Sunday we went to church. All 3 of us are church-goin' girls so we have been missing our usual weekend routine. Lyndsay, Michelle, Leenisha, Katie (the other 2 volunteers that are here now) and I decided to go to my Ugandan brother's church since he had been very nice to invite us and it would be one of our only weekends staying in Bududa. I start off by saying we arrived at 9:40am (this is an important detail!)
Please note: I will be throwing in a lot of comparisons to and shameless plugs for my church because I LOVE it. For those of you readers who may be looking for a church, The Crossing could be the place for you. It's non-denominational, thrives on modern art and music, and is always worth the drive. Check out wcrossing.org for more info.
The building itself couldn't be further from any church we have entered. No beautiful vaulted ceilings of a cathedral, no wooden pews or stained glass of a presbyterian church, no modern technology and bold colors like the Crossing. It had 4 mud walls, and a dirt floor. A few rows of benches made from planks of wood were separated by an aisle. The alter was a wooden table.
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We started off being lead in song by Richard's wife which really reminded me of Robin Holder, who wails on the mic at my church (How I miss your voice…and you). There was much singing in Lugesu in which we awkwardly swayed and clapped along hoping that it wasn't really pagan worship music. We all were missing our David Crowder and Charlie Hall covers.
Eventually everyone stopped singing and started praying out loud. And not quietly, many were shouting and walking around. I can't imagine the chaos that would ensue if all 500 people at my church did that. After that, Richard began translating for us and would even tell us what the songs were about so it was easier to follow along. (There is intermittent singing throughout the service)
Next was a message by one of the pastors. Like my church, they have one pastor for every 10 members… about 4 total. I think I counted 34 heads… adults and babies all included. After that I'm assuming we are about to wrap things up. Its about 11:00 and Richard says it's "testimony" time. The other pastors speak and some other members do… all having very insightful and inspiring things to say. All were very thankful for visitors and thanked us for the work we are doing in Uganda. Many prayers were said for us. I was completely humbled. Of course, Richard tells us they want a testimony from us in which I am nominated. Oh goodness if Greg Holder ever put me on stage without warning…
After the testimony part, another pastor speaks. So I'm thinking, Ok… this must be the sermon then?? But then another pastor gives a "sermon". Not long after my watch hand hit 12:40, the pastor currently speaking says he is wrapping things up but then says they are going to let the last pastor speak. At this point my butt is killing me with the wooden bench under neath and I'm way beyond my 1.5 hour movie/speaker/anything attention span. ADD has set in. People get uneasy if my church goes 15 minutes over an hour. The last pastor to speak is the one that gave a long winded "testimony" and his sermon proved to be nothing short of the same. Everyone was at their top performance with a bunch of "Mzungos" in the building.
There was more singing. There was some weird praying for people that resembled something more like an exorcism. There were babies being swapped around (which actually happened a lot throughout the whole thing. One would exit one woman's arms and then latch on to someone's boob and would eventually end up in some man's arms. We were all playing "Whose baby is it, anyway?" in our heads.) There was more singing. It probably went on all afternoon but eventually Richard pulled us away saying his mom and wife were preparing tea for us. Normally, we turn down unnecessary hospitality but we were so relieved to be out of there (time is 1:30pm) that we agreed.
We spend some lovely time having milk tea (I think the first milk I've had the whole trip) and playing with Richard's kids, Simon and Agift (because she is a gift… get it??), and the foster kids that were around. They offered to make us lunch? dinner? what meal is at 3:00pm?? But we didn't want to impose and were ready to be back to our "home" after a long weekend away. People are so generous here… even the ones that we know have very little. I feel guilty accepting tea or coffee (which is essentially dirty water).
So the service wasn't what I am used to, and it's probably not something I would choose to do if America offered 4 hour long church services (but alas, we aren't on "African Time"), but it reminded me that the body of Christ is world wide. People are generous of heart and soul when material goods are lacking. I thought I would come to Uganda to be the hands and feet of Jesus, but feel like my feet are the ones being washed by others.
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| The Infamous Richard and Kristen, can't you tell their brother and sister? |
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