Containers for a garage/work area

There has been some clearing of the land and now 2 containers have been dropped off there, because the mission hospital just received these two containers full of hospital supplies and CEFA bought the empty containers in order to build a garage work area. There will be a roof over the two of them with probably a cement floor between them for the working space. There as yet has been no planting on the land, as we do not yet have the final deed/permission documents in hand. The planting has only taken place in the public park area before the entrance to the project.

Maryam shares because of what she's received!

This is Maryam, an amazing woman of newfound faith in the Lord. She came to the Gamboula hospital last year, seeking treatment for her baby, Happiness, on her back in the photo. Not only was Happiness' life saved at the hospital, but Maryam found new life herself, spiritually, because of the kindness and sharing of some of the nurses and others and with the influence of hearing new testament recordings there. She returned to her home across the border, and while there, read a book about a Congolese man, called Samson, a man who took great steps in giving to others because of what he had received. Maryam was so touched by this story that she decided to do likewise. She came back to Gamboula, and contributed time and money in the hospital's nutrition garden. The photo shows her at work in the nutrition garden. This garden is an integral part of teaching and outreach in the CEFA project.

Planting trees in the buffer zone public park

Roy and crew took a big truckload of trees out to the CEFA land to plant, as rainy season has finally started. They planted and watered (just in case it didn't rain that day) over 250 trees in the area in front of the entrance to the CEFA property. They took a big tank of water on the back of the ag pick-up for the watering, as the stream is quite some distance away. The fruit on these trees will be available for free to the public, hopefully filling the tummies of those kids and people who are interested in reaping without sowing, smile.

Live CEFA logo

While Angela Boss was here with us, she took some photos to represent the CEFA logo, live. Which of these three do you like best?

CEFA meeting

Well, it wasn't an official board meeting, as there wasn't a 2/3 presence of members, due to some other very important work our acting president, David Zokoe, had to take care of in the capital. A strategy session and general discussion took place, a full day of talking about the visions and plans for CEFA. The wonderful news, though, is this: the official NGO papers AND the land grant papers are in David Zokoe's hands, with only the customs/tax exemption papers left to be arranged. We are so thankful!

Update on the work at the CEFA land

There is now a small cement pieced bridge over the roadside ditch at the turn off to the land, and ditches have been dug for putting in the fence at the entrance to the property. The official NGO papers are in the hands of our acting board president, David Zokoe, in Bangui, and he is still following up on getting the land deed transaction established. The land papers must be in hand before we can actually begin work building and planting.

Bird's eye view of the CEFA land

The yellow border on the left is Cameroon. The brownish areas are grasses and brushland and old gardens, and the green indicates trees and heavier growth. The CEFA land has a mostly natural boundary of trees/jungle. The red lines are old off the beaten track roads, and the thicker light yellow lines between Gamboula and the mission station and beyond are the main roads. The road that Roy and his crews have been clearing is the lower red line that juts off the main road just north of the mission station where we currently live. You can see a gap in the tree line where the red lines meet together at the property boundary. That's where Roy is planning to put in a public orchard/park, to act as a buffer, so people can pick fruit freely without climbing the fence (that will be put in soon) and stealing what is not theirs.