Wednesday, July 10, 2002
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Wednesday, July 10, 2002 |
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Sights and sounds from Uganda By JOHN HATCHER Here I am preaching from the pulpit of All Saint's Church in the heart of Uganda's capital city of Kampala and whom do I see? Members from Fayetteville's New Hope Baptist Church sitting in the congregation. Afterwards, I greet Steve and Ann Foster along with Judy Nesbitt. They are here in Uganda to participate in an African evangelistic outreach. People can say a lot of things about one of Fayette's largest churches, but you have to admit they are intentional about reaching the four corners of the globe for Jesus Christ. The average person does not see these foreign mission endeavors of New Hope and therefore do not appreciate the length and breath of New Hope's mission. Thank you to New Hope for giving hope to Africa and other countries in need for Christ. Another scene: as my host pastor, Bethuel Dongo, and I leave Namungo after I conducted a marriage enrichment event, the resident pastor and wife ask us to come to their home to receive gifts. The local pastor, Elijah Mugulu, came bringing a live chicken as part of the honorarium. His wife brought a quart of fresh milk along with peanuts, kasava, and sugar cane. I have heard about physicians and ministers being paid in animals, but it was my first time to see such. Did we accept the honorariums? Of course. No good-sense Ugandan would turn down a wonderful supper meal of boiled chicken and kasava. We put the chicken in the trunk of the car and returned to the city. Didn't hear a word out of the chicken all the way back. Another scene: one of the most convenient ways of transportation is to take the public taxis that are essentially 15-passenger vans. They are a hoot. Normally the taxi's conductor seeks to pack as many on board as possible. My daughter, Anna, and I found that we needed to take a taxi in order to get to the church, and what an experience. We have yet to understand how you indicate that you want to get off. As we yelled "here," the passengers were all amused and laughed. One thing I don't like about Ugandans is their very, very soft voice. They rarely talk above a whisper. Therefore they all have excellent hearing. They are very polite. If Atlanta had the traffic problems they face here in Kampala, the nightly news would report someone shot dead on the roads because of road rage. We Americans have a lot to learn from this soft-spoken, polite culture. Final perspective: the church in Uganda is doing more than just winning people to the Lord. Sister Florence Dongo, wife of my host pastor, sees one of her missions as that of teaching women in the bush to get busy with their natural talents to make money. She has encouraged women to use their talents at farming, hand-crafts, and the like to turn a profit, rather than sitting at home and bemoaning the fact of their poverty. And it's working. The women have begun to realize the benefits of a free, capitalistic society. So, we thank God for Florence and all the women who are lifting the estate of women. As you read this final column, my daughter and I will be making our way back. We're looking to return to fried chicken, corn bread and American Italian pizza.
The Rev. Dr. John Hatcher is pastor of River's Edge Community
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