A Surprise Visit

WELS Missionaries made a surprise visit to a group of Christians living in rural Cameroon. It is a surprise that the missionaries even made it to their destination.

Missionary Dan Kroll and I visited one of our outreach groups in Cameroon. This was a surprise for them and for us. The WELS had not approved any missionary travels outside of Douala prior to this, due to security concerns.

Surprise Permission

We have been in contact with this group for 5 years. The church we went to see was Holy Trinity congregation. The Lutheran Church of Holy Trinity is in village called Fondonera, in the mountains of Cameroon. We left from Dschang, which is the big city close to Fondonera, early Sunday morning.

This type of ministry was new to me and something that our team has not done in recent years. We had a long day of “beating the bush” and rough traveling outside the city. Our journey started early in the morning. We went down the wrong path at the beginning of the day and got stuck. Some locals passing by helped dig us out and push the truck.

While on the road, we got stuck a few times in the mud, where again locals helped dig us out. This made our trip take nearly 6 hours to arrive at our destination.

Joyful Arrival

Once we finally arrived, we were greeted by the congregation singing a welcoming song. They were so happy to see us. Their surprise was that we came to visit at this time. The roads are at their most challenging state for travel in that region. We were able to speak to the congregation and give words of encouragement. One woman from the congregation stood up and talked to us about the ministry there. She inquired about online training and learning in the future. We have encouraged the leaders of Holy Trinity to enroll in the TELL Network.

We were not able to stay very long because of the threat of rain. If it had rained, it would have been challenging to return to Dschang before nightfall. Even though it was a long and rough day of traveling, we made it there and back safely. We thank God we were able to surprise the members of Holy Trinity and encourage them. With the Lord’s continued blessing, their ministry will continue to grow!

Missionary Jake Vilhauer lives in Zambia.

Please pray for those working in fields that are ripe for harvest. Share their story, engage with future news, and receive updates. Learn more about our mission fields in Africa and how the Holy Spirit is working faith in people’s hearts at https://wels.net/serving-others/missions/africa