Walking to church, I am surprised to hear music. Am I really that late? They must have
started on time today. I quicken my
steps down the dusty path as the sun burns through the last layer of clouds
from the morning’s brief rain shower. Thank
you, Father, that it’s not muddy or still raining—please speed along the
package with my rainjacket so it arrives soon! I spy my neighbors piling
out of their car as I enter the circle and slow my steps, grateful not to be
the only ‘late’ person. The covered assembly area is filled with dark heads and
hands lifted, sprinkled with a few blonde heads and strikingly white arms. No wonder people stare at muzungus—I even stare at these seemingly
out-of-place white folk and I’m one of them…
As two men pray—one in English, one translating into Luganda—I
scan the left side of the church, hoping for someone familiar to sit near. Ah, Val and Faith, I can sit behind them,
next to Uncle…Elly, I think? I’ve seen him before at least...I slide onto
the hard wooden bench with a nodded greeting to those around me as Uncle Fred
begins the announcements. The peculiar rhythm when listening to a speaker with
a translator has become more familiar, and I easily tune out the unknown
Luganda, focusing on the accented and sometimes unfamiliar English—Uganda
is obviously a former British, not American, colony. Uncle Fred continues the
announcements, calling forward various announcers; Uncle Cato, translating,
slips between Luganda and English effortlessly, depending on which the speaker
chooses.
The traditional recognition of visitors lasts longer this
week, as many former staff and friends are in town for the New
Hope Institute of Childcare and Family 10-year reunion. Then there’s the
weekly announcement of which Ugandan region is the focus of prayer this week,
all leading up to the Ugandan Jubilee on October 9. Uncle Simon is summoned to
present for the fourth week an invitation to Eva and Medie’s wedding, this
coming Saturday, and he also repeats the request that anyone who knows of a
reason these two should not marry come to the church elders immediately. Aunt
Nancy is called to the front for a rendition of “Happy Birthday,” as today is
her special day.
The flickering florescent light a few rows in front of me
catches my attention. Oh, the electricity
is on today…though I could have figured that out from the working sound
equipment and the lack of generator noise.
The worship team floods the stage. I know this song! Only four weeks ago, many of these songs, both
English and Luganda, were strange and unfamiliar. Now I have trouble figuring
out where I first learned today’s songs: Was
it here? Was it camp? Was it BRBC? Sometimes, America
seems so long ago. Even the Luganda songs today have familiar tunes, and this
worship group has access to a computer and projector, so the words are on the
wall. How do they fit all those syllables
into that musical phrase?? At least seeing the words helps, and I pick out
the few Luganda words I’ve learned. Webale:
thank you. Nyo: very much. Yesu Kabaka: King Jesus. Balungi: good/fine.
Uncle Paul is preaching today. I look for Aunt Susan—I want
to say hello after church—but he explains that she is not with him today, as
she had to go to a funeral. I wonder if
she went on bodas? I ponder the picture of Aunt Susan on boda-boda, coming every Thursday night
to NHU for the women’s Bible study: she’s
a brave woman, to ride bodas after dark.
The sermon is a continuation of the series on giving. I
struggle to focus on Uncle Bruno’s English, translating as Uncle Paul preaches
in Luganda. Does the African mind flow differently
than the Western mind? Or is it the accent that gives me such trouble with
following this sermon? When Uncle Paul tells a joke, I often miss the
translation in the midst of laughter. Still, even without understanding the ‘3
points’ of the sermon (maybe it doesn’t
work like that here) and missing
a few punchlines, I can pick out a few convicting and challenging points from
the sermon on 2 Corinthians 9:
“The greatness of the thing that you give doesn’t depend on the thing—it
depends on the condition of the heart.”
“A
joyful heart is one is that is satisfied with what God has done.”
“We
miss a lot of blessings when we sit on what God has given us.”
