Kartung...of all places.

March 1, 2009

Once again, this week has been full and not one ounce of a lack of anything to do. This week, having Ash Wednesday and the beginning of another Holy Season has added to the “busy-ness” in this household. The Ash Wednesday service here was held in the evening at 6:00pm. What I was overwhelmed with was the amount of people who came. Seriously, this is no joke but the entire church was full and Sr. Cecile said that the majority of the parking lot/courtyard was full. I’ve never seen an Ash Wednesday mass full like that. Sr. Odile and I were sitting next to one another and the time the middle of mass came around we were almost on top of one another because people kept coming in and trying to fit themselves into the pews. I felt so claustrophobic and it was hot in the church by the end of mass. And the thing was that not everyone was there. All the kids in Anne Marie and Presentation weren’t there since we had a service at school for them earlier in the day. So imagine if all of those kids came too, I can’t even imagine….
Thursday evenings during lent there is a Holy Hour at the church. After school I ate some lunch and then took some time to do a few things before I walked to the church for Adoration. When I first got there there were only a few people but slowly throughout the hour, many people came. I’m realizing more and more about myself through the Eucharist here. There is a peace in my heart when I’m face to face with our Lord in the Eucharist and I enjoy sitting in silence, contemplating the Lord’s Love. I am excited for lent. It has always been my favorite time of year, especially in our Liturgical calendar because – for me – I understand more about Jesus through His cross and resurrection. Dying to oneself and rising anew with Christ…
This past weekend has been so wonderful. I can honestly say that I thought it was going to be really difficult but it turned out to be one of my favorite weekends so far, for many reasons. Initially I thought, “oh good, I’m going to relax this weekend. Some of the girls have an interhouse, I’ll wash my clothes, workout a bit, maybe take in a football game and meet with some friends.” It sounded like a great weekend to me, and on Wednesday Sr. Josaphine asked me to go to Kartung – a villiage 30 minutes south of Brikama for a football tournament that her group of 100 Junior Anne Marie Rivier kids were taking part in. My initial thought was that I was hesitant to go, mostly because I had an idea of what a relaxing weekend would be like. And then I got to thinking, “it will be fun, a new experience, and I’m not here for myself – I’m here to volunteer my time for these kids and for the sisters.” And on Thursday morning I said to the Lord, “well if the issue comes up again, I will tell her that I’ll come and help.” And, of course, it came up many times throughout the day and every time I thought about it, I just thought how much I just wanted my “relaxing weekend”. So by Thursday night I had decided to go. My voice was saying that I would go and help but my mind and heart were saying something very different. I guess I was thinking that I wanted a break from the loud group of young kids and I was going to be going straight from the classroom of screaming kids, to a bus full of screaming kids. Lord….give me patience. The one thing that was giving me comfort was knowing that I would be spending some time with Sr. Josaphine. Out of all of the sisters, I have not yet spent much time with Sr. Josaphine because she is the head mistress of Presentation nursery school which is in Brikama. I have wanted to get to know her better, since I thinking out of all of the sisters, Sr. Jos and I are the most similar. She is also the youngest. So the only thing that was giving me comfort was knowing that I would have the opportunity to get to know Sr. Josaphine a little bit better over the weekend.
Of course, just as he does – Satan takes full advantage of every situation. I wasn’t necessarily excited to go and just as we were leaving to come home from the school to get ready to pack up our things and get on the bus, I started to get a really bad head ache. I thought that maybe some food, and a nap might help a bit but neither of them did. I woke up after having ate lunch and taken a nap with an even worse head ache and I just kept thinking that I wanted to stay home. Just as I got up, I started to pack my things since I hadn’t yet packed and then Sr. Sue asked me if I would run an errand for her. I didn’t mind although I was a bit hesitant since I hadn’t packed yet and we were leaving in less than an hour. On my way while running the errand I kept saying, “Lord, are you sure you want me to go…”I” don’t even want to go, I have a head ache, I haven’t packed and I think I’m going to be late.” And earlier in the morning I stubbed my toe really bad to where I almost thought I broke it. I honestly am not saying this because I want sympathy ( I’m actually quite embarrassed to mention all of these stupid little things) but I just want to mention it to explain how Satan used even the tiniest thing to try to distract me from the Lord’s purpose in bringing me here…ultimately, to give of my time for the sisters and the kids in any way I can help. I’m not here to help myself – I’m here to help others. And as all of this played out on Friday it was to the point where I was making up excuses as to why I shouldn’t go. And…why not go?! I think about it now and I laugh. Why would I not want to go and have a new experience?! I think I was just looking forward to being comfortable this weekend and not having much to do and of course, with experiencing something new, sometimes comes a bit of change whether habit or environment. I know that the Lord was –yes, giving me the option to sit here over the weekend and have time for myself but he was also giving me the opportunity to go and have a completely different experience as well. I realized when I was at the bank, running the errand for Sister that the Lord was giving me the choice to make. And, as the perfect gentleman that the Lord is, He would bless either choice I’m sure. So, as I loaded the bus to go, there was a sense of peace that followed and I knew that there was a definite plan that the Lord had for me to go on this trip, I just wasn’t sure why.
