Greetings from Cameroon!

Praise God for getting me though the 18 hours of flying, waiting time at airports, and Cameroon immigration and customs! I was able to connect to my gate in Paris with an hour and a half to spare (out of over three hours between flights…Charles deGalle airport in Paris is crazy!), and the plane landed in Yaounde only 15 minutes late (after leaving Paris an hour late–We didn’t stop as long as planned in Douala). The only items questioned by the customs officials were the lawn mower wheels, but they eventually let me though without paying anything when I told them they were for friends.

The Dallmanns are very grateful for all of the items that I brought them, and I would like to pass that thank you on to those of you who went shopping for them. The Dr. Pepper, peanut butter, and jogging shoes are especially appreciated. John just finished a brief orientation of Cameroon with me, so I know a little more about the country and the people now.

We’re headed up to Banyo tomorrow, so continue to pray for that trip. I’m excited to see how God works through our interaction with people!

I’ll update again when possible, but it’s almost time to eat lunch so I’ll end for now. Then John will take me to the internet connection to send this. I’m excited to see more of the city, country, and people!

For Christ’s glory,
John

Praise God!

My bags are packed, the trip is 100% funded, and I’m ready to take off
for Atlanta-Paris-Yaounde in the morning! My flight leaves DIA at
8:40, and I plan to be at the airport by 6.

I started my Malarone malaria medication today, and I was able to fit
everything I need (plus all of the items the Dallmanns requested) into
5 bags: 3 to be checked and a little bag plus a backpack to carry on
the planes. Please continue to pray that my travel and entry into
Cameroon will go smoothly.

I’ve included a map of Cameroon with this message so that you will
have a better understanding of my location throughout the trip. I
should be landing in Yaounde (the capital) on Monday morning (10:50
MDT), which will be Monday evening in Cameroon. John and two of his
sons will be taking me to Banyo on Wednesday, so I’m not sure I will
be able to e-mail much or at all during the first two weeks of my
trip. Keep praying for our travel and interaction with people,
though. I’ll update when possible.

Goodnight and goodbye!

John

Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
He also is to be feared above all gods.
- 1 Chronicles 16:23-25

Those words were written after the ark of God had been placed inside
the tent that David set up for it, and my heart rejoices this day in
seeing more evidence that God is still so great…He never changes,
and He is still worthy of all of the praise that we can give Him.

I’m still in awe of how He has provided for this trip that I will be
leaving on in less than 4 days now. I picked up the final “big” items
for the Dallmanns today (John might send me a few more small
requests). So, I will be taking BOTH of the needed Briggs and
Stratton drilling rig engine parts, plus a new air filter. And I have
all of the requested items from church members, too. God is so good!

The trip cost is now 97% covered by your generous donations, and I’m
in the process of laying items out and packing them into their bags
for the trip. I want to thank you specifically for your prayers
regarding packing…So far everything fits, even the high-voltage
surge protector! (Now I’ve just got to find some space for my
clothes.)

As I shared yesterday on my blog, I learned from Gala Dallmann that a
man from Banyo recently called John asking questions about Jesus.=20
(They showed the Jesus film up there in early March, and we’ll be
heading back up there for 2 weeks when I arrive in Cameroon.) Be
praying for this man, “Yusy,” and others who saw the film, as well as
those who did not have an opportunity to view the film but may still
have questions. Pray that we will be able to clearly communicate the
gospel to all who are interested.

I so appreciate your prayers! Thanks for sharing in this trip with me!

Excited to tell of God’s glory among the nations,

John

It’s been quite an experience: checking my e-mail every morning and receiving an ongoing list of needs from the Dallmanns in Cameroon. Yesterday John e-mailed me requesting some guitar strings since one of his had broken as he led a service on Sunday. My sister Sarah was at the music store when I received that message, and she was able to pick up some sets of strings and was even given a special discount on only the strings “since [their] computers were down and [they] had to hand-write the receipt.” God works in such amazing ways, doesn’t He!?

This morning, I received an especially encouraging “update from Dallmanns,” which Gala sent out to their prayer e-mail list, and I have included it below since it all applies to my upcoming trip.

Dear Friends,

Isn’t it fun when God starts to answer prayer! You prayed about the Jesus Film showing in Banyo and we were kind of disappointed because it rained and not as many could see it as we had hoped. But God was preparing the hearts of those who He picked to see the film and just today a guy called John from Banyo by cell phone (amazing we can do that now!)saying he had seen the film and wanted to talk to John about following Jesus. So pray for this guy – we’ll call him “Yusy”.

John and the boys plan to go out to Banyo next Wednesday with our short term college student. They will be there for 2 weeks while Liss, Ty and I are here in Yaounde. They are going to be holding a seminar, floating down the river on a raft and showing the Jesus film, working on water projects and meeting with those interested in the Gospel. A great time for boys, dad and John (our student). You can pray for them as they travel and minister. And pray for us at home. It might almost get quiet around here. Well, with Ty it is never quiet! Thanks for praying!

