In 1983, I visited Kenya for eight weeks and in 1984, I lived in Ghana for a year. Both experiences left me with the feeling of belonging to the people and cultures of Africa. I was at home in both countries. Fast forward 35 years and dozens of African countries later, a dream came true for me. From December 4-8, 2017, in a little conference center on the outskirts of Yaoundé, Cameroon, 20 Africans from 14 countries attended the first Catalyst For Africa International Conference. I never imagined leaders from Senegal, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leonne, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda, and Kenya would attend. Many of our leaders had neither traveled outside of their own country nor met each other. Even though some of our leaders spoke French and others English, we all bonded.
We feasted, shared, laughed, prayed, sang and some snored…very loudly. The messages were challenging and insightful. However, the stories of our leaders’ lives were the most compelling aspect of our conference. When Yamdjeu, a young leader from Cameroon, shared his testimony everyone was spellbound.He was abandoned by his mother at six-months. As a teenager, he struggled to get along with his father and stepmom. He shared the story of being arrested and how all his friends were released when their parents came to pay the fines. Yamdjeu’s parents never showed up to pay his fine. As a result, he was imprisoned for two years. The wound of being locked up and having no visitors devastated him. After he finished sharing his story, we all gathered around him and prayed. No prayer was sweeter than Patrick Mulondo’s who had been a street kid in Kampala, Uganda.The model of sharing our life stories, listening and showing compassion is emulated by our leaders. That’s why we’re making a difference in the world.
Catalyst For Africa builds relationships by going small and going deep. We stand together supporting one another through life’s struggles and successes. We strive to share and live our core values in order for lives and ministries to transform the world. We are a band of brothers and sisters, and we believe we are changing the world in Jesus’s name one relationship at a time.
Join us and we can transform the world together!