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Mbinglo Mee Nsodu |
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Books and Projects:
Drama behind the Church Sign
Board
Black Angels in the White Man's
Country
Research and Counselling Foundation for African
Migrants (RECFAM)
Contact: mehnsodu@yahoo.com |
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Mbinglo Mee Nsodu
was born into the royal family of Nso, Bui Division, North West
Province (Bamenda) Republic of Cameroon. He worked as the director
and manager of Shalaver cultural troupe in Kimbo, Nso. His first
international outing with the troupe was at Cape Coast, Ghana, where
he participated in the National Festival of Arts and Culture,
(NAFAC96). After returning home (Cameroon) the Lord commissioned him
to research into the West African churches. This has resulted in the
book Drama Behind the Church the
Signboard.
The publication has met with an international
success and has made Nsodu to visit Europe in the summer of 2003.
There he presented his finding at the Centre for
African Studies of the University of Basel and has
preached in various churches in Switzerland, Germany and the
Netherlands where he also do a radio programme with RECOGIN FM 103.8
Cable and 105.2 Ether in Amsterdam. His manifold experiences will be
reflected in his forthcoming book Black Angels in the White Man's
Country.
Nsodu is presently working at Fountain Gate Chapel,
Accra-Ghana, the church which he is understudying. As a missionary
he has been testifying, preaching and teaching the Gospel of Our
Lord Jesus Christ. |
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Drama Behind the Church
Sign Board |
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ISBN 9988-0-0899-6
Order this book
from mehnsodu@yahoo.com
Go to:
Mbinglo Mee Nsodu's homepage
Black Angels in the White Man's
Country |
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Thousands of new Church signboards have
sprung up along the streets in Ghana and within the West African
sub-region within the last three decades. Many of the names make
interesting reading and often strike a chord with catchy and
attractive messages. They constitute a direct and picturesque
representation of encounters with leaders and members, indeed key
players and my personal involvement in over 2000 churches mainly in
Ghana and a few in Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin Republic, Nigeria,
Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire.
The desire to make a follow-up and to
appreciate what these signboards point to has revealed an
interesting drama that goes on behind the façade of these
signboards. Some are biblically and worth experiencing, while others
are not only man's creation, but also deceitful, and soul-damning.
One may easily and unjustifiably write off many churches that are
not in one's line of faith persuasion or be easily deceived into
thinking that God is in every assembly of people called
'church'.
However, these churches are as varied as
they are similar: Differences in doctrine, rituals and emphasis
abound. Consequently, their leaders are sometimes very critical of
each other. In the ensuing rivalry, they resort to open verbal
attacks on one another and their doctrines and rituals.
Observers and seekers as individuals are
therefore often at a loss as to which church can provide a safe
place for worship and nurture their faith. Many of the observers and
seekers have turned out to be wanderers, moving from one church to
another, not knowing what to look out for in determining a good
church. This frantic search raises the question of whether the
churches are really needed, as we have been made to
believe. 'Drama Behind the Church Signboard' lays bare the 'modus
operandi', practices, and faith systems of many churches across the
board. Some of the revelations may be received as a shock, but the
author encourages the readers to continue the reading to the end, so
that they can compare what they discover with the uniform blueprint
of the Holy Bible.
The book also reveals the reasons for the
exodus of people from one church to another, the calling of pastors
and why many churches are mushrooming, while others are losing their
membership. The question arises, can a church save? A recipe is
provided. Get on board the reading vehicle for a journey with the
LORD and assess the 'Drama Behind the Church
Signboard'.
This is a sincere account of an extraordinary
Odyssey by the author in search for the 'Way the Truth and the
Life'. In a simple and straight forward manner, Nsodu goes beyond
the claims of church billboards and unearths the genuineness or
otherwise of the claims. The book is a must for all true
seekers in these days when all sorts of practices are claimed to be
true Christianity all over the world. I highly recommend this
book. Rev. Dr. Samuel S. Quarcoopome, Deputy Head
and Head of History and Politics, Institute of African Studies,
University of Ghana, Legon. |
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Black Angels in the
White Man's Country |
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ISBN 9988-0-2436-3
Order this book
from mehnsodu@yahoo.com
Go to:
Mbinglo Mee Nsodu's homepage
Drama behind the Church Sign
Board
Order this book from: mehnsodu@yahoo.com |
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“Black Angels in
Europe”, a continuation of “Drama Behind the Church Signboard”,
reveals the important role that the church plays in the exodus of
Africans, including the so called world-wide evangelists and
ministers, to Europe and to the rest of the first world
countries.
