So What Was It Like Over There, Then?

The Story of an ELCA Missionary to Cameroon

Mark Lewellyn Nygard

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9798385285334
  9798385285341
• eBook ISBN:
  9798385285358
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religious Biographies

The missionary vocation of the church draws a mixed review. Some see it as central to their life of faith; others view it as covert colonialism. Often enough, such opinions are based on fictional accounts or minimal information. Few people, in fact, are able to describe in any detail what even one missionary actually does.

This book sets out to address this deficiency. It risks opening up a missionary story for examination and critique. From the sense of calling to feet-on-the-ground activity to the decision to return to the States, it intends to offer sufficient data and sufficient ambiguity to equip readers to wonder about the enterprise and their views of it in a fresh way.

It is true that every missionary experience is different. Yet, something about the spirit of this account expects that it will be broadly representative of the work of one mainline denomination, that of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the US, as it sought to live out its mission responsibility with its partner churches in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Prologue: The Call
• 1. Getting Ready
• 2. Learning French
• 3. Meeting Africa
• 4. Beginning the Work
• 5. Traveling for the Region
• 6. Teaching in the Bible School
• 7. Pastoring the Tcholliré District
• 8. Raising a Family in Africa
• 9. Relating to the United States
• 10. Returning Home
• Conclusion: Thinking about What Happened
• Glossary of Terms and Names
• Appendix A: Students at the Centre de Formation Biblique at Tcholliré
• Appendix B: Teachers at the Centre de Formation Biblique at Tcholliré, 1980–1990
• Appendix C: The Missionary Family
• Bibliography