Abdul - Healing Lodge and Mama Mary Sunbeam

Journeys

By Abdul RK

It was a great and long ride from Reston to Dale City. It was about a one-hour drive. On our way aboard the bus we took some photos, created a lot of fun and thought as we went along.  At last, we reached Dale City. Mama Mary welcomed us very warmly. She introduced us to her daughter, Strongheart.  Her daughter was also very nice and welcoming to us. After some time we sat by a fire and with some large rock placed in the middle of it. We sang different kinds of song such as “Happy Birthday” in Spanish, German, and Arabic. There were also other songs in French, reggae, Polish, and Creole. We had a lot of fun.   We also took some photos while we were sitting by the fire. Afer that we ate some food and prepared to enter the lodge. We spent a lot of time in that special place. After that, we came out and ate lunch. While we were eating Mama Mary told us to write some thank you notes to the teachers and our fellow students. We wrote them and placed the teachers’ notes in a large envelope, and the student notes in an egg, and and then we gave them all to each other. We left Dale City about 4:00pm. It was also a great ride home; some people sang songs, and some were just talking. I really didn’t want the trip to end. I had a lot of fun; I had a new experience of different cultures and traditions. I was so happy to experience it. I learned a lot of new things and met some new friends.