Author: David M. Hare

You may have read of our distress in thinking through when to give in a past blog “When Not Helping Hurts”. I wrote about a little girl in our neighborhood that was sick, our desire to help, and frustration in not knowing what to do. With much prayer and seeking counsel, we decided to help financially. And now, I thought I would give you all an update on how Madeleine is doing. I am pleased to say that she is doing incredibly well, considering her condition. First, though, I will tell you about her sickness.The Sickness Originally I just knew…

You know the typical “mom” response when you do not eat your dinner: “There are starving children in Africa who would love to eat this!”? I have noticed here in Cameroon that there really are not that many starving children. There are sick children, and children killed in accidents, but not really very many starving ones. So it was surprising to me the other day when we asked our language partner Bosco what made him happy and he said, “When I get to eat!” Bosco later asked me to come to the field with him one day to see what…

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 I love to read and I have read many books. I have read books that have deeply moved me, and books that have changed my mind on major issues. I have read books that were so powerful that I would have a hard time concentrating on other things during the day because I want to know what is going to happen….

For various reasons throughout my life I have heard people talking about the virtues of “village life.” I generally do not say much on these subjects, as they tend to be a bit touchy, and to be honest, I did not have a lot to say. However, I realized that after living for a while in an African village, I can offer some facts regarding village life that most people would not know. My goal is not confrontation in this blog, but just information. As you are making decisions regarding your family, raising your kids, and how you counsel others,…

We are facing a situation right now that is no doubt very common for missionaries, but very difficult. As you may have read in our last post, Stacey’s mom has cancer. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and prayer that we have received. Stacey is frequently in communication with her parents and they also are receiving much love. Thank you for those who have reached out. Beyond encouragement, we have also received counsel from those who have contacted us. Thank you for those of you who have recounted your experiences with sick parents and helped us think…

I once heard a presentation arguing that the only New Testament method of missions is church planting. The missionary explained that, biblically speaking, the Great Commission is best fulfilled by Christians working to create not just disciples, but churches. This thinking has lead to the Church Planting Movement (CPM) which has sent (and is sending) many missionaries with the purpose of planting churches. One consequence of this movement is that it has led some missions agencies to only send out pastors/teachers/disciplers. The idea is that the only real missions is church planting, so the only real missionaries are church planters….

I did a Google search for “things you should never say” and there were over 36 million results. Here are some of my favorites: 10 Things You Should Never Say to a Nun 10 Things You Should Never Say to a Canadian 300 Things You Should Never Say to a Woman (300!) 16 Things You Should Never Say to a Great Dane’s Face (can I say it to their tail?) The blogs that I usually read are the ones that apply to my life like: “10 Things Never to Say to Families with Adopted Children.” They are usually humorous and…

You always hear people saying that you never know what you have until it is gone. This is the real reason why our moms all told us about the starving children in Africa when we are refusing to eat something she prepared. The idea is that, if you were living in a place where you did not have enough food, you would even be thankful for split-pea soup. It is a principle that I have learned is true since moving to rural Cameroon. There are the little things that you miss, and wish you had previously been thankful for, like…

I am not a very sentimental person. And to be honest I have felt a little perplexed when I have seen people mourn the loss of a pet. I have had many pets throughout my 33 years of existence. I have given many of them away, some have run away, and a few have died. Just since we have been here in Cameroon we have lost 3 adult cats, 3 kittens, a Western Tree Hyrax, and most recently a tortoise named Jack. I was sad to see them go, especially the ones that died. Sad because I knew that this…