We arrived at the church because we had to pick up all the kids and when we pulled up, it was like mass ciaos. The kids are all trying to get on the bus and fit their luggage on and honestly, it’s quite hilarious to sit back and watch. When we got to the church, I saw a friend Vincent who I realized would be making the trip as well. I was glad to see a familiar face and to know that he would be helping out with the kids too. As we left, the bus was packed full with food, luggage, kids and all of a sudden all the kids started singing. And they sang songs the entire ride there, clapping and laughing and smiling. It was a really fun environment and I was glad to have witnessed it.
We arrive in Kartung just as the sun was setting so we didn’t have much time to get unpacked and the kids into their classrooms. And…another thing, Kartung is just by the ocean so it’s SO cold at night. I had shorts and a tank top on and I was anxious to get to my bag to put a sweater on. As the kids were getting situated in their classrooms, I went to check to see what everyone was doing. I realized then that all of the girls were in one room. They had laid out mats (thin mats) and all they were covering up with was their wraps (Milan). I just thought, “oh thank you Lord, for giving me a bed and blanket!” I was so grateful that we were staying in a house and not in that classroom. I’ve shared my fair bit of classroom sleeping on the floor and I was very glad to see a bed at the end of the day. But let me tell you, the kids were so excited to be there and they were all so excited to be sharing time with all of their friends that nothing phased any of them. We went over to Father Jaqcue’s house where all of the cooking was done (just across the street from the school) and we fed all the kids. It was dark by then and after they all ate, they headed to bed. Sr. Josaphine and I and another sister, Sr. Elizabeth (who is part of another order but knows Sr. Josaphine really well) all shared one room which had two beds. I was glad to be a part of their little group and we had lots of laughs over the last few days/nights we all spent together. By the end of the day, my head ache was still there but I hoped that by the morning it would be gone, and it was. We were actually able to sleep in a bit before mass, and after mass we started breakfast (which was bread and tea) and then we all started on lunch. The more and more I’m here, I realize that the majority of how time is spent here is spent cooking. It took all afternoon to make the lunch meal which we ate at around 3:30pm. It was fun though, I really enjoy helping out and learning how African cooking is made. And usually it’s made for a lot of people so the more hands to help the better. I think there were 6 or 7 of us cooking and cutting and we all laughed and had a good time. Vincent is hilarious and I always kill myself laughing at him moreso because he isn’t trying to be funny and he just says what’s on his mind. Throughout the time we were cooking I went to get the kids ready for their game so I brought the balls over so they could play a little bit and while I was over at the school, I realized I had a little friend following me. He couldn’t have been more than 3 years old, but he was walking – barefoot with his matching little orange and green pair of shorts and t-shirt. I had picked him up once to say hello and I then later realized that he was following me the entire day. He didn’t understand a word of English and I had to ask someone to translate to ask him his name. His name was “Zoe” ( I think that’s how you spell it?!) and I can honestly say that I don’t think I heard him say one word the entire time I saw him. He was so quiet and so darn cute.
After lunch was served, which was again in huge bowls set for 5 kids each, we went out to the football field which was just behind the school. I am continually overtaken with how beautiful things are here. But I will say, that it’s been a gradual attitude toward how I feel since when I first got here, everything was so different and there was sand everywhere. Now I’ve realized how beautiful things are, and how “African” they are. And realizing that because it’s different – it’s “African” – it wouldn’t be much of an experience if everything was like home. As we walked up to the field it was this cleared out area that obviously had been a football field for a long time. It was all sand except for the tall, stick-like weeds that were on the outer corners of the field. There were two concrete benches that were for both teams and there were “hut” houses on the one side of the field. It was so beautiful. Palm trees and fruits trees in the background and I was taken back by all the kids who showed up to watch. And of course, they were all singing and dancing. I didn’t realize this but one of the houses on the side of the field was Therese’s (one the girls in the hostel). It now explains why she loves football.
