Ghost Town in Cameroon

Greetings from Sierra Leone, where we are presenting the DML Basic Business Training to businessmen and women, as well as church leaders and pastors, from the Wesleyan Church.  I’m joined by Dr. Gaga, DML team leader from Nigeria and Rev. Lisa Travis from Liberia, who started this work in Sierra Leone last year.  We thank God for this open door!

But my heart is heavy from my time in Cameroon and as news channels are not covering what is happening, I thought I would share some of what I’ve learned and invite us to continue to pray for those suffering in this region.  

As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, about 20% (or 6 million) of the Cameroon population are considered Anglophone (English speaking) while the other 80% are French-speaking.  They are mostly in the northwestern part of the country, next to Nigeria. Anglophones have long complained that they do not receive the same benefits as the French-speaking population and are often overlooked by the government. In 2017, a civil crisis began when a portion of the Anglophone community decided they wanted to separate, call themselves by a new name, have a new flag, new currency, etc.  Since that time, there has been conflict in the northwest.  

In my limited understanding, it seems that most of the country has simply ignored what is happening.  The government has tried several interventions but there has not been a serious effort to put an end to this – they simply seem to be waiting for this group to implode.  And those bearing the brunt of the cost are the citizens living in this part of Cameroon.

It is these citizens who are being kidnapped by this group wanting independence, to fund their side of the fighting.  When you are kidnapped, you must pay a “liberty tax” or face other members of your family or employees being kidnapped.  Those kidnapped are beaten and molested.  I’m told that just in this last month, more than $500,000 was received in the form of “liberty tax,” as tracked by mobile money transactions.

Every Monday, for years now, this part of the country has mandatory “ghost town days” in which no one is allowed to open their business or work.  Schools are closed and government buildings are also closed.  If you open for business, your place will be burned down.  At any time, other days can be declared a “ghost town” day for whatever reason is deemed appropriate.  For example, this past Thursday and for the next three Thursdays, “ghost town” is in place due to the death of one of their generals.

Let me relay some stories to you, shared by the DML trainers from that area:

• One man shared that his father died in that area in February.  But because he is Anglophone and had left the area, he is considered a traitor and would be killed if he returned.  Therefore, he was not able to attend his own father’s funeral.
• One woman shared that her father’s house was burned down a few months ago.  The reason was that he gave her in marriage to a Francophone.  These soldiers happen to respect this man, and so they allowed him and his loved ones to get out of his house before setting it on fire.
• A woman who runs a school reported that before this crisis, no one could enter the school grounds in police/guard uniforms with guns, as that created stress for the children.  Now there are guards with guns on every school campus.  This has an impact on the children and their sense of security.
• A woman who was kidnapped watched as twelve others were beaten in front of her. This was her second time being kidnapped.  The first time she was gone for two weeks.  This time, it was about 15 hours.  She had to pay two million francs (about $3,500) as a "liberty tax" or risk having five of her employees kidnapped.  But they also took her car and used it to transport others who were kidnapped.  That car can now be identified as a “rebel” car, which puts her at risk for driving it.  She is still sorting out what to do.

And I could go on.  If you leave this area, you are a traitor and will not be able to return to your home, family, or land.  If you stay, you are at risk of kidnapping and are paralyzed economically.  What to do?

Please pray for the millions of citizens affected daily by this, for years now.  There must be some resolution, but it is difficult to see.  At this point, we are praying for confusion in that camp, as there seems to be a struggle for who is leading this group.  We also pray for wisdom for the citizens who live there in terms of how they could organize protests.  And lastly, we pray for the government to have compassion for those who are suffering and enter into a serious engagement to put an end to this.

With all this, it was reported to me that there is an improvement between French and English-speaking citizens in the rest of the country, as many Anglophones have fled and resettled among the Francophones.  There is also a growing interest amongst French-speaking citizens to learn English and that has led to greater acceptance.

God is sovereign and He is at work in every place and space.  Please pray that His people may become aware of what He is doing and how to join Him.

(Pictured here - DML Cameroon team leaders)

Divine Dimensions: A 3-D Approach to Discipleship

Greetings from Cameroon!  This past week has been very full with DML foundational workshops, Economic of Hope workshops, meetings with the Full Gospel Church and the Body of Christ Church, as well as planning for the launch of BAM Cameroon.  The week culminated in seven hours of church services yesterday at two different churches, which included the commissioning of new marketplace ministers.

As we dialogue with churches and pastors who are so passionate about the Great Commission, I continue to gain new insights into the message that God has invited us to share.  This past week, one pastor said, “I now realize that I have been keeping my people in captivity.  I have held them back from being part of the priesthood of believers.”  Another said, “I have not been a coach to my members for how they can be ambassadors for Christ outside the building.  I have been too focused on my programs and not on how God can use them.”

As the DML Cameroon team processed these comments, we realized that the call to make disciples is three-dimensional.  When we focus only on developing our personal relationship with God, it is one dimensional (vertical) – me and God, and the impact does not go further.  In this case, we are often waiting for heaven.  When we focus on bringing in the Great Commandment, and integrate our faith into how we relate with those around us, it becomes two-dimensional.  Now we have both vertical and horizontal integration of faith and the people around us.  But it is still flat.  When we bring in the third Great Directive of God, the Great Commitment of Genesis 1 and 2, we seek to bring about the Kingdom of God and the flourishing of ALL things – all of creation, all creatures, all of humanity.  Now it is three-dimensional.  That is when it comes to life.

For many, Christianity has been flat – it has not come off the page.  It has not seen the impact in nation-building, in transformation.  We have repeated the problem that Israel faced – being nations WITH priests rather than being nations OF priests.

When we equip every member to be the church in every place and space, we begin to experience the fullness that God intended from the very beginning. 

