Outside the Camp #2

The Waite Praise Update~October 20, 2009

Dear Praying Partners,

It is very obvious to us that you have been praying for us and God has been answering those prayers for His glory and our joy. And when I say "our joy", I have more people in mind than just my family as we experience great joy in preparing to make our Vision/Survey Trip to Cameroon in just a few weeks.

I also have in mind those people in Cameroon who are not only considered "unreached" because they have not responded to the Gospel of Jesus Christ but are also considered "unengaged" for the simple reason that right now at this moment there is no one among them or even reasonably close to them to engage them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because they have not been engaged with the Gospel they remain unreached and thus, they have not experienced the great joy of God's amazing grace. So, as God answers your prayers on our behalf so as to provide us with the means necessary to go to Cameroon and especially to the Fulbe people--it is so that one day they will experience the joy of knowing Jesus and their sins forgiven in Him.

There is another group of people I have in mind as well when I use the phrase "our joy" and its you. You see, those who involve themselves in missions, either as goers, senders, and/or supporters are involving themselves in an adventure and an endeavor that is aligned with God's passion to make Himself known among all the peoples of the earth for His glory and their joy (Num. 14:21; Ps. 96; 117; 72:18-19). According to passages such as Revelation 5:9 and 7:9, there will be people from every tribe, language, and ethnic group in Heaven standing before the throne of God worshipping Him. They will be worshipping Him because they heard and responded to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They will have heard the Gospel and received it because God sent people like us to tell them and the reason people like us will get to go and share the Gospel is because of people like you--who for the great joy of seeing God glorified in all the earth involved yourselves in missions by praying for us.

So, thank you for your prayers and your support on our behalf as we engage ourselves in going to Cameroon.

God truly has blessed us in so many ways. We are on schedule to leave for Cameroon on November 18 and return to New Mexico December 8. Our trip can probably best be described as a whirlwind trip, traveling throughout the country to see World Team's works among the Baka people, the Oroko people, and finally the Fulbe in the north-central part of Cameroon. We will spend the bulk of our time in what is known as Fulbe-land with the Lokkers who have been ministering in the area of Banyo. They will take us on a trip into areas of Fulbe-land that have not been engaged with the Gospel as of yet. These areas, which are north and east of Banyo are of particular interest to us as they are where the vast majority of the Fulbe who have not been engaged with the Gospel live.

These areas are best described as "beyond reach" in that they are deep in the bush and are characterized as "hard-to-get-to" and "beyond the end of the trail" type places. Interestingly enough, we have heard that one of the issues that causes some to avoid missions in these kinds of places is lack of internet capability so as to keep in touch with family and friends back home. Well, ultimately we are headed to this kind of an area. Much of our travel "in country" will be on dirt roads that the State Department characterizes as "dangerously unsafe" at best--not so much because of the road condition as much as the drivers.

God graciously has provided for this trip's financial needs all in the course of one month. Through the generous gifts of people within our church and many outside of our church--some whom we have never met personally, God has provided the means for our whole family to make this trip. This will allow our children to also see where they will be living, how they will be living, and hear their new language once God moves us there permanently.

As to our progress, we purchased our airplane tickets last week, got our Yellow Fever shots yesterday, and are still waiting on the kid's passports. Once they arrive (hopefully this week) we will apply for our visas. Then we have some light packing to do as well as arranging for the care of our house and animals while we are gone. Two days before we leave New Mexico we will begin taking our Malaria meds. Then it is to the airport for a really long flight that will take us into Houston, Paris, and then Douala in Cameroon.

Well, this should bring you all up to date on our progress to Cameroon. We are so very thankful for each of you and praise the Lord that you are praying for us in this endeavor. God has been faithful and we can't wait to see Him continue to work on our behalf so as to use us and you in this great work of engaging the Fulbe people with His glorious gospel.

Please continue to pray for us. A big request right now is that we will get our visas in time for the trip. We would ask you to pray for our health, safety, and strength. We also desire prayer that God would open our eyes to see where He is at work and how we might be able to effectively join Him in His great harvest among the Fulbe. Please pray that we would be a blessing to all we meet. We also desire that perhaps God would allow us to be a blessing to you as well.

Ambassadors For Him (2 Cor. 5:20),

Mark for the Waite family, all