We’ve all had our moments of seeing fear. Whether it’s the
first time you throw your hand up at your kids and you see them terrified of
you. Or its when you see a friend tell you terrible news with unknown results.
Or think or another scenario more personal to you. But we’ve all seen fear in others’ eyes.
However a few days ago I saw something that I’ve never seen and
never want to see again. I was having a brief conversation with one of my girls
here at the center. She was trying to teach me to say “I live in a mud hut.� Or
something like that. She really doesn’t know English and I definitely don’t
speak more than 7 words of Acholi. But she was trying to teach me anyways.
She was sitting down and I was standing up as she was kept
pointing to my hut and then repeating slowly some Acholi words. I was doing a
poor job of learning as she was working hard to teach me. I was laughing at the
whole situation. Then for whatever reason, probably because I’m a touchy
person, I reached towards her face to cup it in my hand…and that’s when I saw
it. The lighthearted conversation was abruptly interrupted with the flash of fear & panic in her
eyes because of ME. She really thought for a second that I was going to hit
her. My friend really only knew that motion to come out of a place of anger rather than a place of
affection. I wanted to cry for
her.
We didn’t talk about it…how could we? Now I kind of wished I
would have tried. Instead my hand remained on her cheek and I smiled while she
still repeated her Acholi language lesson to me. That entire interaction simply
brought me back to the reality of my friends’ lives here. I had forgotten that
they have a horrific past that I can’t even begin to understand. After all I
know nothing of having to grow up in the midst of war running DAILY for my
life. Seeing the fear flash across her face struck me. In a way I felt a little
hopeless because I couldn’t do anything about it. But then again I can pray, “God
heal this one.� And perhaps me cupping her face with my hand will be a bit of
redemption when it comes to a raised hand. Perhaps that was part of her healing
process. That is what I’m hoping anyway.
RaNdOmNeSs:
So we sing songs in Acholi everyday in chapel. Its wonderful
because then you walk around with random Acholi songs stuck in your head. Most
of which you don’t know what they mean.
Well during one of last week’s chapel I asked the director is we
could sing the <insert scooping motion with BOTH hands> song. He was all
over it while the girls laughed. They love me! 😉 So the director wrote out the
lyrics on the board and taught us what the song meant. When I learned what it
meant, I was like “No wonder I love it & have it stuck in my head!� So the
song in English is:
Solo: “We shall see the
glory�
All respond: “We shall see
the glory of the Lord.�
Chorus: “Take the Devil
& Throw him out.� (Whooo…)
Then as we are singing the chorus we take our hands like we have
pitchfork and are scooping Satan up & then throwing him over our shoulder.
And the “Whooo…� we make is the sound of Satan as he is leaving!
Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaa!!! So now that I know the words to the song in Acholi & the
meaning in English, I walk around singing it WITH the motions. It makes the
girls and women laugh when I do, but I think it’s a wonderful declaration to
release in the atmosphere here!!!
