The holiday season is all about spreading love, joy, and cheer. And what better way to do that than by celebrating Christmas with children? A Christmas celebration for children can be a magical experience, filled with wonder and excitement. On December 2021, we had our first “Toy for an Angel” event which was a great success. A year later on December 2022, the children still had a great moment receiving gifts and they even also gave some dancing performances!
This year we again commemorated the Month of the Deceased with a 30 day prayer period that lasted from 1st to 30th November. We were praying for the deceased babies and their mothers. On the 2nd of December we had a closing ceremony with a walk to the cemetery in Yaounde-Cameroon.
Dans le but de commencer une conversation (briser le tabou en parlant de l’avortement) sur l’avortement et aussi sauver la vie d’un foetus ou encore juste prier pour un bébé avorté, L4A lance un challenge intitulé“Sauvons une vie” qui durera 30 jours et dans laquelle ses participants seront appelés à faire de petites et simples activités.
Pour y participer, inscrivez vous ici pour rejoindre le groupe.
Being single, we experience many struggles related to our season in life; I have not been spared them. The longing of our hearts for a partner, and the ache, seem sometimes unbearable. If on top of that, you are a single parent, some of these sufferings can be doubled. From the feeling of jealousy and envy to anger and resentment, our emotions fluctuate, and the common question we ask God is: “Why? Why me?” I have learned to stop asking that question, but to be honest, it is hard not to ask it. I am guilty of so many sins during my season of singleness. I have found myself rolling my eyes, and saying in my heart, “Stupid couple” or, “Stupid kissing people,” when encountering people kissing in the park or holding hands, walking together. I hate myself every time I do this, because I know it comes from my deep desire to find a mate, and simply to have somebody to hold my hand while we walk in the park, and much more.
During this challenging time of pandemic and exhaustion, my prayer to God was, “Please help me! Tell me what to do with these feelings.” I was doing midnight prayers for more than a month with a group of friends in a conference call. On June 26, 2020, during one of our prayer sessions, I had what I call a “Holy Spirit moment,” and I wrote a “Litany of the Single State.”
For those who may not be Catholic, a litany is a prayer or form of responsory petition used in public service and private devotion for common necessities, virtues, or praise. It is a form of prayer inspired by the Psalms, and you can read more about it here. I hope this prayer can help us all to draw closer to God, and give us all the strength to face the ups and downs that singlehood brings.
LITANY OF THE SINGLE STATE
Introductory Prayer
My Lord and my savior I come humbly to you , with an open heart and broken spirit. Please remember my prayer and grant me the grace to accept your will so that from today on, I do your will everywhere, always, and in everything.
Part I:
Rep:Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of dying alone, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of never finding a mate, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being rejected again, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of losing relationships, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of losing parenthood, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of disappointing my own parents, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being a failure because of my relationship status, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being unlovable, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of having to go through life’s ups and downs alone, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering loneliness, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of letting go of the past, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of facing spiritual warfare, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of trusting others, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of having to suffer breakup, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being destined for divorce, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of not finding someone who will accept me and my children, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of not being able to provide for my children, Deliver me, Jesus.
PART II
From my pride, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the belief that I am worthless, Deliver me, Jesus.
From all bitterness, jealousy, and envy I feel when I see others getting married and having children, Deliver me, Jesus.
From all the frustrations of single life, Deliver me, Jesus.
From my desperation to find a mate, Deliver me, Jesus.
From my unwillingness to surrender to your will, Deliver me, Jesus.
From my restless love-seeking, Deliver me, Jesus.
From my desire to control everything, Deliver me, Jesus.
From my lack of trust in you, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the belief that I should live free of suffering, Deliver me, Jesus.
From all the lies I feed myself, Deliver me, Jesus.
From all my crippling beliefs and from how I talk to myself, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the selfishness of my prayers that are only focused on my needs, Deliver me, Jesus.
From my codependency and my need for validation, Deliver me, Jesus.
From my obstinacy in finding a mate by any means, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the temptation to falsify my image for the admiration and attraction of others, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the pain of heartbreak, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the belief that I am better, greater, and more beautiful than others, and therefore, should be the one getting married, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the deep sadness I feel when around my friends and family members who are all married, Deliver me, Jesus.
