Cameroon: June 8, 2014

I can't even begin to give you all the details of today. Pastor Echo conducted the Sunday school class. He gave an excellent lesson about hearing and doing. Dad and I played a guitar/harmonica duet ("The Solid Rock"), and Dad gave the message. He did such a good job sticking to his points and keeping the people's attention. 

As soon as the services ended, I made sloppy joes for lunch while Mrs. Chamberlin prepared a potato salad. After we ate, my dad and I went back to our apartment to prepare lessons for the youth service at 5:00. I had also been asked to sing a song and play guitar. They don't have a Sunday evening service, but the youth meet sometimes, and Mrs. Chamberlin always does a little children's church in her living room. From 3:00-5:00, I spent time with Cynthia. She is 17 years old. She brought me her favorite biscuits (cookies) for me to try, and she brought me a list of pidgin phrases she had handwritten for me. She quizzed me on them. We talked and talked, and she braided my hair.

Five o'clock came quickly. Time for the youth meeting! This was a meeting I will never forget. When the first few youth came, I had everyone get in  a circle, and I taught them the song "Bind Us Together, Lord" complete with hand motions! They absolutely loved it! After the song I shared with them a short devotional about laying aside our own problems and putting others' needs before our own. Then, after I sang "All in All" for them, my dad gave them a message about being a son of God. The service ended after a time of questions. We had all sorts of questions but I'll try to install I can remember. 

1. How can you balance sports and musical talents with spiritual things? 

2. Did you ever struggle with sin when you were a teenager?

3. How did you decide to come to Cameroon?

4. Tell us what you think about how we should dress. 

5. What should I do if my friends make fun of me for being different from them in the way I dress?

6. If God has forgiven our sins already, why does He judge us again in heaven?

I asked them to give me any prayer requests they had ate eh end of the meeting, and 2 came up to me, both with peer pressure struggles. I prayed with one of them and wrote her name down, and the other gave me a slip of paper with his name and request.