Following the death of the President of the Cameroonian Baptist Union (UEBC), Frédéric Ngaka Epoundé, on May 19th, pastor Linda Koroma from Sierra Leone also died of Covid-19 on May 27th.
Linda Koroma: A Great Leader And Pastor
Linda has been connected with EBM INTERNATIONAL all her life. In the 1970s, her father, Pastor Mans, was instrumental in founding the Baptist Union in Sierra Leone (BCSL), which laid the foundation for the cooperation with EBM INTERNATIONAL. Linda herself later worked as a teacher at the BCSL school in Mambolo. Here she also met Christoph Haus for the first time, who completed a voluntary service in Sierra Leone in 1984, and is now the General Secretary of EBM INTERNATIONAL.
Also in her later high-ranking positions for various organizations Linda always remained closely connected to her church and us as mission. From 2004-2007, she was significantly involved in the restructuring process of EBM INTERNATIONAL in the founded task force and in 2008, she was the first African woman to be elected to the board of directors of EBM INTERNATIONAL, to which she belonged until 2016. Only a few months ago, Linda accepted the appointment as main pastor of the Regent Road Baptist Church in Freetown, the oldest Baptist church on the African continent (founded in 1776).
We wish Linda’s family God’s comfort and know they are in God’s hands. The BCSL is losing a great leader and visionary and we are all losing a faithful friend.
Frédéric Ngaka Epoundé: From Graduate Of The Ndiki Seminary To President Of The Cameroon Baptist Union
Frédéric Ngaka Epoundé was acting president of his church and thus also an important contact for all mission projects in Cameroon.
Pastor Ngaka had a connection to EBM INTERNATIONAL for decades: From 1979-1983, he visited the Theological Seminary in Ndiki, which we continue to support faithfully to this day. Many missionaries have worked at the Bible school. He had a powerful relationship with our former missionary Erhard Ilchmann until the end. The two met at the mission council in Bülach 2019. Erhard writes: “Frédéric was – as far as I remember – the son of the boss of Ndokbou, a small village in the middle of the forest, which we could only reach by a walk of 8 hours through the forest. He was friendly and recognized among his comrades”.
We mourn with the family and the whole UEBC who lost a pastor and leader who was passionately committed.
We are grateful for the great support we keep receiving these days: We appreciate the cooperation with the BEFG, we are touched by all requests and prayers, and we are grateful for the selfless financial help received for the people affected by the Corona pandemic.
Donations for the EBM Corona aid and for the general missionary work are still needed. All information and donation possibilities are available at www.ebm-international.org/spenden.