PART III:
Rep:Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will give me a loving heart when others bring into question my singleness, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will help me find meaning and purpose for my life, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you always work for my good, even in this season, Jesus, I trust in you.
That my accepting an unmarried vocation or a season of singleness is not a sign of failure, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will give me a place in your Church when I do not feel that I have one, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will show me how to use the gift of myself to serve others, my community, and my Church, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you feel my longing, that you weep when I weep, that you share my ache, and that you love me nonetheless, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will give me the strength to fight against lust and live a chaste life, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will protect me from enslaving pornographic images that rob me of the truth of my longing, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will remove from my life anybody who wants to use me and take advantage of me, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you still have a plan for me, even if it is not marriage, Jesus, I trust in you.
That all the relationships that I have lost were not a loss, but your way of protecting me, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will help me to forgive myself in your mercy and be free of every cycle of self-judgment and shame, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you can turn my longing for love outward to serve and love others, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will show me ways to turn my focus from myself, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you can uncover the roots of my wounds, and I can be needed, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will help me to accept even these vocations when you call: single life, religious life, ordained or lay ministry, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will still provide me time for my own needs when I provide for the needs of children, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will not forget my financial needs or the material needs of my children, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will give me the wisdom to make good decisions for my children, Jesus, I trust in you.
That my children will never feel the lack of a mother’s care, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you yourself will be the father to my children’s needs, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will lift up a faithful father figure for the life of my child, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will surround me with family and friends who will support me in the raising of my children, Jesus, I trust in you.
That we who are adopted in you, my Christ, will not be abandoned in the world, Jesus, I trust in you.
That even if we are abandoned by the world, our hearts will never abandon you, Jesus, I trust in you.C
When I felt the call to start Light For Angels in December 2016, I remember how passionate and excited I was about our mission. The feeling of knowing I could make a difference in the world and saving lives was so amazing. I felt a sense of purpose although I was at a point in my life where I have accomplished a lot: got a master’s degree in civil engineering, got a job, immigrated to the USA, etc. The idea of impacting women’s life in Cameroon, empowering and helping them see beyond an unplanned pregnancy, and actually achieved their dream was my bread and butter for almost a year. I dreamed Light For Angels, talked only about L4A, googled everything I needed to know about starting a center, drafted a lot of different things from our mission and vision to our business plan, reached out to friends, acquaintances, strangers, emailing a bunch of people to share with them my great idea and seek their help.
As you can imagine, I moved from high excitement to burn out as I realized not everybody liked the idea or was not that passionate about the mission. From my friends who “abandoned” me along the way, to a deacon in church telling me L4A will not work because I am not a nurse and I live far away from Cameroon. From close friend who brought me fake cases of women in crisis and ending up being a scam to pastors asking me to reach out to organizations that actually promote abortion in Cameroon.
I crashed, I cried, I got mad at my friend, I got mad at Jesus. I did not understand why he would give me a mission like this and not provide help and make my path easier. I was jealous of other organizations having board members, volunteers, fundraising events, funding and most importantly the number of women helped was increasing day after day. I was comparing my situation to others. So I stopped working actively for the mission, I took a step back and asked myself: how can I ask a woman facing an unplanned pregnancy that she needs to see beyond her current crisis and I can not practice what I preach? How can I ask a woman to be strong when she is rejected by everybody in her surrounding, has no place to stay, no money, and is pregnant and I can not be strong when facing struggles that come along with starting an organization? What example am I setting for these women?
I decided it was time to be resilient, it was time for me to keep moving forward no matter what. “Give up” must not be part of my vocabulary anymore. I shall persevere and I must remember what was told to me by Barbra Mwansa, founder of Association For Life of Africa (AFLA), “Even if everybody abandons you, God will never abandon you”.
According to Lexico.com, Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. Resilience for me is the ability to develop a mindset that is stronger than what you face in the world, it’s telling yourself: “ I can do it, I am able to do it and the present struggle is only there to train me and give me skills that I never would have had otherwise”. These are the few lessons learned from being resilient over the past few years:
You are better than what you think or what you tell yourself
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness and nobody should be ashamed of not knowing what he/she does not know
Sometimes taking a break is more helpful than trying to fix a problem right away. A break is a renewal process and we all need it
Do not extrapolate a situation or make it worse than it is by creating scenario in your mind
Nothing in this life is easy, nothing
It is better to preach by example than by words
You need to have a support system, people who believe in you and are always there to uplift you and give you a “Pep Talk”
If your work does not draw you closer to God then something must be wrong especially for an organization like L4A
Coming back home and by home I mean the first reason why you started the work you are doing; is where you will find the strength to conquer every situation that comes your way.
