Built on the Rock the Church shall stand
Even when steeples are falling.
Crumbled have spires in ev'ry land;
Bells still are chiming and calling. . . .
(Christian Worship 529:1)

In America when the clear, resonant church bell rings from high atop the steeple, God's people have already gathered in their impressive, elaborately decorated sanctuary, and the one-hour worship service begins.

It's not quite the same in Cameroon. Striking a rusty truck wheel with a twisted piece of steel produces a piercing and most unpleasant sound. And when the "church bell" of one of the Lutheran Church of Cameroon churches is rung, the humble chapel is still empty. The bell announces to the village people that it's time to begin walking to church. Twenty minutes, maybe a half hour later, as God's people start to gather, the singing of simple choruses, accompanied by drums, begins. Two, maybe three hours later, the worship service ends.

We can safely say the people of Cameroon are not slaves to the clock. This, like most other things in life, has both a good side and a bad. It's refreshing to never feel rushed and to know that even if you are 15 minutes late, you'll still be the first one there. But when meetings start an hour late, drag on for three hours, and appear to go nowhere, it seems like a terrible waste of valuable time.

The people of Cameroon have dreams, foremost of which is the dream to visit America. When I talk about America, their eyes light up and get as big as saucers. They've heard much about America; have seen pictures of American cities, schools, and houses; and want more than anything else to go there someday.

Sensing this great affinity for America, when preaching one Sunday on Jesus' words "in my Father's house are many rooms [mansions]" (John 14:2), I assured the congregation heaven is even better and more wonderful than America with its large, multi-roomed houses. I pointed out that people in America have problems, too. Many problems. I emphasized that sin's curse is universal, but, God be thanked, so is the cure.

A couple days after the service, a man stopped me on the road to thank me for reminding him that even though his dream of going to America will probably never become reality, his hope of going to heaven is already a certainty through faith in Jesus Christ. "In heaven," he said, "believers from both America and Cameroon will experience the same unending joy."