BCO Trip 2.0 a Success

Hello to all my fellow BCO supporters,

It has been a long time since I have posted anything and for that I am sincerely sorry. For those of you who keep up with this website every week, it has been a long wait I know. Part of that silence has also been due to Magdalene delivering her baby shortly after I left Cameroon this time. She has been recovering from the C-Section she had done. The baby and mother are both doing very well and Magdalene will be able to get back to sending her reports every week very soon. The baby boy's name is Ndingi Stevemarx Elangwe. Please pray for Magdalene and Ndingi.

My second trip to Wotutu was a great success and I owe it all to our great God in Heaven. Safe travel and protection the whole way was enjoyed. I commented to someone at the Hillsboro congregation where I attend that the travel is a little unnerving but once I set foot in Cameroon, all worries go away. I feel like I belong there and it is because of the way Elangwe and his family, the church in Wotutu, and the people of Cameroon treat me while I am there. It was truly a wonderful trip and I thank all those who prayed for it's success and for sending funds to help with my travel.

While there, I once again experienced the grace and providence of God as I was greeted by 13 wonderful children who bear/group hugged me to the point of almost knocking me down. I was so happy to see them. I also got to meet Diland, Scola, Precious, Sanga, and Philemon for the first time. Being able to see how much the children have grown and how well they look is such a blessing. As tears came to my eyes I thought about how great God is that these children who didn't have anything before BCO, now have everything they need. They are not found in want anymore. They have wonderful Christian ladies who love them and care for them every day. They have Godly examples in Elangwe ad Magdalene. They have a wonderful teacher and mentor in Brother Mendel from Bear Valley Bible Institute of Wotutu who conducts devotionals with them twice a day and works with them on their memory work. (One of these days I will get a video of them reciting everything up).

One of my tasks this year was to help with building the concrete steps that lead from the kitchen door down the hill, around, and back up to the outdoor kitchen. Mendel and I got started on them but we weren't able to get them finished before I left. I am proud to say though that they are finished now and you can see them below. One of the reasons we felt it necessary to build them was because during rainy season, that hill gets very slippery and muddy. Just before I got there this time, Emma took a fall on that hill. Now they will be able to carry their huge pots of fufu, rice, beans, and other things they make without fear of falling. Thank you to Brother Mendel for completing this task. Let me tell you something, that guy is a beast. He is all of 5'6" but he is strong as an ox and can really work. We are blessed to have him as a part of the orphanage. More information will come on him in the coming weeks.

I preached the Sunday we got there and participated in the worship service at Buea prison. While there, they had about 9 souls who wanted to be baptized. Brother David Ballard and myself baptized those individuals in the new baptistry that was built in the courtyard of the prison. A picture of that is below as well.

Simplis had his surgery to remove the fatty tissue from his shoulder. It had gotten much bigger in just the last couple of months. I spent a lot of time at the hospital with him during my trip, but not near as much time as Ruth and Magdalene. They showed me what being a true servant was. In Cameroon, there is no air conditioning in the hospital. The beds are not comfortable. Those ladies stayed with him in shifts non-stop for three days and that was with Magdalene being nine months pregnant. There will never be a doubt in my mind we have the right people on our staff at BCO. Simplis is doing well and has probably healed by now.

I was able to spend a lot of time with the children and teach them a song or two. We took huge group pictures together as every time I took my camera out they all yelled "snap me" over and over again. They love to see themselves on the camera. I got to witness how they sit quietly for what seems like an eternity here in the states and wait for the next thing to happen. The boys say the prayers for the whole group as they get ready to eat, then when they are done, they clean up after themselves by wiping the tables and sweeping the floors. The nannies are doing a good job of teaching them the domestic chores that have to be done and teaching them responsibility.

Those are some of the highlights of the trip and I'll let some of the pictures do the talking. Thanks for checking in.

Jonathan

The children helping bring water from the tap in front of the orphanage. It is an outreach in and of itself as it provides water to many people in the village. It always has water when other places do not.

Simplis after his surgery. He did a good job. I was actually brought back into a room to take a picture of the fatty mass they removed from his shoulder. It was the size of my fist.

Mendel carrying a 75 pound bag of mortar mix on his head, probably about 100 yards. A beast I tell you. He built the outdoor kitchen you see in the background.