Pentecost photos.... on to Chukudum

 Pentecost, an important Christian feast day, was the Sunday that the retreat ended.  The mass, for a variety of reasons was 4 hours long!  Here are a few photos of the beautiful celebrations!

Chukudum.

We worked at a parish in Chukudum.  The goal of our time there was to encourage the people of the parish and help them to get to know more about their faith.  It was here that the rubber really started hitting the road.  We were a full team for the first time, and it took a while for us all to stop stepping on each others toes.  But there was a lot of grace and love for this too.  Setting up was a little stressful, but it worked out.

The first full day we were there we took a walk through the town, it was a great walk.  We just met people and invited them to events.  We got to see the market and all the beautiful views!

It was here in Chukudum that I started to sing.  I joined Josh in doing music, and it was really fun.  I enjoyed it a lot.  At one point on the Wednesday of the mission we were giving out little cards to the crowd and things were getting a little crazy.  I started singing and encouraged everyone to join with me, it was a beautiful and powerful moment. 

This time was open to people of all ages.  We did similar things:  music, talks, sharings, skits, and of course movies which really brought people in.  The accomidations were alright.  I shared a large room with the two other women. We really loved the in door latrine, it was on the 2nd floor and could be sat on!!  The showers were bucket showers.. which was a new experience, but you learn quickly.  I did laundry for the first time in Chukudum, another good learning experience.

Mary, the cook, was a wonderful smiley woman.  The women in the kitchen literally washed our feet when we arrived!!  We had been on some muddy adventures to get there, including Maynor falling into a very large hole!  So our feet were caked with African dirt (which is very different from North American dirt).

Our biggest excitement was the snake in Br Diego's bag.  It was big, and poisonous.  All the Sudanese men ran away from the room when they saw it.  Fr. Sylvester got it out of the room, and an amazing Sudanese woman killed it with one blow! 

We were well received in Chukudum.  We met some wonderful people... my favorites were the cook Mary, and the translator Peter.  He was incredible!  He didn't just translate words, but meanings...with passion!  Impressive!


Thanks for reading... Isoke when I get more airtime!!


I'm off to watch some world cup with the huge crew of people here.. eat a mango ... and take my first solo adventure into town!!