Stacey and I got to know a very kind missionary when we first went to Cameroon on a vision trip. He allowed us to stay with him while we were in the capital, spent hours talking to us about his plans, and helped us a lot with our paperwork. As I got to know Shawn I learned that he had some learning disabilities. It took him a bit longer to get through college than average. But he finished. Somewhere along the way he decided to pursue the life of a missionary, leaving behind his family and their family business. It…

Several years ago, a missionary from Burkina Faso came to Eastern Cameroon to tell people about Jesus. He lived in a city called Bertoua and while he was there he met a young lady named Audrey. He shared the Gospel with her and she believed. However, when Audrey shared the Gospel with her mother, Carine, she rejected it. She didn’t believe that Jesus was enough, but instead believed that it was her good works that would make her acceptable before God. Through many prayers and conversations, Audrey won her mother to the Lord. Audrey and Carine then began to worship…

In the final book in the Chronicles of Narnia, there is a great battle between those Narnians who follow Aslan and those Calormenes who follow a god named Tash. Aslan (a great lion, who we first encountered as he created Narnia by singing it into existence) is a thinly veiled image of Christ. Tash is a horrid bird like creature that smells of death, and could symbolize any number of false gods. An ape and a donkey joined together with a tisroc (a leader of the Calormene people) and claim that Aslan and Tash are actually the same god. Of…

The miraculous cannot be brought about through human striving or effort. The sacredness of preaching the Gospel both within the context of missions and of parenting is nothing short of asking God to take a pile of dry bones and make them into an army of committed soldiers. The Teachings of Missionary to China, John Nevius John Nevius, born in New York in 1829, was a missionary to China who spoke out against the missions methodologies of his day. At that time, missionaries were employing national Chinese helpers to go out and preach the Gospel in order to reach as…

Understanding Scripture in a language other than the heart language in which we think and experience emotion is like trying to eat soup with a fork. You can get a little taste, but you cannot get nourished. William Cameron Townsend  William Cameron Townsend, or Cam, was one of the most influential missions leaders in the last two centuries. He founded three organizations: Wycliffe Bible Translators, the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), and the Jungle Aviation and Radio Service (JAARS). These three have the purpose of promoting Bible translation among minority language groups.  His Life Cam Townsand was born in 1896…

At the end of the 18th century in England, an impoverished shoemaker started reading a book called The Last Voyage of Captain Cook. This book catalogued the exotic adventures of sailor and explorer Captain Cook and caused young William Carey’s mind to drift outside the borders of his native land. This book “became a revelation of human need.” The “savages” that were referenced in the book “were now seen as God’s creatures and in need of a Sovereign’s mercies” (13).* Carey then looked to the Scriptures and saw that the Sovereign’s mercies were poured out on the lost of the…

We have now been back in the US for over 10 months. Traveling around, talking about Bible translation, we occasionally get asked the question, “Why not just teach the people French?” I have asked this question myself. If the people could read French well, it would open them up to a wealth of resources: multiple translations, commentaries, sermons, and pastoral training materials. And Stacey has a great article examining some reasons HERE. But along that line, I was recommended a book called The Finish Line, by Bob Creson, the current President of Wycliffe Bible Translators. Before arriving in this current position, he…

The firstfruits Jesus was walking through Capernaum when he was suddenly approached by a high-ranking Roman officer. This man of status humbled himself and pleaded with Jesus on behalf of his personal servant who was on the brink of death. Believing that just one word from Jesus could make his servant well, this officer implored him to have mercy and heal him. Jesus looked at this Gentile ruler and then turned to the religious, but loveless Jews around him and said, “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…

We just finished up another whirlwind round of classes. The last two months have been filled with late nights, neglected emails, and hours spent pouring over Bakoum folktales and the Word of God. The Lord has once again proved faithful to help us wade through technical linguistic information, figuring out how to exegete the passage about Melchizedek and how to deal with squabbling second graders. The Lord’s faithfulness, plus all the incredible things we learned this semester causes the excitement to overshadow the fatigue. Here are a couple highlights: Exploiting the Polygamous “god” for the Glory of JesusDave and I…

A few years ago, as we were having our house built in our village, I noticed an older gentleman peeking at us through the tall grass that was behind his house. My immediate thought was, “What does he think of us?” and after spending the next few years getting to know this man, I am sure he was thinking the same thing: “What do they think of me?” Both of us did not know what to expect from the other, but I am sure that both of us did not expect friendship. This man (Simon) was an unexpected blessing from…