A quick post on how I know my sister loves me.
My brother-in-law is from Portugal. He's family is old school super Catholics. They go to mass all the time. They light candles for those we have lost. They visit the Shrine of our Lady of Fatima all the time!
So my sister went with her husband and their kids to Fatima Shrine last week to buy a spiritual for a wake she had to go to and to light candles for a friend my brother-in-law lost. While my brother-in-law and my nephews were lighting candles and praying my sister was in the gift shop. As she was telling me this story she asked "Do you know how awkward it is to be in a Catholic gift shop on a Catholic holy ground and ask for something NOT Catholic?"
My sister asked the clerk if there was anything in the gift shop that didn't have some image of the bloody Jesus attached to the crucifix. She and the clerk spent an hour searching for something that didn't have "Bloody Jesus" on it. She explained to the clerk that her sister (me) is graduating in May and is not Catholic but is religious. After searching for over an hour they found something that will work and she's giving it to me when I graduate next month. I am very interested in finding out what it is.
I know my sister loves me because she goes to the Catholic Shrine and asks for a non-bloody Jesus!
Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
leaving on a jetplane
1/6/11 8:00 AM
My bag is packed. My carry on is packed. Once we all get to the church we will have to rearrange things to fit other things in our bags. Ma has a whole bag of stuff she wants me to send to her son in Texas. I have to talk to Cindy about that. I'm not too sure what we can take into the country. I've made a list of stuff I've bought/received to make declaring things at customs easier: a palm broom, a necklace, a bracelet, two dresses, a bag, a chalice, and a wooden bowl. Half of those gifts were given to me last night at our send off party. We gathered with the pastor, all of the elders, and our hosts for dinner and celebrations. The wine (both grape and palm) were flowing as was the beer and soda. There was a great feast prepared. The church presented Shelby, Cindy and I with amazing dresses and Dave received a matching shirt. The are so beautiful! Ma designed them and they all fit perfectly. We will wear them to church on Sunday. Erica came to say goodbye and gave both Shelby and I matching necklaces and gave each of us a bracelet. My bracelet is beaded and has my name beaded into it. With our dresses we were also given bags (from Prescraft) that say greetings from Cameroon. The church embroidered them with "PC Musang" on the bottom. They also gave us wooden bowls with loaves and fish burned into them. Everything was so beautiful and so generous.
Two million pictures were taken of us an with us last night. I an certain more will be taken today. When we gather at the church some people will be there to say goodbye. The chairlady (their equivalent to the clerk of session) will go with us to Douala to make sure we get to the airport and see us off. Our time here has been so amazing and I do not want it to end.
My bag is packed. My carry on is packed. Once we all get to the church we will have to rearrange things to fit other things in our bags. Ma has a whole bag of stuff she wants me to send to her son in Texas. I have to talk to Cindy about that. I'm not too sure what we can take into the country. I've made a list of stuff I've bought/received to make declaring things at customs easier: a palm broom, a necklace, a bracelet, two dresses, a bag, a chalice, and a wooden bowl. Half of those gifts were given to me last night at our send off party. We gathered with the pastor, all of the elders, and our hosts for dinner and celebrations. The wine (both grape and palm) were flowing as was the beer and soda. There was a great feast prepared. The church presented Shelby, Cindy and I with amazing dresses and Dave received a matching shirt. The are so beautiful! Ma designed them and they all fit perfectly. We will wear them to church on Sunday. Erica came to say goodbye and gave both Shelby and I matching necklaces and gave each of us a bracelet. My bracelet is beaded and has my name beaded into it. With our dresses we were also given bags (from Prescraft) that say greetings from Cameroon. The church embroidered them with "PC Musang" on the bottom. They also gave us wooden bowls with loaves and fish burned into them. Everything was so beautiful and so generous.
Two million pictures were taken of us an with us last night. I an certain more will be taken today. When we gather at the church some people will be there to say goodbye. The chairlady (their equivalent to the clerk of session) will go with us to Douala to make sure we get to the airport and see us off. Our time here has been so amazing and I do not want it to end.
