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| Mission Report: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood...": |
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 Dear Prayer Warriors,
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
I often quote Charles Casebolt, my first Navigator Representative under whom I had the privilege of serving while a student at the University of Texas, “It is not spiritual warfare until there are incoming rounds. Up until then it is just target practice.” Although true, it still catches me, and many others, by surprise when satan actually fights back. I share with the ministry it is like a boxer who has grown up practicing with a benevolent sparring partner. He then gets in the ring for the first time and promptly gets beaten about and knocked down. He then goes back to his corner, and while waiting for the next bell says to his manager, “Boy, that guy hits hard!” His manager replies with a sarcastic voice, “What did you expect, it is a fight and he is your enemy. Now get back out there and knock him down this time.” And so it goes, round after round, until one of you is eliminated.
Well, I hate satan. We are not on talking terms. I am not one of these so-called “deliverance” ministers who talk with demons on stage, in dreams or in their ministries. Satan and I are not on talking terms-- we are mortal enemies. There is only one thing that can happen when our paths cross--a fight to the finish or he flees. If he crosses the street, I will cross with him and we come to blows. He is doomed to spend eternity in Hell with his demon lackeys and I am happy to play my part in his demise.
Paul uses the motif of the fighter in I Corinthians 9:26-27 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. We have just finished our first week of ministry here in Cameroon and the fight has been in earnest.
On our side of the score card, my first morning in Cameroon, Charles – the brother-in-law of our host, Rev. Taniform Peters, came over to the house. I have known Charles for at least five years and often shared the gospel with him. On this particular morning, Charles responded to the call of God and got down on his knees with me to repent and ask Jesus into his heart as his Lord and Savior. I will have the privilege of baptizing Charles this Sunday.
During the afternoon, we sorted materials from four of the boxes of Bibles and Bible study aids which your gifts supplied. These would go with us to Bamenda and Kumbo to help equip and supply pastors, ministers, student workers and lay ministers from throughout central Cameroon.
That night I met with the leadership team who were putting on the conference in Bamenda, – an eight-hour drive inland. We had a great time together and I spoke to them from Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel and Matthew 23:4 They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. The exhortation was to resist the temptation of hypocrisy in putting on a conference that exhorts and trains men to do that which is not real on a week-to-week basis in your own life.
We were up at 2 a.m. to drive to Bamenda. The first meeting started that afternoon and both Eleanor and I were hard at teaching throughout the weekend. These were all pastors, ministers and lay leaders, each with a key individual from their respective church or ministry. During several sessions we separated into groups of men and women and Eleanor met with the wives. We had a great time and many expressed the conviction that the Word of God had a life-changing effect on their lives and ministries. We attribute this to your faithful prayers. The conference finished on Monday afternoon and we made the four-hour drive further inland to the city of Kumbo, which is in the mountains.
We met that night with the pastor and Navigator lay minister, who were sponsoring the conference, along with key leadership in the church. As it was a marriage seminar, I related II Timothy 2:2 The things which you have heard from me on the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also, to the role of ministry leadership in reproducing godly families in the church. Linus and Mercy have attended many of our seminars in the past in both Yaoundé and Bamenda. It was their Macedonian Call that brought us to Kumbo and they had prepared the ground for the sowing of the Word of God. Some 30 couples attended and they were all serious and receptive. I took the first three sessions and then Eleanor and I broke the men and women up for sessions four and five. During many of the sessions, men openly wept – sometimes tears of repentance, sometimes of joy--no matter the case, your prayers were again empowering the preaching and teaching of God’s holy, eternal, inerrant written Word. After the conference we were again up early to make the 12-hour drive back to Yaoundé.
We arrived late and were up this morning to sort gifts and ministry materials for our time here in Yaoundé. Next I had the privilege of meeting with the leadership team, adjusting the upcoming schedule for the next two weeks. Highlights include a baptismal service where Charles and others who have trusted Christ will be baptized. A marriage conference at a Baptist church, staff conference for Campus Crusade for Christ, conference and Sunday services at the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Yaoundé are all part of the schedule. Once again, we will minister to the Christian Physicians Union of Cameroon, at a Navigator conference, as well as other meetings.
We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our team who will be here this next week—Rich and Kathy Smith and Dan McCollum, all experienced in teaching here in Cameroon. What a blessing!
As always, we rely upon your constant prayers to empower the preaching and teaching of God’s Holy, eternal, inerrant written Word. Thanks so much for your encouragement and support.
By His mercy,
II Corinthians 4:1
Rev. John S. Mahon – Director, Grace Community International, preaching Jesus and teaching God’s written Word in Cameroon. |
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