I am soo behind on my blog, because I don't commit the time that I should. There are still things that I want to tell you all about that has happened in my life, because these were highlights of my time here. It will also help to show you how things are the same or different from where you live. The many holidays kept us busy for weeks upon weeks. The first big holiday was thanksgiving, all of the missionaries in Bendelay and Bere ate a big American thanksgiving meal together. All us young people ate so much that we couldn't move from our seat after we ate. We sat there half alive still trying to eat dessert. (You know I had to eat dessert still!). Thanksgiving seems to not be about giving thanks, but rather how much can you stuff your mouth. After eating people went back to their respective homes. It didn't feel like thanksgiving to me since we didn't all hang out afterwards, but rather felt like a big potluck. I was homesick after that, because thanksgiving to me is about spending time with people that you care about. That night the young people went over to hang out at Tammy and Jamies house to eat even more and play games.
For Christmas break we went on a big trip to the second largest city in Tchad, which is Mondou. About 18 people pilled into two different vehicles. I went with Dr. Denae in the Toyota SUV along with two kids, baby, and three other missionaries. After about an 1 1/2 hour ride we got to the BIG city. We went to Mondou to finish up Christmas shopping and for a fun excursion. Mondou has shops lined up on each side of the street with rows and rows of shops in the middle. People love to go there to shop because there is more of a variety of things that one can buy that may not be anywhere else. The main things that I went there to buy were cheese, coconut milk, and chocolate. It can be hard to find any of those things in smaller cities like Bere'. After shopping for hours Zach, Sara, and I ate at a local sandwich shop that many people rave about. I was delighted to eat an egg sandwich and drink an lemon smoothie. While sipping on my refreshing smoothie I felt like I was in another country for those few moments.
In celebration of Tomdiga, Correy and Brishell coming back for Christmas Naomi sent one of her goats over for us to eat. Tomdiga is a student in Cameroon working on his doctorate degree and he is only 19 years old. He is the brother of Vallerie, who is whose family that I eat with daily. Corey and Brishell are Jamie and Tammys kids that came home as a surprise for the holidays. Tammy was missing her kids so much, so Dr. Denae orchestrated for them to come home. The day after Christmas it was time for the big festivity of killing and eating the goat. I could not bare to be there when they killed the baby goat, because it seemed so wrong. But I did go watch them when they were skinning it. That was the first time that I ever saw a goat being skinned. We had a huge feast on the mats in the backyard. We had vegetarian l'osa, goat l'osa, rice, boulle, and pasta. At the feast were the Bere' boys that stay with the Parkers, Vallerie and his family, His sister Angel's kids, His brothers wife Debga and baby Arthur, Naomi and her 5 kids, Parkers and their kids, us 5 that work with Project 21, and two doctors that dropped by. The feast was abruptly interrupted because the Parkers and some others rushed to their land because it had caught on fire. They were able to stop the fire on their land, but it was continuing to burn other fields in the area.
The night before christmas we planned on staying up the whole night. We watched a Christmas movie than played outside the game sardines. What happens is one person hides and everyone tries to find that person. Once you find that person you stay with them till everyone is there as well. The first round Josh hide. We searched up and down the compound. I looked in trees, rooms, under cars, and in the shower, but I couldn't find him. After searching for over half an hour I noticed someone that was just with me disappeared, so I knew that he found Josh. Josh was hiding in one of the doctors car in the back seat. It took about an hour before everyone found him. Next Tomdiga went to go hide on the compound. It took a looong time before we found him because he was standing on the edge of the gate where bushes can hide him. After that I went to sleep because it was 3 AM. At 7am I unwillingly went to Dr. Olean and Denae's place for Christmas pancakes, because i was sleep deprived. They gave all of the student missionaries and volunteers a stocking with goodies and treats. My stocking was full of coal because apparently I had been bad that year. LOL. In the afternoon Project 21 volunteers did our gift exchange, I was happy to get a box of cheezits and perfume :). It is the small things in life that I have learned to truly appreciate since I have been here.
New years is a big holiday around here for people. Various churches have service throughout the night beforehand. People also cook a special meal which may entail goat or some other special meat for the day. Along with the food they make cock, which is fried dough that is hard like a cookie, but is shaped in various forms. On New Years day people go to family and neighbors houses from early in the morning to give or receive a gift. Some may start as early as 6 am to ensure that they get a gift. If someone sees you in the street they will say "Bonne Annee'" which means happy new year. When they say it to you it also means you are to give them a gift, which could be cocks, candy, or something else. You do not always have to give a gift, but the person may expect something if they are a child. That night we built a bond fire and roasted dough, hotdogs, and marshmallows. We laughed and talked around the fire throughout the night. It felt like we were camping out, but we were still in the compound. Some people slept outside for the rest of the night. The next day in celebration of New Years we decided that we were going to give out gifts to people. On Christmas we gave out gifts and people enjoyed it so much that they decided to do it again for New Years. The truck went out two times full of clothes, toys, candy, and soap. We drove out into the far villages where people are more poor and gave out the items. When we drove down the street we threw things out and yelled out Bonne Annee'. We couldn't stop to give it to everyone because if a lot of people are around they would rush to the vehicle and try to grab things. There were many people that were confused why people were yelling at them while throwing things out of the truck. There were also a lot of people that were yelling with happiness when they got something, even if it was something as simple as candy or soap. It really showed how many things people do not have and are in need. If we were doing this back in the States, not many people would be grateful for soap or a pair of socks. Here the smallest gift can light up someones day. It warmed my heart to know that we were able to give to people new clothes or other items that they may have been praying for awhile. :)
~ Eat, Pray, Love, and Give ~
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