Chapter XI
Chapter XI
This morning we went to church at St. John’s Bugongi. The church became packed over the course of about an hour as people trickled in. It’s a long walk for most of them. There was a Baptism, and then the family of the child came forward to give a special offering and receive another blessing. Then there were the readings , prayer, & Rick’s sermon. Rick’s testimony was well received. When he was finished the congregation burst into a song that Fr. David told me they sing whenever they have been particularly touched by the message. Then came a very very long time of announcements and introductions. During the announcement time they read letters they have received from other parishes, introduce everyone from anywhere who is visiting and let them have a moment to speak. An American Episcopal priest would probably be overcome with a spell of swooning long before it was over.☺ I led a few songs, and then it was time for the Offertory. What an incredible offering time! Today was the harvest celebration (sorghum) and people were bringing their first fruits to the Altar. People came forward in groups (clans) all competing to give the best offering. As each clan was called, they would go out the side door, collect their offerings that had been left outside, and process down the aisle with them. Woman after woman with baskets of sorghum on their heads, men with chickens, eggs, cabbages and long stalks of sugar cane came forward, singing and praising God. At one point, a chicken got loose and pooped right in front of the Altar. The Senior Warden hurried forward with a piece of paper to clean up the mess. Fr. Frances calmly picked up the chicken and put it back with the rest of the offerings. After that part of the offering was over, I announced that the guitar I had played during the songs I led was to become a gift to St. John’s Bugongi from St. John’s Roseville. Wild applause broke out, singing and dancing in the aisle, and Fr. Frances laid the guitar on the altar with the rest of the offerings. I was quite overwhelmed by the response.
Meanwhile, a cute little girl about 2 1/2 yrs.old wandered up to me and crawled into my lap. She spent about 15 minutes touching my face and hair and staring at me. Then she just climbed down and wandered away. As the offering progressed, the singing and dancing continued. When the service was over and we had mingled with a lot of people and shaken a lot of hands, we walked up another mountain to the home of Fr. Frances for tea and lunch with his family. There was tea and biscuits (muffins) and bananas, chicken stew, g-nut sauce and matoke. We were each given a bottle of water which was much appreciated. There were also roasted ground nuts (g-nuts) which are very wonderful. After the dishes were cleared away, there were introductions and a talk by the Senior Warden which was translated by Fr. David. The Senior Warden’s name is Joy. I have found you can guess 80% of the women’s names by just going through the fruits of the Spirit until you get to it. After that, people began wandering out, until suddenly Fr. Jonathon took the guitar (which had been brought to Fr. Frances’ house) out of the case and started playing a local song. It was then I remembered that Ron Thomson had given Johathan a guitar last time he visited us. Fr. Jonathan knows the C, F, and G chords, and those seem to work fine for most of the songs they sing. As soon as he started playing and singing, the room magically filled with people—many who not been there originally. The singing and dancing began and was wonderful as usual. After three songs, Jonathan put away the guitar and we had a time of prayer and then it was time to go. But we were not going home just yet. We were going to go visit Morrie, the sister of Fr. David. Morrie lives up yet another Mount Everest just past the Mount Kilamanjaro that Fr. Frances lives on. When we arrived at her house, they were just having lunch and were going to offer us some but thank God Fr. David explained we had just eaten. I thought I would lose weight here! All we do is eat, and no one asks if you want more—they just observe what you choose and keep your plate filled with it until you leave some. Fortunately, I have figured this out and I only take a little of what I want and never clean the plate. Maybe this way I’ll at least not GAIN anything. We had a nice visit with Morrie, then rapelled (just kidding—we hiked) back down the mountain to the car. On the way home we stopped in Bugongi at the home of Dorothy Clark’s pen pal, Patience. She wasn’t there but the rest of her family was and they all knew who Dorothy is and asked about her and sent their greetings. I gave the mother of Patience the gift from Dorothy to pass along. The mother had just returned home from a goiter surgery. It’s hard to believe people still suffer from such a preventable condition. I have seen several people with large goiters. We finally arrived home about 17:00 and had a nice family evening.