Resting in Him,

Gala (for all the Dallmanns)

Such an amazing testimony to God’s way of working!

Please continue to pray that He would accomplish great things in Cameroon. To Him alone be the glory! \o/ Psalm 34:2-4

Hello again, prayer supporters!

I’ve been busy making sure that I have all of the right parts and items to take to the Dallmanns over the past few weeks, and I almost have everything that they have requested. I’ve already received more than half of the items that Grace Fellowship church members signed up to help me shop for the Dallmanns, and the rest of those should be at church in the morning. Tomorrow is also my official “send off” by the church, since I will be at the airport boarding my first plane one week from tomorrow morning at 8:10 a.m.

I continue to praise God for His awesome provision for this trip! He is faithfully providing spiritually and physically. I now only need $296.42, which means that the trip is 92% funded! God is so good!

Prayer requests for this coming week include the following:

- Pray for the auto mechanic in Boulder to find shocks that will work for John Dallmann’s pickup truck within a week. He’s been having a hard time finding any that will work, and this is a fairly significant need since John uses the truck to transport his well-drilling equipment.

- Lift up those handling and shipping the drilling rig engine parts that I ordered through a local rent-alls place on Thursday. Pray that all of the parts would make it here to Arvada by Friday so that I can
pick them up and pack them.

- Continue to pray that the well-water test samples will make it to Yaounde in time when I’m there, if it’s God’s will for me to be able to do some water testing.

- Keep lifting up those of us who will be rafting down the Mbampti River and showing the JESUS film along the way. Pray specifically for our safety as we travel down the river. Ask the Holy Spirit to begin softening hearts so that the people in the villages would be receptive to the gospel. May God’s love radiate from our lives!

- Praise the Lord that the Dallmanns had a good trip up to Mbingo last week, and continue to pray for them as they prepare to host during my visit. I’m so excited to get to know them better! Pray that our time together would be blessed and encouraging.

- Continue to offer up supplication to our Father that I will make it through customs in Cameroon without major problems. Pray that I would stay calm and only offer info or my list if the officials ask for it. May God give the grace that I might, in John Dallmann’s words, “just float through the line and [be] free.”

- Praise God for His provision for this trip, especially financially! Ask Him that over the next week He would fill me up with His Spirit and His Word so that I can pour out His love, joy, and grace to everyone throughout the duration of this trip (and even after this trip). It’s only by His grace and in His strength that I am taking this trip for His glory. May I point to Him through every thought,
action, and spoken word. \o/

- Keep praying for the Fulani people in Cameroon, especially those who have not accepted and do not know Christ as Savior.

Be sure to check out my new blog at http://www.4JCg.org for further posts, thoughts, and pictures. I plan to at least keep it updated with prayer requests as I send them to my e-mail prayer list, and I
might even include some journal entries as I have opportunity to do so.

Thank you so much for joining me as a part of this journey! I look forward to keeping you updated, and to hearing from you, too (so send me some e-mails). No doubt, it will be exciting!

Because of God’s grace and for His glory,

John

Preparation continues for my upcoming 27-day-long mission trip to Cameroon, Africa (see missions.gfol.org/Cameroon for details). I am so eager to go, but I’m not packed at all yet. I’m working on my packing list, as well as finding items and parts that John Dallmann (the missionary I will be serving with there) requested. And, I’m doing videography for two weddings in the over two weekends, in addition to trying to work 25+ hours per week. I’m busy, to say the least.

However, God has been reminding me that time with Him is crucial in preparation for this trip. I would encourage you to seek Him more, too. One phrase that really stood out to me as I read in John earlier this week was “apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5) How true that is. We must abide in Christ, depending on His strength in all that we do so that He will abide in us and work through us.

Before I go spend some quality time with my Creator, I would like to share a little more about Cameroon with you. You can find some general information about the country by following these links: infoplease and Lonely Planet. I’ll be working mostly with the Fulani people group, who speak Fulfulde. Please pray for these people to be receptive to the gospel as we have opportunity to show the JESUS film to them. More about my trip to come…

In closing, I must share this little “map” that Sarah created for me. I guess there’s a vine on a fence near our house that is shaped like Africa, so she added the shape of Cameroon with Paint. Pretty clever.

Welcome to 4JCg.org! This site is finally going live, and I’m excited to open the site with this first post. The primary purpose of this site/blog is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ.

I truly look forward to sharing with you about how God is working in my life, posting encouragement, communicating thoughts, and lifting up my Lord and Savior with every word.

Thanks for joining me on this journey of a life that desires to glorify Jesus above all else! I pray that you are inspired and encouraged because of God’s goodness.

Live 4JCg (Romans 16:27)!