Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We drove down to have our visas renewed in Cotonou- it was very humid! I had gotten used to the cool Bembéréké mornings which required a sweater for the short walk to work and make the cold showers now near unbearable to get into... but the air is so dry anything wet you hang will dry in half a day. Cotonou is next to the ocean, a very different life from our tiny village of Guéré at the hospital.

Amy and I laugh that we are becoming the African version of a “country bumpkin”, used to the small town life, as we come to the city wearing our matching traditional clothes and find everyone wearing jeans and t-shirts.

Funny how quickly one forgets the things one has been used to- things like a big crowded city or having a grocery store with many varieties of jam, actual coffee, chocolates, even strawberries and peaches! In Bembéréké we can get nescafe, powdered milk, flour, eggs, canned tomatoes, soap, matches, onions, garlic, hot peppers, some other canned vegetables, and that’s pretty much it. We also have a vegetable lady who drives up from Parakou (2 hours) each Wednesday with some vegetables. Anything packaged (ie nescafe or powdered milk) is very expensive, so we try to buy those in Parakou. At any rate, going to Cotonou and having so much selection in the stores was very exciting! We enjoyed time with Manassé and Béatrice, playing in the waves at the beach and seeing some of the markets. Saying goodbye was sad, but we have planned to pass through Switzerland on our way home in August so we will be able to see them and Anja again before the year is out, which we look forward to very much.

How does one celebrate Christmas in Africa? The festivities began for us in early December when the missionaries gathered on the stone porch behind one of the houses and lit candles and listened to Handel’s Messiah under the stars. I am already a pretty big fan of the Messiah, and this was a pretty awesome way to listen to it. So great to sit and contemplate the incredible promises and prophesies of God, the enormity of what the Messiah coming to earth meant, the person of Jesus Christ.

Being in Africa and surrounded by a different culture can make certain biblical stories come more alive to me- for instance it was interesting when one missionary commented that she wondered if Mary carried Jesus around on her back like the women here do. Or seeing anew the compassion of Jesus in sending the angels to simple shepherds with the message that the messiah had come... I work with people groups who care for livestock as their means of survival, literally having next to nothing, seemingly insignificant in the grande, global scheme of things... but Jesus’ heart is so beautiful, he loves each person so individually and so deeply and he reached out to the marginalized and forgotten. Truly revolutionary in his compassion and love, unlike any the world had ever seen before. And the world has nothing like it. Nowhere to be found apart from Him.

Christmas Eve the hospital had a big fête with all the churches in the area- the francophone, Peuhl, Bariba, and Ditamarie congregations- and each had choirs who sang. The missionaries- aka the four of us- sang “Hark! the Harold Angels Sing” with only my guitar to accompany us. It seemed to come off okay, although stood in hilariously stark contrast to the lively, rhythmic African chorales... but the Africans were very generous and seemed to think it was great.

Amy and I decided to work on Christmas Day, so Christmas had a very different feel to it. This was my first Christmas not being with my family, and as I worked the shift at the hospital I reflected on how different it was from the Christmases I had become accustomed to- having breakfast together, opening gifts, dinner with extended family- I was really struck with thankfulness over being able to spend 22 uninterrupted Christmases with my incredible family, that my family was still safe and well and loving God in Canada. What a huge blessing.

I was able to have a Christmas brunch with Amy, Katrin and Marta during my break, which was really wonderful.

January has brought some changes in the staff at the hospital- I am now working in Chiurgie (Surgery), and Katrin is the new Chief in this department. I am really looking forward to working with her and learning even more. Surgery acts as the emergency room during the night shift, so this will be a new area of learning for me, as well as dressings and drains and prepping people for surgery. I will also be working with children as well as adults, whereas previously I was only working with adults.

Please pray for this new transition, that it would be smooth and would improve many things for the hospital.

Please pray for the Bariba church. The pastor has resigned under grave circumstances. Our friend Caleb has stepped in as pastor for the next three months or so until they find a replacement, and the church is currently searching for a new pastor. Pray for healing, pray for wisdom, pray for God’s word to prevail and for God’s people to be united.

The French is coming much, much better! Thank you for your prayers in this, God is truly answering them.

With love and gratitude,

Charity