HER PASSION IS TO SERVE GOD

What is your profession? Are you a missionary, teacher, doctor, social worker, mother, father or a charity worker? Do you work with vulnerable communities? Do you find joy in what you do? Are you always willing to go an extra mile because God needs you to? We all have our calling in life and places God has placed us in to make a difference. Do we serve in these areas with our hearts as serving him and not men (Col 3:23)? Do you find it hard to serve when other voices are opposed to what you feel God needs you to do? Maybe this story might help bring encouragement and strength to you.

I had the privilege of meeting Mama Pauline, an elderly lady in her sixties, who has been working with street children for the past eleven years. She felt God’s voice calling her to work with street children, in a situation where her life was threatened by the very people whom she was to minister to. She prayed and drew her strength from Psalm 23:3-4, “He gives me strength. He guides me in the right paths, as he has promised. Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord for you are with me. Your shepherd’s rod and staff protect me.” Through her demonstration of courage, the young men accepted her and she began a street children’s organization. Right now, she hosts about fifteen boys and one girl in a tiny little shack, where all seventeen of them live.

Many times, over the past eleven years, she’s been persecuted by neighbours for helping the street children. However, she has held on to that dream and God has blessed her with a little plot. Battling against many odds like Nehemiah when he began building the walls of Jerusalem, Mama Pauline has started constructing a bigger living quarter for her foster children and herself. She’s been persecuted from all sides by people who do not want to see her carry out the work God called her to. She shows no signs of backing down and surges forward to keep building for the sake of her children.

Despite her courage and strength to fight for the young people she works with, she is challenged by the lack of funds. The construction only continues whenever she gets some money to buy the needed materials. Hence, I felt the need to share her story with you. You might be one of those who wishes to serve or be involved in the community and do not know how. If God has placed it on your heart to help someone or contribute to a meaning cause, such as helping the street children, then do not hesitate to lend a hand. To build a structure, one needs lots of materials and funds, hence, pray about it and let God speak to you.

Mama Pauline’s new project. It has a boys’ living quarters and the girls’ living quarters. It’s not that big, but four times bigger than the one they live in right now.

Nehemiah 2:18 “And I told them how God had been with me and helped me and what the emperor had said to me. They responded, ‘let’s start rebuilding!’ And they got ready to start the work”

“Does it feel weird to be back at RFIS again? How does it feel working with your former teachers?” Those were some of the questions I encountered at the beginning of the academic year of 2016-2017. It had been eight years since, I graduated from Rain Forest International School (RFIS).  When I joined RFIS in 2004, I  was only four years old in the English Language and French.  Through lots of support from my awesome grandma Vreni and very patient ESL teachers like Ms Mary and Mrs Jealouse, I gradually gained my footing in the English language. This was further developed through Anna Baker, Ms Baker and Mr. Chilton’s none ceasing red, blue, black and purple marks they placed left and right on each piece of writing I made.  Those encouraged me to perform better the next time.  I decided to work with all my heart in whatever I did both in school and at home. It was not for anyone else, but for God and myself.  I daily appreciated the different steps the teachers took to help me improve academically.  They used different game activities and worksheets to help the ELL students (ESL back then) improve in their oral, vocabulary and written skills. To practice my writing skills and innovative mind, I began to read books and keep a diary of my daily activities. The teachers worked hard to help me, but I also worked hard to make their efforts worthwhile. I took my studies into my own hands. How has this helped me in my current role as the ELL Support  Specialist?

A TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE

When I took on the role as the ELL Supporter, I was made to understand that this was a new role after a long time. Hence, my number one challenge was to create an ELL curriculum for Middle school. I had never had any teacher’s training nor been to workshops where I was taught how to design a curriculum. I looked up to heaven and said “Lord, you brought me back, so equip me for this work”. The first week consisted of me sitting in classes and observing students’ and receiving feedback from teachers concerning the students’ needs.

My position requires me to support students who have difficulties grasping the English language orally, written, listening and comprehension. Thus, I design different lessons to accommodate their different needs, ranging from grades 7-12. Designing the lessons has been challenging and rewarding. Sometimes the lesson planned might be harder for the students than I had thought, and I would have to modify it within the lesson to suit the students’ needs. Other times, the lesson might seem a little easy for some students and hard for others. Thus, striking a balance to accommodate all their needs is often draining.