Who is/are your model (s)? Do you have any? And if you do follow their path, read their stories, there is at least one person in this world who has overcome what you are going through, Be inspired by them.
Your Goal is your Road map without a map it is difficult to know where we are going and how to get there.
Maps are on a piece of paper/app, hence your goal should be written too
At L4A, our hearts always warmed up when we receive testimonies. This beneficiary decided to share her gratitude with us. Light for Angels ‘s Team also thanks all our donors; this wouldn’t have been possible without you.
Good evening madam, I hope you are well, I want to thank you for your kind attention and your help during this difficult period that I am going through because you have made me smile again. Abandoned to myself with a pregnancy, unemployed, I wondered how I was going to do or even what my child will wear as clothes at birth but thanks to you I found my smile. I am now calm thanks to the layette that you gave me. Really thank you to the whole light for Angel team🙏🙏 God bless you 🙏
Last Saturday, June 27, 2020, Light 4 Angels met with TRAC-KC (Transition Resources and Coaching in Kansas City). The meetup was an occasion for the founder of L4A, Blandine, to present the purpose and activities of L4A as well as history of Cameroon with TRAC-KC team and their attendees.
TRAC-KC is an organization that helps young adults with mild developmental disabilities transition from high school to adulthood. The three main areas the organization focuses on are social skills, life skills, and serving others.
The encounter followed on with the making of many Thank you cards with words of encouragement to women who seek L4A for support. Both associations spent memorable time of sharing .
I would like to thank the association Light For Angels for their support during my pregnancy. I am so moved and feel so blessed. I don’t know what I would have done without them. Thank you so much.
Ornella is a 20 years old Light for Angels beneficiary. Already a mother of two, she was not able to afford another pregnancy after her partner left her. Light For Angels was there for her the whole time and she had a beautiful baby boy. Thank you so much for your donations.
L4A held a series of workshop in seven high schools in the city of Yaounde (Cameroon Capital) during the Youth week to raise awareness on the danger on abortion and discussed alternative solutions and options offered by the association. These workshop were baptized “Embrace Suffering“.
Posted: April 15, 2023 by admin Leave a Comment
A Toy for an Angel – 2022
The holiday season is all about spreading love, joy, and cheer. And what better way to do that than by celebrating Christmas with children? A Christmas celebration for children can be a magical experience, filled with wonder and excitement.
On December 2021, we had our first “Toy for an Angel” event which was a great success. A year later on December 2022, the children still had a great moment receiving gifts and they even also gave some dancing performances!
Posted: December 30, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment
A toy for an Angel – 2021
Who doesn’t like surprises? The mothers and their babies, we helped this year definitely do! Here are some pictures from the December’s event.
Check the gallery bellow 👇
Last Updated: December 30, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment
Challenge – Save a life 2021
This year we again commemorated the Month of the Deceased with a 30 day prayer period that lasted from 1st to 30th November. We were praying for the deceased babies and their mothers. On the 2nd of December we had a closing ceremony with a walk to the cemetery in Yaounde-Cameroon.
Last Updated: October 26, 2020 by admin 1 Comment
Challenge “Sauvons une vie”
Dans le but de commencer une conversation (briser le tabou en parlant de l’avortement) sur l’avortement et aussi sauver la vie d’un foetus ou encore juste prier pour un bébé avorté, L4A lance un challenge intitulé “Sauvons une vie” qui durera 30 jours et dans laquelle ses participants seront appelés à faire de petites et simples activités.
Pour y participer, inscrivez vous ici pour rejoindre le groupe.
Last Updated: November 24, 2021 by admin 4 Comments
A prayer for the single state
Being single, we experience many struggles related to our season in life; I have not been spared them. The longing of our hearts for a partner, and the ache, seem sometimes unbearable. If on top of that, you are a single parent, some of these sufferings can be doubled. From the feeling of jealousy and envy to anger and resentment, our emotions fluctuate, and the common question we ask God is: “Why? Why me?” I have learned to stop asking that question, but to be honest, it is hard not to ask it. I am guilty of so many sins during my season of singleness. I have found myself rolling my eyes, and saying in my heart, “Stupid couple” or, “Stupid kissing people,” when encountering people kissing in the park or holding hands, walking together. I hate myself every time I do this, because I know it comes from my deep desire to find a mate, and simply to have somebody to hold my hand while we walk in the park, and much more.
