A Joyous Night Time Welcome of the Zinc Roofing Materials in Nkanchi Village
When I was growing up in the 1970s and early 1980s, it was rare to see a bishop—the then bishop of Bamenda who became the Archbishop of Bamenda, Mgr. Paul Verdzekov (RIP) used to come on a pastoral visit to Nkanchi once in three years. The type of huge, joyful welcome accorded the bishop was what I saw on Thursday, November 21, 2024, when the corrugated sheets (the “zinc”) for the roofing of the New Saint Martin de Porres Catholic Church, Nkanchi, were brought. Immediately, once they heard the truck; men, women, young boys and girls, and children came out in great numbers to celebrate in song and dance, prayers and meditation, the arrival of the material that would give a complete roof over the new church.
The people had been waiting for its arrival since Wednesday, November 20, 2024, and I was told that people did not go to their farms because the carpenter had assured them that the delivery was to reach Nkanchi on Wednesday. Unfortunately, due to the dire state of the roads, the journey that in America would take around 11 hours took a total of 6 days. Another delay occurred in Nkambe since they had to offload many other materials not designated for Nkanchi before transferring the church roofing materials into another truck. Due to these circumstances, the delivery arrived in Nkanchi village on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. when places were already dark.
Villagers greet the arrival of the roofing material delivery truck.
The Parish Priest of Saint John the Apostle’s Parish (Nkanchi is an outstation under this parish), Misaje and his associate, the sisters of the “Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross” working in Nkanchi, Christians from the other denominations, and even some Muslims, came out in their numbers with exuberant joy, happiness, and great appreciation to celebrate a dream come true in Nkanchi village. Sister Lina, the Superior of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross in Nkanchi, led the entire Rosary while the Zinc was offloaded and taken into the Church. Groups were dancing and expressing their happiness while many young people were helping to carry the Zinc into the new Church building. Toward the end, the brother of the carpenter apologized for arriving late with the Zinc. He explained their difficulties on the road since they could not take a straight road for fear of what the rebels would do to them.
I thanked the people for expressing their gratitude. They said to the benefactors in their native language, KIYONE, which means "THANK YOU." Thank you for helping them reach this far with this project. The people and I lack the adequate vocabulary to express the type of joy we all have in our hearts. All this is happening thanks to your steadfast financial and moral support. In the spirit of the American Thanksgiving coming up next Thursday, November 28, 2024, I use this opportunity to thank God for you and to thank you for all that you are doing for KumboKids and Community. The people have already expressed their KIYONE (THANK YOU), and so, I join my voice with theirs to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.
The people in Nkanchi Village sing and dance in celebration of the arrival of the roofing materials.
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, you can see the people's joy in welcoming something, not a human being. In a sense, they welcome a human being, Jesus Christ Himself in whose name the Church is being built. He is the head of the Church, and we, the people, are members of that Church. You are making this dream come true. May God abundantly bless you and replenish your income sources a hundredfold. By doing this, you are storing up treasures for yourselves in heaven. I pray that your rooms in heaven will be spacious and more comfortable if God permits me to use human terminology to express heavenly things. The joy is so great that I may start crying if I continue to speak.
Thank You!
-Fr. Emmanuel Fale Lon, S.D.