I first met Missionary Daniel Kroll when my wife and I returned to Lake City, Minnesota following five years of service to the Lord as a planned giving counselor for the Arizona-California District of WELS. Dan and Karen had recently been recalled from Africa because of budget shortages. He was now serving as my Pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church of Lake City. Just a short time later I was elected Chairman of that congregation, so he and I worked hand in glove. Little did I know we would repeat this experience years later in Cameroon.
Through my 40 years of teaching in WELS schools prior to Planned Giving work, I have always been interested in the missionary work WELS does in Africa. I have heard story after story about groups of people eager to hear the good news and the joy they have when they hear it. It did not take a lot of persuading to convince me when Missionary Kroll asked me if I would be interested in teaching at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Kumba, Cameroon. My only hesitation was I did not wish to go to Cameroon alone for seven weeks. When Dan told me he also had plans for my wife Johanna to teach, the deal was done!
In June of this year (’17) I had a heart attack. A few days later I had triple-by-pass surgery. We put the whole Cameroon trip on hold for a while, waiting for several doctors to give us the “thumbs up.” I was very dutiful with the physical therapy following surgery. God blessed those efforts with good reports and those “thumbs up.” So, on Sunday, October 22 we boarded an airplane in Minneapolis, Minnesota and just about exactly 24 hours later got off a different plane in Douala, Cameroon.
After 20 years of teaching experience, Johanna now teaches a basic Grammar course and Music. I teach World History and Human Biology. We both delight in instructing the ten young men God has placed at our Bible Institute. I am impressed with their diligence and their willingness to learn. Their love for their Savior and the desire to share His Word are both clearly evident. In just a short time (on December 15) our Cameroon Connection will come to an end as we journey home to Minnesota for Christmas. I will always carry the friendship of Dan and Karen Kroll in my repaired heart. It will also have room for ten young Pastors with big smiles. I would love to return to Cameroon in 2021 when they graduate. Soli Deo Gloria!
Harry and Johanna Mears are serving the Lord in Cameroon
Please pray for those working in fields that are ripe for harvest. Share their story, engage with future news and receive updates. Go to this link to learn more about our mission fields in Africa and how the Holy Spirit is working faith in people’s hearts https://wels.net/serving-others/missions/africa
