Day 4 ... By Penny and Vanessa

We rose as normal at 5.30 to the sound of the rooster call and the ringing bells for 6.00 mass. After breakfast we headed to the Apostalate (the missionaries' care residence) to continue painting the orphange. We had been previously prepared by the brothers that a colour change had been decided on and therefore our previous work was completely changed. We spent several hours painting and we enjoyed the company of several residents as they assisted us. Music was playing throughout the day allowing us to have quite a sing a long.

The afternoon session saw our young missionaries join with the brothers in a game of soccer. Us mature experienced ladies took on the very important roles of team managers offering support and encouragement. We had previously been told by one of the brothers that having any girls on the team would be to our advantage as the young brothers would run away. This proved to be false comfort as the brothers were very competitive resulting in a nil all score result. A new game is planned for Saturday.
During the late afternoon, we visited Balatas (which is the rubbish dump site where communities of people live).
We were taken on a brief tour of the area where we observed terrible living conditions surrounded by rubbish. The people themselves were very guarded at first which was understandable considering the 'big white people' walking through their community. (We had had some children the other day giggling about how 'white' we were). After a short tour, we were guided into the chapel for mass. The chapel on this site was erected by the missionaries several years ago. Even though this is one of the poorest areas any of have ever attended mass, our group believes that it was probably one of the richest spiritual experiences we have had. Brother Laurence assisted Father Damian to translate during the mass. Father Damian was very honoured to preside over this mass and have the people in this community be so welcoming.
After mass the missionaries and our group distributed food to the community. This was both a rewarding and challenging experience combined.
The children have made us so proud with their compassion, their maturity and their resilience in such a variety of challenges. Each night our group reflections reveal the personal and spiritual growth each person is experiencing. The hospitality of our wonderful hosts has been very overwhelming. We have our own chef who spoils us daily with breakfast, morning snacks, lunch, afternoon snacks and dinner which are mostly freshly cooked meals. All children are devouring the wonderful variety and enjoying some traditional dishes.
Tonight we received our second prayer cards from our prayer partners. These were presented at a wonderful time in our journey and allowed us to connect to home.
All in all, we are having the experience of a life time.