We have gone on many crusades this month. The crusades usually take place in a village. We travel in the back of a truck on dirt roads. As we pass by people, they stop to stare. We wave at them and some continue to stare because they cannot wrap their minds around what they are seeing and others get a huge smile on their face as they wave back. The children don’t know what to do… part of them is curious and wants to be around us but the other part of them is scared because they have never seen a white person and they have been told stories about us. To hold crusades in the villages we have to have the permission of the chief.
Last week we were in a village in Binoni. The night we arrived one of the leaders asked if Stacey and I wanted to take a walk with him, Tommy, and another person with the ministry. We decided to go and were led down the moonlit path. On the way, the informed us we were going to meet the chief. Granted I had the opportunity to meet the chief in the first village we went to, but this time I had the impression that this was a big deal. Normal people in the village don’t get the opportunity to spend time with the chief; yet, here I am meeting the chief my first day in the village.
Arriving at the chief’s house, a mat that looks like it is made from bamboo is laid out. We sit down on the mat and have a conversation with the chief. We wanted to let him know that we had arrived and to make sure it was still okay to have the crusade there. Sitting under the stars on a mat covering the sand, it kind of felt like we could have been at the beach. While they were talking, I couldn’t help but to look around at the chief’s house and yard to remind myself where I was and what we were doing! The chief was happy that we were there but felt we needed to talk with the chief of chief’s so we weren’t overstepping authority.
The next day the chief and the group chief (head of 5 village chiefs) came by the place we were staying to take some of us to visit the chief of chief’s(head of 9 group chiefs) – Subchief Kanga. I was chosen to go along with Emily, Kameron, and Christy. We had to drive a little ways to get to Subchief Kanga’s. We arrived and there was another group chief there. When they all greeted Subchief Kanga they bowed down to him and put both hands over their chest. Subchief Kanga then came over to us Americans and shook our hands. He welcomed us and said that we could do what we came to do. We could act like this was our own home and doesn’t want this to be the last time that we come to the village.
