Shanksteps #72
Local cultural beliefs are very different from ours. Today I was able to get a glimpse of the beliefs of a tribe called Mineau. There was a child from near this area that was anemic and the mother was HIV positive. No other donors could be found, so I gave blood to the child. While giving I found out some interesting beliefs about this tribe.
They believe that two people CANNOT be buried in the same grave. While I was in the US a pregnant woman who was anemic came to the hospital for treatment but unfortunately died. One of the hospital workers gave blood but she didn’t make it. When they took this woman back to the village apparently they “couldn’t” bury this woman with the dead child inside. The people of this village believe that you have to be buried separately in order to meet god separately. So they opened the cadaver and removed
the fetus and buried them in separate graves. Upon questioning further about burial practices by this tribe I found out that in a few cases, when someone is really old and unable to care for himself any longer and demented, that they sometimes euthanize them. Apparently the way this is done is the family starts crying of their “death” once the decision has been made. Family and friends come to the home and they bury the person alive! How different from our culture! Oh how these people need to
know more of Gods love! I think of my own American culture and how much we need to know of Gods love too. We have a very cerebral knowledge of Him and His interest in our lives but do we really live like we KNOW Him and feel His love on a daily basis? Our culture in the US is “Christian”, but there is a wide variety of beliefs and thoughts of God and what His interest in our life is.
I believe that God is interested in every aspect of our lives. He created us and sacrificed His Son for us so we could be with Him someday. We often think of what we have sacrificed by coming here to Cameroon. But our “sacrifice” pales in comparison to the real sacrifice of Jesus in our behalf. Our Bible says that even if I were the only one here, that Christ would have come for me, or you! It is hard to comprehend this never-ending and all encompassing love of God! I want to know Him better
and understand better His love for you and me. I believe you need to know His love better too. And of course the people here need to know and understand His love also. Please continue to pray for us as we serve HIM in a very different culture and with His help withstand the barrage of attacks by the devil! In His Service, Greg, Audrey and Sarah Shank