Lenten Pilgrimage

After Amie left, my days felt pretty ordinary. I would go to the hospital, then come back home. When I was off work, I would go to Father Gabriel’s and learn more Krio. The days felt as if they were blurred together. Ramadan has ended, so everyone was out celebrating the end of their fast. It’s kind of like the Muslim equivalent of Easter. I could hear crowds and music and a whole bunch of celebrating. I don’t really know anyone well enough to go out and celebrate with them. I felt so isolated, hearing the celebration and fun, but not knowing where to go. The celebration felt almost like far off event that had nothing whatsoever to do with me, even though I was in the middle of it.

The only day that stands out is Sunday before last. I was (again) unable to go to Holy Spirit. So, I went with Sister Peace to the Mobonga church service in the bush again. I was able to take pictures this time! While service was going on I noticed something flying around the rafters. At first, I thought it was birds. But no. It was BATS! At night I can always hear bats flying around outside my house. And that’s where they belong; outside. Everyone else didn’t seem to care. But it took a lot of self-control on my part not to run out of the church like Ace Ventura in “When Nature Calls”, screaming, “They’re in my hair! They’re in my hair!” (I’ve had my rabies shots though, so no worries there).

It seems that nature keeps showing up where it doesn’t belong. My house has now become a den of cockroaches and mice. I’ve taken the appropriate precautions like buying containers for my food and avoiding leaving dirty dishes out. Sister Peace says she’ll help me find traps and other ways to get rid of them. But the venders that sell the stuff keep moving around so we have to find them first. Until then, I’m armed with my broom and flip flops. FEAR ME VERMIN!

Last Saturday was interesting. After the stations of the cross on Friday, Father Luigi told me about a pilgrimage that the Catholic community was participating in. Everyone was going to meet at 8:00 am at Conforti Church then walk to every church in Makeni while doing the Stations of the Cross. I didn’t think I’d be able to do that, but Father Luigi said he can’t really do that either, so he offered to drive me to the final location. The pilgrimage would end at Bishop Bob’s house where a mass would be held in his garden. I was ready on Saturday. I made sure to wear a hat, moisture wicking clothes, and comfortable sandals. When Father Luigi and I arrived, I found a spot to sit under a tent where the Sisters were sitting. The Bishop’s Garden is more like a grove of trees, so it was very shady. Plus, there was a nice breeze blowing, so it didn’t feel too hot. I really liked the Bishop’s sermon. He talked a lot about how the people need to pick up their garbage and not just throw it in the street. “It’s filthy!” he said. “You should be ashamed.” As someone who was raised to never litter, that sermon got my Woodsy Owl seal of approval. It got much hotter later. I was relieved when the mass was over.

Later, Father Agustus from Holy Spirit Hospital Management came to visit me to see how I was doing. He felt how hot it was in my house and asked me, “Would you like air conditioning in your room?” I told him that would be lovely, but that would probably be very expensive. So, then he said, “I’m going to call someone to install air conditioning.” Now usually, most things here don’t exactly run like clockwork. If something is delayed or takes a while to get done, most people just shrug and say, “It’s Africa.” It has the same energy as someone from Brooklyn saying, “Eh, it’s New York.” But this was not one of those times. The very next day, the air conditioning crew came promptly in the morning, and I now have very effective air conditioning. I live in my room now. The rest of the rooms in my house are just places I visit occasionally. God is so good. I am so well taken care of.