Next Morning
When we got up, Fr. David was gone. He had gone to the Bishop’s office to see why the Bishop had called. I realized he drove all the way over there because he was out of air time on his phone. Rick and I talked and decided to give him some money for phone time and a few other things. It’s unbelievable how little money he has. He is supported solely by the offerings of the congregation which he splits with the Lay Reader. Since being switched to Emmanuel from St. John’s, his income has been reduced drastically. Emmanuel is a much poorer church. St. John’s is actually pretty well off. It is very close to town and many of the parishioners are council members, doctors, teachers etc. whereas at Emmanuel most are poor subsistance farmers and laborers. Fr. David and his family supplement their income by selling eggs, sweet potatoes and baskets. He is building a shop in front of the house near the road with the intention of more easily selling the eggs and sweet potatoes they grow. There are little home shops all up and down the roads. Some sell laundry soap, some sell sugar, some sell phone air time. When you need something, you just walk over to the the neighbor who sells it.
After breakfast, we went into the village to attend the funeral of a well-known university professor. The church was packed. The funeral began at 12:00 and was to last three hours. We arrived around 13:00. We were ushered up to the front to sit with the clergy once again. I think it will be nice to get home and fade back into the background. After two very lengthy speeches, Fr.David said it was time to leave. I guess it’s acceptable to come late and leave early although it made me feel guilty.
From the funeral we went to lunch at a local hotel. We were the only people in the place except for one other table. We ordered, then the lunch rush hit. We waited and waited while everyone else was served. I began to get an idea of what it must feel like to be ignored and discriminated against. (Although that was not the case here). I thought of being a black person in the South in the 1940-50’s, being ignored like a non-person. The range of emotions I felt was a learning experience. I was angry at first, which faded into embarassment, and then almost a feeling of self-loathing. It was very fascinating and made me sad for the people who suffer through this all the time in many places in the world. Finally, after about an hour, they brought the food. Turns out they didn’t have the sausage I ordered so they sent someone to buy some and it took longer than they expected. The food was very good. Fr. David, being himself, during this entire time kept getting up and going outside to greet people he knows, but we are now used to his ways. He is just full of energy and love (although he can get very irritated at times.)
After lunch we went to the phone company to ask why the new phone we just had installed was demanding a password before it would let anyone call. No one seemed to know, but they told us there was a guy who would be standing in front of another store around the corner who could come out and explain it if we would pick him up and give him a ride to the house. He was not there, so we just went home and the problem remains unsolved at this time.
This morning we went to church at St. John’s Bugongi. The church became packed over the course of about an hour as people trickled in. It’s a long walk for most of them. There was a Baptism, and then the family of the child came forward to give a special offering and receive another blessing. Then there were the readings , prayer, & Rick’s sermon. Rick’s testimony was well received. When he was finished the congregation burst into a song that Fr. David told me they sing whenever they have been particularly touched by the message. Then came a very very long time of announcements and introductions. During the announcement time they read letters they have received from other parishes, introduce everyone from anywhere who is visiting and let them have a moment to speak. An American Episcopal priest would probably be overcome with a spell of swooning long before it was over.☺ I led a few songs, and then it was time for the Offertory. What an incredible offering time! Today was the harvest celebration (sorghum) and people were bringing their first fruits to the Altar. People came forward in groups (clans) all competing to give the best offering. As each clan was called, they would go out the side door, collect their offerings that had been left outside, and process down the aisle with them. Woman after woman with baskets of sorghum on their heads, men with chickens, eggs, cabbages and long stalks of sugar cane came forward, singing and praising God. At one point, a chicken got loose and pooped right in front of the Altar. The Senior Warden hurried forward with a piece of paper to clean up the mess. Fr. Frances calmly picked up the chicken and put it back with the rest of the offerings. After that part of the offering was over, I announced that the guitar I had played during the songs I led was to become a gift to St. John’s Bugongi from St. John’s Roseville. Wild applause broke out, singing and dancing in the aisle, and Fr. Frances laid the guitar on the altar with the rest of the offerings. I was quite overwhelmed by the response.
