The Pious Courtship

By Roméo Massouka

Two young lovebirds tell us, in a style reminiscent of the novel by letters, the development of their idyll until marriage. A long, spicy, and bouncy-laden flirtation that took an unexpected turn because of their values and non-values.

It is the clash of feelings and the play of a temptation scrutinized by the criteria for choosing the protagonists. The first, Jeannot, uses his piety as a shield to avoid letting go, while Josiane does not understand why they cannot simply express their feelings for each other.

Jeannot's patience and faith will definitely get the better of her since she will end up joining her prince charming in his faith and values and will understand that God is the true author of love and marriage. This novel is a pink journey to be savored at all costs if you are a fan of wedding stories where everything ends well despite all the adventures. The story is full of advice and warnings for an age where we often trade the duty to grow up for pleasure, the guilty taste of which will have setbacks for those who indulge in it in the most complete recklessness.

This book offers a pious meditation on how to manage our impulses when a person we like passes by. To build lasting happiness instead of giving in to temptation, therefore, seems to be the advice given to the young people of our time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Living Books Publishing
• Release date: Oct 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9780463947265

Roméo Massouka

About the author (English)Roméo & Hélène Massouka are cameroonians missionaries living and ministering in Dakar, Senegal.Their heartbeat and passion are evangelism, the equipment, and the empowerment of the youth to know God, live a Christian life, and make a success of their lives.They co-founded Generation Next Ministries in Dakar, but they are also influencing other nations through conferences and other activities.______________________A propos de l'auteur (Français)Roméo et Hélène Massouka sont des missionnaires camerounais vivant et exerçant leur ministère à Dakar, au Sénégal.Le battement de leur cœur et leur passion, c'est l'évangélisation, l'équipement et la responsabilisation des jeunes pour connaître Dieu, vivre une vie chrétienne et réussir leur vie.Ils ont cofondé Generation Next Ministries à Dakar, mais ils influencent également d'autres nations par le biais de conférences et d'autres activités.____________Biography (English)Born into a family where both parents were devout Catholics, they wanted him to serve God according to the Roman Catholic Church. As they were preparing their child to become a priest, Roméo Massouka was converted within the penntecostals and filled with the Holy Ghost in July 1990. He began his Christian journey within the True Church of God of Cameroon, before serving in a student environment with the GBEEC. He went on to serve as a youth minister with GBEEC, a student-university outreach ministry in Cameroon. It was during one of these meetings that he met the Reverend Jean Claude Noah, who invited him to be trained in the Biblical Training Centers of Cameroon, under the direction of Apostle Hal Rahman. He was trained for two years and completed a third year at the Superior School of Ministry.In 1997, he dropped out of his accounting studies at the CNED in Paris and began a full-time ministry. Until 2012, he was serving in the youth ministry in the Biblical Training Centers, then in the Men's Network business, and later in the administration and finance of the ministry, while carrying out short and medium-term missions in the country.He married Hélène Massouka in 2006, and they were ordained together as missionary pastors in 2007. In 2012, the Lord set them apart for the work to which He called them. On April 21, 2013, they landed in Dakar, Senegal, where the Holy Spirit had sent them. They founded the "Generation Next Ministry," dedicated to equipping and training the next generation.____________Biographie (Français)Né dans une famille où les deux parents étaient de fervents catholiques, ils voulaient qu'il serve Dieu selon l'Église catholique romaine. Alors qu'ils préparaient leur enfant à devenir prêtre, Roméo Massouka se convertit au sein du milieu Pentecôtiste et fut rempli du Saint-Esprit en juillet 1990. Il commença sa marche chrétienne au sein de la Vraie Église de Dieu du Cameroun, avant de servir en milieu étudiant avec le GBEEC. Il a ensuite occupé le poste de ministre de la jeunesse au GBEEC, un ministère qui travaille à atteindre les élèves et les étudiants au Cameroun. C'est au cours d'une réunion qu'il rencontre le Révérend Jean Claude Noah qui l'invite à se former dans les Centres de Formation Biblique du Cameroun, fondés et dirigés par l'Apôtre Hal Rahman. Il a été formé pendant deux ans et a terminé sa troisième année à l'École Supérieure du Ministère.En 1997, il a abandonné sa formation en comptabilité au CNED de Paris pour entamer un ministère à plein temps. Jusqu'en 2012, il a exercé ses fonctions à la pastorale des jeunes dans les Centres de formation biblique, puis dans le Réseau des Hommes d'Affaires Chrétiens, et plus tard dans l'administration et les finances du ministère, tout en effectuant des missions de courte et moyenne durée dans le pays.Il a épousé Hélène Massouka en 2006, et ils ont été ordonnés ensemble pasteurs missionnaires en 2007. En 2012, le Seigneur les a mis à part pour l'œuvre à laquelle il les a appelés. Le 21 avril 2013, ils ont atterri à Dakar, au Sénégal, où le Saint-Esprit les avait envoyés, et là, ils ont fondé le "Generation Next Ministry", dédié à l'équipement et à la formation de la prochaine génération.

