Sunday morning, as is the custom, we attended Mass. This week we decided to join the children from the Living Compassion house at their local church in Mushili Bonano. The experience there was very different than the previous week with much more dancing and singing. The Mass was in Bemba, the local dialect. The church was packed.
Congregation packed in Church
Dave shaking hands with local parishioner
After Mass, Stippo and Kaleshi showed us the shortcut back to the Living Compassion house. This gave us a felt sense of their neighborhood. We left with plans to see them later that afternoon at the amusement park.
Girls room at Living Compassion House
Boys room at Living Compassion House
Back at the guesthouse we found Martin, our prospective tailor, patiently waiting for us. We finalized the design for the Living Compassion bag (officially called a “monk bag”) and place mats. Martin will also continue to produce meditation pants and skirts.
Monk Bag
Our tailor, Martin
After lunch we changed into our play clothes, piled (once again) into the Living Compassion vehicle, and headed for the local “Amusement Park.” We were loaded with Frisbees, a soccer ball, a Hacky-Sac and plenty of bug spray. The kids were already there awaiting our arrival. The “masungas” (us) with their unusual toys were an immediate hit. In minutes the sky was full of Frisbees, balls and shrieks of delight.
We played until the sun went down. In the late afternoon as we older folks began to wear out, some resorted to a card game of “Go Fish,” while others were treated to local African dancing lessons by the teenage girls.
When it was too dark to continue playing we crawled home to make dinner. At the local supermarket we have found a mixture called Soya Mince. We love it because it’s a source of non-dairy protein. We are challenged by it because it tastes horrible on its own. Luckily we have a group of brilliant chefs on our team, as you can see from the photo below.
After yet another delicious meal, a short planning meeting, we all fell into our beds.