In the first semester, I worked with 7^th grade students in one class, and a group of high school students in another class, ranging from grades 9-11. However, in the second semester, more students were sent my way. Now, I teach grade 7, grade 9 and grade 10 separately with different lesson plans.

In addition, I have individual students who need extra help outside of their class periods. However, the hard work often pays off when students demonstrate their understanding through different class activities which include: discussions, games, worksheets, homework, quizzes and tests throughout the quarters.

Some of the activities that have helped the students, have been worksheets, videos, games, group work, individual class work and homework. Most of these activities help reinforce their listening, reflective, critical and information gathering skills.

Furthermore, my previous experience as an ELL student has helped most of them realize that they need the class. I thank God that our previous work was preserved over the years; I have been able to show the students my own work in the class as a student. The diaries I mentioned above have been of great assistance in the class; helping the students understand that they too need to make the extra effort to learn.

Memories of my teachers helping me has been a great reinforcement to me as I work with the students. The working staff and the administration has been my greatest supporters. Whenever I come across a challenge, I run to either one of them and they give me advise on what I could possibly do.

My biggest objective for next quarter is to design different class activities, which will help with collaboration. My teachers did wonders for me, and I would like to do the same for the students under my care.

Although sometimes, they are unwilling to participate or accept the assistance offered to them, God’s grace and mercy keeps me going. If it means I have to repeat the same thing over and over, I shall for the sake of helping that one child find their way in God’s redemptive plan.

Working alongside teachers who taught me is grace, for they provide the support and love I need to help these students under my charge. With all my heart, I shall continue to work  for the Lord and not for men. My help comes from him, despite my failures daily. He still loves me and shows me grace. In the exact manner, I will love and cherish the young men and women that I have under my care right now.

Cameroon has been going through a crisis for the past three months, and they are no where close to finding a stable solution. As a citizen and a conflict resolutions person, it is my duty and responsibility to educate my brothers and sisters on what patriotism means. Based on the observation of the crisis in the past few months and the discussions that have been ongoing in the media in Cameroon and the international hemisphere, I would commend the Northwest and South West regions of this country for demonstrating their patriotism for their country. If they didn’t have a love and desire to make this country advance, they would not have gone out to call on the underlying issues that have been brewing beneath the surface.

Because they have decided to address the issues that have kept this country stagnant for years, the government has termed their actions as an act of “terrorism”. Terrorism in itself is defined as ” the systematicc use of terror especially as a means of coercion”. Based on the YouTube videos captured by witnesses, the law enforces themselves have carried out lawless crimes against the citizens.

It is the duty and responsibility of a state government to protect the rights of its citizens at all levels.  Unfortunately,  the Cameroon government seems not to get the memo. The world is moving forward and we are moving backwards. What happened to freedom of expression in this country?  Disconnecting people’s networks and taking Internet services, not only incarcerate students from carrying on their education through online courses, but also impedes families from communicating with their loved ones.  Not only have families been deprived of visiting their loved ones in the Northwest regions because of broken roads and tedious hours of travel on these roads, but they are void of any medium of communication. To begin with,  the simcards got blocked and families couldn’t reach their loved ones, especially in the conflict areas. After the incident went viral, the simcards were restored and Internet was taken off phones. This serves as a violation of human rights on many levels. I feel strongly that a good leader is one that listens to the people even down to the least of them. However this seems not to be the case right now. This is pure dictatorship and clearly demonstrates that there is no democracy in this country.
How can students be deprived of education for months and some ministers dare to say there’s nothing wrong with this country? Removing millions of thousands to deal with the immediate situation will not solve the problem in the long run. Have the decency to sit down with the people and come up with a strategy as to how to deal with the situation in a civilized and peaceful manner. Putting security forces around schools in the South west for students to return to school is encouraging to parents,  but not enough to deal with the cause of the conflict. It makes a mockery of those who are grieving thus fueling their frustrations. For how long will the government provide security?  The time an energy wasted would have been used up wisely if the government would be admit that there’s a serious problem that should be dealt with which they have ignored for years.
It would be wise not to term the people’s protest as an act of “terrorism”, because they had stepped out in a peaceful protest a few months ago and were met with lawless, brutal military forces. Using the students as an escape goat to shift attention from the crimes committed by the law forces in these past few months is called hypocrisy and cowardness. You cannot state that students should not be deprived of education and that it’s their right to have education,  when others have been deprived of their right to speak out against the crimes committed against humanity.
Come to the drawing board and settle this matter like adults and stop acting like children who do not want to share their toys and candies. Leaders are there to serve the people and not to become kings. Let justice reign in this country.