We serve a 3-D God who invites not only humanity to worship Him, but all of creation! Let's join Him by helping all of creation to glorify God!

"My Vocation is Love"

These were the words I recently heard from someone quoting Saint Theresa. Being a bit of a cynic, I-ever-so slightly rolled my eyes and groaned inwardly.  

Saying, "My vocation is love" sounded to my cynical ears like the simplified version of "why can't we all just get along" or the song "Kumbaya."

My reaction was a knee-jerk reaction to my thoughts that it's just not that simple.

But then again, maybe it is.  As I thought about it further, I realized that I needed to hear that message today...and will need to hear it again and again going forward.

The reality is that we have been given the gift of life, and with this gift, we are each in full-time ministry of glorifying God.  

And the principal way in which we glorify God is by being His hands and feet.  

And the best way to represent Him as His hands and feet is through love.  Not love in the huggy, kissy, giddy, goo-goo sense of the word.  But love in terms of commitment, in terms of Agape.

Having passed through Easter, we have heard over and again how loving Christ was to give His life for us.  And because I have been loved much, I am compelled to love as well.

And while we often have head knowledge of that vocation, love often is replaced by shoulds, oughts, rules, regulations, calendars, appointments, and general busyness.  All of that busyness is often part of how we seek to express that love - by doing our work with excellence, and providing goods and services that allow customers and employees to flourish - but ironically, love can be lost in that process.  

I begin to care more about deadlines than being present to my colleagues and seeing them.  Before I know it, I am stressed, they are stressed, and we begin to focus on numbers and deadlines only, forgetting about being present to each other; forgetting about love.  So we have to hit the "reset" button and come back to what is important.  As C.S. Lewis states, we have been made for another world, therefore the way we follow our calling and our work is going to be different than those who are not Christian.  

In DML, we teach a quadruple bottom line:  economic, environmental, social, and missional.  We are developing tools for every person in their workplace to learn how to be the church (the hands and feet of Christ in each workplace) fulfilling aspects of each of these four goals.  What does it mean to love as a taxi driver?  As a hairstylist? As a baker? As a cleaner? As an employer?  While we may have different placements for our work, we keep in mind that loving our neighbor needs to be applied with intentionality in each place.

Saint Therese's workplace was different than most of us, but the vocation of love is the same.  She is quoted as saying the following:

Yes, my Beloved, I wish to spend my life thus... I have no other means of proving my love except by strewing flowers, that is to say, letting no little sacrifice pass, no look, no word--profiting by the littlest actions, and doing them out of love. I wish to suffer out of love and to rejoice out of love; thus I shall strew flowers before your throne. I shall not find one without scattering its petals before you... and in strewing my flowers I will sing (can one weep in doing so joyous an action?) I will sing, even if my roses must be gathered from among thorns; and the longer and sharper the thorns, the sweeter shall be my song. (My Vocation is Love! - Therese of Lisieux (pathsoflove.com)

May you move in love today, being willing to stop and "strew flowers" as God gives you the opportunity! I pray to do the same, as I spend time in Cameroon.

The Importance of Travel

This week I leave for Cameroon, Sierra Leone, and South Africa and I wish to ask for your prayers.

In Cameroon, I will join the DML Cameroon team to do some ministry with the Full Gospel Church, teach Economics of Hope, and do a training of trainers.  One of the DML team members recently lost her husband to cancer and another team members was kidnapped (and has since been released) just last week.  The conflict in Cameroon is now going on seven years without much change in sight.  We ask for your prayers as this team deals with these difficult and sorrowful events and seeks to trust God amidst hardship.

In Sierra Leone, we will be working with the Wesleyan Church who started DML last year.  More than 35 churches have completed a business month (four weeks of teaching/preaching/highlighting the God of Business and Work as Worship), and so we will be teaching the Basic Business Principles and finding a way forward to have a training of trainers for this denomination.  Please pray for this denomination as it seeks to make workplace discipleship an integral part of the local church.

Lastly, I will be traveling to South Africa, where DML has an opportunity to engage again with the Full Gospel Church as well as some other strategic meetings in the area.  As we continue to meet the body of Christ around the world who "speak the same language," we continue to pray that God will show us how to link arms with the global church, while discerning how and where to spend our time, treasure, and talent.  I appreciate that for your prayers as well.

One of our DML partners posted the poem below about travel, which resonated with me and reminded me to be very grateful for the chance to travel and learn from people from so many different walks of life.  Travel helps us to see many things, including that what we think is the norm is often not the norm.  It helps us to see that what we think is black and white is often not black and white.  It is invaluable for learning how to love your neighbor.  And remember, traveling is not just getting on a plane or in a car.  Sometimes traveling is going right next door to people we don't know, as the world (cultures and people) has come to each of us in many ways.

Try to travel, otherwise

you may become racist/caste-ist,

and you may end up believing

that your skin is the only one

to be right,

that your language

is the most romantic

and that you were the first

to be the first.

Travel,

because if you don't travel then

your thoughts won’t be strengthened,

won’t get filled with ideas.

Your dreams will be born with fragile legs and then you end up believing in tv-shows, and in those who invent enemies

that fit perfectly with your nightmares

to make you live in terror.

Travel,

because travel teaches

to say good morning to everyone

regardless of which sun we come from.

Travel,

because travel teaches

to say goodnight to everyone

regardless of the darkness

that we carry inside.

Travel,

because traveling teaches to resist,

not to depend,

to accept others, not just for who they are

but also for what they can never be.

To know what we are capable of,

to feel part of a family

beyond borders,

beyond traditions and culture.

Traveling teaches us to be beyond.

Travel,

otherwise you end up believing

that you are made only for a panorama

and instead inside you

there are wonderful landscapes

still to visit.

- Gio Evan, poet and songwriter.

Translated from Italian.