The Spirit of Don Bosco

This past weekend,  I experienced the Salesian spirit of Don Bosco at a retreat in the mission of Ziway, which is just north of Dilla. We embarked early Friday morning with approx. 40 young boys and girls,  two sisters, and a father to welcome the Rector Major of the Salesian boss, i.e. the big boss, who was making his rounds through the various missions in Ethiopia. On our way to Ziway, we made a pit stop to refresh ourselves at Lake Langano. The water is a reddish-brown due to the volcanic sand,  but it's one of the few safe lakes in the area to swim in. 

Saturday morning was the main event, and our kids from Dilla prepared a welcome dance for the Rector Major (R.M.), which they aced. The young boys and girls then spent the rest of the day/weekend in their retreat program while I played the role of unofficial photographer for the Dilla mission.  We then had a great feast in the evening for our special guest.

Mass on Sunday morning was jam packed since it was presided over by the R M. and assisted by the Ethiopian fathers. I truly enjoy the mass here even though it's in Amharic. The songs that they sing sound beautiful,  I just wish I could understand what they say. The program ended mid-day so we said our good-byes to our lovely hosts in Ziway. It was wonderful to meet the R.M. and see how he enjoyed interacting with the youth,  just like Don Bosco during his day.

We made our way back to Dilla, but managed to make a pitstop at Lake Hawassa. Here we could only use a boat to go out into the water but it was still nice to see the natural beauty that Ethiopia has to offer, which I hope to share/experience more of in the coming months!