Happy Christmas!

Merry Christmas or as we say in Cameroon- Happy Christmas!

Christmases overseas are starting to become less, well, foreign to us. While we miss family and friends at this time, we now spend less time thinking about all of the Christmasy things we are missing out on in the States and have instead embraced our own unique mix of American and African traditions.

Here is a picture tour of our Christmas season:

• We had to start the season off by putting up our gigantic, professionally decorated Christmas tree!

• Every night of Advent we went through the Adventures in Odyssey Advent stories- many night with our friend Lisa. One night we made gingerbread houses!

• Charlie and Lori did lots of baking. We even attempted homemade marshmallows! They were a hit with this crew!

• We went Christmas caroling around our village.

• We brought a plate of cookies to the Lamiido (our local king) and his wives and had a great visit with them!

• We had a "ladies only Christmas party" with food, snowflake making, the telling of the Christmas story and of course henna!

• We also had a "kids only Christmas party" - a melted snowball fight aka water balloon fight followed by watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

• Christmas morning we had a lovely breakfast with a lovely view.

• And of course there were presents- from near and far!

• We went to church and after the service we all ate makkala (fried dough), popcorn, and cake.
• After church, local kids went door to door wishing a "Happy Christmas" in hopes of getting candy. It is kind of like trick or treating.

• Charlie and Lori then took dolls, match box cars, and candy to kids at the hospital (thank you Paradise ladies!) and cookies to the staff. (no pics of this because I feel super uncomfortable taking pics of sick kids)
• Then dinner with other missionaries and ice cream for dessert. Ice cream is a VERY special treat around here!

• Carols around the Christmas tree.

• And then we ended Christmas day with a fun game where the first person to unwrap the impossible to unwrap package with their oven-mitt-donned-hands wins a prize and Lori won!
  

We had a very merry Christmas season celebrating the birth of Christ with family and friends. We pray that you also rejoiced over the greatest gift ever given- God with us- Emmanuel!