Week 5 in Douala: My Christmas in Africa (Dec 27, 2021)

Bonjour amis et familles!


Well, my Christmas in Africa has come and gone. All in all, a good week and a good Christmas Day. I now know a little about how Cameroon celebrates this holiday. I'll explain:

WHEN IN AFRICA 

A couple of things I noticed about the holiday season here:
- Everyone and their uncle gets a haircut on Christmas Eve.
- Many people here go downtown on Christmas Eve to prepare and buy clothing and whatnot. Made it hard to schedule lessons.
- People actually celebrate Christmas all week long, in between Christmas and New Year's.
- I had taro at a member's home on Christmas, which is like mashed potatoes and sauce that you're supposed to only eat with 2 fingers. I couldn't figure it out and my entire right hand was covered in sauce by the end, but I liked it!

MISSIONARY MOMENTS OF THE WEEK

We started teaching someone who lives next door to our apartment this week. His name is Elvis and he's a 'real good Christian' (his words). He stopped us before going into our apartment complex one night last week and we started talking with him and set up a lesson. We've had 3 lessons since then, including one impromptu lesson Christmas evening. He's very open to the Book of Mormon and actually keeps the copy we gave him in his car to read throughout the day. He told us we should be giving money to the poor and the needy - we told him we actually can't do that. But he told us a parable he'd heard once that illustrates the principle found in Mosiah 2:17: "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." When I shared the scripture with him, he ran back into his house and got a highlighter to highlight the verse. It was cool, a real testimony builder. 

Didn't have too many other missionary moments this week since my comp got vaccinated for COVID and was out for a few days. But I hope y'all enjoyed the above.

FUNNY QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Tout homme doit boire pour vivre" (Every man must drink in order to live)

Elder Mbaya thinks it's the funniest thing that I drink soda or water with dinner every night, and especially that I take a few bites and then take a sip, and repeat. He kept laughing every time I took a sip, so I justified myself by saying this. Elder Mbaya lost it at that point and will now say it every time I'm drinking water. 

SCRIPTURE/SPIRITUAL THOUGHT OF THE WEEK 

Luke 2:10-11:

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

A timeless classic. And so true. We truly have no need to fear, because the Savior was born. His sacrifice for us makes it possible for us to overcome every trial we face in life. His grace is truly available to all people, and that brings me great joy. I am so blessed to bring this message to the people of Cameroon, especially around this great Christmastime. I hope you all had a Very Merry Christmas!

Je vous aime tous,
Elder May 

PICTURES:
I made an advent calendar using Google Sheets, I made pizza for Christmas Eve dinner, then we had that member feed us on Christmas. Also me and Elder Mbaya, and decorations at the supermarket. 










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