Expressing Christ’s Compassion…Building Relationships

Updates Listed Below.....

On January 3rd, three persons from Alpena and one from Saginaw stepped into the new year in a way they never have before.  As part of a team from St. Paul Lutheran Church, Alpena, they boarded a jetliner for a trip to Africa.  Their destination was Cameroon, a country located on the western side of the continent, in what is often referred to as the “bite of Africa”.  Their mission was to express Christ’s compassion and further explore a growing relationship with villagers and church leaders in Cameroon. 

Georgene Hildebrand, Marty Cantleberry, and Burt Basney – all disciples who live out their Christian faith as members of St. Paul Lutheran Church – will join their pastor, Paul Owens, for this 20 day trip.  While this will be a return visit for Pastor Owens, for the three others it will be their first time on the continent of Africa.  They were joined by Don Albrecht, of St. John Lutheran Church in Saginaw.  Albrecht’s congregation learned of St. Paul’s mission and is interested in getting on board. 

All of the team members said they were looking forward to meeting the people of Cameroon and furthering a direct relationship with them.  They were a little apprehensive about leaving “all the comforts of home” and two days on airplanes and in airports, but all say that it was very easy for them to say yes to this opportunity.  To a person, the team is grateful for the diligent leadership of the chair of their congregation’s global mission committee, Don Cantleberry.  While Cantleberry’s wife, Marty, is going on the trip, he is not. Cantleberry says he has really enjoyed helping the congregation organize and implement its plan.  “In my experience,” Cantleberry says, “a lot more can be accomplished by a small group working directly with another small group than by layers of management (church hierarchy) sitting in committee meetings.” 

One-hundred-thirty-six years ago, St. Paul Lutheran Church took its name from the most famous Christian missionary ever, Paul the apostle. Paul walked and sailed over 15,000 miles to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   For decades, the congregation has made spreading the good news across the globe one of its steady priorities.  Four (4) years ago, the Holy Spirit stirred this interest afresh and in 2005, congregational leaders developed a five year plan to guide the congregation’s global mission efforts.  Aware of their overall mission, and also aware that by the year 2020, the majority of Christians will live outside the U.S. and Europe, St. Paul congregation is looking to build a long haul, mutual partnership with Christians in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cameroon.  For two years, the congregation has provided text books to students and faculty at two of the Lutheran seminaries in Cameroon.  On this trip, Owens, Hildebrand, Cantleberry, Basney and Albrecht are charged with the following objectives:

-Evaluate the effectiveness and possible expansion of the text book program
-Establish face-to-face relationships with villagers, students, faculty, and church leaders and learn more about life in Cameroon
-Investigate the possibility of an elementary school matching tuition program
-Solicit input from the people of the Lutheran Church Cameroon regarding their needs for an on-going partnership
-Report back to St. Paul congregation and to the Alpena community

Now that the travelers have returned, their input from this trip will be a key element in the evaluation of the success of the program to this point and will help guide the future of St Paul's Global Mission plans.

Read the report from their trip by clicking here.

CAMEROON MISSION UPDATE – JANUARY  08, 2008 - Our five travelers, Pastor Paul, Marty, Georgene, Burt and Don, are now in Ngaoundere, Cameroon.  Due to some flight cancellations and delays they arrived at their destination two days later than originally planned; however, there should still be enough time to complete their mission. 

This week they are meeting with Lutheran Church (ELCC) leaders in Ngaoundere to assess the value and effectiveness, to them, of our current program of supplying textbooks to the two Bible Schools/Seminaries. And also to explore the possibility of an elementary school tuition matching program. While there, they will purchase French language Bibles and songbooks to present as gifts to students and their families, along with the many gifts they carried from Alpena. 

Later in the week they will travel to the city of Tchollire to visit one of the Bible Schools we have been supporting with books. They will meet with, and get to know, the students and faculty and their families. They will worship with the local congregation.

On the return trip to Ngaoundere, if time permits, they will spend some time in a Game Park to see some Cameroonian wild life. 

Once back in Ngaoundere, they will prepare for the next leg of their journey.

Keep our travelers in your prayers, that they may complete a successful mission in Cameroon and return home safely.

CAMEROON MISSION UPDATE – JANUARY 16, 2008 - We’ve received word that all is going well in Cameroon. Pastor Paul, Burt, Marty, Don and Georgene are accomplishing their mission, and are now on the last leg of their trip. They are currently in Garoua-Boulai visiting another Bible School (Seminary) that St. Paul has been supporting with textbooks. They will also be visiting a Lutheran elementary school where we are considering providing funds for tuition. They have been learning a lot about the many worthy needs in the Lutheran Church there. 

Their next stop may prove to be the most interesting. They plan to spend a day and night in one of the small rural villages in the “bush”, or jungle, getting to know the natives that live and worship there. 

From there it’s on to the capital city of Youande for one night. Catch a train to Douala the next day, and prepare to return home on Tuesday the 22^nd. While in Douala, they will make some decisions about where, in the Lutheran Church of Cameroon, to apply the uncommitted donations they carried with them to Cameroon to be used where they are needed most.   

Our travelers expressed their thanks for all the support from the congregation and the prayers offered to God for a successful mission and a safe return. They are anxiously looking forward to returning to St Paul to tell the congregation what they learned in Cameroon, and to make recommendations about future Global Mission Plans.