Pictures I Wish I had...

Pictures I wish I had…

Last week, on Sunday, I spent much of the day with my Moru ‘family’. Alex B. and his relatives have graciously welcomed me over and over again into much more than just their home, but also into their hearts. I look forward to seeing them, and when I am not there they are calling me and asking me how I am doing. It feels good to be cared for in a culture and place that is so vastly removed from what I know and have experienced.

Sunday was ‘game day’ at Alex’s house. I brought several games generously sent to me by friends and family, via care packages, from America. We played Connect Four, Pass The Pigs, Memory, and Go Fish. It was such a delight! I wish I had my camera so you could visually see the 10 people that were gathered around a small, wooden table with a sheet metal top in the middle of the day under the shade of the central tree in the compound. Or if you glanced a few meters over you would have seen 10 more people playing memory, laughing as cards were flipped and people were trying to find the valuable matches. While watching memory, you might hear the laughter of the kids and adults as they rolled the pig-shaped dice near by, trying to get the pigs to land in acrobatic style to maximize point count.

The day concluded with 20 or more people gathered underneath the clear night-time sky, stars twinkling so brightly and clearly, that when I looked through the leaf-barren trees it reminded me of Christmas, as if the stars had become the twinkling lights ornamenting the central Christmas tree. There was a brief, fleeting moment, but real, as I looked at the people and the beauty of the darkness set aglow with millions of stars, that made me long for Heaven. If this was just a glimpse of what Heaven is like, how can I long for any other place?

We all gathered round, on ground, laps, mats, and plastic chairs as I set up my small computer and speakers for a showing of The Gods Must Be Crazy. Neighbors, small, tall, sober and not, all came wondering over to gather in on the sit-in movie. (People don’t really have cars here, so a drive-in movie would attract very few.)

When I show movies to Africans, especially Sudanese people, I am often anxious, as I fear they may not like the movie or understand what is happening. In general, the average local Sudanese has limited English speaking and hearing capacity, so long dialogues in the English language leave locals here confused and bored. Movies with lots of animals, dancing, or action attract the most applause. I’ve found that Planet Earth is a big hit, though it does involve me fast-forwarding to the animal scenes only.

It was with much delight and relief on my part that everyone loved The Gods Must Be Crazy. People laughed and cheered and hollered! They loved all the animal scenes, when the main African character is driving a car backwards by mistake, and visuals of a small African village – particularly in the video where a line of locals are walking along in their loin-cloth attire and their butts are showing!

Though my words may be many, or few, it may be hard for you to visualize what all these moments are like – the sights, sounds, and smells. Many things are left to your imagination, and most moments and experiences here I will never fully be able to explain. I often wish I could share these moments with you, or someone else, but for now I know God is there delighting in me and smiling as I receive his blessing.

I wish I would remember my camera more often, but in moments like those explained above, I try to visually take a snap shot in my mind so I won’t forget the beauty, joy, laughter, smells, sounds, and glimpses of love and joy. I hope you, too have many instances where everything seems right, peaceful, and brilliantly beautiful - where war, destruction, and hatred seem so void from the present moment.