Sabbath in Douala

  Douala, Cameroon
Saturday, September 15, 2007

Today we had arranged for a 10:00 Church service. Moïse Mabout arrived about an hour late but traffic wasn't too heavy so we were nearly on time anyway. On the way be picked up another member named Barthalémé and Mr. Mrs. Bikoé. I call them Mr. and Mrs. because they're married, but in Cameroon married women often keep their own surnames, which may or may not be the same as their parents' surnames. If that sounds confusions it's only because it is!

Attendance was down a bit, some members were away, but most of the core group was present. After the hymns and the opening prayer there was a sermonette,

Pierre Goueth gives a sermonette

announcements, and I spoke for an hour once again about the prophetic trumpets of the book of Revelation. After services we talked among ourselves for quite a while. I set up my laptop and gave commentary as I showed the video from last summer, which included a stop in Douala. They enjoyed seeing themselves and their congregation, as well as other congregations in African, Asia and down under.

Watching the video

I then saw several members individually for personal counseling.

Mrs. Mabout and Mrs. Bikoé had prepared a nice lunch: makabo (a tuber), fried potatoes, a vegetable sauce, roast chicken, and oranges for desert.

Let's eat!

They had even procured a bottle and a one liter carton of wine which we shared among ourselves.

Checking construction progress

It was a delightful meal and a fine time spent together. We decided to set the Spokesman club meeting for the men at 9:00 am tomorrow and have a Bible Study for everyone at 10:30. Moïse then drove me back to the hotel which takes about an hour each time.