Christmas Is Coming

Christmas is coming and I am getting fat... at least that's what people keep telling me (and it's a compliment here).  School is out for the holiday so I am down in Kumbo visiting friends and relaxing. Br. Evaristus had his final profession into the Marist Brothers on December 19 in Shisong. It was a wonderful celebration. He is the first ever Marist Brother from Shisong. Next week, December 23-30, is the Nso cultural festival (Ngon-Nso) in Kumbo. I am really looking forward to it. I missed it last year since I spent the holiday in Njinikom.

Fr. Paul has invited me to be involved with the youth ministry events during the holidays. The John Paul II Youth Center (home of the Kumbo diocesan youth ministry) is having the grand opening on Sunday of a little bar/restaurant to serve the community and the youth band (called an "orchestra") will be playing, along with other events all week. On the feast of St. Stephen (Dec. 26), the altar servers are having their centenary Mass with the bishop and afterwards they will have a celebration at the youth center (where many of them will spend the night before travelling back to their homes around the diocese). And on New Years' Eve, there will be a special Mass for the youths at the youth center, with a party afterwards until midnight. Also, every Monday and Wednesday night, Fr. Paul has a time slot on the diocesan radio station (Radio Evangelum) to have a program about youth ministry. He has asked me to come on the program with him one evening (probably  next Wednesday) to talk about my impressions of the youth ministry in Cameroon, since I can provide an outsider's perspective.

Exams were the last week of November and then we had only a week and a half to the end of the term. The students consider that time to be "rascal week", but many teachers continue to teach classes. I told my students that if they missed those classes or didn't pay attention, then they might miss something important for the next exam. That made some of them more attentive. The school Christmas party was on December 13. The students spent 2-3 weeks preparing songs and skits for the party. The school clubs for secondary students were only begun at the end of November, but many of the clubs were able to put something together in that short time. I was appointed as club mistress for the Creative Writers club. There are about 12 students in the club. I told them that it is their club and I'm just there to help guide them. They decided to draw some pictures for the Christmas party and to write a poem about Christmas which one of them read at the party. Here's  the poem:

OH CHRISTMAS

This day the King of Kings is born.

This is the day which down the void abysm At the earth-born's spell yawns for heaven's despotism, And conquest is dragged captive through the deep.

CHRIST, from His gracious throne of patient power, With boundless endurance, from slippery steep And narrow verge of crag-like agony, springs and folds Over the earth His endless kingdom.

Gentleness, virtue, wisdom, joy and endurance, These are the seals of this great feast, And most firm assurance of Gabriel Which fills the world with everlasting peace.

CHRIST born to:

Forgive wrongs darker then death or night; Defy riches, which seem omnipotent; Love and bear; hope until hope creates from its own wreck the thing it contemplates, This marvellous enriching glory of God.

This alone is life, joy, unity and victory.

What else? Oh yeah, during the holiday I also have to find time to edit the school magazine. The students typed up the articles during the last few weeks of the first term, but now they have to be compiled. The target for the magazine to be completed and printed is before the P.T.A. meeting on January 19. So once the second term starts, we'll only have 2 weeks to get it done. And two of the TTC students that I'm advising on their term papers gave me their first chapter before the holiday, so I need to read and mark those to hand them back as soon as school starts on the 3rd.

So as usual, I'm keeping busy and time is flying. I can hardly believe I'm at the half-way point in my time here.