Home from Cameroon

It is hard to believe that I (Al) was in Yaounde, Cameroon West Africa just a week ago! I traveled there as part of a team of twenty people with CWE. Most of the team was made up of medical personnel. Three members of the team and myself made up the Evangelism Team. We went to remote villages outside of Yaounde, set up Medical Clinics, dealt with medical and dental needs, passed out glasses and shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with over a thousand people. 750 of those people responded favorably to the Gospel and trusted our Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior! It was a long, tiring journey but a journey well worth taking. Many of you, reading this bog, prayed for us. Thank you! Your prayers made the difference.

The team was well the entire time (no physical issues). The team worked togther as a well oiled machine. The weather was awesome (not too hot, not too cold, not too dry, not too wet ... just right!). Who among you prayed for "Goldilocks" Weather?

Meet the Team

We left Tampa on Friday

and arrived in Yaounde Saturday evening

with ALL of our luggage! Those of you who have

made trips like this know how crucial that is!

Sunday morning we worshipped

in a local church.

Getting ready to load up for our first clinic

The local organization we worked with in Cameroon.

We stayed in the dormintories of a Seminary

connected with this clinic.

Each morning we packed up

to go to a remote village. We drove over an hour

to most villages - over three to one!

Few roads were paved.

Fortunately, it did not rain!

Each morning, after we set up and before

we opened the clinc,

we met out front to pray.

Time to go to work

One of our Evangelists, Chris,

presenting the Gospel

Villagers waiting to be seen.

This ladies family brought her

to the clinic on a cart. I shared the

Gospel with her in the courtyard

and prayed with her as she

recieved Christ as her Savior.

We always had lots of help loading and

unloading the vans at each clinic site.

I thought my son-in-law would appreciate

this addition being added to this house.

No building codes here and not typical

construction for this village.

Still glad it didn't rain! These roads

are not fun when they are wet. Dr.

Smith told us that last year they had to

get out and walk so the van could

make it up some of the hills!

Typical housing in the villages.

Village kitchen. How would you like

to have to cook here?

Waiting to be seen.

One of the Medical teams seeing a patient.

Some of the people came early and they

all waited patiently to be seen.

Al sharing the Gospel

Fitting Reading Glasses

Medical Team

Dental Team

This was an incredible trip. God has been so kind and good to us to allow us, at this stage of our lives, to do those things most dear to us. We are home in Tampa but not for long. I go to Texas and a short visit to see relatives in Louisiana next week. We will leave for Israel Sept. 1st for two months at the Garden Tomb. Thank you for praying for us in our many Mission indeavors - please keep praying.

Yaounde, Cameroon West Africa!

Wait a minute... didn't you just go to the Philippines?

Yes... and now Al is going to Cameroon West Africa.



A Christian organization that we have worked with in the past, Construction for Worldwide Evangelism (CWE) http://cwe-missions.org/medical2009-cameroon.htm, built a clinic just outside Yaounde ten years ago. CWE is sending a team of doctors, dentists, nurses and evangelists (20 in all) to work in the clinic along side the national doctor that runs the clinic for a week. One of the evangelists was unable to go at the last minute and Al is taking his place. The Tampa portion of the team leaves for NYC on Friday July 31st, where we will meet up with team members from several other parts of the country and on to Cameroon.

The Medical team will be dealing with patients. Al and three other evangelists will share the gospel with each patient.

The people of Cameroon

Cameroon is just South of Nigeria

and next door to Chad in West Africa

Little country church...

It's all about the people folks!

You can pray for us.

1. It will be very hot, pray that we, air condition addicts, will be able to tolerate the heat without ac.
2. Pray for the medical team that they will be abled to treat many and correctly.
3. Pray that many people will come to the clinic.
4. Pray for the evangelists that they will communicate the gospel clearly and that many will respond to our Savior.
5. Pray for the team... twenty people from several different parts of the country. Pray that we will work well together, be united in what we are doing for the cause of Christ and that we would stay well.

This is an exciting opportunity for Al and he is looking forward to the trip.

Tampa Update

Not to be outdone by our Texas Townsends... we have our own ducks!!! As of today - just a pair. Any day now we expect to see a flock of little ones on the pond... I'm going to send them over to Texas to roost on Tracy's house!

We have finished painting the house! Well, almost. We still have some trim and a little touch up to do. But you can't tell unless you look very carefully. Steve and I are voting to wait until it cools down some. Judy is not seeing it as we do!

NO, Steve and I did not do those high places... Our son-in-law, Ryan, and our friend Merl Sperling came over and did those. Merl did the high places in the front.

Ryan got stuck with the awful back side on top of the screen porch. Not sure he will ever forgive me for tricking him into that, but I am forever thankful for his help. There is still a little trim up there Ryan and I still have some trim paint (inspite of the fact that you threw most of it on the ground!) :-) --- Thankfully it was paint that hit the ground and not Ryan. I'm not sure I could deal with Carly for hurting her daddy.

