Day 42, Sept. 21

This morning is the Feast of St. Matthew. It would be tough to beat last night’s pomp and gayety. For starters they brought in an outside bishop. (He had been the prefect in the seminary Fr. Dickson went to and had collaborated with him in writing music). He preached longer than the homilist the night before. And then there was the crowd which was even larger. The liturgical dancing was a sight to behold. But the biggest difference was the meal. It was a feast for 3,000+. Everybody ate. The priests ate the best including tapioca and ice cream for dessert. I was engaged in a kind of food fight with the priest who sat next to me. He tied to keep filling up my plate and I retaliated by putting that morsel on his plate. The ladies and nuns serving got into the lightheartedness and all enjoyed a good time. I got n extra dessert out of the affair and a good deal of acceptance. People and priests alike saw I could give and take with th bst o them.
I went for a walk on the beach after the meal while the parish priests were renewing their friendship and making plans with each other. The town was a fishing village with boats which could have been used in a Life of Christ. I discovered a secret I wish I didn’t. The Styrofoam plates used for the east were being thrown into the sea. Only the sea was coming in and the garbage lay strewn over the sand. Such being the
Case, I diverted my walk to the city. Sine it was a Catholic an Muslim holiday, there weren’t many stores open. So I, spent the rest of the daylight hours quietly.
Then Fr. Dickson asked m to walk with me to see the sun set. It was too late for that. In at it was getting very dark with only a sliver of a moon. Yet, I was urged on to walk along the shore in virtual total darkness. Not to do so would mean I did not trust my host and that I was scared. The last statement was true. There was the ocean and an estuary entering it. There was same garbage still around. I had ideas of the possibilities of what my next step might be. I did not like playing this game. But, I did. Soon enough we got to some lights and my trust may have been proven.