Book preview

The Pious Courtship

Romeo Massouka

The Pious Courtship

Living Books Publishing

Makepe rue des avocats, Douala

Copyright © 2022 by Romeo Massouka. All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be copied or transmitted in any form whatsoever, without the express written authorization of the author or his Publisher.

Originally published in French under the title: "Le Flirt Pieux". Translated from the French language by Translator Ltd.

Except otherwise indicated, Scriptures quotations are from The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV). Scriptures marked as WEB are from The Holy Bible, World English Bible of the public domain. Scriptures marked as NKJV are from the Holy Bible, New King James Version ®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 9798367116304 (imprint)

Published by:

Living Books Publishing

Makepe, rue des avocats

PO Box: 8758 Douala, Cameroon

Tel/WhatsApp: [phone]

[e-mail] | www.livingbooks.cm

Category: Christianity, Dating, Engagement, Relationships, Love, Marriage

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To the youth, I’d like to reassure you that you can love and be loved without following the 21st-century trends.

To those who still believe and share the values of true love as God designed it for us, humans. Don’t be discouraged by the mirages that voluptuousness and lasciviousness is selling devaluing this beautiful feeling through the media industry.

To love, because God’s nature is love. Everything dies, including this world and all it contains. But love, which is the most important thing, will last eternally. God is, indeed, love!

Contents

Editor’s note

1 Jeannot

2 Josiane

3 Jeannot

4 Josiane

5 Jeannot

6 Josiane

7 Jeannot

8 Josiane

9 Jeannot

10 Josiane

11 Jeannot

12 Josiane

13 Jeannot

14 Josiane

15 Jeannot

16 Josiane

Editor’s Note

Flirting was a gallant, patient, direct or indirect approach in the 1990s, when there was no Internet, mobile phones, or social networks on the Black Continent, with letters sent by post or by third party, to soften the heart of the loved one. For pious people whose virtues did not compromise with the sacred, flirting was even more delicate.

In an epistolary novel, two young lovebirds describe how their romance progressed to marriage. A long, spicy, and rebounding romance that takes an unexpected turn due to their values and non-values...

It is a clash of emotions and the play of a temptation that is scrutinized by the criteria for selecting the protagonists. The first, Jeannot, uses his piety as a shield to avoid letting go, while Josiane is perplexed as to why they can’t just express their feelings for each other.

Jeannot’s patience and faith will undoubtedly triumph, as Josiane will eventually join her charming prince in his faith and values, realizing that God is the true author of love and marriage. If you enjoy wedding stories where everything turns out well despite life’s ups and downs, this novel is a pink journey to be savored at all costs.

The story is full of advice and warnings for a time when the duty to grow up is frequently traded off for voluptuousness, the guilty taste of which misleads those who indulge in it into the most reckless behavior.

