Wow! Christmas has come and gone…it was no less odd to celebrate this year in a Tropical country. Though the house was festive: we had a real tree this year that smelled so wonderful and we ate lots of yummy Christmas traditional foods, it was still so HOT! That is just a weird thing for us to adjust to…Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas" while we sit around in shorts and drink iced coffee. There are definite pro's and con's.
We had such a great time with friends this holiday season. We had Aunt Margaret (the FES director and a single) over on the 24th for grilling out, carols, and cookies and spiced cider. Then on the 25 th we spent much of the day with the Magruders…just chilling and reflecting on God's goodness to us during this season. Immediately following Christmas, Gilles had much work to do to get ready for the retreat the 29-31. We both worked hard to get all the logistics wrapped up and he got all of his teachings in order.
The retreat, held at the Scripture Union facility here in Yaoundé, was a great success. They had about 30 youth come and Gilles was so encouraged about the interaction the youth had with each other and also about their response to the teaching on girl/boy relationships. The kids put together a last minute talent show/ skit night that rivaled any that could have taken weeks to put together. We are blessed by their spontaneity and challenged by the lack of inhibitions that these youth have.
So, needless to say, after the retreat wrapped up on the 31st in the early afternoon, Gilles was ready to "chill." We had a fun evening with the Magruders…games, kids ate spaghetti, ice cream, salad, and Jell-O with no utensils, shrimp and sausage jambalaya with garlic cheddar biscuits for the adults, some bubbly for all at midnight, pot banging from our rooftop, blowing horns and even a local marching band that played outside our gate hoping to get a little "encouragement" (small monetary gifts). It was really a hoot…even Sam made it all the way till midnight…but crashed almost with the stroke of 12! What fun memories.
Since then, we have launched fully into our school year…again. The kids were ready and seem like they are well disposed to dig in and finish out strong. I, though, am getting a bit weary. Though the structure (with 5 kids) provides good accountability, it is also exhausting. We are doing the usual 3 R's and then a 12-week study on AFRICA. Did you know that there are 50 countries in Africa, just like the 50 states in the US? Did you know that The Sahara Desert is the size of the US? And did you know that the place in Africa to get the most rainfall per year is in the Southwest of…CAMEROON, at the foot of Mount Cameroon, at 400+ inches per year? These are just some of the facts we have learned so far this week. Pretty fun, huh? Wanna come to class for a few days? Oh, what fun that would be.
The major event for us happens on May 31st when we will begin our first furlough…but until then we are really working to keep focused. There is still much to be done before we take off. Gilles is continuing to train and equip his leaders, though not without frustration at times. We are so culturally different and that can be a real bubble-burster when we set expectations too high. He will have a leader's retreat before we leave to give them a "commission" for the time we are away. The will hopefully take place sometime in April and we will keep you posted…you can begin to prepare it in prayer with us, please.
Hugs and much love to you…I will try to blog again weekly but make no promises…thanks for your grace and patience with me…I am a truly flawed being. Stay tuned.