US and all by all the common grace that is here. Yes, it has been an adjustment, but adjusting to new environments is nothing new. We traveled throughout the US this summer and to date have done over fifteen presentations about our ministry in Cameroon, one of which was even written up in a local newspaper. We have been…

There is a major principle in the world of translation: “You cannot translate something you do not understand.” What this means for our project is that before we can even attempt translating a passage into Kwakum, we have to make sure we understand it ourselves. As our team has wrestled through various passages, there have been many times in which the Kwakum translators have posed this question to me: “Why would God do that?” Let me give you a couple illustrations. The first one comes up right away: “Why did God put the tree of the knowledge of good and…

The Hare family will soon be in the US. We are going to spend June 2022 – June 2023 headquartered in Louisville, KY. However, we will also be touring throughout the US in order to see you! Accomplished this term This has been a busy term! We have now been in the village for this term for almost 4 full years. In that time we… …developed a writing system which is now accepted and used by the language community, …wrote literacy primers and teacher’s manuals in order to teach the Kwakum how to read and write their language, …trained Kwakum…

World Team recently produced a new video demonstrating some foundational principles of our ministry in many countries. Check it out!

Back in 2013-14 we had the joy and challenge of spending a little over a year language learning in France. The challenge was mostly the language learning and the joy was mostly France. I really love France, a beautiful country full of nature and history. I was able to visit Paris once during this time and was struck by the magnificence of the city. One building that stuck out in particular was the Cathedral of Notre Dame. The building is immense and beautiful, drawing one’s eyes up to heaven and causing the heart to glorify God. The sad, stark contrast…

We have been working through some objections that, at least in part, contribute to the lack of workers on the mission field. So far we have covered the objections: 1) “I don’t want to beg for money“, 2) technology induced sleep, and 3) it’s hard to leave mom. Today I want to consider an objection that I have heard from time to time: It is both more effective and efficient to support national Christians. The core of this objection is that the process of sending out expat missionaries into the nations is expensive and time intensive. Further, when we as…

In my (Stacey’s) experience, there is nothing more depressing than Kwakum funerals. Why are they depressing? Many reasons. First of all, they occur frequently, often due to preventable causes. Secondly, they are long; around six days of wailing and sleeping in the dirt. Third, they are riddled with traditions that do not honor God. For instance, attendees often try to divine the person responsible for the death of the individual (because they believe that most if not all deaths are caused by witchcraft) and this leads to false accusations, screaming, and violence. There are also traditions forced upon the bereaved…

Stacey began a series last week discussing the question: Why are the laborers few? There are many answers to that question, one is that some people are unwilling to raise support, which is what Stacey discussed. This week I want to think through a different response: the rise of technology. Currently we live in a village in Cameroon, Africa and we are able to regularly see and talk to people all around the world. Just the other day I had a Zoom call on which I talked to someone in the Philippines, another in France, and another in Canada, all…