This book is a serious meditation on how to manage our impulses when we pass next to someone we like. Building lasting happiness rather than succumbing to temptation appears to be God’s advice for today’s young people.

Finally, Jeannot and Josiane teach us that love is first and foremost a creation of God, and that it should be lived within the prescribed framework: marriage. Love, from a human perspective, should be much more a matter of responsibility for oneself and for the other, rather than a matter of passion that we refuse to control and guide in a beneficial way in the long run.

1

Jeannot

On an ordinary starry night, I wandered alone through the crowded streets of Douala, Cameroon's multicultural city. To be honest, I was comfortable and happy. A gentle breeze caressed my ears and whispered a gospel song to me, which I immediately began to sing. 

I passed small couples hiding in corners during my walk. Maybe illicit flirtations, I thought. I even saw young people, some younger than others, mimic the attitudes that we see in the Novellas series on TV on a daily basis. 

When I arrived at my aunt's, where I had been living for a short time, I found her in the living room, sitting practically against her husband. A soft, strong, peaceful and violently nostalgic feeling came over me: this desire to be in a relationship. 

I knew I was a romantic and sentimental person, but not a dreamer. Even though I wasn't a dreamer, I remembered her. Yeah! To be honest with myself, I couldn't get her out of my mind. I have always thought of her since she left for Casablanca. She had been gone for five long and endless years. 

We were in Lower Sixth class seven years ago. Those crowded streets are still fresh in my mind. The media was always talking about an economic balance deficit, while the supermarkets were always crowded. The sky was clear, and the movement of the clouds indicated that it was not raining. The whimsical shapes of the clouds are said to have appealed to poets and painters. It was December 26.

I had gone to Armand Nana's house the day before for a celebration in honor of his younger sister. She had received the sacrament of the Eucharist, and her mother had urged her brother to plan a celebration in her honor. 

We were supposed to be there between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. That's why the guests were on time. And because her father and mother had to leave early that morning, the small party intended to commemorate the new proselyte had turned into a big surprise party for the students of the Lower Sixth class.

Armand had made tickets for couples. Blaise Tchadeu, the colossus of the Lower Sixth B class, had improvised as a doorman. He had politely warned me not to come alone in order to avoid any false problems. I simply replied that she would join me later. But to be honest, she didn't exist. I didn't have a girlfriend, and I still don't have one seven years later. But I knew that at least two people from the female side would come alone to this party.

The person who welcomed us had advised us to close his door at 9 p.m. and not to reopen it before 6 a.m. to avoid being confused with someone else. As it was only for couples, I couldn't imagine spending the whole night there. Fadimatou had not arrived alone; she was accompanied by her cousin Hadjara.

For those close to her, Fadi was the most outgoing girl in all the high school junior classes, but also the hardest to get to in some ways. She had no boyfriend, not even a close friend. She was almost always with Sandra and Hadjara in high school. But she also liked talking to me because she was my seatmate. She was sitting right behind me. Those who frequently observed us conversing mistakenly assumed that I was this mysterious boyfriend. 

Fadi was a Muslim who, unlike her cousin Hadjara, was more open about her whereabouts. Mr. Ousmane, Hadjara's father, predetermined his schedule. Whatever she had to do, a driver arrived at the time indicated by her father. Fortunately, her father had traveled early that day, and her mother had allowed her to go out with her cousin Fadi, whose parents were more liberal. Fadi was also, without a doubt, the prettiest girl of all the Lower Sixth classes combined, if not of the whole upper secondary school. Because, in the junior secondary school, we could only speak of beauty, not of prettiness. She was the result of an incredible union between a Tuareg and a Fulbe prince from Garoua. This explains her extraordinary beauty. 

The last nine guests of the party had arrived: four couples and her. The guests had now grown to around 40 young people. She could be the person I hadn't thought of when I told Blaise she was coming to join me. The guests were sumptuously dressed, as only high school students in the capital know how to do at a party. The interlude was made of those American slows that delight young people when they are in a relationship. If the house that welcomed us was not spectacular, it was