Monkeys in Mashabo

The seminar in Mashabo had been going on all week long. Michael and I had decided to go back to BMMC and resume weekly duties there so things would keep going relatively smoothly on campus while most of the staff was spending their time in Mashabo. I felt a bit guilty leaving as we had basically been the ones running the whole kids program in Mashabo. But I knew that the remaining staff were quite capable of pulling off a brilliant program with them too, so I wasn't too worried.

We didn't leave until early Monday morning of that first weekend we spent out there. Remember how I told you before about our coconut gathering experience? Well before that we had been visiting with a really sweet lady named Orlinda. She was the one who had actually inspired the coconut collecting idea.

Orlinda had several lovely coconut palms at her house and she had Michael get a bunch for her. The poor lady is a widow since last year, and unless one of the village boys happens by to gather the tantalizing coconuts for her, she has no way to get them. Michael has not yet mastered the art of climbing the palms, so he just knocked a bunch down with a long pole. However, there were many more that were out of reach, so Michael promised her that we would be back in a week to get more down for her.

True to promise, we woke up early Sunday morning and made our way across the lake just as the sun was starting to peak over the trees. This time we brought some climbing gear along with us. Michael was able to climb up one of the taller palms in her yard and collect about 35 coconuts for her. The sad thing is, Orlinda wasn't even home! Michael wanted to get them for her anyway since we had taken the effort to make it out there. While he was climbing, he attracted the attention of a young boy who skittishly came over to watch the spectacle. I was glad to have the company of this adorable little guy since Michael's attention had to be focused on his climb.

Calwyn (the little boy) was probably about 5 or 6 years old and was just as energetic as you might expect a boy of his age to be. Amazingly he warmed up to me (the children of Mashabo tend to be VERY shy) and we had some fun playing around on the ground while Michael was hard at work.

I chased him all over the place until we were both so hot and tired that we (I) required a break. Luckily Michael's loads of coconuts that he lowered came often enough to supply a little resting time from the fun.

Even when we were resting in the shade, little Calwyn didn't stop moving. He started showing off a little, practicing all kinds of acrobatic stunts for me. It was really cute. He was a big help to me too, carrying the coconuts from the lowered backpack to the pile several feet away. What a little cutie!