During this challenging time of pandemic and exhaustion, my prayer to God was, “Please help me! Tell me what to do with these feelings.” I was doing midnight prayers for more than a month with a group of friends in a conference call. On June 26, 2020, during one of our prayer sessions, I had what I call a “Holy Spirit moment,” and I wrote a “Litany of the Single State.”
For those who may not be Catholic, a litany is a prayer or form of responsory petition used in public service and private devotion for common necessities, virtues, or praise. It is a form of prayer inspired by the Psalms, and you can read more about it here. I hope this prayer can help us all to draw closer to God, and give us all the strength to face the ups and downs that singlehood brings.
LITANY OF THE SINGLE STATE
Introductory Prayer
My Lord and my savior I come humbly to you , with an open heart and broken spirit. Please remember my prayer and grant me the grace to accept your will so that from today on, I do your will everywhere, always, and in everything.
Part I:
Rep: Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of dying alone, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of never finding a mate, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being rejected again, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of losing relationships, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of losing parenthood, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of disappointing my own parents, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being a failure because of my relationship status, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being unlovable, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of having to go through life’s ups and downs alone, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering loneliness, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of letting go of the past, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of facing spiritual warfare, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of trusting others, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of having to suffer breakup, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being destined for divorce, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of not finding someone who will accept me and my children, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of not being able to provide for my children, Deliver me, Jesus.
PART II
From my pride, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the belief that I am worthless, Deliver me, Jesus.
From all bitterness, jealousy, and envy I feel when I see others getting married and having children, Deliver me, Jesus.
From all the frustrations of single life, Deliver me, Jesus.
From my desperation to find a mate, Deliver me, Jesus.
From my unwillingness to surrender to your will, Deliver me, Jesus.
From my restless love-seeking, Deliver me, Jesus.
From my desire to control everything, Deliver me, Jesus.
From my lack of trust in you, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the belief that I should live free of suffering, Deliver me, Jesus.
From all the lies I feed myself, Deliver me, Jesus.
From all my crippling beliefs and from how I talk to myself, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the selfishness of my prayers that are only focused on my needs, Deliver me, Jesus.
From my codependency and my need for validation, Deliver me, Jesus.
From my obstinacy in finding a mate by any means, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the temptation to falsify my image for the admiration and attraction of others, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the pain of heartbreak, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the belief that I am better, greater, and more beautiful than others, and therefore, should be the one getting married, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the deep sadness I feel when around my friends and family members who are all married, Deliver me, Jesus.
PART III:
Rep: Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will give me a loving heart when others bring into question my singleness, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will help me find meaning and purpose for my life, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you always work for my good, even in this season, Jesus, I trust in you.
That my accepting an unmarried vocation or a season of singleness is not a sign of failure, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will give me a place in your Church when I do not feel that I have one, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will show me how to use the gift of myself to serve others, my community, and my Church, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you feel my longing, that you weep when I weep, that you share my ache, and that you love me nonetheless, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will give me the strength to fight against lust and live a chaste life, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will protect me from enslaving pornographic images that rob me of the truth of my longing, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will remove from my life anybody who wants to use me and take advantage of me, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you still have a plan for me, even if it is not marriage, Jesus, I trust in you.
That all the relationships that I have lost were not a loss, but your way of protecting me, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will help me to forgive myself in your mercy and be free of every cycle of self-judgment and shame, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you can turn my longing for love outward to serve and love others, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will show me ways to turn my focus from myself, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you can uncover the roots of my wounds, and I can be needed, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will help me to accept even these vocations when you call: single life, religious life, ordained or lay ministry, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will still provide me time for my own needs when I provide for the needs of children, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will not forget my financial needs or the material needs of my children, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will give me the wisdom to make good decisions for my children, Jesus, I trust in you.
That my children will never feel the lack of a mother’s care, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you yourself will be the father to my children’s needs, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will lift up a faithful father figure for the life of my child, Jesus, I trust in you.