Meanwhile, a cute little girl about 2 1/2 yrs.old wandered up to me and crawled into my lap. She spent about 15 minutes touching my face and hair and staring at me. Then she just climbed down and wandered away. As the offering progressed, the singing and dancing continued. When the service was over and we had mingled with a lot of people and shaken a lot of hands, we walked up another mountain to the home of Fr. Frances for tea and lunch with his family. There was tea and biscuits (muffins) and bananas, chicken stew, g-nut sauce and matoke. We were each given a bottle of water which was much appreciated. There were also roasted ground nuts (g-nuts) which are very wonderful. After the dishes were cleared away, there were introductions and a talk by the Senior Warden which was translated by Fr. David. The Senior Warden’s name is Joy. I have found you can guess 80% of the women’s names by just going through the fruits of the Spirit until you get to it. After that, people began wandering out, until suddenly Fr. Jonathon took the guitar (which had been brought to Fr. Frances’ house) out of the case and started playing a local song. It was then I remembered that Ron Thomson had given Johathan a guitar last time he visited us. Fr. Jonathan knows the C, F, and G chords, and those seem to work fine for most of the songs they sing. As soon as he started playing and singing, the room magically filled with people—many who not been there originally. The singing and dancing began and was wonderful as usual. After three songs, Jonathan put away the guitar and we had a time of prayer and then it was time to go. But we were not going home just yet. We were going to go visit Morrie, the sister of Fr. David. Morrie lives up yet another Mount Everest just past the Mount Kilamanjaro that Fr. Frances lives on. When we arrived at her house, they were just having lunch and were going to offer us some but thank God Fr. David explained we had just eaten. I thought I would lose weight here! All we do is eat, and no one asks if you want more—they just observe what you choose and keep your plate filled with it until you leave some. Fortunately, I have figured this out and I only take a little of what I want and never clean the plate. Maybe this way I’ll at least not GAIN anything. We had a nice visit with Morrie, then rapelled (just kidding—we hiked) back down the mountain to the car. On the way home we stopped in Bugongi at the home of Dorothy Clark’s pen pal, Patience. She wasn’t there but the rest of her family was and they all knew who Dorothy is and asked about her and sent their greetings. I gave the mother of Patience the gift from Dorothy to pass along. The mother had just returned home from a goiter surgery. It’s hard to believe people still suffer from such a preventable condition. I have seen several people with large goiters. We finally arrived home about 17:00 and had a nice family evening.
Next Morning
When we got up, Fr. David was gone. He had gone to the Bishop’s office to see why the Bishop had called. I realized he drove all the way over there because he was out of air time on his phone. Rick and I talked and decided to give him some money for phone time and a few other things. It’s unbelievable how little money he has. He is supported solely by the offerings of the congregation which he splits with the Lay Reader. Since being switched to Emmanuel from St. John’s, his income has been reduced drastically. Emmanuel is a much poorer church. St. John’s is actually pretty well off. It is very close to town and many of the parishioners are council members, doctors, teachers etc. whereas at Emmanuel most are poor subsistance farmers and laborers. Fr. David and his family supplement their income by selling eggs, sweet potatoes and baskets. He is building a shop in front of the house near the road with the intention of more easily selling the eggs and sweet potatoes they grow. There are little home shops all up and down the roads. Some sell laundry soap, some sell sugar, some sell phone air time. When you need something, you just walk over to the the neighbor who sells it.
After breakfast, we went into the village to attend the funeral of a well-known university professor. The church was packed. The funeral began at 12:00 and was to last three hours. We arrived around 13:00. We were ushered up to the front to sit with the clergy once again. I think it will be nice to get home and fade back into the background. After two very lengthy speeches, Fr.David said it was time to leave. I guess it’s acceptable to come late and leave early although it made me feel guilty.
From the funeral we went to lunch at a local hotel. We were the only people in the place except for one other table. We ordered, then the lunch rush hit. We waited and waited while everyone else was served. I began to get an idea of what it must feel like to be ignored and discriminated against. (Although that was not the case here). I thought of being a black person in the South in the 1940-50’s, being ignored like a non-person. The range of emotions I felt was a learning experience. I was angry at first, which faded into embarassment, and then almost a feeling of self-loathing. It was very fascinating and made me sad for the people who suffer through this all the time in many places in the world. Finally, after about an hour, they brought the food. Turns out they didn’t have the sausage I ordered so they sent someone to buy some and it took longer than they expected. The food was very good. Fr. David, being himself, during this entire time kept getting up and going outside to greet people he knows, but we are now used to his ways. He is just full of energy and love (although he can get very irritated at times.)
After lunch we went to the phone company to ask why the new phone we just had installed was demanding a password before it would let anyone call. No one seemed to know, but they told us there was a guy who would be standing in front of another store around the corner who could come out and explain it if we would pick him up and give him a ride to the house. He was not there, so we just went home and the problem remains unsolved at this time.
Labels: Uganda Chronicles
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