“Ms D are we going out today?”, were the first words out of my ELL middle school students as they anxiously took their seats.  You could be fooled by their enthusiasm as students who were into their lesson.  As you will see further down the passage, most wanted to escape the idea of being confined to the classroom.  

Seated and waiting anxiously for my response,  I broke the silence by asking them to get out their project’s assignment paper. After going over a few things they needed to have and directions that they needed to follow,  we all filed out the door and started off for Carrier, where they would carry out their interviews.  

The ELL students and I have been working on myths, legends and folktales. To assess their understanding,  I assigned a three-part project on the subject.  The third part of their project, required that they interview an African outside of the RFIS community,  hence the field trip to Carrier.  

Right when we stepped through the school gates, the two boys started complaining and asked us to go back, while the girl asked for more information on the task. One could tell who was going to work hard on the project,  and I was grateful that they were all getting separate grades. One boy had a solid reason for wanting to turn back. We were on a dusty road, and he was quite allergic to dust particles. The other however,  didn’t want to do any hard work. 

The challenging part of the field trip however, wasn’t their whining, but getting people who were willing to talk. Some young mothers and older women said they didn’t know their cultures and it was really saddening. We had people who were afraid of us  and spoke in the language not knowing that their bodily language could be read. They didn’t know who we were and were not willing to give information on their cultures. We got two stories down and will get one more tomorrow.  

The overall experience was a little sad, because all we really wanted information on folktales from their different traditions and the significance to them.

Through the experience,  the students were able to understand that sometimes things do not go the way you expect,  but in any case,  one needs to exercise humility and thank the persons for their time. It’s really no use creating enmity when  we could be friends.

False prophets appeared in the past among the people, and in the same way false teachers will appear among you. They will bring in destructive, untrue doctrines, and will deny the Master who redeemed them, and so they will bring upon themselves sudden destruction. Even so, many will follow their immoral ways; and because of what they do, others will speak evil of the Way of truth. In their greed these false teachers will make a profit out of telling you made-up stories. For a long time now their Judge has been ready, and their Destroyer has been wide awake!  God did not spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into hell, where they are kept chained in darkness, waiting for the Day of Judgement. God did not spare the ancient world, but brought the flood on the world of godless people; the only ones he saved were Noah, who preached righteousness, and seven other people. God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying them with fire, and made them an example of what will happen to the godless. He rescued Lot, a good man, who was distressed by the immoral conduct of lawless people. That good man lived among them, and day after day he suffered agony as he saw and heard their evil actions. And so the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and how to keep the wicked under punishment for the Day of Judgement, especially those who follow their filthy bodily lusts and despise God’s authority. These false teachers are bold and arrogant, and show no respect for the glorious beings above; instead, they insult them. Even the angels, who are so much stronger and mightier than these false teachers, do not accuse them with insults in the presence of the Lord. But these people act by instinct, like wild animals born to be captured and killed; they attack with insults anything they do not understand. They will be destroyed like wild animals, and they will be paid with suffering for the suffering they have caused. Pleasure for them is to do anything in broad daylight that will satisfy their bodily appetites; they are a shame and a disgrace as they join you in your meals, all the while enjoying their deceitful ways! They want to look at nothing but immoral women; their appetite for sin is never satisfied. They lead weak people into a trap. Their hearts are trained to be greedy. They are under God’s curse! They have left the straight path and have lost their way; they have followed the path taken by Balaam son of Beor, who loved the money he would get for doing wrong and was rebuked for his sin. His donkey spoke with a human voice and stopped the prophet’s insane action.  These people are like dried-up springs, like clouds blown along by a storm; God has reserved a place for them in the deepest darkness. They make proud and stupid statements, and use immoral bodily lusts to trap those who are just beginning to escape from among people who live in error. They promise them freedom while they themselves are slaves of destructive habits — for a person is a slave of anything that has conquered him. If people have escaped from the corrupting forces of the world through their knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and then are again caught and conquered by them, such people are in a worse state at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been much better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and then turn away from the sacred command that was given them. What happened to them shows that the proverbs are true: “A dog goes back to what it has vomited” and “A pig that has been washed goes back to roll in the mud.”

