Day Two: My first day in Africa

First off.. I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to get to posting here. I have been traveling in the UK... which has meant fairly unpredictable schedules. So, I will do my best to get all this up in a timely manor.

Day Two!
We woke up at about 9:15 in order to get to church on time. Leah and I dug out our skirts and tshirts, which is the appropriate wear for rural Africa. We were both rather tired after traveling.
We got to church with plenty of time. It happened to be the last mass of the priest who had started the community, 18 years ago. So it was a bit more of a big deal than it would have been. They had dancers process in and 4 opening songs! Most people were moving and praying with great joy. It was really beautiful when they brought in the scriptures, they had another procession to proclaim the Word of God! The priest even started dancing.
The Homily (sermon) was excellent. It was about being chosen, called and sent. He also talked about how when we go forth in the power of God we don't have to take a lot with us. It was a very inspiring message. Then he gave some gifts to the Emmaus Community which were really beautiful.
(Side note: In English we would say Emmaus... but because the center was founded by a German, the name is pronounced A-mouse. No one will know what you are talking about if you say Emmaus)

After mass we "freshed" up. I ran to take a show, I felt so gross! We ate some food around 11:30, then I think we all rested and got our selves settled.(taking much needed naps) At around 4 pm we met up again to go exploring. Euphrasia offered to take us on a proper tour. So we got to see where some of the community members live (in houses just outside the retreat compound). And then she took us around the large farm area. They have several acres of land devoted to farming. They also have a large number of pigs, a few cows and some chickens.

After our tour we met as a team to pray and get ready for the week. It was an excellent time of worship and prayer as we went into this time of service.

That evening was a celebration/goodbye to Fr. Sievers (the community founder). It was actually a blessing that this happened on our first night because we weren't the center of attention. We just got to enjoy, watch and learn about the culture. After the meal the other community founder, Joseph, met us just outside the dinning room. He prayed with us and that was a real blessing. Then we were invited to help do the dishes! This was a huge blessing because they never would have allowed us in the kitchen if this meal hadn't taken place!

It was an incredible time. I just decided to dive in and make friends. I ended up singing with Maria and Angela... two women who over the course of the week became my good buddies. We sang "We are marching in the light of God" to different words... mostly.. "We are washing in the light of God". We laughed and laughed and it was so wonderful! I felt very at home!

Then the team headed back towards are rooms, but ended up standing around and talking for a good while.

I think that night I went out to look at the stars. They were amazing!

We rested up so we were ready to start the conference the next day.