That you will surround me with family and friends who will support me in the raising of my children, Jesus, I trust in you.
That we who are adopted in you, my Christ, will not be abandoned in the world, Jesus, I trust in you.
That even if we are abandoned by the world, our hearts will never abandon you, Jesus, I trust in you.C
Article written by Blandine Kemayou
Last Updated: November 24, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment
What Resilience Taught me?
When I felt the call to start Light For Angels in December 2016, I remember how passionate and excited I was about our mission. The feeling of knowing I could make a difference in the world and saving lives was so amazing. I felt a sense of purpose although I was at a point in my life where I have accomplished a lot: got a master’s degree in civil engineering, got a job, immigrated to the USA, etc. The idea of impacting women’s life in Cameroon, empowering and helping them see beyond an unplanned pregnancy, and actually achieved their dream was my bread and butter for almost a year. I dreamed Light For Angels, talked only about L4A, googled everything I needed to know about starting a center, drafted a lot of different things from our mission and vision to our business plan, reached out to friends, acquaintances, strangers, emailing a bunch of people to share with them my great idea and seek their help.
As you can imagine, I moved from high excitement to burn out as I realized not everybody liked the idea or was not that passionate about the mission. From my friends who “abandoned” me along the way, to a deacon in church telling me L4A will not work because I am not a nurse and I live far away from Cameroon. From close friend who brought me fake cases of women in crisis and ending up being a scam to pastors asking me to reach out to organizations that actually promote abortion in Cameroon.
I crashed, I cried, I got mad at my friend, I got mad at Jesus. I did not understand why he would give me a mission like this and not provide help and make my path easier. I was jealous of other organizations having board members, volunteers, fundraising events, funding and most importantly the number of women helped was increasing day after day. I was comparing my situation to others. So I stopped working actively for the mission, I took a step back and asked myself: how can I ask a woman facing an unplanned pregnancy that she needs to see beyond her current crisis and I can not practice what I preach? How can I ask a woman to be strong when she is rejected by everybody in her surrounding, has no place to stay, no money, and is pregnant and I can not be strong when facing struggles that come along with starting an organization? What example am I setting for these women?
I decided it was time to be resilient, it was time for me to keep moving forward no matter what. “Give up” must not be part of my vocabulary anymore. I shall persevere and I must remember what was told to me by Barbra Mwansa, founder of Association For Life of Africa (AFLA), “Even if everybody abandons you, God will never abandon you”.
According to Lexico.com, Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. Resilience for me is the ability to develop a mindset that is stronger than what you face in the world, it’s telling yourself: “ I can do it, I am able to do it and the present struggle is only there to train me and give me skills that I never would have had otherwise”. These are the few lessons learned from being resilient over the past few years:
Last Updated: July 16, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment
Elodie’s testimony
At L4A, our hearts always warmed up when we receive testimonies. This beneficiary decided to share her gratitude with us. Light for Angels ‘s Team also thanks all our donors; this wouldn’t have been possible without you.
Posted: July 4, 2020 by admin 1 Comment
When Light 4 Angels meets with TRAC-KC
Last Saturday, June 27, 2020, Light 4 Angels met with TRAC-KC (Transition Resources and Coaching in Kansas City). The meetup was an occasion for the founder of L4A, Blandine, to present the purpose and activities of L4A as well as history of Cameroon with TRAC-KC team and their attendees.
TRAC-KC is an organization that helps young adults with mild developmental disabilities transition from high school to adulthood. The three main areas the organization focuses on are social skills, life skills, and serving others.
The encounter followed on with the making of many Thank you cards with words of encouragement to women who seek L4A for support. Both associations spent memorable time of sharing .
Posted: February 1, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment
Ornella’s testimony
Ornella is a 20 years old Light for Angels beneficiary. Already a mother of two, she was not able to afford another pregnancy after her partner left her. Light For Angels was there for her the whole time and she had a beautiful baby boy. Thank you so much for your donations.
Last Updated: March 10, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment
Raising awareness on dangers of abortion
L4A held a series of workshop in seven high schools in the city of Yaounde (Cameroon Capital) during the Youth week to raise awareness on the danger on abortion and discussed alternative solutions and options offered by the association. These workshop were baptized “Embrace Suffering“.
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