Christmas Break

What are you doing for Christmas break?  You know, the time just before 
 Christmas until just after New Year’s?  I find that I am falling into old habits.  After all, as a teacher for many years, I have had time “off” from about December 22 until January 3.  Here, the official church calendar says December 20 through January 6 are vacation days this year.  But, as when I was a teacher, I have a long “to do” list to work through during the break!  Here’s a sample (not necessarily in order of importance) – and my progress to date.

• Visit with friends and family.  For me the Christmas season is a time to reconnect and spend time together.  In Garoua Boulai I visited various friends during the days before Christmas.  On Christmas Day (reminiscent of last year’s evacuation travel on 12/25!) I drove to N’gaoundéré so I can visit with friends here.  I have talked to family members through Skype and continue to be in contact with Central African friends by phone.  I am enjoying the intentional connections that sometimes get lost in other work at other times.

• Rest!  I can’t say that my job is strenuous, but it is emotionally difficult at times because of the hardships faced by most Central Africans.  Vicarious stress?!?  So, coming to N’gaoundéré was to take me a step away.  I have had more time to walk and read, but am still in contact with friends in CAR and Garoua Boulai, so really the vicarious stress is only lessened.  I am still glad to have the break.  (Once again, the program won't let me put the pictures where I want, but you get the idea...)
  
  
• Screen Door.  One of my goals for December was to have a screen door made for the front door of “my” guest house in Garoua Boulai.  In Gbaya culture, one judges if a person is home and/or available to visit by looking for an open door.  I never kept my door open because unwanted insects would come in – and maybe unwanted people/animals!  I now have a beautiful wooden screen door that I can lock so people can know I am available, I can get a very nice cross breeze, and unwanted “guests” stay out!  The door was installed during the second half of December – so maybe that wasn’t really a goal for Christmas break, but it feels like a great Christmas present!  Everyone who comes to the house comments on what a great new door I have.
  
• Celebrate Jesus’ birth. Services here (either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, depending on the church) include confirmations and baptisms.  I went to the French service in GB on Christmas Eve.  I don’t have an exact count, but between 50 and 75 young people were confirmed.  There were also MANY baptisms!  Long service.  Since I learned that the churches I was considering attending in N’gaoundéré had confirmations and baptisms on Christmas Day, I decided not to attend those long services.  I did go to church here yesterday
  
  and really enjoyed the music from 5 different choirs. 
  
  
• Car Maintenance.  Since I am in the town with the ECLA car mechanic, I am taking advantage to have some maintenance work done on the car.  Plus, as I drove here, the belt that runs the fan for ventilation and AC broke, so it needs to be replaced.  The mechanic will also try to identify why the gas gauge fluctuations between ½ full and empty.  It gave me a scare as I was driving here to see I had very little fuel left!  I knew I couldn’t have used that much.  I wasn’t worried because the pick-up has two tanks and I can easily switch to the second, but…  Then 10 minutes later I had more than ½ a tank again.  Denis, the mechanic says some wires are touching somewhere they shouldn’t (or something) and that he will explore the problem today. 
  
  
• Haircut.  I have been trimming my own hair which works OK – after all, people here have very different hair and are less likely to be able to tell if I have a great haircut!  On the other hand, I know that lengths have been uneven.  I took advantage of being near Jackie Griffin (another ELCA missionary) who has experience cutting hair.  She has evened things out and I am good to go for a while now – and then to go back to doing it again myself!
  
  
• Visit to the Dentist.  For several years, I have had a spot between two teeth that would occasionally catch food.  My dentist in Pittsburgh said things were fine.  So, when the same spot started catching food more often, I just started flossing more often and did nothing else.  But, Christmas break is a time to get doctors’/dentist’s appointments!  I know, my schedule with this job is much more flexible than when I worked for the Pittsburgh Public Schools, but the dentist is in N’gaoundéré, not Garoua Boulai.  So, December 26, I went to the Dental Clinic of the Protestant Hospital.  The system is that you show up; no appointment necessary. It does mean that you wait.  So, I waited an hour to go into the office; then 20 minutes before an assistant looked in my mouth; then another 15 minutes to see the dentist.  It turns out I had a cavity!  I guess I should have come sooner, but no harm done.  The dentist filled it and I have no more problems!  I can say that the office looked like most dentists’ offices in the US except equipment is older, though modern, and dental chairs are separated by partitions instead of in separate little rooms.  I can also say that I dislike the sound of a dentist’s drill as much here as I did in Pittsburgh!  Visit, notebook to record my history, and filling all for about $30. 
  
  
• Work.  Being an educator, I have always used Christmas break to get caught up and then work ahead.  This year is no exception.  So far, I have updated my financial records and, over the next few days, hope to get things set up for the new year.  I have made some copies for Christian Ed.  (Copies in Baboua are 100 cfa – about 20 cents each.  In GB they are 25 cfa each – about 5 cents each and in N’gaoundéré they are 15 cfa each.  Well worth making the copies here since I am here anyway!)  I can get most of what I need in GB, but there are some things – like a book store – that don’t exist there but do in N’gaoundéré.  Two people asked me to find an English/French dictionary and another asked for a daily devotions book. I found all those.  In the process, I also found a Gbaya/French dictionary!  These are as rare as hen’s teeth, so I snapped it up.  Now I can better work on my Gbaya – another goal for break, although I haven’t started yet…  (Maybe when I finish this blog entry…)  I will be continuing to teach at the Bible School in GB for the second term that starts January 6 so I want to take time to plan the syllabus for next term and work on the first couple of lessons.  Maybe tomorrow…
  
  
• Celebrate the coming 2014.  I will celebrate New Year’s Eve with friends here and continue to pray that 2014 bring more peace throughout the world, and especially in the Central African Republic. 

In all, Christmas break this year is following its usual pattern for me.  More time to relax and visit, but lots of time to get caught up on various tasks. 

I hope your break (even if the one you have/had is short) was restful and productive (however you define that for yourself).  May 2014 bring you all the best.  Pray and work for peace.