--None of us thought we'd make it to midnight on New Year's Eve, but we happily proved ourselves oh! so wrong! We all dressed in white as is the custom here, to welcome the New Year. By 9 pm things were starting to happen, and by 10pm the church was filled to overflowing.
--We knew that David Groff, with Linfield from Portland, would arrive tonight, and voila!, there he was with us. Here's Sam Hosler -
--The atmosphere was impossible to describe justly - people were all so beautiful, well-rehearsed choirs sang, prayers and spontaneous dancing were wondrous, and suddenly, "Bon Annee!" it was midnight!! Happy New Year! Lots of hugging, cheering, and out we went to the churchyard where a program of more music and food waited. Although it would go on till dawn, at 3:30 am we couldn't hold our eyes open any longer,...
--New Year's Day everyone slept and slept, then up for breakfast with rich Cameroonian coffee, and more visiting. Our holiday dinner was an amazing and delicious African feast of couscous with several kinds of braised and roasted vegetables, chicken, pork and lamb, followed by wedges of freshly picked pineapple - yum! This may be the meal that I do for you at Our Saviour - so, so very good and really pretty.
--The morning of Sunday, January 2, we were in church for a full 3 hours that seemed like 15 minutes! It was Communion Sunday, and the President of the Evangelical Church of Cameroon was the featured pastor. Sam was introduced as a visiting pastor, Papa Hosler, and he charmed everyone with his down-to-earth remarks about sharing our love for one another and then leading us in singing "Jesus Loves Me!" The form of worship in the Evangelical Church of Cameroon flows much like the Presbyterian forebearers started here some 150 years ago, and since this is a Francophone area, its all done in French. There was the wonderful singing and dancing, beautiful black-skinned and brightly dressed people, everyone greeting this new year in extra good form. Afterward, we found the rabbits on our dinner plates that we'd met on Friday afternoon when their big pink eyes were peeking out of a very large basket. They were delicious - a treat we seldom have on our US tables.
--Today, Monday January 3, David addressed administrative matters with Linfield, still in Portland, via e-mail. Joe, Sam, Carol and I walked around the neighborhood and found a grocery story where we bought things we'll enjoy at home and more immediately for lunches when we're away from town.
--In fall 2008 The Friends of WEH raised money and purchased a 4-wheel drive truck which was shipped to Cameroon to help WEH staff providing for the orphans. Today I rode in it! Its a very nice truck that rides comfortably and holds a lot of cargo - just what we'd hoped for. We took mattresses to the Titi's house in Mangamba in preparation for the Linfield students' use. The 3 weeks that we'll be living in Mangamba promises to be an extraordinarily rich experience for each and all of us. First though, more preparations. Tomorrow we'll buy mosquito nets and figure out how to hang them without damaging the walls or ceilings in the Titi's beautiful h
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