by 1. Rasta man
I totally forgot this guy’s name so he will be called Rasta man. We were talking to the relief society president when Rasta man walked in. My companion asked if he wanted to learn about the gospel. He said that he did and that he always wanted to talk to us except that he was too shy.
We had seen him around a couple of times and I felt I should contact him but I sorta profiled him based on his long hair. When we taught him the Restoration, he soaked everything like a sponge. He would sit at the edge of his chair and just absorbed everything we told him. We gave him some brochures to read and when we came to teach him he had read and memorized them. Without us inviting him, he started inviting his friends to listen to the lessons. He would help us teach his friends and I can attest that he taught everything better than we could. He had such an eagerness to learn the gospel, it was amazing. Unfortunately I left the area about 2 weeks after meeting Rasta man but his example will stay with me.
2. Drefi
Drefi is also sort of like Rasta man but with a crazy back story. Drefi is a huge guy who probably weighed 250 pounds and had huge hands. Years ago, he told us he was a gangster who lead a neighborhood gang that fought other gangs. He had changed his life and was doing his best to learn the gospel. Our lessons with Drefi were some of the most spiritual lessons of my whole mission. Like Rasta man, he would memorize the brochures before the lessons and then recite them to us word for word.
3. Daniel
Daniel was a modern miracle member. His conversion story could be put in the Ensign. He had been studying with the Jehovah’s Witnesses for 7 years but was not satisfied with what they taught. He was on the internet one day when he saw an advertisement for the Book of Mormon. He clicked on it and wrote that he wanted one. He then received a call from the Temple Square sister missionaries who sent him a Book of Mormon via the missionaries in Douala, Cameroon. The next time the missionaries came to follow up with him 2 weeks later, he had already finished the entire Book of Mormon. He had said he knew the Book of Mormon was true as soon as he saw the subtitle, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Daniel was then baptized and received the Melchizedek priesthood just 6 months later and then became the branch Elder’s Quorum President immediately after.
4. Jean-Pierre
We were contacting in a neighborhood when we saw Jean-Pierre raking his leaves. We asked him if we could help and he chuckled and said no thanks. We gave him a brochure and said that we would come visit him later. When we came to visit him he wasn’t there nor was he there a second or third time. We finally got to to teach him two weeks later. He had read the brochure we gave him and he was super interested. He said he had never heard of a prophet named Joseph Smith before and that he wanted to learn more. We gave him the Book of Mormon and when we taught him next he had read up to 1 Nephi 8.
Every time we taught him, he asked us questions and we answered them. It was amazing. This was in the beginning of my mission and he was the first person I taught that was this interested. Jean-Pierre was very intelligent and humble and eager to learn more with lots of faith. He was baptized and immediately was called as a Sunday School teacher. He taught his first lesson just 2 weeks after being baptized and did great. He was then called as Second Counselor in the Sunday School presidency and later became Ward Clerk.
5. Michael
We were in Douala trying to find less active members and we found a contact in our phone called Michael NP (less-active). We probably called him 4 times a week and he never picked up. Finally, I called him after saying a prayer and he picked up but didn’t set an appointment with us because he was too busy. We set up an appointment with him after about a month of trying. We met with him and it turns out he was actually very down to earth and spiritual we taught him about being sealed in the temple with his less active wife. He committed that he would go to the temple as soon as possible. He then came to Church for the first time in 5 years the next Sunday, and brought his wife too and kids too. He was then called as a Sunday School teacher in the branch.
6. Besherel
Besherel was a member missionary machine. While I was with him he helped 4 of his friends be baptized into the church. He was with us almost everyday in the neighborhood going up and down showing us his friends and having us teach them. We would teach Besherel from Preach My Gospel after church on Sundays so that he could perfect his teaching skills. I would go on splits with him while my comp was with another member and let him teach his friends and new investigators. He was amazing.
7. Paul
Paul was baptized in 2002 with his wife and was one of the pioneer members of the Church in Douala. He was the first counselor in the first branch in Douala and was active until 2010 when his wife died in a car accident and then he stopped coming to Church. He hadn’t been to Church in 10 years when we started teaching him again. He said that when the missionaries tried to reach out to him in the past he would ignore them but felt that now was the time he should come back to Church. We taught him about the importance of being sealed in the temple and that he could be sealed to his deceased wife. That very first lesson, he said that he would do all in his power to prepare to go to the temple and become active again. Two weeks later he came to Church with his fiancée and he is still preparing to go to the Nigeria temple.
8. Mabonzo
Mabonzo was on the board of directors of another church but left when he noticed that they weren’t using their tithing money honestly. I contacted him once with one companion then 5 weeks later I taught him a lesson with another companion. We casually invited him to Church not thinking that he would come. That Sunday after Church we saw him outside the building. He said, “I am here because I need the Book of Mormon.” He told us that he had prayed to Angel Moroni that he would give him the Book of Mormon. We were amazed and super glad that he was so excited to have the Book of Mormon. He was really smart and really wanted to learn about the gospel. Our gospel lessons were marvelous because he would understand everything we taught him fast and even before his baptism we would go deep into things like the Doctrine and Covenants with him. He was later baptized by my companion after I left the area.
9. Pavel
Pavel was an ex-pastor for a big rich church. He was making lots of money and had a car but he felt what the church was teaching wasn’t true and he left his job and car to seek the truth. He found the church and knew that it was true. He worked with us every single Saturday for about 5 months teaching. He knew the Bible better than anyone. Although he was young in the church, he could teach any lesson just using the Bible. He was a pro and major help to us.
10. Norbert
Norbert was a super awesome guy and a true convert to the gospel. He used to be a big drinker and smoker before we started teaching him but the first time he saw me he said that he would never drink or smoke again. Another one of our investigators, Fr. Fiacre, a police chief that worked in a police station in our sector, said that before we started teaching Fr. Norbert that he was drunk all the time and was smoking but that once we starting teaching him he stopped drinking and was living a good life. I was touched that other people were noticing the change in our investigator’s lives and it was showing the truthfulness of our message. Before Fr. Norbert was baptized, he told us about a dream that he had. He said that his father who had died when he was a child and that he never knew, came to him in the dream and told him that the path that he was following with us the missionaries is the right path and that he was proud of him. Fr. Norbert would also read the Book of Mormon for 5 hours a day. When he was tired of reading the BOM he would read the Ensign. He would walk everywhere with the Book of Mormon and would teach his neighbors and friends.
