Author: Stacey Hare

Back in our village lives a man whom we can call Philippe. Phillippe lives in a broken-down, one-room shack and, although he is in poor health, he always manages to walk out to the bush each day to find something to eat. Philippe does not really contribute anything to his family nor to his community. In fact, because of some mental problems Phillippe is a pretty difficult person to be around. He drinks heavily, screams irrationally, and often asks of the people around him more than they are willing to give. He is seen as a social outsider and the…

For the most part, Westerners tend to live materialistic lives, focusing almost exclusively on the physical realm. However, in our time in Cameroon, we have come to realize that the Kwakum worldview is dominated by the spiritual. One area in which this spiritualized worldview is particularly evident is in their suffering. Kwakum people believe that sickness and other suffering almost always originate from witchcraft. In general, when experiencing sickness (or really any misfortune), the Kwakum go to a witch doctor. In the case of many problems, the witch doctor prescribes a ritual washing. After such a washing, the bath water…

“Remember when you see a missionary coming home broken in body and weary in soul, it isn’t the privations or dangers or things he’s done that leave a deep hurt; it’s the things he couldn’t do that break his heart.” –Anonymous missionary As we are about to return to the States, I find myself returning with a great heaviness of soul. Why is this? It is because of the sickness? The hunger? The dangers that were faced on the field? The tireless work? No, none of the above. Like the quote above says, it is because of all the brokenness…

Of all the sorrow, frustration, and pain we have felt during our time in Cameroon, this last week has proved worse. The spiritual warfare has been so intense that I have found myself crying day and night. Without going into too many details, there is one Kwakum person I have invested in more than anyone else and has become my closest friend here. This young man is currently furious with me because I confronted him in sin. At least for now, it appears that he is walking away from the Lord. All at once I feel a deep sense of…

About three years ago I took a girl in our village named Mami to get an ultrasound. At the clinic I met her boyfriend named Koo who was visibly concerned about her pregnancy. So much so that he made a deal with God: if his baby survived, he would dedicate his life to the Lord. Despite the audacity of his prayer, the Lord did save the baby and (after studying the Bible and coming to understand the Gospel), Koo gave his life to Jesus Christ. Within the next three years, Koo and Mami got married and have been studying the…

The term “white savior” has come into vogue since we have been living in Africa. Because of its offensive nature (to someone who happens to be a white person ministering to black people), I have purposefully avoided learning more about what this term means. However, the mobilizers of our mission agency have told us that people are avoiding going into missions because they do not want to be labeled a “white savior.” Therefore, since this is something keeping people from the field, I will (reluctantly) address it. What is a “white savior”? According to Wikipedia… “The term white savior is a sarcastic…

Why are missionaries on the field so worn and spread so then? In the words of Jesus, it is because the laborers are few (Matt 9:37). But why are the laborers few? I believe that one of the reasons is because leaving the warmth and familiarity of one’s family is extremely difficult. The Kwakum people understand this. Many of them die in the same house that they are born in. Even if they do move to a different village, it is of utmost importance that they be buried in the front yard of their childhood home. Why? In part, it…

It both pains me and brings me joy to say that more people are asking me to teach them the Bible than I have time to teach. I am a Bible translator in title and yet I am also teaching literacy, evangelism, discipleship, and caring for physical needs. I love my job, but I am tired. Every missionary I know would say the same thing. There is simply so much kingdom work to do on the field and not enough people to do it. Why is that? Why are missionaries pulled so thin? In a word, it is because we…

These past two weeks have been filled with incredible disappointments. Bible translation To start with, I had been working alongside Kwakum colleagues in a particular village for over a year. We have been taking recently translated Scripture and then sit down with two people there, read them the story, and then ask them comprehension questions. These two individuals have learned to read in Kwakum and have begun to understand who God has revealed himself to be, specifically in the book of Genesis. Then, out of nowhere, both of them started avoiding my calls and were “busy” when we arrived in…

Since our arrival in Cameroon in 2014, there have been a handful of people from our village that have attended church semi-regularly. The services are conducted in French and this group of people speaks almost exclusively Kwakum. These neighbors put on their nicest clothes, arrive at church, and…sleep through the services. This is very regrettable because our pastor just finished a very long series on the book of Romans where he clearly presented the Gospel of grace. When I asked my Kwakum-speaking friends what they understood at church, I would often get answers like, “I learned that we need to…