Last Sunday's Events

so now i'm finally catching up on last sunday's events - it's mostly ridiculous that i'm so far behind, but having the power out for 3 days will do that. so...

we woke up about 7.30, which was completely amazing to be able to sleep so late. actually i woke about 5 when the chickens were crowing and the goats were bleating, but forced myself to go back to sleep. after we were up and about, I'd guess about 8.15, asante mentioned to me that he would like me to preach during the church service. i was not sure how to respond, but the only question that came out of my mouth was, 'how long does the message need to be?'. he mentioned that it should be about 45 minutes. and that we should be there about 9.30 - and i hadn't even bathed yet! so i went into the bedroom and prayed... then found a few verses which seemed to go together, a few stories and some things about myself. it took about 20 minutes. then i was on my way to the shower house, which is the same building as the toilet, but it has a divider for the shower room. someone had heated water over the fire for me, so i took my bucket and bathed. oh the joys of warm water! any warm water makes me smile! to say hot water in swahili you say, 'maji ya moto' which translates to 'water of fire'.

after cleaning my parts, it was time for breakfast: fried eggs! i hadn't eaten eggs since the day i left america - (denise and i had visited the waffle house that morning!) we also had these bread things which i've forgotten the names. we have them often, but i can't remember the name. they are made with grease and ooze with oil. good for the skin! :) i've learned to like them, but the first time they weren't that great. speaking of grease, everything here is cooked in grease/oil/lard. the food all oozes with it, and yet people are slender and fit. the reason: 'twenda kwa miguu' - go by foot.

so i'm trying to think how to put into words what i'm thinking without making it sound like i'm complaining... ok, let's try this: tho i was ready to leave at 9.15, others were not. again it's african time. at 9.30 people were still ironing, cleaning up the breakfast and bathing. (the irons are like the ones they used 50 years ago - they are metal and have a handle on the top. the lid opens so coals from the fire can be placed inside. -old, old school.) so finally asante and i were ready to go about 10.30.

as we walked to church, i would guess it was about a mile, our shoes became filthy. it had rained during the night and the path was complete mud. it's the type of mud that keeps collecting on the bottom of your shoe until there is a couple of inches. lucky for me i had worn sandals, so not only were my shoes covered in mud, but my feet were smothered in it. i really should've taken a photo of them, but i didn't. before entering the little church we found some grass and cleaned our shoes (and feet) as best as we could, then entered the church for worship.

the congregation was singing when we walked in. they were singing the same songs we sing at the base during our worship times. some to the songs were from a songbook, a translated version of 'i need thee every hour', 'amazing grace', etc. then we get to the faster songs which really raise the roof! the only instrument is an electric keyboard (power for it is run by using an extension cord from a neighbor's house), and the 'choir director' leads the singing.

after about 40 minutes of singing it was time for my introduction and message. asante, my teacher from school and the assistant pastor at this church, gave a lovely introduction (not sure what all he said, but it included something about me not being married, not having kids and that the congregation should be praying for God to give me a husband.) when i first looked into the eyes of the congregation, my heart just stopped for a second. i was overwhelmed, and completely humbled, that i was standing in front of a congregation who didn't understand my language, and yet God had called me to offer them His message. asante translated for me. my message was about hope - knowing Who it is that supplies us with the evidence of things hoped for, and knowing the hope that is within us - 'what do you hope for?' and 'Who will fulfill it?' overall i think it went pretty well, and it was about 45 minutes. (good thing for translation - it doubles the time.) after the service, we were offered a wonderful meal of rice and sauce with goat meat. oh, and they had bottled water, which was a relief because i was a bit worried i would be expected to drink the tap. (due to the organism in the water, i'm afraid i'd be ill. to clean my water, i fill a clear, plastic bottle of water, shake it for about a minute to aerate the water, then set it in the sun for 2 days. the sunlight seems to kill the organisms, since i've not been ill so far! - read about this method from the internet.)

we then wasted some time going for a walk to see the crops where asante's family works the field. they've planted maize this year, and it's all by hand. they use the cattle to cultivate the land. spread the seed by hand. asante's mom goes to the field daily to weed the crops. (here, it's the woman's job to care for the fields.) after our walk it was time for youth group. there were more student's who attended than on saturday; i think there were about 15. i have a photo of them which i'll try to upload later. again i was asked to lead the program, so again i offered a time of questions to the students. some questions which made me laugh: 'in america, do they smoke marijuana?', 'is it legal to grow marijuana?' 'what type of oil do you use to cook?' (which they should've asked, do you know who to cook?'), and again all the questions about my family came up. during the prayer time, i asked them if anyone had any prayer request's. mostly their concern was for school - some wanted to go to school and some were praying to pass tests.

at 5 we raced out of the meeting so we could catch our taxi, a.k.a. 'dali dali', because it was the last one of the evening and if we didn't catch it, we'd have to pay for a private taxi which is about seven times as much money. anyway, we caught the last dali dali and we were off to the base.

this pretty much wraps up the events from last week: met flora, led 2 youth groups, preached. so now i'll need to attempt to catch up on this weekend. again, i apologize for the delay in time frame, but having the internet be so undependable makes it difficult to update. as i sit here, the internet is again not working. after a power outages last night, the internet has not been restored. (one of the staff needs to reboot the computer.) so again i wait to update. the african way.