The girls played first and lost only in a shootout since the score was 0-0 at the end of the game. It was heart breaking since they played really well. The boys won by a forfeit since the score was 1-0 for Kartung and our boys scored from a penalty shot about a minute before the end of the game, one of the coaches got so mad that he wouldn’t let his team shoot in the shootout. So they forfeited the game to us. They all played so well and Sr. Josaphine was really proud of all of them. The kids loved it! There are always a ton of kids around and by the end of the game, I had two kids on my back wanting a piggy back ride. I enjoy the kids so much! It brings back a simplicity to my life that in “growing up” I’ve lost. So every opportunity I get to race or jump with them, I take it. And they love for anyone to play with them. On our way walking home, I became familiar with two little girls who had been walking around with me, but I didn’t really notice until we were walking home. One of them, Rose, asked me as she grabbed my hand, “Do you like kids?” And I said, “yes, I do. I love kids!” And her reply to that was, “well then you will be my mother. And I’m going to call you ‘my mama’”.  I was so shocked, and as I grabbed her around the shoulders to give her a hug, I realized how as hard as it is going to be to leave in July – I’m going to have had made many friends, as well as been impacted by all of these young kids.
So as we were walking home I took the opportunity to race Miss Rose and some of the other girls to the end of the street. They all took off running and since they are all pretty young as I passed them they all started laughing! It was funny because everyone on the street was looking and probably thinking, “who is this white woman?!” haha…I definetly got a kick out of it and the kids love when you play with them. We got the kids fed back at Father’s house and sent them all to get ready for bed and we cleaned up and went to bed. It was a pretty relaxing evening but we were all tired from the sun and cooking earlier in the day. We woke up in time for mass at 9:00am. And as I was walking into the church I looked down and saw the little Zow following me. He was all dressed in his shorts and shirt and he grabbed my hand and followed me into the church. He sat with me the entire mass and for the most of it he sat on my lap playing with my braclet since the church was packed and the adults had to fit into the pews. I think he was quite content just sitting on my knee because he didn’t move and he didn’t say one word throughout the entire mass. One thing I was quite impressed with was that when the consecration came and when everyone knelt, so did he. He was kneeling and hanging on to the top of the pew so he wouldn’t fall in between the pew and kneeler. I was just amazed because he knew just what to do, you could tell it wasn’t because everyone else was doing it. The church was a little tiny church and it reminded me of one of the old little country churches back home. Father Jaque said mass.
After mass all the kids filed out to father’s to have breakfast, so we were all there cooking and enjoying our bread and tea/coffee. As I was eating my breakfast I saw that little Zow was sitting away from everyone just as content as could be waiting for something. So I took my bread over to him and gave him a quarter of my bread. He didn’t hesitate to take it and I didn’t mind sharing with him. As much as I enjoy his company, I thought I would take him back over to where the kids were playing so that he could enjoy the fun. On my way back, I was stopped by the referee from our game yesterday. He mentioned to me that some of the people wanted to “know me”. I just laughed because for the most of the weekend when I would walk by where these people were sitting, I would get a, “hello! How are you? Are you fine?!” And today all of them wanted me to sit and visit with them. The one thing I’m realizing, that for the most part, everyone would just like some time with you – even if it’s only 5 minutes. They just want you to sit with them to show that you care about who they are and that you’re not just some tourist passing through. I’m realizing that since I’m living here, and one of the few white people here, people are recognizing me and getting to know me a bit more. When most people see a white person it’s because they’ve come out of their hotel to just “SEE” what it’s like. And then they go on back to the hotel thinking they’ve experienced all that they’ve had to see in bush villages. I’m grateful that it’s the other way around for me. When I first arrived here, I would’ve given anything to be a tourist, but now I have grown to love the people in the small villages and here in Brikama because I’ve learnt more about the simplicity of life and what a smiling face and five minutes spent with someone can really do to a persons heart. I’ve been extremely touched by the people who have allowed me to just sit and visit. Today, as I sat down to visit with these people in Kartung, I realized more and more of this lesson. They offered me some palm wine and we all sat around asking each other questions. They definitely had a lot for me, as it seems that they had been watching me walk back and forth from the school to father’s over the weekend and they must have been wondering who I was. So they asked me about my home, family, customs, traditions, politics, economics…etc. At one point in the conversation I thanked them for inviting me over to visit with them. One gentleman mentioned something so true to me that I’m not sure I will ever be able to forget his advice. He said, “everyone has ideas of what a place is like – from books or the news, etc, but rarely do people ever find out what the place is really like because they refuse to sit with the people who experience that culture everyday and discuss what it’s really like.” I realized then, how stupid I have been. I walk and walk and walk some days and all I say is a surface “hello” when someone greets me, just trying to be polite, never to actually really mean it. And I would’ve NEVER sat down with these people if it hadn’t been for them inviting me to get to know them – even for as many “hello! How are you doing? Are you fine?!” ‘s that I would’ve gotten. How often do we do that in our lives? How often do we only give what’s on the surface and never go deep within our souls to possibly relate to one another? I’m definitely realizing that I need to be more open with people, and be a bit more inviting.