It uncovers the untold
hardships such persons endure ranging from frauds, worldliness,
deceit, hypocrisy, murders, love of money to loss of vision and many
more. The lessons to be learned from these experiences shall help to
reshape the vision, status focus and development of the church.
In the first place the book aims at those concerned by the
topic: Christians and youth in West Africa and in the Diaspora. It
is also an interesting resource to sociologists, anthropologists,
theologians and NGOs dealing with migration and Diaspora
communities.
This
is a useful attempt by an African missionary to draw attention to
the problems associated with a current unbridled phenomenon of
migration of Africans to Western countries in search of greener
pastures. The issues raised by Mbinglo Nsodu are by no means
exhaustive, but the book is still helpful. Those interested in the
debate on teh place and role of Local and Diaspora African Churches
in migration will find it particularly
informative.
Kwabena
Asamoa-Gyadu
Assistant
Professor of Religion and Pentecostalism, Trinity Theological
Seminary, Legon, Ghana. |
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Research and Counselling
Foundation for African Migrants
(RECFAM) |
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Mbinglo Meh Nsodu preaching in the African Christian
Church of Hamburg, Germany on July 13th 2003. Picture by Erika
Eichholzer.
Go to:
Mbinglo Mee Nsodu's homepage
Drama behind the Church Sign
Board
Black Angels in the White Man's
Country
For further information and
comments on RECFAM contact: mehnsodu@yahoo.com |
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The idea that the Western world (or the
urban areas) is a paradise for anybody who wishes to migrate for
greener pastures, is far from the truth. In truth the experience of
a migration, which is not purposeful and honourable to ones self
esteem, is often painful and wasteful. This applies not only to the
migrants but also to their families and countries.
Africans travel for many reasons. These
include marriage, education, career accomplishments, money etc.
These seem to be all good reasons to migrate. What is disturbing,
however, is the idea that we can succeed only through migration.
Even when African’s migrate for the right reasons, mediocrity seems
to set in and the stay abroad lacks purpose and focus. The long term effects this mindset
has had on our families, countries and our continent seem more
negative than positive. We send monies home, but is that
enough…?
As Mbinglo Nsodu puts it in his book ‘Black
angels in the White man’s country’,
... many millionaires and intellectuals of
Africa are deceived to go to
Europe (and abroad) in search of better
opportunities only to be trapped in unbearable circumstances. Many
African countries are paying dearly for the brain drain ... (Nsodu
2004: xvi)
As Professor Andam, Vice Chancellor of the
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, also
adds
Nations are built with brains and not with
absentee dollar remittances’ ( 11 Sept 2004, Ghana’s Daily
Graphic Newspaper)
Africans blame their governments for bad
governance and the inability to create opportunities for growth.
Yet, even when good opportunities for such growth exist in their
countries, Africans do not see them. Most are only looking to travel
abroad at all cost for ‘better paid jobs’, in the meantime other
nationals benefit in their own home countries under the same
conditions and Africans get poorer still spiritually and
materially.
According to Nsodu
If we can identify our potential and our
natural endowments, ... it will just be wonderful to think of
Africans exporting their virtues and wonderful culture to other
parts of the world (Nsodu 2004:22)
These sobering thoughts motivated the
creation of RECFAM, a non-profit foundation. Its goal is to play an
important role in restoring the honour of Africans and reduce brain
drain for effective national and continental development. It intends
to eradicate the phenomenon of intellectuals and non-
intellectuals of Africa
trapped into menial jobs abroad in the name of struggle for survival
and success. This
it will do through research, counselling, education, advocacy
and providing practical support to African
migrants:
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those who wish to travel,
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those who are distressed,
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and those who wish to come back to their
home countries. |
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