Travel Reference
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Ableatinggoatoutsidemywindowwokemeupanditssoundwentstraightthrough
my brain. After 10 minutes the animal left. A sister came in to see if I took the medication
and then was called for dinner. I sat up in bed dazed and slowly gathered my energy (and
coordination) to cross the yard. I ate some soup, rice, fish and vegetables and after dinner,
we chatted around the table.
I slept well but woke up the next morning still out of it. I went to mass and met
Father Jules in the sacristy when it was finished. They were counting the offertory as I sat
in the office. It was quite apparent that what these missions collected during mass from
their congregations was only symbolic. There was no way that the collections could sup-
port the work that was being done, to pay for the medicine in the dispensaries, to pay the
teachers' salaries and so on. It was the outside support ( i.e. the West) that allowed these
communities to thrive.
It was a beautiful day and in the afternoon, Father Jules called me to go see a
football match. Just before I left, I quickly took a photograph of the view from outside
my room. (Incidentally, the photo is of poor quality as a result of a major incident that
happened later on in Zaïre.)
When I commented on how impressive the pitch was in terms of its size and clean-
liness, Father Jules told me it was all thanks to the village committee. He said that they
movedabuildingawayfromthecentreofthefieldandbuiltnumerousamenities including
spectator stands, a scoreboard and hired a respected local referee. When Father Jules and
I arrived, there were already many spectators watching the children play a football match
barefoot.
After the match, dinner was soon served and I ate with the religious community.
Then we watched a Laurel and Hardy movie (the one when they move a piano up a steep
set of stairs) outside that was projected on the church's wall. I sat with the villagers on the
grass who were killing themselves laughing.
I struggled to leave my bed the next morning. I went to mass just as a coffin was
being put into the church, not a very comforting image. I packed my bike and was ready to
go when Father Jules looked up to the sky and suggested that I should wait 15 minutes for
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