easter in kasilo village

the road to kasilo village

Our family spent Easter in Kasilo village, visiting a new church there.  Our teammate Calvin has been mentoring Yohana, one of the church leaders at Kasilo, and was asked to be present on Easter for several baptisms.  The Groens are on their way home for furlough, so I offered to stand in for Calvin.  This was Christie’s and my first trip to Kasilo, and we had a great time.

Yohana is a jack-of-all-trades sort, in that he is a nurse assistant by trade — and the most qualified in his village to do just about anything related to medicine.  Within minutes of arriving at Kasilo, I was called over to watch a guy have a wisdom tooth pulled.

yohana the dentist, doctor, and minister -- though he looks like about anyone from an MTV Rock 'n Jock softball game in the 90's

I wasn’t the only person watching Yohana’s work.  A crowd gathered as he prepared to pull this man’s tooth just around the back of his house.

just the usual tools of the trade

After the extraction, the patient told me that he felt absolutely no pain at any point during the process. 

the extraction of a lone wisdom tooth

 That means he felt less than I did.  It was painful to watch.  But an incredibly interesting way to begin a village visit.  Something I’ve never seen before.

the happy patient, tooth in hand

Then we ate chai — which is basically breakfast — at 9:30 am.  It was rice and beans; some of you know this is my least favorite food in the world.  They told us we were eating the stuff because it was Calvin’s favorite.  Thanks, buddy.

beans and rice for breakfast... mmmm.

Then we went to worship (the first time).  Because there were several baptisms planned for today, I preached on the relationship between water, Easter, and baptism.  (Basically that) water in the Bible usually involves some combination of the following: death, cleansing and/or new beginnings.  And that on Easter we celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

Baptism, then, relates to both of these.  The water represents death, cleansing, and new beginning.  And the act itself embodies our death to sin, burial with Christ, and resurrection to a new life.  Baptism is a play of sorts, in which the participant reenacts the story of Jesus, as he claims it as his own story.

oh brothers, lets go down, down to the river to pray (NOT a river)

So we headed down to the large puddle / small pond in which we’d be baptizing.

a baptism performed by yohana the doctor, dentist, and baptizer

Yohana performed all ten of the baptisms while the rest of us celebrated in song.  I had gone with the goal of not doing more than one or two of the baptisms myself, so the Tanzanian leadership wouldn’t rely too heavily on us as missionaries.  I was happy to not be needed at all. 

a prayer after the baptisms -- isn't it strange that we call the act of praying prayer... and not the person who does it?

Then back to the church “building” for more worship.

worship at kasilo church

Everyone was excited to participate.  All the kids sat up front.

...and more worship

Afterwards, we ate again.  Rice and beans.

baylor learned to share with the other kids. and the girl's a huge fan of rice and beans.

My favorite part of every village visit is the time I get to spend with the men as we sit around talking before and after meals.  Today we discussed agriculture (no-till farming) and group Bible studies, among other things; we also set a date for me to return and do some more teaching.

my favorite time in the village -- sitting and talking with the men before and after meals

Then we shared together in the first communion taken by the recent baptizees.  [Is that a word?]

communion, eucharist, lord's supper, whatever you prefer to call it

Our trip to Kasilo village was a good one.  In total it was a 10-hour trip (6 in the village and 4 driving), but we were still able to be back in Geita in time to eat pizza with Carson and Holly while reading the resurrection story (in English).  The Harrison family had a very blessed Easter (see Easter photos of Baylor here).  I hope you did, too.

And please say a quick prayer for the Kasilo village church; it would be much appreciated.

powerpoint pornography and God on worship

Our God on worship:

This is the kind of person I appreciate:

The one who is humble and repentant, and worships by receiving my words with obedience.

What today passes as worship is only sin, and brings me no pleasure.  He who “leads prayer” on a Sunday morning might as well call on the name of Satan, asking HIM to guide, guard, and direct.  And the one who “waits on the Lord’s Table” should instead defecate on it.  When they put my money in the collection plate, it is to me as if they were begrudgingly donating dismembered human body parts.  And the guy who’s preaching might as well use his fancy powerpoint computer program to show pornography in the assembly of the “saints.”  While they’re at it, they should sell popcorn in the foyer, and use the money to build a golden calf.  [There's no money in giving away free coffee.]

