Like this:

Welcome at Kyaya (pronounced Chai)

    What a delightful welcome awaited us at Kyaya!  This and other little villages are located in the Mpigi District of Uganda … WAY out there!  This little church family and community were so excited about our coming, even though they had been waiting for us for more than 2 hours, they came running out and surrounded our vans, singing, dancing, uulating (you know that really high-pitched warble).  It was really overwhelming to be greeted so ENTHUSIASTICALLY!  We were curtsied to, called “Madame”, hugged, touched and oh, the smiles!  Everytime someone would curtsy, I’d pull them up and hug or shake hands, I really did not want to be made out to be “superior” in any way!  They were being respectful, but I know I’m not any royalty or celebrity.  After wading carefully through the crowd outside, we were led inside their little church bulding, right up to the front as honored guests, and they sang (wonderfully!), clapped and welcomed and entertained us for a while.  (BTW, I did not even take a watch to Africa with me.  I decided I wasn’t going to worry about time while there,  just go with the flow.  It was very liberating!)

     A group of teenagers sang several songs for us, and I’m telling you, one of those girls in particular (the one with the orange sweater) had an amazing voice.   She probably has little chance of “being discovered” way out there in those boonies, but wow,what a talent!  And she was beautiful, too.

     This little church, with packed dirt floors and fresh straw strewn over it, was probably no larger than 12′ x 20′, but it was packed out with people of all ages, just thrilled to welcome us, a group of 16 muzungus — the first ever such group to visit their church.   There, as elsewhere on our visits, they brought in bottles of soda for our refreshment.  Actually, quite a variety of sodas, in 10 oz. glass bottles — which you could tell had been used and re-used, and always room temperature (no refrigeration, since there’s no electricity). 

   Side-note:  Several have asked me about the heat.  I have to tell you, it is much hotter in Alabama than it was in Uganda!  They stay pretty much between 80-85 degrees for a daily high temperature all year round, even though they are near the equator.  It wasn’t bad at all!  We would definitely feel hot if we were in the sun, but under a shade it was pretty comfortable.

     So, after the celebratory welcome at Kyayi, we traveled further to the community of Kyamukama and were greeted by another enthusiastic and excited welcoming party.  It was getting on towards dark by this time, and we had to get our little tent city set up quickly.  Soon we were introduced to the brand new “facilities” that had been prepared for us!  They had built a new mud and stick outdoor potty, complete with two freshly dug holes, with a partition (that did not go all the way to the top) — one side for women and one side for men.  There was a woven mat for a door, but it did not go all the way to the ground, so you could see feet in there and know if it was occupied.  Needless to say, it was not a happy place to be and you only when when you HAD to and did not linger. 

The other facility was the “shower” area.  They had tied four sheets of tin upright, making a two-sided spot where you could go and undress to your own level of comfort and use the water that had been carried in from miles and miles away in two 5 gallon jugs to bathe.  The first night I opted to baby-wipe-bathe and wash my hair.  The second night, I did use about a quart of the water to wash off and rinse out my hair.  It sure made me appreciate clean, running water in our homes.  I was also glad I had gotten my hair cut off extremely short before the trip!

   While we set up our tents and then got to eat dinner somewhere around 10 PM (another feast of rice, beans, squash, matoke and posho, along with fresh pineapple and MILK TEA), Sunday and Moses set up the generator they had brought andshowed “The Jesus Film” to the gathered crowd.  It was really odd, watching a white Jesus, dubbed with the Lugandan language, being shown to a very solidly African gathering.  But they seemed to be intrigued with it.   SIDE NOTE:  I emphasized milk tea so I could describe it.  It is a hot tea, steeped in hot milk (freshly “squeezed” straight from the cow) instead of water — very different from anything I’d ever tried, but very good. 

     One other thing I want to tell about from that first night in the village was how incredible the night skies were.  It felt like the full moon and the stars were SO close!  I remember from childhood nights when the stars seemed so very near, but nowdays with streetlamps and city lights, you don’t get to see that often.  We stood in awe of the handiwork  of God and were blessed.

(These pictures were actually taken at breakfast the next morning, but the scene was the same except it was by lamplight that first night.)

Advertisement