Day three
12/30/10 11:40 pm
They keep trying to feed us. At breakfast this morning Joseph informed me that I had the smallest amount to eat at dinner last night. We told to go up and get seconds at almost every meal. The food is amazing but there is so much. And I found out what the weird bread we bought on the road yesterday was...it's a soft sweet bread they serve as like a sandwich with chocolate. We walked up to the church at twelve and had lunch with the pastor. We shared a kola nut , which Is what coke is made out of...does not taste the same!! It seems that the majority of the food people serve is the same. There's always the spinach dish, fried chicken, rice, stew, potato, fufu. At lunch they added the cabbage dish. They are surprised that we know what the dishes are and that we've had them. I have had the salad multiple times now and haven't died so I'm not worried about it. Silly travel clinic. Soda is a huge thing, but I'm not sure if it is a regular occurrence or if it is because we are guests. The soda Is tasty but we'd be perfectly happy with bottles of water. After lunch we processed into the church. The church is one room with a corrugated tin roof that isn't fully attached. We sat near the front. The Women's Christian group sang as we marched in. During the service there was a lot of singing and dancing...it was great. Cindy preached the sermon, which was good but I wanted to hear a true Cameroonian sermon. At the end of the service gifts were exchanged. The congregation gave Shelbs, Cindy and I dresses!!!!!! Our gifts to them suck in comparison.
Next we got in our truck and headed down the bumpy road to Bangem. It's a primarily catholic town with the little Presbyterian church off to the side. This is the church we have had a relationship with for years. We plan on strengthening the relationship when we get back. During the service we lost electricity so we sang in the dark. Instead of a traditional service it was singing, dancing, and introductions. While we were at the service I started thinking about how the Presbyterian church's young adult volunteer program should be working in cameroon. The ride back to Nkikoh was kinda scary in the dark but we made it back in one piece. They are working hard to raise money to fix the roads, Joseph informed us. Back at the compound we were offered more food again. Shelby and I settled for just some fresh pineapple and papaya.
Shelby and I are in an awkward situation. We aren't males so socialising with them is awkward, but at the same time we are in official positions which makes it weird for socialising with the women. We aren't really sure what to do about it. It will be interesting to see if this changes when we get to Bamenda tomorrow. We love Joseph's brother David. It is really great. He jumps to get us anything. We invited him to come visit us in America.
Tomorrow we will have breakfast, visit some more and then drive to mundong. From there we get in a different car to trek up to Bamenda and face a new village.
They keep trying to feed us. At breakfast this morning Joseph informed me that I had the smallest amount to eat at dinner last night. We told to go up and get seconds at almost every meal. The food is amazing but there is so much. And I found out what the weird bread we bought on the road yesterday was...it's a soft sweet bread they serve as like a sandwich with chocolate. We walked up to the church at twelve and had lunch with the pastor. We shared a kola nut , which Is what coke is made out of...does not taste the same!! It seems that the majority of the food people serve is the same. There's always the spinach dish, fried chicken, rice, stew, potato, fufu. At lunch they added the cabbage dish. They are surprised that we know what the dishes are and that we've had them. I have had the salad multiple times now and haven't died so I'm not worried about it. Silly travel clinic. Soda is a huge thing, but I'm not sure if it is a regular occurrence or if it is because we are guests. The soda Is tasty but we'd be perfectly happy with bottles of water. After lunch we processed into the church. The church is one room with a corrugated tin roof that isn't fully attached. We sat near the front. The Women's Christian group sang as we marched in. During the service there was a lot of singing and dancing...it was great. Cindy preached the sermon, which was good but I wanted to hear a true Cameroonian sermon. At the end of the service gifts were exchanged. The congregation gave Shelbs, Cindy and I dresses!!!!!! Our gifts to them suck in comparison.
Next we got in our truck and headed down the bumpy road to Bangem. It's a primarily catholic town with the little Presbyterian church off to the side. This is the church we have had a relationship with for years. We plan on strengthening the relationship when we get back. During the service we lost electricity so we sang in the dark. Instead of a traditional service it was singing, dancing, and introductions. While we were at the service I started thinking about how the Presbyterian church's young adult volunteer program should be working in cameroon. The ride back to Nkikoh was kinda scary in the dark but we made it back in one piece. They are working hard to raise money to fix the roads, Joseph informed us. Back at the compound we were offered more food again. Shelby and I settled for just some fresh pineapple and papaya.
Shelby and I are in an awkward situation. We aren't males so socialising with them is awkward, but at the same time we are in official positions which makes it weird for socialising with the women. We aren't really sure what to do about it. It will be interesting to see if this changes when we get to Bamenda tomorrow. We love Joseph's brother David. It is really great. He jumps to get us anything. We invited him to come visit us in America.
Tomorrow we will have breakfast, visit some more and then drive to mundong. From there we get in a different car to trek up to Bamenda and face a new village.
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