Orientation 2: African church

The forest's song only broke our slumber at 6.00am: maybe we are used to it, maybe we were just exhausted. Today's hosts for all five of us newbies was Shirley Troyer's family, and husband Duane collected us and the Robinsons for bilingual service (French and English) at Grace Baptist Church. The people were friendly and welcoming and 180 people packed into the small building, all sat on benches. Most of the congregation arrived during the first half-hour's singing, though others continued to drift in afterwards: time-keeping is not as high a priority as in the west. The music was livelier than what we are used to and although we weren't familiar with the hymns, especially those sung in French, the enthusiasm of the congregation was heart-warming and infectious. A group of ladies had some sort of induction to the women's group, after a year's attendance, and we liked seeing commitment being highlighted and rewarded. They were given candles which were symbolically lit: a reminder that we should let our light shine before others (Matthew 5:25). The Pastor gave a good sermon on the importance of bringing Christian values into our family and not just giving the appearance of Christianity to outsiders. This was the conclusion of their “Family Week” and from texts on the family and teaching children, in Genesis and Deuteronomy, he developed from the starting point: “What difference would it make if President Paul Biya or Barack Obama were visiting your home? What if Jesus Christ was there? As Christians, he is there, in our hearts, all the time”.

Cameroonians place an importance on dressing well for church. The ladies being dedicated were dressed in identical green dresses and many others people there were dressed more formally than we would normally dress at home. Most of the congregation stayed to talk and greet each other afterwards, rather than dashing home, which we liked.

After church, we returned to the Troyers for fish and chicken, bought ready-cooked from a local street-vendor yesterday. Having proven her worth and scout-training yesterday in the erection of our mosquito net, Shirley demonstrated the correct way to bone a fish, slice a pineapple and open a coconut. She is used to Westerners, spoilt by the convenience of pre-prepared or canned food, having no idea what to do when confronted by the ingredients in their natural state!

Tonight saw us eat with Dan and Teresa Heath, a US/Canadian couple. Roast beef was on the menu (!) and it was great! We heard another story of people who came here short-term and are now in their fourth decade....

4.30am was the fire-alarm. Well, that's what we thought it might have been – it was actually an extremely noisy bird mimicking an alarm.

Tomorrow: local food and shopping!