HOWDY

Thursday, October 27, 2016 7:45pm-1:45pm CST

Dear All:

The Lord blessed us with another GREAT day. We had no observable fruit, that is, baptisms but we were privileged to share the gospel with 3 precious souls. It became crystal clear again that the SEED is not the issue but the SOIL. The SEED (God’s Word) is always correct and good. The reality, however, is that even good seed will not produce a harvest in bad soil. Let me tell you about a prospect that Jean Claude taught. The woman is a school teacher with 3 children and no husband. She teaches for a denominational school that requires their teachers to be members of their church. If she were to become a Christian; she would have NO means of supporting herself and her children. I understand that serving God and going to Heaven is far greater than subsistence on this earth but that is hard to see when your daily bread is at stake. Jean Claude said the study was very good and the woman sends her 3 children to worship with us every Sunday. She stayed for the afternoon service and answered a number of questions. I feel so sorry for her and pray that God will open a door. The picture on the right below is of Jean Claude teaching her. That building is a long way down and he showed me how I could make it. After about ½ way I decided I would rather stay on solid ground. The building that he is teaching in is the kid classroom that we paid to have built. I don’t remember the cost but it was very low. The church averages 9 adults per Sunday and 20 kids. The church thanked me and wanted me to thank those in America who care for the children.

Here is the day: arose at 7:15 after another good night’s rest. Checked the internet and all of the other things I have to do before we leave. Martin picked me again at 8:45 and we made the exciting and wonderful journey to Bonaberi. We stopped at the place where we picked Jean Claude yesterday and he had not arrived. I got Martin a couple of things and Jean Claude appeared in a few minutes. Mary came home this morning and he had gone to the pharmacy to get her some drugs. We had the same driver today as yesterday to Kake. When we arrived, I had the first prospect to teach. He is a very intelligent young man but is deeply involved in his denomination. As I have said time and time again; the Devil does some of his best work through false churches and false teachers. In Matthew 7:15 we are warned of those who appear as sheep but who want to devour the flock. The vast majority of false teachers can only be seen as false if we know the Scriptures. That is why so many of them flourish. They are preying on people who put their faith in them rather that examining the Word of God for themselves. His name is Philemon and I can only pray that the seed that was sown will one day bear fruit. I taught two others (one back slider and another prospect) that both had serious marital issues. Later we worshipped with the church. This is a small church in a small village. We send 2 sisters from Jean Claude’s congregation every other Sunday to work with two of their sisters in teaching the children. It is proving to be very good. We took our car back to Bonaberi where Martin picked me to the hotel. I am REALLY going to miss riding with him once I leave! Once I got in I went and took a shower. Well, the first thing I did is turn on the A/C and by the time I got out of the shower; the room was very nice. I had supper and watched an episode of The Rockford Files. This is one of Bryan Rendon’s favorite shows. It ranks right up there with Matlock and The Big Valley. Oh, one of the nice things about getting old is that every episode is new. For example, when Linda and I watch Matlock we are pretty sure he will get his client off but we don’t know until the end. If you are too young to know what Matlock is; please ask Jean Simmons. I will call and Skype with Grandma and Charlie Brown once he gets home from school.

Miscellaneous Stuff:

1. When you look at the picture on the left below you may say: it looks like you are driving on the sidewalk. There is a reason for that: we are driving on the sidewalk! It is so much more efficient. We saved a GREAT deal of time by going around the heavy traffic on the street. If you have a machine; remember this the next time you are stuck in traffic. Just be creative and you will discover there are many ways to beat the traffic. Even in a car there are inventive ways that will save you a great deal of time. Just tell the Officer that stops you that you are a Cameroonian and he will let you go free!
   
2. Mary is recovering from her surgery and will be off the job for 10 days. She works for the government as a teacher and they cannot spell sick leave.
   
3. When Jean Claude arrived at the store he told me that both Kombe and Kake refer to me as grandpa. They will say: “is grandpa coming?” which is better than: “is the old man coming?” Just think, if Jean Simmons was here they would ask: “is GREAT grandma coming?” BTW: have I ever told you what a wonderful and marvelous Christian sister Jean is? In the history of civilization, she is one of the MOST wonderful and MOST marvelous people to ever grace the earth. It is such an inspiration to those of us who are younger to witness the faith of this Senior Saint!
   
4. Please pray for Jean Claude. He fell the other day and hurt his lower back. Tonight, he is going to put on something like Ben-Gay which will hopefully do the job. If that doesn’t work; he will have an X-ray to see if there is a fracture.
   
5. I can’t remember if I told you but in Douala the power goes off quite often. The hotel has a powerful generator that not only runs everything but automatically comes on. Within seconds the power is restored.
   
6. On our way to Kake this morning we had a blow-out. No big deal but while the driver was changing the tire I noticed the following: each wheel had a space for 4 lug nuts but each wheel only had 3. I pass this information on to you in case you ever lose one; don’t worry.
   
7. They have speed bumps here and they are very interesting for 2 reasons: 1) There are no signs telling you that a speed bump is ahead. 2) They blend in so well with the road that if you did not know they were there; it would make for an exciting ride.
   

Tomorrow is our last working day and we will be in the village of Logpom. Please ask the Lord to bless our teaching and to present Jesus well. Thank you for your continued prayers.

In Christ,
Jim Corner