Ending the week with Jesus

So we had a busy (and successful) week with our local team.  The patients are doing well and one has left the ICU.  Unfortunately, they are young patients who required valve replacement for rheumatic heart disease.  Many thanks to the generous sponsors who make it possible to help these young, otherwise healthy people. 

On Monday, the operating theatre staff finally had our Christmas party.  It had been delayed for various reasons.  Each staff member drew a name from a dish of a coworker to pray for during the Christmas season and to give a gift at the party.  Of course, there were speeches before the gifts were presented and food afterwards.  I presented my gift first, so I do not think anyone had started taking pictures yet.  Here is Mr. Benoit receiving his gift from Mr. Ralph:

 

One of the things I try to do is to attend evening prayer with the sisters (I will write about the community that I spend time with in another post soon), so today we finished in time for me to attend.  As usual, I forgot that it was Friday and that there would be Exposition and Holy Hour, and tonight was a special treat.

Some of the readers of this blog know that one of the central aspects of our Catholic faith is the Eucharist.  We believe that when Jesus said “This is my body” that he meant this and not something else, that he has the power to make it happen, and that the priest at the consecration during Mass makes present the sacrifice of Christ and the body of Christ under the appearance of bread.  This means that later, the body of Christ remains and if reserved in the tabernacle that His sacramental presence is ongoing; it is then appropriate to adore Him in this form.  Usually the host is placed in a monstrance and placed in a prominent location.  This, then, is what was available to me this evening to end my week.  (Well, almost end, anyway.  There are still patients in the ICU.)  Sister Mary Charles, who was assigned to organize the prayer times this week, began with several minutes of reflective praise songs.  Although the community is very small (especially since people are away), there are multi-part harmonies and drums.  A reflective and focused (recollected) atmosphere reigns and it is easy to be aware of the presence of God and the love of the sisters, even with the children of the orphanage in the next room.  Evening prayer consists, of course, of “Evening Prayer” from the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours, and also the Angelus, the De Profundis (Psalm 130), a prayer for the sainthood cause of Sr. Maria Huber, the foundress of the TSSF, and sometimes some other prayers.  The holy hour generally concludes with Night Prayer (from the Liturgy of the Hours).

From Evening Prayer:

We ask you to remember tonight those who are in great difficulty:

give new heart to those who have lost their faith in man and in God, to those who seek the truth but cannot find it.

Happenings

On December 7 the first Northwest Region Anesthesia Meeting was held here in Shisong.  It was well attended and well received by English speaking anesthetists from the region and beyond.  If there was a flaw, it was in trying to do too much but there was a variety of topics and speakers.  The organizers are to be congratulated and I am sure that more conferences will be held in the future.

On December 9 I attended the horse races in Tobin, the administrative center of Kumbo.  They even had ice cream (or some sort of cold treat).

 Valentina is an Italian physician who remained in Shisong after the San Donato mission to do some database work at the cardiac center.  Before she left, she and Dr. Charles and I had a cut-throat Ping-Pong tournament.  I will not say publicly who won.

 On December 15 I traveled to Yaounde with Sr. Jethro, Brother Boniface, and Sr. Terese to extend my visa and pay some Christmas visits to various offices in Yaounde that work with the Cardiac Center.  While there, I met Maria and Brad Festen who work with SIL International in the Central African Republic.  They are in Cameroon due to the current troubles in the CAR and they generously hosted all of us for dinner.  We also took Sr. Terese on her first elevator ride and visited with Sr. Apollonia who is in Yaounde working on a communications degree.  I promised I would not post her picture in her kitchen-work clothes so instead I am posting this one of Sr. Jethro crushing pumpkin seeds with a stone.

 

After returning from Yaounde, of course, it was time to prepare to celebrate Christmas.  There is a large Catholic population and a significant Protestant population here in Kumbo, and the non-Christians also wish everyone well at this time.  The ICU staff had a Christmas party at a local hotel, which coincided with the Cameroon Cup championship football (soccer) match, so in addition to good food and drinks, we were able to celebrate the win of the Bamenda team over the Yaounde team.  The hospital also held parties for numerous groups of staff complete with Christmas caroling.

 Christmas trees look a little different here but the idea is there.  I’m sure that Logan and Eric did eventually decorate their tree!  I went there to help but had to leave before we actually hung anything on the tree.

The novices of the Tertiary Sisters put on a Christmas play on Christmas Eve before Mass.  It was very well done, beginning with Adam and Eve and their choice to reject God’s love, then walking us through the (very enthusiastic) prophets, and taking us through the birth of Christ with (very enthusiastic) angels and shepherds, one reluctant goat, and wise men visiting a conniving Herod.  A newborn from the maternity ward played the part of Jesus.  All of this revelry was followed by a beautiful Christmas Vigil Mass and a celebratory Christmas Day.

 

Following Christmas Kumbo holds a “Cultural Week.”   The palace, villages, and family groups participate in traditional dances and other activities.