Nothing But Nets? ...hardly!

Gabonese C&MA Church Mosquito Net Distribution Planning

Last Wednesday, Pastor Jacob MOUELE and I loaded up for a flight to the largest population center in the North of Gabon- the town of Oyem.  There we met with the regional superintendent of  churches, Pastor Lucien (also a local church pastor) and two local church pastors- Pastor Faustin and Pastor Alex.

I know he looks like a 12 year old, but, really, my passenger is Pastor Jacob MOUELE.  Jacob works with OSPAC (Primary Health Work of the C&MA- Gabon) and is a pastor of a local church in Libreville.  He loves to tell people about Jesus and express God's love- it's infectious!!!

It was a very nice flight over the "Monts de Cristal" (Crystal Mountains) enroute, Northeast bound, from Libreville.  The ground clouds were "hugging" the mountains!

Landing at Oyem, we were warmly greeted by our friends.

(L to R):  Pastor Alex, me, Pastor Lucien, & Pastor Faustin.  We had a great time meeting over coffee and omelets while discussing how we can work together to bless people in need of mosquito nets.  Through the tool of medicine, we can touch people in their physical being as a bridge to share with them about the greater needs we have spiritually.  This group is very ready to facilitate the distribution of nets, so I'm sure I'll be getting a call from them soon saying that they are ready.  They also have a vision to open up a small neighborhood clinic that will be a branch of OSPAC!

The mosquito net distribution is only a part of the work.  As many already are well aware, you can distribute nets to all corners of Africa, but without education and compassion, many nets go unused or used wrongly (fishing, wedding veils, room partitions, etc.).  So, a thoughtful distribution of mosquito nets will take time to care for the individual and contextualizing the message to each villager.  The OSPAC team and local church pastors can't help but to use this approach in their work- it's in their DNA!

We covet your prayers and support in this work.  The nets come in packages of 50 and cost about $10 to $12 each through a local provider.  We're pulling strings to get as many nets as possible for as cheap as possible.  Drop me a line if this effort is of interest to you:  Gabon.pilot@gmail.com