Going to CHURCH

Julie and Micah,

Today we went to Church. We went to CHURCH. We woke up while it was still dark, 6:00 a.m. here which is 12:00 midnight there. It was great. I decided to sit up front with Don on this trip. I wanted to get some video footage of the roads we were driving on as well as see what we were driving on. It was bumpy enough. I saw the sun rise over Mozambique and had we been a few minutes ahead of schedule I would have seen it rise over part of the Indian Ocean.

Which reminds me…Yesterday, I don’t remember if I told you, we had a baptism at the Indian Ocean. The water was COLD. But a large number of us went down to stand in the water and watch the baptism. God bless the makers of Crocs, they are a very universal shoe! Okay back to Church.

So we drove on Highway #1 for a very long time. Pot holes are big and the bridges never line up with the road, which means more whiplash…I mean bumps. We came upon lots of great sights, like a cattle crossing and there was of course lots of great car passes into oncoming international traffic. Maybe you know what I am talking about, maybe you don’t, let’s just say Jesus and I got very close today.

We finally get to Chibuto (the village we had Church at). There was a man who died last week in South Africa from the village. They had just got his body back and the funeral was today. When I say the whole village went to the funeral, I mean the whole village. I got some great footage of the line. We sat for about 10 minutes while people marched by 2 across past our van. 500 people would not be an exaggeration. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. I am sorry I am not able to post videos on uTube while I am here, the dial up internet is too slow and the cost is great.

So on to Church, again. We finally get to Church, which was late due to the funeral. Africa, or Mozambique, is not ruled by the clock but rather the event. There were kids singing in the church building as we walk in. There were many ladies in the church. We walked in and the singing began to get louder. We knew 2 of the songs. They sing a Changauna version of No Not One. The other song was one we learned in Portuguese and Changauna and English. We had planned do sing that in our song time. We listened to not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4 but 5 preachers today. Church lasted about 3 hours. The end was a bit awkward. Cole, Bradley, Brian and myself (along with Don) we called up on “stage”. The people of the Church had a gift for us. Lunch. There were different types of roots and vegetables and a chicken. Now the awkward part was that the chicken was ALIVE.

Let me back track for a second, as I began to go up to the stage Josh, Don’s oldest son (age 23ish) said you have to kill a chicken. On stage Don said we have to kill a chicken. Sure enough the ladies hand me a chicken. I didn’t know what to do with it. I am thinking back to my years in KY and how I would kill a chicken if I had the opportunity. I remember you grab its head and spin it around, thus breaking the neck and separating the head from the body. Then I realize, before I do anything, that I am supposed to pass the chicken on to the next person, Brian, who wants nothing to do with the chicken because he thinks the responsibility of killing it now comes to him. We ended up passing each piece of their “offering” down the line. Somehow Don was able to pull the “translator” card and I ended up holding the chicken again. I realized at this point, we were not going to have to kill the chicken. I had a huge grin and tried very hard to not laugh, as our team is doing their best to impersonate a group of paparazzi outside of Paris Hilton’s jail cell.

We took the chicken home with us, back to the compound. Don gave it to the students because we are not going to be here tomorrow. Let it be said though that I would have killed the chicken and eaten it if that is what the Lord would have required of me. Fortunately for me and the chicken (and PETA) God is good. Well, the chicken probably won’t make it through tomorrow. I talked with the chicken a bit, she had a look of total fear in her eyes. She knew what was coming. She asked me about why her other friends would just “disappear”. I told her about the happy pecking grounds.

Any way, back to reality. After the service we went to pray with a lady in the village. She had a sore on her foot and wanted to know what to do. There is always a temptation, I guess, to go to a witch doctor. Animism is very much alive and well. It is a form of worshipping ancestors. We actually went to an ancestral spirit grave site and had the practice at this particular village explained to us. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch with the Church in Chibutu. They were very kind.

It was while we were at lunch that Don said hey, it’s time for Church to start in America so we made a few phone calls. Don ran out of credits while I was on the phone with you. It was so great to hear your voice and the tears just went rolling when Micah said, “I love you, Daddy.” You were on speaker phone and it made the day of a lot of people to hear some familiar voices. Brian got a little choked up about hearing Sarah’s voice. Well my battery is dieing so I have to go to bed. We leave for Kruger bright and early and I think I am the last one up again. I love and miss you. Tell my little buddy I love and miss him too and that I am coming home soon! See you in a few days.

all about Christ,
David