First Communion, First Goodbyes

April 13

Today was finally the day of Julie’s First Communion! I can’t think of a better way to end the trip than with receiving Jesus, especially for the very first time. We got up at 4:30am to prepare ourselves for the day- her confession was to take place here at the convent at 5:45, followed by the procession of palms at 6:30am. However, the priest arrived at 6:35, pushing everything back just a little bit. He took Julie “aside” for confession… about 5-10 yards away from where all the people gathered to start the procession. Monica and I took it upon us to distract everyone by introducing ourselves to random strangers.

            They finished and Father began by blessing the palms. Let me tell you a little bit about Palm Sunday. Since palm trees are abundant here, people come with more than one flimsy leaf. Oh no, they come with branches. All out branches. Branches that can hit you. And then they braid the leaves together and weave colorful flowers into them. They are so extravagant and beautiful! We walked all the way from the convent to the church- about 25 minutes due to a detour. Everyone was waving their branches, while the singers were singing, drummers drumming, dancers dancing, and tambourinists tambourining. It was quite the parade. We eventually made it to the church to start Mass.

            Father gave Julie a blessing during Mass, and then the actual First Communion. It was so joyful!!! Later that afternoon we had a celebration lunch of groundnut soup and rice balls, Julie’s favorite. Megan cooked Matooke, which is a Ugandan food that looks like a very large banana and tastes like a potato. Delicious! We had sparkling juice, cake, and ice cream. FAB. U. LOUS.

            Then came the bitter part of the bittersweet day- the goodbyes. Julie left for the states first, so she was the first to go through the goodbye process. Tears were shed. I am not anticipating the day I leave for the states. We miss her already, now our trio’s down to two.