2 Peter 2:1‭-‬22 GNBDK

REFLECTION:

It is s amazinghow God reveals his wisdom to us.  This chapter  relates to the sermon in church. Yesterday in church, the pastor touched  on false prophets and fake pastors who see church as a way to extort people. Rather than leading the people with the truth, they have  twisted the truth such that people have been led astray in worship.  Some doctrines in the Bible have become personal business and they have reduced God’s holy spirit to mere items as water,  handkerchiefs and napkins or serviettes.  The Holy Spirit which is free and rests in any man who believes in Jesus has been confined to the walls of a house, church and rooms. Jesus said in his word that whoever believes in him, he gives them the right to become children of God (John 1:12). Believers rush up and down to seek a miracle,  whereas God has given authority to everyone who believes to do marvelous things because of the Holy Spirit residing in them. He has sent his counselor to counsel us believers and many times in the epistles,  we are cautioned not to grieve the Holy Spirit by what we do with our bodies and the thoughts we posses and the things we say with our mouths.

My prayer is for us to examine the different ways we have grieved the Holy Spirit and to reflect on our lives.  What teachings have been brought to us, which contradict God’s word and we had been too lazy to seek out the truth in the Bible?  Unless you know what is written in the Bible,  you will not be able to decipher the lies told to you by preachers and prophets.

My encouragement would be for you to enhance your knowledge on God, in readiness to question teachings that sound vaguely familiar and yet seem out of place.

May the Holy Spirit be your guide throughout your Christian journey.

Today was one of those days, where you wake up with a feeling that you are about to do something worthwhile.  I had no idea how significant playing volleyball today was, till we were halfway through the tournament.

I love sports and I really thank God for my wonderful talents. Be it basketball,  football or volleyball,  I give it my all. And that I did today without holding back, not because my goal was to win, but because I was having fun. Halfway through the tournament as mama Pauline and some of the street children and orphans came, I began to play with a determination to win the game in support and encouragement for the hard work that she was doing for the children.

In the coming weeks,  I will pay a visit to her and really get an inside view on how she manages these 15 children. Her ministry just demonstrate faith and reliance on God. She barely has food for the children, nor income to sustain them, yet when the time comes for their needs to be met, God provides in mysterious ways. Today, I gave my all in the game to let her know that we both have the same vision and desire to help these young people grow into wonderful men and women in our society.

What can you do to help serve the vulnerable in your community? What has God placed on your heart?

Today started off just like any ordinary Monday,  with enough free time in the morning,  followed by three classes and soccer practice at the end of the day. Adding a twist to the normal schedule,  we took the soccer girls out for bonding and drinks and had a marvelous girl time.

Unfortunately,  I couldn’t say the same for everyone who went through this same day in the Northwest. News reports showed videos of people rioting and going on strike against the government.  While chatting with my sister and twin who are both at the heart of the city 5 minutes walk from where the rioters were, I realized that I had a distant connection to the event. This reminded of a book I am reading, where the main character felt detached from the civil war in Nigeria,  although many Nigerians died. The thought hurt badly, because our supposedly, President may not even be in the country to address the matter. This rioting by the teachers, lawyers and taxi men is just one of many incidents where Cameroonians are acting out against President Biya’s rule. The following link https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OgrbJPJL6AA&itct=CA0QpDAYBSITCMKQv7HGutACFQJaFgodCIYBrDIGcmVsbWZ1SMnr55zOr6v5Hg%3D%3D shows a man in Geneva who accuses the president of staying outside of his country for more than two months in a hotel which costs thousands of dollars,  while roads in Cameroon are broken down. People are starving, while he spends tons of money in hotels and his daughter takes limos that cost $400 dollars one way and she does that 4 times a week to go to school.

