Partaking in Pop
This month we have been evangelizing in a neighborhood near
our church. It was the first day when we met a bunch of construction workers
who were forming bricks out of sand, concrete and water. They were working hard and always for long hours. I stared from a distance pondering what the people would be
like to work with and then I got a wave. The wave was friendly and jovial (as most waves are to Musungoes/white
people), but after two waves I took it as an invitation. I looked to my team
and said “I’m gonna go work.”
signaled if I could help them make bricks. This took the workers aback as white
people would never ask to do their job (brick making is not a glorious job),
but Matt and I stepped in and helped. It
was so much fun to learn, work beside and laugh at each other.
At the end of our little workout (the bricks are super heavy), we asked through our translator
if we could come back the next day and help again. They said it would be ok, so Matt and I came
prepared. They only let us work for two
hours (cause white people can’t handle the work they say) but it was worth it. In those two hours we
built relationships through work ethic and laughter. The guys were impressed with our effort, and
we were impressed with their strength; they work so hard for 12 hours a day.
Why am I telling you this?
Because of that first day of work, we have been able to talk
to those guys nearly every day. We invited them to church, we have hour long
conversations about the difference between Islam and Christianity, they show up
at Bible studies to ask questions. It has been amazing.
to be Muslim which is a huge statement of faith.
The greatest honor of the month.
Today after church (last blog) I went to the construction site to meet my friends. I had been invited to play futbol with them, and so I just waited for them to be paid. All the workers were getting paid for the day (they make
10,000 shillings which is about 12 US Dollars for 12 hours of work. )
My friend, Hussin, who used to be Muslim and has proclaimed Christ, came over to try and make small talk. After 30 second we ran out of
common language and sat together. He
looked at me and said “you like the pop coca cola?”
i said, “Yes.” And he
instantly grabbed my hand to lead me to a little shack to buy me a soda.
kindness.
Hussin was declaring his friendship for me in two ways.
1)
1) We were holding hands.
In African culture guys who are friends
hold hands with each other when they are walking as a sign of unity. Hussin was holding my hand and smiling cause
he wanted to bless me with a cola.
2)
2 ) He bought be a drink.
Hussin only makes 10,000 shillings a
day. A cola costs 500 shillings. THAT
IS ONE TWENTIETH HIS DAILY SALARY SPENT ON A SODA FOR ME!!!
I am so humbled and honored to be here
working with these men. They look at me
and are honored that I left America to be with them, but I feel equally blessed
to be accepted and loved by them into their lives in such a short amount of
time.
So this is stage two of the awesome day. Its one part about the evangelism, one part about the relationships, and one part seeing