I sat with them for quite some time and as many times as I said, “ I should really go and help cook dinner,” I found myself really enjoying the time that I spent with them. I got some email addresses and phone numbers and they all invited me as their personal guest to visit them during the upcoming festival on the 26th of March.
When I left them, which was I’m sure close to an hour later, I met up with Vincent and Fatima who were just leaving to go to the beach, where everyone else was. To get to the beach you have to just go behind father’s house and cross a pretty big pasture. But…get this, there is a sacred crocodile pool in the back forest behind father’s house. I guess it’s sacred because there once appeared these crocodiles- which is rare in that area- and they couldn’t figure out how they got there. Apparently even Friday at noon they come out to hunt, so many people get to see them. We got to Kartung late on Friday so we didn’t get to see them, we only saw the pool. We walked past the field and I was amazed at what I was experiencing while I walked to the beach. The three of us were walking together and as we were getting closer to the beach –which was about a 15 minutes walk- the sand got heavier and heavier. After we left the crocodile pool the landscape was just like a pasture that we would have at home although the trees are all very different. There was one point where we got to that the sand was like walking in the Sahara desert. So fine…and thick! There came a point where there was a hill and the sand was beautiful. I took my sandals off and walked up the hill only to see the beautiful ocean waves with a hut on the beach. I was overwhelmed. I can honestly say that of any beach I’ve ever been to – tourist beach, or non tourist beach – this was the most beautiful beach I’ve ever been to. The kids were all playing in the water and as we walked down to meet them, I thanked the Lord for bringing me here – to Kartung of all places. The place I didn’t want to come to at the beginning of the weekend. We played football with some of the boys and most people took a swim. I hadn’t thrown my bathing suit on, so I just went into the water up to past my knees. I honestly love the beach and it reminds me of how huge God is – how He has complete control over the depth of the sea and He can control – what seems to be “uncontrollable” waves. I find I can just be silent and take in the surrounding when I’m at the beach. No words are necessary and I could just sit the entire day and would never get bored. I took a bit of a walk and had a young girl join me. She was asking me all sorts of questions.
We only stayed for about an hour because we had to get back to get the kids fed before we left, but I wished that we could’ve stayed longer. Vincent, Fatima and I stayed back with a few kids and enjoyed the sun a bit and then started walking back. As hard as it was to realize how different everything is here when I first got here, I have learnt to love the sand in my toes and the sun on my face. I know I’m getting more and more used to everything because I don’t find things as shocking now. When I run or walk past a donkey on the path, it doesn’t surprise me anymore.
We got back and distributed the food and after we all ate we cleaned up and packed the bus. It wasn’t as uniform as you think. The kids all want to be the first ones ON the bus and the first ones OFF. And, any school bus kid, knows that can’t happen. But it seems that these kids don’t get it, so it’s mass chaos. I tried to help, but realized my yelling and trying to organize only ended me in the middle of a group of pushy anxious kids, so I stopped. They eventually all got on the bus. HAHA…teach me to mess with the African way of doing things. .
The bus ride home was good and as we pulled up to the church to let the kids off, all the kids surrounded the bus waiting for all their things to come off. I was glad when we were heading home because I was excited for a hot shower. When we got home, I helped unpack the bus and the sisters were having a meeting with Sr. Madeline. Sr. Madeline comes to stay for a couples days during the year to visit the communities to see how things run. This weekend is her time to stay so, I greeted them and then I boiled water and took a shower. I realized then that I had gotten quite the suntan.
I’m very grateful for this weekend, I am so glad that I actually went and didn’t let all the stupid little things get in the way of the Lord speaking to my heart. I am so glad that I got to spend some time with Sr. Josephine, I really enjoy her company and she’s really funny. I love it when she is excited about something because she explains with large hand gestures and she makes the story so funny! We have some really good stories to tell and I appreciate her so much more now having gone through this weekend with her. All in all…it was a huge success.