July 17, Sunday, My Birthday

Well, the morning began with the sun shining bright and mass at the church. I video-taped the mass that day and the Gospel reading and homily were very strong. The reading was about the good seeds being planted with the bad seeds and whether we should separate the bad from the good or just get rid of the bad altogether… Fr. Dominic’s homily asked us why, why did the Jesus let them grow together? Why don’t we just get rid of the bad and just have all good people? The answer was that the good need the bad and the bad need the good. It is our responsibility to be an example for those who are walking down the wrong path in life and it is those who are walking the wrong path to keep us alert in staying close to God.  We need each other. In our daily lives, when we have a husband or wife, sister or brother that is not good, it is our responsibility to love them and work to sanctify them. This reinforced God’s message of patience and unconditional love. He never runs from us, never avoids us, never gives up on us no matter how many times we have failed. It was a very nice birthday gift.

My next gift was the smiles of the little ones in the pediatric ward. Milan and I took balloons and began playing a game of ‘keep the balloon up’.  Soon many of the mothers were helping us to keep the balloons up as well! And of course, the lollipops are almost always a guaranteed smile.

Gift number 3 was the smile on Milan’s face after he beat me twice in the game Draft.  No mercy!

Gift number 4 was the beautiful day with no rain, a rarity here in Njinikom during July and August.

Gift number 5 was the 4 hour mountain climb to almost the bottom of the valley behind the orphanage.  It was like a bit of heaven, sitting on the hill and taking in God’s beautiful handiwork.
How the many hills gathered downward to one point in the valley, almost like a folded hand fan, the ones you make from folding paper back and forth. And then there was a long stretch of a green plateau that curved to the right in the distance. Trees dotted the hillside in groups here and there. The sky was powder blue with soft white clouds. There was a small stream that flowed over and between large rocks. We packed a lunch and hot tea, and this is what we did: had chamomile and peach tea, plain bread, tartina spread, and some trail mix.  Naturally, the red ants wanted to join us, and they let us know it. The climb back up was a great workout, and my hamstrings felt it. Milan pretty much ran up most of the hill, unlike me, huffing and puffing.  I think it’s the altitude?

The day came to an end with a movie at the orphanage – fittingly Madagascar. All the kids joined in the playroom and watched the little laptop as the zebra and giraffe danced across the screen. Even the toddlers and babes were entranced by the colors and music.  For movie night, there was no popcorn, so we had chinchins and pixie sticks. There were many blue tongues!! It was great to be around all the little ones. And the older ones started a few dance moves when “I like to move it, move it” came on!

A surprise visit came from the Sisters when we had retired to the house for dinner. They came and sang Happy Birthday and brought these wonderful cookies with bit of coconut. We have them with tea in the evenings after dinner.

And lastly, we hadn’t seen any stars in the sky since we had arrived, but that night, I wished that I was an astrologer… The sky was full of stars! Tim thinks he saw the Southern Cross. There were so many stars, it was just like someone pasted the sky with glue and threw a box of glitter up there. How it was sparkling.

Although I was away from family and friends in Pennsylvania, especially my aunt Maria, with whom I share her name and birthday, it was a very nice birthday. Tim and Milan were great and their company made the day special, especially on the mountain. The best part of the day was the embracing birthday hug that I got from Milan before we went to bed.

Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes and prayers… God really sent them my way on that day.