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Staff Reports
Reports of recent Trips and Work by Godspeed Missionary Care
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Staff Missionary Reports
Reports and Experiences of the Godspeed Staff
"Taste and see that the Lord is good..."
Psalm34:8
"Taste and see.."
Somewhere during the 19 hours spent in the aft section of several large aircraft that got me to Mozambique, there was a news program on the in-flight movie screen. They were describing an unusual neurological disorder known as "synesthesia", where two or more of the senses get cross-connected; people so affected may "see" bright colors and patterns triggered by music, or "taste" words they hear, or have different skin sensations which are caused by hearing certain melodies. I don’t have synesthesia, but God let me in on a bit of what it must be like today.
Sunday morning, off to church, various sensations experienced:
- inner ear gets a workout as motion sickness is the near-result of riding to church over a mile of dirt road, traversing huge potholes and dodging mounds of trash.
- aromas galore: cooking fires, aforementioned trash, the olfactory experience of 130 people packed into a small church on a sweltering summer morning.
- visually, it is all a bit overwhelming. We are in the Chamincula barrio, hundreds of irregularly constructed mud and brick shacks with corrugated tin roofs, densely populated, chickens running here and there, a pet monkey tethered in the back "yard" of one nearby hut. I am informed that this must be a "middle class" area, since almost all the adults have shoes on.
- Then, the music. Ah, the music. The congregation is young, as is most of this country where the life expectancy is less than 45 years. There is an electric keyboard, but the young man playing it does not lead the songs; someone in the congregation will start singing, others will join in, and soon the entire room is filled with that rich multiplex harmony so familiar in Africa. The keyboardist (joined later by a bass player) tries different chords until he finds one that matches the key the congregation has already chosen. And not just singing, with harmonies and counter-melodies and descants, all beautifully interwoven from the heart, but also a shuffling, rhythmic dance that one will start, joined soon by others, soon the front of the room is packed with swaying, joyful song. We have been seated at the front of the church, facing the congregation, a place of honor afforded guests. The power of the singing bathes us, surrounds us, begins to make itself felt in ways other than just auditory.
- I soon stopped trying to understand any words. The music was sung in Changann (local tribal language), Zulu, Portuguese, and there was even one song whose chorus ended with "You are worthy to be praised." Later, the pastor spoke, his topic (as I understood from someone who translated) was that of being not just hearers of the Word, but doers as well. He is a small, gentle man with a strong voice in the pulpit and a soft voice and huge smile when greeting us. He raises and sells chickens to augment his meager income as a pastor.
- And the prayer, or prayers. I lost count of how many there were. The joyful congregational singing would not just stop, it would graduate into one person praying, then others, then everyone in the room praying, out loud, all at the same time. The sermon would start and end the same way. The service closed with this same symphony of voices. This was music of a different sort, a beautiful sound that did not need translation.
The hackneyed tourist phrase, "I wish you could have been here" is inadequate. Today I saw, and heard, and felt, the presence of God in a place of worship, and it tasted wonderful.
Thanks to all of you who have written with encouragement and news of home. When one experiences synesthesia, it is made even more special by hearing from friends and family.
Godspeed,
Barney
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