It’s always a learning curve when you are living cross-culturally.  You think you have it down and then something will always come up.  We’ve heard this also from people who have lived cross-culturally for 30+ years.  When you don’t have instant access to information and services that we are used to in our passport country, it’s hard to know when you are breaking a law.  We try very hard to ask as many questions as possible and dot the “i’s” and cross the “t’s” but something will not be addressed.  David found this out on his drive to Tombel for the New Testament dedication.  He was stopped many times for this or that without any problems.  He came across a roadside checkpoint stop where about 20 other cars were too.  He was asked where his fire extinguisher was.  He didn’t have and didn’t know it was a law to have one.  He was fined and here you pay on the spot and receive the ticket receipt.

A few weeks after he received this ticket receipt, he spoke with a Cameroonian man, who had just returned from visiting the USA. He is part of the Children Evangelism Fellowship and went to the States for further ministry needs.  He was being hosted and driven around by fellow ministry colleagues when a bad accident happened.  This man was not hurt, but the driver was seriously hurt.  The Cameroonian man started to try and push the vehicle to roll it over upright when all the sudden emergency personnel were on the scene and a helicopter arrived after that to take the man to the hospital.  The Cameroonian man couldn’t believe what he saw because in Cameroon, when you have an accident there aren’t emergency personnel, you are on your own and therefore, that’s why it’s a law to have a fire extinguisher in your vehicle.