Where is the head of state to counsel his men that one does not fire gunshots in the air in the midst of civilians,  especially in a neighborhood to frighten residents?  Who trained these men and told them they had the liberty to frighten unarmed civilians with their guns? The police department needs serious training on conflict resolution skills.

Rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn implores the Bible. A few weeks ago, Cameroon mourned with the families who lost their loved ones in the train crash. Last night, I greatly rejoiced with my landlord’s relative who wedded. I however, do not appreciate the torture they put me through all night. If I had known there would be a wedding celebration, I would have slept over at my sister’s place. There was no announcement or warning to neighbours who couldn’t stand the noise. I did understand that it was a celebration,  but they could have reduced the music at least for the sake of conversations,  which I have quickly come to understand do not exist in parties.

I woke up this morning with a pounding headache, the kind that feels like bags of cements slept on the head all night. I am barely able to process my thoughts,  because I am tired and have tasks to accomplish this morning. Closing my eyes and bowing my head to pray is proving a very difficult task with all the music booming up from downstairs.  I however,  forgave these people because it was a wedding celebration and I didn’t want to be a “party pooper”. If it was just a random party, then I would have headed down there last night with steam on my head ad gave them a piece of my mind.

In honesty, these people really lack respect for the neighbors and are justified in their actions,  in that it’s their right to play music as they want because they want to enjoy themselves.  They do not understand how to be a good citizen towards their neighbours,  nor do they know how to excuse themselves for a wrong doing. It’s really saddening because their children grow up with this kind of thinking and actions, such that they are unable to respect their teachers or older people.  The language these young children and teens use, can give an adult a heart attack.  I for one do not stand for that kind of language,  so I correct them right there on the spot.  I don’t beat people’s children,  but I correct them with the right counseling.  It’s at home that I correct my nieces with counseling,  non-verbal action such as sending them to isolated places with specific instructions and beating if they continually insist on disrespecting one another and adults. When discipline is over, I then would sit down whoever committed the offense and explain why they were punished. Gradually,  they understand and are able to recognise their mistakes and to apologize for them.

Very few parents take the time to discipline, correct and give counsel to their children.  Counsel should focus on building relationships with one another,  accepting wrongs and forgiving each other, as well as learning to deal with our differences in a peaceful manner. Conflicts persist because people are ignorant on how to address them,and others are just plain lazy to take the initiative. If parents could take the time to address their children’s manners and attitudes,  these children would become the true future in any country.  Their mentality would be shaped differently,  thus building a spirit of respect,  care, hospitality and forgiveness.

It may sound easy,  because Cameroonians are known for their hospitality.  In truth,  I would say, they can be very hospitable when it interests them, especially here in the center.  Others who come into the city from the countrysides or from the North, south West and North West are generally respectful and hospitable.  However,  once they settle down and become accustomed to the way of life in the center,  they forget their humble roots. A few hold unto those roots, while others wish they could reclaim their roots. Who is willing to give up their time and rebuild the most important values?

P.S: The music stopped and it’s 8:39 a.m. Now I can look forward to sleeping again.  I cannot go to church ⛪.  My mind won’t pay attention.

I woke up this morning and was wondering how I would spend time with God. As I sat quietly, a conversation I had with a friend on esteem flash through my mind. A voice said ‘Share your story’, and that’s when I knew what my conversation with God and the circle of friends reading this would be.

About 12 years ago, I got pimples on my face a year after I hit puberty. That didn’t bother me much, because I had seen my aunt’s pimples treated. Three years later, the pimples aggravated, and I was blamed for pinching them, eating fatty foods, putting too much oil in my food and doing all what nots, which wasn’t true. It didn’t help that I was a sports person, spending half my days playing under the sun. After playing, my face would burn  and peel off. We went and saw a doctor who prescribed some pills. The pills messed up my hormonal system because they were given in line with pills for my knees. So, I stopped the pills altogether. The pimples disappeared for a while and and returned with great intensity.

