It was probably over a year in the planning.  I just learned about it in June before coming to Cameroon.  November 7-14 it happened – in the Northwest Province of Cameroon.  The first ever gathering of Covenant World Relief (CWR) partners in Africa and Haiti.  Twenty-seven participants came from 10 countries to share, learn from each other and exchange ideas about their work in community development.

Living in Yaounde and not directly involved with CWR, our part was minimal but essential.  Participants coming from Democratic Republic and from Central African Republic passed through Yaounde and so we hleped a bit with logistics and hospitality.  And that means we got to meet some great people!

During their stay in Yaounde the Congolese and Central African participants took a tour of RFIS.  In the course of the tour they ran into a couple of teachers who know their languages, Lingala (DRC) and Sango (CAR).  Teachers Karl Noren and Jordan Cone, both children of missionaries, grew up in DRCongo and spent time living in CAR.  They had a great chat remembering mutual friends from their youth.

Though we were not able to attend the conference itself, we did hear great reports.  You can read about it on Pete & Cindy Ekstrand’s blog.  It’s no surprise that God used this conference to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ and to start relationships that will bless the Church.