God's Travelling Mercies and Grace: 2012 Women's Retreat

This weekend my mom and I went on our yearly women's retreat with seven other ladies from the ship. We left on Saturday morning for the island of Roma and were back on the Africa Mercy around 5:00 on Sunday evening. We took a local motor canoe to the island and stayed at a guest house called Villa Elijah. The family that owned it had one large bedroom to themselves. For us, there were two rooms with large bunk beds that could fit two people on the top and two on the bottom. There was also a room with one double bed. Our evening meal consisted of fresh grilled fish, french fries, fried banannas, and a tomato and onion sauce. Most of our time on the island was spent hiking, relaxing, reading, and swimming at the beach.

We had many adventures while we stayed overnight at Villa Elijah. The shower room had a bucket of water and a small plastic jug, which you used to pour the water over yourself. The toilet was an Asian style porcelain "squatty potty." However, these rooms were reasonably clean and covered in white tiles. It was difficult to sleep at night. The wooden bunk beds shook whenever any of the four occupants moved or rolled over. It was so hot that we were completely saturated with sweat, so no one used blankets and we wore as little clothing as appropriate. There were plenty of creepy crawlies as well, such as a large spider in the bathroom, a dead shrimp in the shower water bucket, and a scorpion that had decided to nest in my pants (the pair that I was not wearing at the time).

Getting out of the canoe on the way back from the island was also an adventure. There was a crowd of people waiting on the little pier to board the canoe, and each person was afraid that there would be no space for himself. So, the people swiftly boarded the boat before we even had a chance to gather our belongings and get off. The weight of all the people caused the boat to tilt precariously to one side and swing away from the pier. I had to put on my backpack quickly and jump the gap onto the dock.

In spite of, and possibly because of, these minor difficulties, we all had fun and were glad that we had come to the island. I took some pictures of our trip, but unfortunately I have none of the beach. I hope you enjoy looking through my photos nonetheless.

The Canoe Ride