For a while, I refused to concentrate on my appearance because it brought depression. I wondered what people thought when they looked at my face.  Over the years, people gave me all sorts of advice: do this and do that. I kept asking God, why he could not just take it away. He was able to heal the lame, raise the dead and heal the woman who had been suffering for years. Why couldn’t he just take this away from me?

Four years at university, I refused to let it bother me. Once again, everyone had an opinion on what they thought I should do. A lady gave me a soap bar to use, and it burnt my face completely. Hence, I barred any advice from any jack or jill. However, towards my last year in 2012, I went to see a dermatologist.  She asked me what I used on my face, and if the sun aggravated my pimples. I was not too happy with her for she prescribed to me some pills, cream and lotion and told me to come back after a month when I had hoped for an explanation, a screen test on my face and the reason why I have had these for years. Well, I went home and obediently took the pills, and had my face burnt by the cream and everyone asking me what I did to my face. I was sick from internal bleeding for a week and got a fever, which my body battled with. It was about two weeks later, when one of my dear sisters from another mother was travelling back to her home country, and she wanted a roomie photo. Now looking back, I was not particularly thrilled about the photos because my face looked scared and battered. I felt really ugly and unfit to see myself. To cover my feelings up, I switched into my old self, which used to be ‘Tomboy’. As long as I acted tough, nothing could get to me. That was a lie I kept telling myself.

After I moved to the cooler area of Nairobi, the temperature improved my face along with aloe vera scrub and honey soap that I had found. My pimples began to disappear, allowing me to feel pretty and happy. It started dawning on me that I have for years thought myself ugly because of my pimples. I had defined my happiness based on how I looked and what people thought of me.

I broke down and told God I was sorry. I asked him to take it away once and for all. I was talking and not listening as I have always done half the time. I went back to see the dermatologist, but she was not there and I never went back. My face cleared up and I was able to take a photo like this one below. Everyone wanted to know my secret, but I had no secret to tell. I just explained exactly what had happened, not to mention that I was in the hospital for a week going through other treatments. I do believe those many injections and pills had something to do with the quick recovery of my face. So for 8 months I enjoyed a cleared pretty face.

Just when I was about to travel home to Cameroon, a week before my departure, I went back to the campus I had lived in for 3 years. With the hard water they had, my pimples came back like they never left. O my word. I could not believe it. I am going home and was hoping to show my mother my face without pimples and now I have nothing to show but more pimples. I felt back into depression, although I had smiles on my face. I lost confidence in many things and just wanted to hide my face especially now that I had given up my coping mechanism and just wanted to be a normal lady.

Back home I returned not knowing what my family would say. They didn’t have much time to comment, for I left two months later to England for my masters. While in England, I saw a dermatologist, and he truly took his time to screen my face. As a result, he highlighted that I had severe acne. Severe acne occurs when there’s excessive male hormones in a female. When I heard those words from his mouth and the explanation, the healing process began in me. I no longer blamed myself for the things I ate. Sleeping became easier, and my stress levels went down. He prescribed some pills and a pomade for me. Within six months, there was a great change in my facial appearance, and my self confidence skyrocketed once again.

This time around, I asked God to give me the confidence I needed not from the medications but from him alone. My relationship with God blossomed as my face fluctuated back and forth between acne and clear skin. After the 6 month treatment, everything continued smoothly till I returned home to Cameroon and faced the heat. Gradually, the pimples returned with heat, and I gave up everything. I refused to let it bother me.

Then, I realized that I had accepted my situation and chose to be happy in it. My fiance supported me by sharing his own story. We both had similar stories to share concerning acne. He had also battled through it as a teenager, and it just recently disappeared. I gained more courage to face the friends. As my attitude improved about them, my depression disappeared with no trace. Now, I sing and dance in the face of change on my face. One moment, I will have a clear smooth face, and the next I will be swimming in pimples. However, I still find joy and use my experience to help other girls going through similar issues.

God healed me from the inside out.