The 6th Adventist Women's Ministries Congress took place in Mbang in August 1-7, 2016. This is a participation record in the history of the East Cameroon Mission (ECM).
The theme of the congress was: “Women for Christ: Shine and Reach the World”. As an implementation of the world vision, there is no delay. The road was so long and bumpy. But the Church leader in Cameroon, Pastor Assembe Valere and his wife Micheline made their way to Mbang, located around 500 km from Yaounde the capital city of Cameroon.
The small city of Mbang could not but notice the equivalent of one third of its inhabitants. According to the BUCREP (Bureau central des Recensements et des Études de Population du Cameroun) figures in 2010, the city of Mbang counts around seven thousand inhabitants. “The Women were more than 1 700 registered but there are many who did not register and are attending the meetings. We may be around two thousand” said sister Ngombe Gervaise, Women’s Ministries leader for the ECM.
Pastor Assembe Valere challenged the participants to “shine by the response to the invitation of Christ”. And the invitation is addressed to the weary. He continued: “we have to live the message before we can share it with others. The best objective is to be transformed during and after this congress. And this is possible when you surrender all you have and all you are to Christ Jesus.”
In his welcoming address, the leader of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the East Cameroon, Pastor Ndinga Samuel thanked the authorities for the facilities granted to them. The congress was held in a public school yard and the participants found accommodation in the classrooms of that school and of another one. Yet some women had to accommodate themselves on the verandas of the classrooms. The simplicity of these women is impressive. And there was such a powerful atmosphere of prayer and worship that many people stop by at a certain distance so as to experience the blessing. A passerby, in his peasant outfit, was fascinated: “that’s a real blessing for us in Mbang. Never have I seen such a religious meeting before.”
The Congress ended on Saturday with a communion service and a musical concert. The hard exercise will be the way back home. Braving the bad conditions of the road to and fro is a real sign of dedication and commitment. The East Cameroon Mission has another challenge of another type : getting to the Conference status in a near future. The now twenty thousand-membership Mission was established in 1932 and is expecting an upgrade after a recent evaluation from the West-Central Africa Division.
Abraham BAKARI
CMUM Communication