Monday, 25 December 2017, 10:30 a.m.

Papa Jim invited us to come to the table for a Christmas morning brunch that he had prepared for us.  Lots of yummy food.   Everything was special and festive.  But we were only three at the table.  Papa Jim.  Mama Alice.  Theirry, the 17 year old young man who lives at Shiloh while attending university here in Yaounde.

While marveling over the delicious surprises Papa Jim had fixed, we asked Theirry what his family would be doing today.  And the answer we got was unexpected.  He said it was just an ordinary day at his house.  They never celebrated Christmas.  His church does not do anything special for Christmas.  So we asked about New Years.  Do they do anything special then?  Well, sometimes his mom takes the kids out and buys them something special.  But not every year.

Wow!  We didn't know that our annual Christmas party, held on 23 December this year,  was the first time in his life that Theirry had celebrated Christmas.  We didn't know that the gift we gave him was the first Christmas gift he had ever received in his whole life.  We didn't know that when he played the piano and sang during our Christmas program, that was the first time he had ever witnessed such a program, let alone take part in it.   

Come to think of it, we should have known.  You see, back in 1991 when we arrived in Cameroon for the first time, we met a country that didn't know anything about Christmas.  It was not part of their culture.  They had zero Christmas  traditions.   Then not so many years after we arrived out here, the Chinese signed an agreement with the Cameroonian government.  Ever since that time, more and more "made in China" goodies are being imported into the country.  Eventually China got around to introducing Christmas to Cameroonians.  And year by year the big cities like Yaounde become increasingly commercialized during the Holidays.  With the advent of Christmas, many churches have started taking notice.  Maybe they will have a special program.  Maybe the children will put on some kind of a program.  Maybe the pastor will read the account of the birth of Christ on the Sunday closest to Christmas.  This year one church held a special Christmas baptismal service.  And another church put on a Christmas concert.