My Conversion Journey with Christian Cardinal Tumi

written by Martin Jumbam

Faith conversion experiences are first of all personal before being universal. While biblical history records relatively few conversion encounters as dramatic and as explosive as Saint Paul’s on the road to Damascus, it is not rare for individuals in the throes of a religious conversion to fall prey to intensely agonizing confusion. That is what happened to Martin Jumbam when he marched for peace in his country alongside the charismatic and irrepressible Emeritus Archbishop of Douala in Cameroon, Christian Cardinal Tumi. He joined the prelate as a secular journalist but went back home more than ever conscious of his state as a fallen Christian, the first step in his journey of faith. Since then, all his writing, be it secular or religious, now bears the fruits of that encounter, characterized by intense empathy for the human person. This book recounts the myriad ways Jumbam’s encounters with Christian Cardinal Tumi have activated, nourished and inspired his faith.

Martin Jumbam

Martin Jumbam was born and raised in Nkar in the Diocese of Kumbo in the northern grassland region of English-speaking Cameroon. He is a translator and a conference interpreter by training, and a freelance journalist. He served for several years on the editorial board of L’Effort camerounais, the weekly newspaper of the Bishop’s Conference of Cameroon. He also runs programmes on Radio Veritas, the radio of the Catholic Archdiocese of Douala, Cameroon. He is married with three children and lives with his family in the port city of Douala in Cameroon.