The 5th Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, the very Rev Doctor Asana Festus Ambe who passed on to eternity peacefully in the United States of America has been described by many people both the laity and clergy as a pastor of par excellence. Having spent decades serving in God’s vineyard diligently as a pastor of the Church, the very Rev Doctor Asana Festus Ambe molded lots of minds spiritually irrespective of sex or tribe.
In an exclusive chat with Hilltopvoices Communication Group Ltd, a lecturer of the Cameroon Christian University Institute, Rev Doctor YEELE Marceline herself a theologian, who sprang to prominence thanks to the steadfast commitment and benevolence of Rev Doctor Asana, recounted her life changing encounters with Rev Doctor Asana Festus Ambe. Meeting with Rev Doctor Asana for the first time may not have been that very significant but it laid a solid foundation for a bright future and hope.
“I first meet Pa Asana in 2001 when I enrolled as a student in the Presbyterian Theological Seminary Kumba”, she recalled at the time when Rev Doctor Asana Festus Ambe was the Synod Clerk of the PCC.
A few years after her life as a student of Theology was taking another dimension. She got admission to Trinity Theological College Ghana. To seek consent and permission to travel to Ghana, Rev Doctor YEELE Marceline had to report to the Synod Office of the PCC. That was her first time meeting personally with Rev Doctor Asana Festus Ambe who was the Synod Clerk at the time on a close range sitting with him in his office in 2006. A meeting that left indelible marks in her life.
A very high ranking official of the largest indigenous Church in Cameroon, faced a young dedicated and determined pastor ready to further her education. Rev Doctor YEELE could not believe the warm reception accorded her by one of the most senior leaders of the PCC.
“He warmly received me, greeted me in Lamnso’. I was shocked,
surprised”. Curiosity drew the better part of her. Humility and understanding
which are part and parcel of the character of Rev Doctor Asana Festus Ambe were
released through those words flawlessly articulated in YEELE’s mother tongue. A
Pastor not just for survival but one bent on transforming lives both from the
pulpit and from the office. The greetings equally demonstrated, compassion,
empathy, love, humility that were part of the person, Rev Doctor Asana Festus. In
the words of Rev Doctor YEELE Marceline, PA Asana “always had a pastoral
approach to issues” . For a pastor who was able to learn Lamnso’ decades ago to
humble himself that far, that gave Rev Doctor YEELE Marceline the strength and
courage to continue with her pursuit for more knowledge. As she recounted her
path with the Rev Doctor Asana Festus Ambe she posits that remarkable foot
prints have been left by the very Rev Doctor Festus Ambe Asana. She believes
the fallen theologian is a rare product of modern life.
Living a humble life may not be recognized by those who seek for notice at every little action but for those who value humility it is recognized every minute. At two different occasions the Rev Doctor Asana made the unusual become usual. For an unordained pastor of the PCC to be authorized to go for further studies out of the country is completely unusual. Aspiring theologian Rev Doctor YEELE Marceline stood before the Synod Clerk of the PCC ready to face the future but that future could be hampered by human barriers within the Church.
Reason took the better part of the Synod Clerk and he after consulting with the Moderator of the PCC authorized Rev Doctor YEELE Marceline to study at the Trinity Theological College Ghana. The unusual became usual. At that moment, Rev Doctor YEELE saw a Pastor who carried God in his daily activities. Her challenges were far from over. Faced with the difficult equation of either spending two years in Ghana and coming back to Cameroon to graduate with her juniors who were two years younger than her in the Presbyterian Theological Seminary, or paying her flight back to Cameroon for the ordination before going back to school in Ghana, Rev Doctor YEELE Marceline again turned to the Synod Clerk of the PCC, Rev Doctor Asana Festus who dared again.
“I was in Ghana in 2006 and that was the ordination year for
my batch. My batch mates were to be ordained in December 2006 and I was already
in Ghana. The December Wednesday that was scheduled for the ordination, I was
having exams. So I spoke to Rev Doctor Asana at the time and informed him that I
will miss ordination because I didn’t have flight tickets to come back home and
be part of the ordinance. I spoke with him that he should recommend to the
Presbyterian Church of Ghana so that I can be ordained in Ghana so that I will
not spend two years in Ghana and come back and be ordained with people who are
two years behind me,”
It was a defining and
challenging moment for her future. What transpired next shaped her thoughts
about Rev Doctor Asana.