Special shout out to all the help I had painting the house. Our neighbors want to hire you, I am officially retired!

Home from the Philippines

We are home in Tampa after a successful trip to the Philippines where we teamed with a group of students from the Medical School of the University of Tennessee in Memphis. We broke up into two teams and ministered in six villages on the Island of Tingloy where we saw over 2,000 patients. Our team, along with two of the UT students saw over a thousand people. Each of them heard the gospel, had an opportunity to respond to Christ and had either dental and or medical needs met.

Waiting to see the Doctor after hearing the Gospel

Judy and her translator

Our days were long, it was hot and the bugs were many!
But Judy still hung in there!!


and loved every minute of it.
OK maybe she didn't LOVE the roaches...

Dr. Rao & patient.

Nipa hut on the water.

We traveled by boat each day to the village we were working in and spent the day there.

Your missionaries survived!

Note the volcano in the background.

Two of our UT students working with Dr. Reid.

Al presenting the Gospel.

Dr. Emma Ocampo sharing her testimony at church Sunday morning.

Dr. O and her husband, Oscar, were born in the Philippines and currently live in Tampa.

Part of our Sunday morning worship service. We met outside. Al was especially thankful for this opportunity because he was saved in the Philippines back in 1962.

Pastor Isaac translating the message Al preached.

We are thankful for the opportunity that was ours to visit the Philippines and serve God there. The people are incredibly friendly and very thankful for everything. The trip was long (over 24 hours of travel each way), it was hot, God opened doors of opportunity and the team worked well together. And best of all ... God blessed! People were saved, the local pastors were thrilled and anxious to do follow up. Praise God!

Philippines Bound

Team Philippines:

Megan Ocampo, Rajanie Rao, RN, Oscar Ocampo, Emma Ocampo, MD, Ray Reid, DDS, Ann Reid, Ann Rao, RN, Bala Rao, MD, Judy Melton, RN, Al Melton, Rev.

It is Mission Trip time...

We leave Tampa for the Philippines Thursday Morning at 7:00 AM. Seventeen hours later we arrive in Manila - ready for bed. Al will be preaching Sunday morning in Lippa. We will move to the Island of Tingloy, south of Luzon, on Monday where we will visit several villages where there is no gospel witness. We have two Medical Doctors, one Dentist, three Nurses, one Dental Assistant, and three Evangelists in our team.

We will meet medical and dental needs, as we can, in villages where there are no medical services available. Our Evangelists will present the gospel to people that come for medical help. Our goal is to help our local Missionary establish a church on Tingloy. Prayerfully, our Evangelistic efforts will give him a base to work with in the future.

We will return to Tampa on Sunday June 14th.

You can help us by praying. Please do so!

Back in Florida! (for a few days...)

Our daughters have complained that we have not been doing a very good job keeping our blog up to date and I agree. We have been very busy. The yard (garden for our Brit friends) was a wreck when we got back from Israel. Major freeze damage and lots of bushes to cut back and trim up and an area of lawn that had to be dug out and re sodded. Looking good now.

I remodeled the family bath and our son and I have been painting the house but that has been postponed by torrential rain (much needed so no complaints) and Judy and I just took a week long trip to New Hampshire where we hung out with old friends in Vermont for lunch

We visited friends in Southbridge, Massachusetts from our former church

spent time with my brother



planted our rock garden at our oldest daughter's house. This project began 3 years ago when our son-in-law, Tim, had the stonewall built and I planted it for them. I have enjoyed our annual project and this year, I especially enjoyed planting with my helper, our grand daughter, Amanda!


We spent time with our family and in general had a wonderful time.

We are back in Tampa. Our middle daughter and grand daughter are coming Friday for a week and we leave June 4th for the Philippines for a medical/evangelism missions trip. We will not be slowing down this week: dental appointment, Dr.'s appointments, wedding, ballgame and lots of playing with the grandkids. Hopefully in there somewhere we will get a little painting done as well!

At Home in Tampa, FL

We are at home in Tampa, FL enjoying grand kids, kids, pleasant days and our home church. Lots of work to do to "sort out the garden" as our Brit friends would say. We had some severe killing frost in Tampa while we were in Israel. Extensive damage but nothing we cannot survive. Several bushes and palms cut way back. We only lost two hibiscus. Need rain desperately.

But here's the real reason we are glad to be home... and why we live in Florida... grandkids and sunshine! Swim Team time for the youngest grandkids -

and Al is loving his new camera!

The kids enjoying their favorite pastime ... hanging out at Grammy's!

Does anyone in Israel recognize the hat?

Grammy, can I have an ice cream cone?

One ice cream cone coming right up!