Christmas Cookie Extravaganza!

So, I with school being on break I forgot yesterday was Friday. So here I am on Saturday instead. Sorry. Today Liz and I baked dozens of cookies to put in packages to give to our Cameroonian friends. We put on the Christmas music and pulled out both new and old recipes to try out. Our house smelled great! So you see even here in Africa we have Christmas baking sprees. As one of the singles in the community I have been invited to a Christmas Eve dinner and evening of games at a young families house. Then Christmas morning the singles were invited to a brunch at another families home. Christmas dinner a bunch of the singles will feast together in our apartment building and fellowship and play games. It is different here because the churches don't have Christmas Eve services. Se we will do our own thing to remember and celebrate. Tonight I see a friend off to the airport to go home for Christmas. She will return in Jan. but it makes me wish I could go home. But then I know returning here would be even harder. So instead of going home, home is coming to me in the form of 5 of my family members! I am so excited to see them just 5 days from today! You can be praying with us for safety as they travel out here and as we travel about the country. We will go up north to a safari park and then west to the beach as well as spend a few nights in my part of town. I can hardly contain my excitement.

Well, I made it through my first semester of teaching! It was hard and challenging. I fell many times and didn't want to get up, but my savior picked me up each time and taught me to lean and depend on him more and more each day. These last 4.5 months have not been easy at all. But I am soooo blessed because of the challenges I faced and the trust and dependancy on God I gained. I can't explain or properly put into words how I have grown and matured in just over 4 months. God is truly good. I love celebrating this time of year, knowing and remembering how Christ came into this world so we could be free to love him and choose him and live forever with him. This year, more than ever, I realize how truly thankful for that I am. For without Christ, my sins, my loneliness, my fear, my pain would overtake me. But with him, joy, love, peace and hope rule my life.
I pray that each of you will meet Jesus in your own personal way this Christmas!
Blessings and Christmas wishes to you and your families!
Merry Christmas!
Amy