Day 80

Saturday – 10/24

It’s Christmas Eve, but it still hasn’t hit me that I’m actually spending Christmas in Africa with Alyssa.

Waking up and getting out of bed was still a process because our knees still haven’t recovered from the climb. After getting ready for church, Bill was kind enough to take Sarah, Kim, Alyssa, and I up to the church. I couldn’t have imagined walking uphill all the way to the church. I would have died for sure.

Church was long, to say the least. It was camp meeting today and people from Limbe, Douala, and other various places all congregated today at the SDA church in Buea. One thing I really like about church services here is that everyone actively participates in the service, especially when singing hymns and praise songs. Everyone sings at the top of their lungs and it just sounded so good! Several people gave special music throughout the service. There was one particular little boy (I later found his name to be Cami) who “played” his ukulele and sang for the church. It was the most adorable thing on earth. All the children there were so cute and I was almost ready to take all of them home with me.

As I said earlier, the service was very long. I found myself constantly shifting my weight side to side because my bum was getting a little numb. Kim, Sarah, Alyssa, and I definitely tried our best to stay awake and focus on the sermon. Around 2:00pm, church service was over and the congregation walked outside to watch the baptisms that were to take place. After the baptisms, several of the women proceeded to fix up potluck. During that time I was privileged to meet some of the church members and make friends with some of the little ones. If I recall correctly, during this time Alyssa snuck out to use the restroom and locked herself in it for quite some time.

After going through line and piling our plates with delicious food, we sat down to eat. The food was (again) amazing! I was able to try an African drink called falari (I’m not sure how to spell it, but that’s how it sounds). This drink had a drak purple hue to it and tasted like a grap/fruit punch mix. It was delicious. Potluck was definitely a success and we left with full stomachs, ready for a Sabbath afternoon nap.

When we got back to the compound, Alyssa and I relaxed some more until it was time for dinner. Dinner that night was down at Bill and Trixy’s palce. It consisted of Spaghetti, bread, and some delicious brown sugar with cinnamon plantains that Alyssa made.

After dinner, we relaxed some more and then decided to call it a night. What a great Sabbath and Christmas Eve!

~ Lizzy

 Some of our church members singing a special number for church

 The African women cooking lunch for everyone over an open fire! They are so amazing!