“So Pa Asana concerted with the Moderator the Right Rev Nyansako ni-Nku at the time and they wrote an official letter to the Presbyterian Church of Ghana asking them to ordain me. When the Presbyterian Church of Ghana received the letter they accepted to ordain me and wrote back to the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon. So the Presbyterian Church of Ghana ordained me while I was studying in Ghana that was in June 2007.”
It is often common to come across humans who speak from self-interest, greed, fear, or past pain. But Rev Doctor YEELE Marceline encountered an exceptional pastor. One who would not relent any effort to build a younger colleague.
He put pen to paper for her good. When a man carries God, he
becomes a gift to his generation. Rev Doctor Asana Festus Ambe was surely a
gift to many aspiring theologians. Rev Doctor YEELE’s case is certainly a
microcosm within a macrocosm of cases that Rev Doctor Asana Festus Ambe
handled. Rev Doctor Asana Festus was as she put it always welcoming;
“I came home for holidays and presented my ordination
certificate, my ordination stool and gown to the Rev Doctor Asana who was the
Synod Clerk of the Church. He received my documents and saw my regalia and he
was satisfied”
Back from Ghana she served as a chaplain with PGSS Limbe, at
the time when Rev Doctor Asana was elected to head the Presbyterian Church of
Cameroon as Moderator. But Rev Doctor Asana was still looking for better ways
of the Church exploiting what Rev Doctor YEELE Marceline acquired from Ghana
and thus Rev Doctor YEELE Marceline was appointed by the Rev Doctor Asana
Festus as lecturer of Presbyterian Theological Seminary Kumba in the year 2012.
These years of interacting with Rev Doctor Asana left positive footprints on
the mind of Rev Doctor YEELE Marceline.
“My experiences with Pa Asana have been very eye opening and
rewarding. He always have a Pastoral approach to issues.” Rev Doctor YEELE affirms
that Pa Asana followed the footprints of Jesus Christ. Every activity commenced
with prayers.
“The first thing Pa Asana does when you enter in his office
is that he prays. And he shares experiences that require that you should keep
praying for the Church. He is always counseling in the discussions that present
before him.” She posited that Pa Asana believed whole sale on the power of prayers.
“He will tell you there is nothing that prayers cannot accomplish”.
To him the success of the Church was thanks to the many faithful Christians who
were praying. With these living examples of the life of 5th
Moderator of the PCC, Rev Doctor YEELE summed up Rev Doctor Asana Festus in the
following words;
Pa Asana was a Pastor par example. He relied on scripture
and the counsel of God to analyze situations and to give wise counsel. He was
prayerful. Always encouraging with a scripture verse he shared for you to rely
on.
Strikingly enough one of the scripture verse Rev Doctor
YEELE Marceline can remember is John chapter 15 verse 16, which states that God
is the one who has chosen you. And He had chosen you to bear fruits. Coincidentally
when she was being ordained in Ghana that was the scripture that the Moderator of
the Presbyterian Church in Ghana used when he laid hands on her.
Confidently without any iota of fear or favor, Rev Doctor
YEELE Marceline believes Rev Doctor Asana shaped her life.
“Pa Asana has guided my ministry, he has supported me in
various ways. He paved the way for me to go to Ghana without being ordained because
it was unusual in the PCC to send out an unordained pastor for further studies
but with his negotiation with the hierarchy of the Church I was granted
permission to go and study. With his influence and negotiation again I was
ordained in Ghana by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. I consider it a
particular privilege knowing somebody like Pa Asana, very unassuming, very
intelligent, very level headed, very Pastoral and full of wisdom. Not just the
PCC is going to miss an icon but society as a whole will miss
“an astute pastor and counselor. He has set an example of
humility in ministry for many of us”. She concludes with the lesson learned
from the Rev Doctor Asana
“I have learned that no matter how high I go I should be
very humble. This is a lesson that I will carry throughout my life and
ministry. Pa Asana was never showing off he was a Pastor par example. I believe
that this is the legacy that he left in the Church. A legacy of humility. A
legacy of Pastoral wisdom, a legacy of building up others so that they can
stand in their own continue to build others. I will miss Pa Asana I believe
that where he is the Angels are looking at him and smiling”. And surely they
are smiling.
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