Day 206- Day at Haile Resort
Friday, January 25th, 2019.
Today I got up at 5:45am because I told Father Kilimpe that I would come to the 6:00am mass. I have been wanting to go to mass and the fact that there was a church so close, I just had to make an effort. It wasn’t hard to get up because every day we hear the Orthodox prayers over the loudspeaker. The first morning I heard it, I thought about the Muslim call to prayer and I admired their faith. The second day, not so much. By the third day, I was ready to throw them a shoe at them or cut the cord to the speaker or something. They sing and pray for more than an hour -- loudly.
Anyway, I got dressed quickly to go to church. It was still dark outside, the big moon was still glowing as well as some stars. When I made to the church, the doors were closed and it was dark inside. I walked all around and I didn’t see anybody. 15 minutes later I went back to my room and told Gregory that no one was at the church. He told me to go check the small chapel near where we had our meals. I went there and saw that the light was on and the door open. I went in, and Father Kilimpe came out. I asked him about the mass and he said, “it is at 6:00pm.”
I thought to myself, the story of my life! But this time I actually got it right. He explained that mass is in the morning, but today it was 6:00pm. I thanked him and went back to bed.
I honestly like to get up early, to see the sunrise and watch the sky change color. We hear so many birds outside our windows. It is beautiful and peaceful if only it wasn’t for the prayers.
We had a tasty breakfast and then try to do some homework and catching up on the blog. By 11:00, we decided to go back to the Haile Resort to spend the day. We walked to the roundabout, looking for an ATM. Have I mentioned that hardly anybody here takes credit cards? Most of the businesses only take cash. After that, we took a bajaj to the resort. Our driver was so nice. He gave us an honest price up front and didn’t try to rip us off. We took his phone number so he could pick us up when we were done.
I have to say that it was one of the best days of our whole trip. We paid for the use of the pool only for Sunshine and me. Sunshine jumped into the pool right away. I just wanted to enjoy the view and read my book. The view is so amazing that I can’t even describe it! You see two big lakes, mountains, and the green forest spread out below.
We ordered fruit juices made with avocados (here they are sweet), papaya and guava for a dollar! After that, we decided to have lunch in the lobby which is built with huge glass windows so you can admire the view. The food was really good and we were happy to order a salad, which we hadn’t done since we got to Africa because we are worried about the water.
After lunch, Gregory and Daniel stayed in the lobby reading. Daniel was frustrated with the bad internet connection. [Gregory's note: need I say it? This is Africa!] Sunshine went to the pool and I took a nice nap. We enjoyed the rest of the day just relaxing at the resort. We called our driver around 6:30pm to come and pick us up. Nasser was his name and he came immediately. He was reliable so we told him that we would call him again tomorrow.
I look forward to dinner because the food is delicious and we have nice conversations with the priest and there is always a new guest. This time we met a girl from California who was a missionary. We stayed to chat with her for a little while but we would rather not talk about religion. I was very proud of Gregory for not expressing his point of view and just politely said that he was going to bed. [Gregory's note: It's safe to say that I have never, ever, in my life, met such an intolerant, religious bigot -- she was trying to convert animist tribes, calling their god an "evil spirit". She also showed no tolerance for Muslims, despite their belief in Jesus. Even if they lead wholesome lives and accept God, she condemns them.] We just believe in tolerance and acceptance for any religion, which she did not. In any case, I’m not going to write about God, either. I just want to end the day by thanking Him for giving us so many blessings. We had an amazing day (or at least I did).
Today I got up at 5:45am because I told Father Kilimpe that I would come to the 6:00am mass. I have been wanting to go to mass and the fact that there was a church so close, I just had to make an effort. It wasn’t hard to get up because every day we hear the Orthodox prayers over the loudspeaker. The first morning I heard it, I thought about the Muslim call to prayer and I admired their faith. The second day, not so much. By the third day, I was ready to throw them a shoe at them or cut the cord to the speaker or something. They sing and pray for more than an hour -- loudly.
Anyway, I got dressed quickly to go to church. It was still dark outside, the big moon was still glowing as well as some stars. When I made to the church, the doors were closed and it was dark inside. I walked all around and I didn’t see anybody. 15 minutes later I went back to my room and told Gregory that no one was at the church. He told me to go check the small chapel near where we had our meals. I went there and saw that the light was on and the door open. I went in, and Father Kilimpe came out. I asked him about the mass and he said, “it is at 6:00pm.”
I thought to myself, the story of my life! But this time I actually got it right. He explained that mass is in the morning, but today it was 6:00pm. I thanked him and went back to bed.
I honestly like to get up early, to see the sunrise and watch the sky change color. We hear so many birds outside our windows. It is beautiful and peaceful if only it wasn’t for the prayers.
We had a tasty breakfast and then try to do some homework and catching up on the blog. By 11:00, we decided to go back to the Haile Resort to spend the day. We walked to the roundabout, looking for an ATM. Have I mentioned that hardly anybody here takes credit cards? Most of the businesses only take cash. After that, we took a bajaj to the resort. Our driver was so nice. He gave us an honest price up front and didn’t try to rip us off. We took his phone number so he could pick us up when we were done.
I have to say that it was one of the best days of our whole trip. We paid for the use of the pool only for Sunshine and me. Sunshine jumped into the pool right away. I just wanted to enjoy the view and read my book. The view is so amazing that I can’t even describe it! You see two big lakes, mountains, and the green forest spread out below.
We ordered fruit juices made with avocados (here they are sweet), papaya and guava for a dollar! After that, we decided to have lunch in the lobby which is built with huge glass windows so you can admire the view. The food was really good and we were happy to order a salad, which we hadn’t done since we got to Africa because we are worried about the water.
After lunch, Gregory and Daniel stayed in the lobby reading. Daniel was frustrated with the bad internet connection. [Gregory's note: need I say it? This is Africa!] Sunshine went to the pool and I took a nice nap. We enjoyed the rest of the day just relaxing at the resort. We called our driver around 6:30pm to come and pick us up. Nasser was his name and he came immediately. He was reliable so we told him that we would call him again tomorrow.
I look forward to dinner because the food is delicious and we have nice conversations with the priest and there is always a new guest. This time we met a girl from California who was a missionary. We stayed to chat with her for a little while but we would rather not talk about religion. I was very proud of Gregory for not expressing his point of view and just politely said that he was going to bed. [Gregory's note: It's safe to say that I have never, ever, in my life, met such an intolerant, religious bigot -- she was trying to convert animist tribes, calling their god an "evil spirit". She also showed no tolerance for Muslims, despite their belief in Jesus. Even if they lead wholesome lives and accept God, she condemns them.] We just believe in tolerance and acceptance for any religion, which she did not. In any case, I’m not going to write about God, either. I just want to end the day by thanking Him for giving us so many blessings. We had an amazing day (or at least I did).
Please click here for pictures
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SYjsVrL3egmTFMuX6
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