These past two months have been full of amazing people and relationships. One of my favorite things about the past few weeks has been being called “Muzungu” everywhere I went. Men, women, and children would call out to us from every direction, “Muzungu! Muzungu!”.
In both Rwandan and Ugandan languages, Muzungu means “white person”. If there is a group of us white folk walking together, they will call us “abazungu” meaning “multiple white people”.
Although this is now one of my favorite words of all time, it originally annoyed me. After a few weeks of constantly having it yelled at me, it began to feel degrading. I would stop acknowledging the people who called out to me and instead built-up resentment in my heart.
After one particularly long day of ministry, I came home exhausted and frustrated. All I could think about was being called to and my frustration towards the word Muzungu grew. However, God decided it was time to share a different viewpoint on the topic with me.
This story is from the perspective of a little girl we say every day on our way to ministry. She would get SO excited to see us and become giddy when we gave her a high five. Her greeting was always the same, “Good Morning, Abazungu! Good morning!”. With that being said, here is what God shared with me…
I saw a Muzungu today.
Her eyes were pale and her skin was light.
I had never seen one in person so I stared as she walked by.
Nervous, I raised my hand and waved at her.
She smiled and those pale eyes filled with something I have never seen before.
I saw a Muzungu today.
She was different than I expected.
She went out of her way to come shake my hand and give me a hug.
I felt her skin and was surprised at how similar we were.
She made me laugh as she made a silly face and walked away.
I saw a Muzungu today.
I told my friends on the playground at school.
They gathered around and asked me questions.
What did her skin feel like?
Did you touch her hair?
Are you sure she wasn’t a ghost?
What color were her eyes?
I saw a Muzungu today.
I told my family as we sat and ate dinner on the floor together.
They were surprised and excited for me.
My mom said I was lucky to have seen one, let alone talk to one.
Apparently, they don’t come around our village often.
I saw a Muzungu today.
I thought as I laid on my mat next to my siblings trying to fall asleep.
She was so much nicer than I expected.
My mind kept drifting back to that different light in her pale eyes.
It seemed to draw me in, making me want to know more.
The odd part was, I had a strange feeling of wanting it too.
After God revealed this story to me, my eyes were opened to the Father’s heart for His people. He showed me how much joy a simple smile and high five brought to the people around me. This epiphany changed my attitude towards the people calling for me. I did my absolute best to smile and wave at everyone I saw. I asked God to shine through me and use me to make His name known. It’s amazing that God can use such a small act of kindness to reach the unreached.
