Belated Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

November and December were the usual busy. On November 29, Misaje (where Fr. Edwin Boye, former bishop's chancellor, now is) became a full-fledged parish (St. John the Apostle). So I got a ride up there on the 28th with a friend of Fr. Paul (Mr Julius, a retired government official). Thursday night before the celebration, I spent at the house of the head mistress of the school. The next morning was a beautiful day, perfect for the celebration. It was a good turnout for a parish that is quite out of the way. We headed back to Kumbo in the late afternoon, but got a flat tire on the way (and a broken wheel mount so it couldn't be fixed on the road). After an hour or so, Fr. Paul called a friend of his who worked in a parish near the break-down and asked for a ride. The priest generously lent us his car for the rest of the evening so we could get back to Kumbo. In the course of this adventure, I became friends with Mr. Julius and he invited me to his house during the holiday where I met his wife and son and he claimed me as part of their family.

First Term officially ended on the Dec. 20th and Second Term began on Jan. 6th.

I spent most of my time off in Kumbo, except for the weekend when I went back to Tatum for the final profession of Br. Brendan - one of the Marist brothers who has been working at the school. It was similar to the final profession of Br. Evaristus last year in Shisong, but better since it was in Tatum. :) While in Kumbo I spent a lot of time with the Horne family - the kids remind me of my nieces and nephews back home. They took me into their home and made me part of their celebration of both Christmas and New Year's Eve. Eric and Logan both asked me what they should expect for the holidays in Kumbo, but I had to tell them that I didn't really know since each year I've done something different.

My first Christmas and New Years in Cameroon I was in Njinikom with the Hakes, where we went to Christmas Eve mass in the parish and New Years in the hospital. I spent most of my time there resting in their house, but I also went on hospital rounds with them a few times. On Christmas day, we passed out candy to the children (and some of the adults) in the hospital. It was a blessing to be able to bring a little joy to the patients.

My second year, I was in the Kumbo area for the holidays but was in Kikaikelaki (now a) parish (10 minutes from Kumbo) for Christmas. I spent New Year’s Eve with Sonja and Elinor (two Germans). That Christmas Eve mass was one of the best masses I have been to, ever. It was in a small village called Yeh where they have no electricity so the mass was done by candlelight. The building was very small, fitting maybe about 30 people. I went there with Fr. Paul and Sr. Rosalie (who works at the Bishop's House). When we arrived, no one was there yet because they hadn't been told there was to be a mass. Upon our arrival, the person who happened to be cleaning the church/chapel at the time rang the bell to let people know that a priest had arrived. By the time Father had his vestments on, people had started to gather. The way the people looked at me, I think they get very few foreign (i.e. white) visitors in Yeh.

So this year, as I said, I spent much of the holiday with the Hornes. On Christmas Eve, I helped make some cookies and in the evening we all went to mass in Bamkika'a which is a neighborhood at the northern end of Kumbo where SAC (St. Augustine's College) is located. It's probably about a mile walk (pretty level) from the Horne’s house to the current church in Bamkika'a which is on the grounds of the Youth Center. (They are building a new church a little ways up the road, but it's doesn't have a roof yet.) There was "low current" (low voltage) in town that evening, so most of the lights in the church (fluorescent tubes) were just flickering instead of actually turning on, which was very annoying and a bit headache-inducing. Overall, the mass was disappointing. The Hornes invited me to join them on Christmas morning as well, so I accepted the invitation and was surprised to find that "Santa" had brought me a present to their house - a nice pottery teacup and saucer from PresCraft (the Presbyterian local crafts store) in Bamenda. I am using it right now.

On New Years' Eve we managed to stay up until midnight and had a toast with non-alcoholic sparkling "wine"... we'd already been drinking sangria in the late afternoon and topped it off with Baileys after the kids where in bed. (Logan makes very good "tropical" sangria.) I had just come back from Tatum that morning for a special mass at the cathedral in support for the "Open Door" Day at the Youth Center. On New Years' Day, Eric and Logan and their friend Sara (visiting from New Mexico) came over to the Fathers' house for a nice simple private mass in the sitting room with Fr. Edwin Kewai and Fr. Paul. It was in the sitting room because Fr. Kewai injured his ankle a few weeks back and so is on crutches and therefore can't manage the stairs to the chapel very well. All in all, it was a good holiday.

I returned to school on Saturday, Jan. 4, to have a few days to prepare for school to resume. Br. Simon had gotten me to do some work when I was in Tatum on the 30th, so I also completed other pending tasks that day, which meant I could still relax on the 4th and 5th. Next week the TTC is having exams, so this week I have been typing the questions for most of the subjects. Plus, we posted the results of the pre-mock for Form 5 and Upper 6th this evening, so I had to enter all the marks this week. It doesn't take very long to enter marks into the computer, what often takes more time is chasing down the teachers to get them to give them to me. So it's back to the usual until the Easter holiday.

News from the homefront. Welcome to my newest nephew (#14) - Eric Michael Williams - born on Jan. 5th. ...Guess my prayers for a girl weren't strong enough this time. ;)