Friday, December 7, 2018

Are things crazy busy on your side of the Big Pond, too?  Christmas has us running this year, even more than other years.  We started the end of November with four days of non-stop decorating.  As more and more missionaries leave Cameroon for good, we are GIVEN more and more decorations.  And occasionally we break down and pay real money for something they are selling that we simply can't live without.  Like our third (and final, I might add) Christmas tree which we bought from dear friends as they were leaving a short blur ago.  Not only did we know of the perfect place for it, but we knew it would be a lovely reminder of all those good times we shared together.  They would be prayed for more often during the season, we rationalized.  So we have installed our first and largest tree in the dining room.  And our second tree in the Library.  And now we have debuted our third tree in the living room.  (The prayer reminder tree.)  It is truly our prettiest time of the year here at Shiloh.

And then there are all the people who come to Shiloh on spiritual retreats during this season.  We're busy most any old day of the year, but even more so as the year winds down to a close.  Many like to get alone with God during this season.  Sadly, we have to turn several away. 

Romeo wants to lead the Friday night Bible study in Eyene this month.  We promised him we would all go to the village with him when Guy is on Christmas break from seminary.  Romeo is coming tonight to do a trial run with us.  Papa Jim, Mama Alice, and Dorothy will all sit down and listen to his Bible study.  Maybe Theirry will be back home from university by that time and can be part of the audience, too.  Romeo is scheduled to lead the Bible study on the 21st.  So we will be going out to the village for that eagerly anticipated time.

But first we will have our annual Shiloh Family Christmas Party on the 20th.  A lot of planning and preparation goes into this event.  We have a program, eat a Christmas feast, and give a gift to each one who comes. We send each family back to their homes with a shopping bag full of all the fix-ins for a Christmas dinner at their house.  This enables them to put on a feast at their place.  And each year our team comes back to Shiloh after Christmas full of stories of how they were able to share the true meaning of Christmas with their friends and family members.  

To make this Christmas season extra special, one of our many Cameroonian children is getting married on the 29th.  We are giving he and his soon to be bride the gift of a three day honeymoon here at Shiloh.  We have known and loved this young man for over seven years.  To say that we are overjoyed with his choice of a wife is to put it mildly.  She is lovely in every way and a perfect match for him.  Cameroon needs more godly couples like them.  We are rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord.

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