As our family has been preparing for the next step in our journey to Cameroon, we have shared our story and our plans with a lot of people and answered a lot of questions about what lies ahead. Many people are curious about the Baka, among whom we will live and serve. Others are curious about what our living conditions will be or what our three kids will do for school. Some are more interested in the language work we will be doing and how the process of Bible translation works. While these discussions remind us of the many challenges and obstacles that lie ahead, we are also greatly encouraged by the number of people who respond with a commitment to be in constant prayer for our family.
As we have met with people, one of the most common responses is, “You have to learn two languages!?” As we calmly and confidently explain why we must learn French (the national language of Cameroon) and Baka (the language of the people group), we are also quietly wondering how this will ever be possible. Neither of us took French in high school or college, and although I have a great interest in the way languages work, neither of us would consider ourselves especially gifted in learning new languages. Sure, attending a language school to learn French will help and Baka is supposedly one of the “easier” tonal languages in West Africa, but anyone who has learned a language before knows just how difficult this task will be, especially this late in life! As we get closer to the next step in our journey, these difficulties that seemed like small challenges a year ago can begin to seem like insurmountable obstacles standing in the way of a Bible in the Baka language.
Thankfully, nothing we do in our service of God is dependent on our strength or power. In the opening chapters of 2 Corinthians, Paul reminds us of two realities that are an encouragement to us as we think about the coming challenges and our own inabilities. First, the purpose of the challenges we face is to force us to rely on God rather than our own strength. Reflecting on his own ministry, Paul says that the purpose of his affliction “was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us” (2 Cor. 1:9-10). Second, our weakness demonstrates the source of true power to the world. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Cor. 4:7). While learning two new languages would hardly have qualified as hardship for someone who endured the sufferings of Paul, the God he relied on in his sufferings is the same unchanging and all-powerful God whom we serve.
From the beginning of this process almost two years ago to today, God has answered prayer and overcome every perceived obstacle, no matter how big or small. When we were wrestling through the decision of whether to take on this task or not, he connected us to people who answered our questions and challenged us to consider our calling. When the challenge was telling our kids about our plans, he used an assuring word from their cousin to encourage them and give them a new perspective. When we took our first trip to Cameroon, he kept all the poisonous snakes away! When we were given our budget with the amount of financial support we would have to raise, he provided in ways we never could have imagined. As of today, in just under three months of partnership development, we have reached 82% of our monthly goal! Like Paul, we can look back on God’s goodness in the past as a reason to have faith in the future.
In a little under two months, we will move to Dallas to begin training in linguistics. We will then attend pre-field training and begin our first term in the summer of 2020. I am sure that there are challenges coming that we have not even considered but we are trusting that God will demonstrate his surpassing power, not by removing the challenges but by bringing us through them. Please continue to be in prayer for us, especially Ava, Hallie, and Joshua, as they are moved far away from friends and family for the first time in their lives. Pray also that God would continue to provide financial and prayer partners so that we can turn our full attention to training and language learning.
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Pastor Chris
