“From central Germany to the equator and back”. That could be the title for a book, but it really does describe my one-week journey to the city of Libreville, Gabon.

The country of Gabon is on the Atlantic coast of Africa, under the “hump”, and – to help you find it on a map - the capital city of Libreville is located right on the equator. If you are familiar with missions history, Gabon is the country where Dr. Schweitzer started his hospital in Lamboréné.

There was quite a difference between the 35°F in Germany when I left and the 85°F when I arrived in Libreville! This time of the year is the “little” rainy season in Gabon. That means there were occasional light rains, but also that the humidity was near 90% even when it wasn’t actually raining. We did appreciate being able to meet in a center that was air-conditioned and that the electricity was cut off for only one 2-hour period!

I went to Gabon at the request of the CEVAA, a community of 37 church groups on 3 different continents (Europe, Africa, South America) plus several Pacific and Indian Ocean islands, that all grew out of the missionary work of the former Mission de Paris. I was invited to participate in their general assembly, held every two years, as an interpreter/facilitator, translating primarily from French into English. This is because there are churches in four different English-speaking countries which were originally started in the 1800’s by French missionaries. These churches (in Lesotho, Zambia, Ghana, and Mozambique – which uses Portuguese) have maintained their fellowship with other churches started by the same French mission. My fellow interpreter, an African from Benin, and I were working or “on call” from morning devotions at 8 a.m. to the end of the last meeting which was usually around 10 p.m. We also traveled with the delegates to interpret when they attended worship services in local churches or for other outside visits. The week was intense, but fascinating.

In addition to business matters, each general assembly studies a theme that is significant in the life of the churches. This year’s theme was “migration”. Migration is a constant worldwide phenomenon. UN statistics indicate that every year around 200 million people migrate, whether forced by unrest and famine or voluntarily, and that 98% of this migration takes place between countries located in what we refer to as the “global South”. This means that every country is affected by migration in one way or another, either as a departure country, a transition country, or a host country. These movements of people inevitably affect churches and their ministries, and the CEVAA encouraged its members to take this time to discuss their situations and what they are doing in migrant ministries. All of these discussions were nourished by Bible studies on migrations in the Bible (interesting to see how God carried out his plan mainly through migrants rather than sedentary folks) and talks by qualified Christian sociologists and researchers. I was impressed to see how these churches, in spite of their very different contexts, are seriously reflecting together on how to handle some very crucial issues. We could surely all benefit from becoming better acquainted with other members of Christ’s body and listening to how they apply the Scriptures in their situation in order to serve the Master.

I have included a few pictures (below) to give you just a small idea of the warmth and color enjoyed when welcomed by African Christians.

I was thankful for good health, safety, and alertness in carrying out my responsibilities. Thank you for your prayers and partnership with us in these opportunities for service.

Diane Jerdan

Diane and Emmanuel at work

Delegates waiting for ride to church

Welcome in a local church

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