Author: Stacey Hare

By Stacey I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. –1 Corinthians 10:33  I have read this verse of Paul over and over again since our arrival in Cameroon and have asked myself the question, “What does it mean to try to please everybody in this cultural context?” I think I am slowly learning what this means, and it’s totally different than what I expected. I thought that pleasing everyone meant that I would live exactly like they do, but what I am discovering is…

By Stacey Yesterday was one of the happiest days of my life. Four years ago, during our visit to Cameroon, we met in a room at city hall and heard a handful of people explain why they wanted the Bible in their language. Yesterday we met in the very same room this time with over a hundred leaders in the community and watched them take concrete steps to that end. They elected leaders, they brainstormed about how to raise money for the project, and miracle upon miracle, they agreed to work together for the good of the project. They dreamed…

By Stacey Well tomorrow is the day. It is the launching of the language development project for which we have been praying and preparing for years. If all goes as planned, we will have this 6 hour meeting at city hall with over a hundred representatives who have been selected from each Bakoum village.  Jean Yves, the Cameroonian brother who is helping us mobilize the community, will be here tonight and will preside over the meeting. I am going to pick up a Cameroonian-style dress I am having made later today. All that to say, this meeting is a big…

By Stacey I had a church history professor in seminary who said that Pelagius did not believe in original sin because he never had kids. Had he been a father, he would never in a million years say that people were born basically good. I could not agree more. That’s Just the Way it is… I think the new air that we are breathing here in Cameroon may have a slight twinge of fatalism in it (although that depends on the people group). For example: “Can you come pick up so-and-so and take them to their village to die?” (um,…

by Stacey Heights by great men reached and kept Were not attained by sudden flight, But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward in the night. – Longfellow   We are experiencing many new adventures as first-term missionaries and in recounting them we often hear from our loved ones that we need to make sure we are not pushing ourselves too hard. Being the kind people that they are, they do not want to see us burn-out and go back home with remnants of what used to be a marriage, messed-up children, and the Bakoum people left without a…

By Stacey But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” Exodus 4:10-12     We are spending a couple days in the capital in order to get all dressed up and…

By Stacey With over a hundred languages without a Bible translation here in Cameroon, you can imagine that choosing ONE people group was a hard decision. But the decision has been made, we are going to, by God’s grace, translate for the Bakoum people. And in the meantime, we are living among a neighboring tribe called the Baka….who also happen to be without a translation of the Bible. It is hard to step out my front door in the morning and not be faced with the reality that these people need the Word. Let me share with you two simple…

by Dave It has been an intense couple of weeks here in Cameroon. We have visited a total of 19 villages and talked to innumerable chiefs and villagers. This has been an…interesting window into the culture as we struggle to not make fools of ourselves and also to understand what is going on around us. Here is a taste of some of the more wild adventures: 1. Drunk Man with a Megaphone In one village I spoke with the chief and several notable members of the community. Several of the men there were drunk and one of them had a…

Us and our friend Jean Yves who helped us talk to village leaders this week By Stacey Before our arrival in Cameroon, if you would have asked us why we wanted to spend our lives in Africa, we would have responded, “We want to translate the Bible.” As of today, this would no longer be our response. Let me explain why… A Previous Goal and Previous Methodology The Bible translators who preceded us in ages past came to the field with the same goal that Dave and I had: to translate the Bible. And, as can be expected their methodology…

By Stacey Starting tomorrow, Dave and I will be traveling to do a week-long survey among the Bakoum people. Our three two motivations for doing this are: 1. To gather more information about the people group. On the linguistic side of things, we hope to ask them things like if there is more than one dialect of the language or if they can understand the other languages groups which surround them. And then, on the more general side of things, we hope to map out exactly where all the Bakoum villages are located, how many chiefs there are, and who…