by So you just got called to serve in Central Africa and you’ve got some questions. You’ve come to the right place. This article will help you know what to expect when you’re there.
1. Is the missionary allowance enough to eat well?
The missionary support money (called “soutien”) when I was in the mission was about $80 every three weeks. The apartment of elders would pool $20 each to buy $80 worth of groceries for those 3 weeks which feed us for dinner. With the support money we could also have enough to buy breakfast and lunch and eat out like once every 2 weeks or so. If you want to have enough money to splurge for holidays and birthdays or buy Western food at the supermarkets you have to bring a personal credit card. There are lots of ATMs in the area and you can withdraw money fine.
2. Is there enough food to eat in Central Africa?
Yes. There is more than enough food to eat. You will be serving in big cities so there will be huge markets and supermarkets that have all the food you would ever need. When I got to the mission, I was surprised to see that there were little stores on almost every street that sold snacks and, bread, eggs, milk etc and we would go to these stores in our areas to get a sandwich and some soda for lunch.
3. Is the food good in the mission?
Yes, the food in Congo and Cameroon is good. I wrote an article about the food here. I really loved it and wrote an article about my 10 ten foods I miss in the mission. But just to cover some of them here would be fufu, mangoes, baguettes with chocolate sauce, and fried plantains.
3. Will I get robbed?
Good question. Congo and Cameroon are poor, that is a fact except something interesting about these two countries that I remarked is that there is not a lot of organized crime or gang activity that happens there. Things are generally very peaceful and crime is few and far in between. So I could walk outside by myself at night in any city in those countries and feel safe even as a white person. Even my mission president at the time said he never knew a missionary who was ever mugged and that it was safe to work at night. I did heard of two instances of people breaking in to missionary apartments and stealing their cameras, wallets but the mission has improved the missionary apartments to prevent people from breaking in.
4. Is the water safe to drink?
No, the tap water in the area is not safe to drink but the mission has water purifiers in all the apartments that make it drinkable. Sometimes the apartment tap water will stop flowing so you have to buy bottled water in the stores. You can find safe bottled water in the stores that are everywhere.
5. Is the wildlife dangerous?
Apparently some people think that the wildlife in Africa will attack them while they are there. Luckily, in the Congo and Cameroon missions you will only serve in urban areas that are super far from the jungle and you will never get close to any animal life. The only live animals I saw in my areas were friendly stray dogs. I did see a lot of dead wild animal that were sold in the markets like dead monkeys, pythons, crocodiles, bats, and small jungle cats.
6. Will I get malaria?
It was rare for missionaries to get malaria when I was there. I only knew two missionaries who got it. If you take the anti-malarial pills you will be safe. I didn’t take my anti-malarial pills when I got home from the mission and got malaria and you can read about that here.
7. Do we have to wash our clothes by hand or are there washing machines?
There are washing machines in every apartment in Congo/Cameroon. Sometimes the water isn’t working or the power in the apartment. In that case you can go to another missionary apartment and do your laundry there. I only washed my clothes by hands once my entire mission.
8. Should I bring a camera?
It depends on you. Every missionary in the mission has a Samsung which has a great camera that works fine. If you do want to bring a camera the camera should be durable enough to withstand the wear and tear of dust and dirt and water from the occasional rainstorm.
9. What shoes should I bring?
The shoes you bring should be very durable and comfortable. I never wore them but return missionaries recommend Ecco shoes. I also wrote other things you should bring in my top 10 things to bring on the mission article.
10. What should I not bring to the mission?
I wrote an article on the Top 10 things you shouldn’t bring to the mission and it will answer all your questions on what not to bring.
Looking for the equipment you need to survive in Africa? Here are the Top 10 things you need to serve your mission in Africa
