By Sr. Emma de Guzman, icm

The days before Christmas had been extremely warm and heavy. And while the other parts of the world are coated in snow as Christmas approaches, the whole of creation in this part of the world is covered with omnipresent red dust, any passing vehicle creates its own clouds of red dust that settles on the leaves of every tree so that they appear to be made -up in red! One can understand why the houses are made red clay mud; this is the season of the year when red clay is joined to red dust, even the homes made of cement walls and painted take on another coating of the season’s red.

I sat with a glass of water in my hands at the end of the day of December 24 under the blooming flame tree in front of our house to take a breather. It was almost 6 p.m. and we would soon be praying Vespers. I allowed myself to feel the quiet that had started to settle in the Missions. I was admiring the beauty of the red flame tree thinking how it can help give an air of Christmas in our living room and in the Church. Suddenly my thoughts went home and I felt the homesickness of being away at Christmas. I normally do not feel homesick as this is almost my 22nd Christmas away from home. Strange that it should be the ordinary trappings of Christmas at home that I miss; Nativity scenes; Christmas stars hanging in every home; Christmas carols; Misa de Gallo; all that which I was used to these are things that we don’t have here in Cameroon. In Africa these customs are not part of the culture. As I daydreamed of Christmas...Christmas at home, my gaze went beyond the palm tree in front of the Church. Everything around was clean; the palm tree plantation had been spruced up like a park and I remembered I should go in there for a walk. My gaze went beyond and far... to the Far East, to my country of origin, to the Philippines. I was gazing far into the horizon when slowly a big ball of quit fire started rising in front of me. For an instant, I got confused at which part of the day I was dreaming in: Sunrise? Sunset? It was captivating scene, then I realized it was the moon and it was rising at its fullest.

I looked back at my red flame tree, and the next one; they were flaunting their colors while the full moon rose up majestically as if saying: “It’s my own turn to show my splendor.” I’ve walked under the moonlight and I knew the moon was there at night but this is the first time I saw her coming on stage as early as 6 p.m. This one of the wonders of Africa: unpredictable, full of surprises, colorful. I can understand why everyone dances at full moon; this is surely a time of celebrating with nature, almost instantly I had forgotten why I seated myself under the flame tree with its red covered bough. I was awestruck with the rising moon curtained by the leaves of he palm trees.

It was an inspiration and to think that I almost missed it in a moment of homesickness. This is an unforgettable Christmas, decked, not with artificial ornaments but with nature’s beauty, at my feet, all around me, My heart instantly thanked God for this s beauty and for touching my hear to see it. Christmas in Okola has its own God-made decorations: gorgeous flame tree and the brilliant exuberant rising moon.