They have chosen to make worship about themselves.  What was intended to bring me joy has become nothing more than a self-serving list of dos and do-nots, which have the appearance of holiness — for two or three hours a week.  These people love their assemblies with a selfish love, and they glory in what they are able to produce.  So I will respond appropriately, which will not be pleasant.  They’ll receive that which they fear most.  For when I invited them to me, no one came.  When I gave instructions, no one listened.  Instead they did evil and attempted to hide it with these assemblies they call church.  I am more than displeased.

– Isaiah 66:2b-4

image courtesy of storehousechicago.org

healings on the sabbath and attendance on sundays

I remember several years ago discussing the idea of incarnational ministry with a group of students.  We were talking about how a church might better serve and share God’s love with a large group of Mexicans who played soccer nearby every Sunday.  Entire families were making a day out of their soccer league play; there were children running around, women sitting and talking on blankets, and picnic lunches everywhere.  An entire community was coming together each and every Sunday.  After a dozen or so conventional ideas about inviting them to our “worship services” by posting signs or cooking a meal for them, we determined that all of these ideas would force these good folks to leave their group in order to become a part of ours.  One individual suggested we play soccer with them.  But someone else interjected that we could not ourselves miss “church” in order to do so.

Allow me to take a few (or many) liberties with Luke 14:1-6:

One Sunday, when Jesus was on his way to worship in a large church building with a well-known and respected community of believers, he was being carefully watched.  On the way he happened upon a group of Mexicans playing soccer.  Jesus asked the pastor and Sunday School teachers, “Am I allowed to be late to church — or even miss it altogether — to bring healing to this group of people?”  But the religious leaders remained silent while checking their watches, cell phones, and day planners.  So Jesus put on his cleats and kicked the ball around for a bit, as he shared the good news of the kingdom with his fellow footballers.

Then Jesus asked the preachers and pastors, “If one of you has a son in jail* or a friend who is sick on a Sunday at 10:00 am, will you not go pay his bail or take her to the hospital?”  And they had nothing to say.

Just some thoughts.  Yours?

* I know, I know… a pastor’s son would never go to jail — other than to witness to the criminals who are present there.

waiting tables, washing feet: a lesson in gratuities

image courtesy of ethisphere.com

Overheard at a restaurant during Sunday lunch:

• “Do you have any idea how expensive it is to feed a family of five AND leave a 20% tip?!”
• “If I wanted to clean up after my kids, we’d have eaten at home.”
• “We paid to eat here, and we’ll sit at this table until we’ve fully enjoyed our time of Christian fellowship.”
• “Although I’m a Christian, I’m a stingy, selfish, inconsiderate person and don’t mind showing it in public — especially to someone as lowly as a waitress at Chili’s.  Now where were we?  Oh, yeah, I was critiquing today’s sermon…”

One of my favorite bloggers is Randy Morgan, over at Your Best Life Later.  I just read his latest post titled “The Sunday Lunch Crowd,” and wanted to send you his way.  It’s worth a read, especially if you ever go out to dinner on Sunday afternoons.  I’m going to add to his thoughts just a few of my own below.

Waiting tables pretty much paid for my last year of my undergraduate degree.  I never liked working the Sunday lunch crowd, despite the fact that they were all “like me” and Christian.  Randy addressed, in his essay, both the horrible tips and the large groups who sit forever, preventing their servers from making any cash above the miserly gratuities, which they’ve so begrudgingly given.

But one thing Randy didn’t mention was the way these “good Christian” families generally make no attempt to clean up after their kids. I’ve even heard some Christian mothers say, “If I wanted to clean up after my kids, we’d have eaten at home.”  I’m not saying these parents need to bus tables or wash dishes.  But they could at least pick up a few of the thousands of fragments of crayons that were smashed with salt shakers after being dipped in honey mustard sauce.  They could transfer some of the half-eaten french fries and chicken fingers from their tables to their plates.  Or they could utilize a few of the extra napkins they asked for in an attempt to at least begin the process of cleaning their second bottle of ketchup off the wall — or was that the first bottle, and the reason for the second?

Waiting tables was the catalyst for me to reevaluate my Christian witness through tipping.  If you are a Christian, you represent Christ everywhere you go and in everything you do — but ESPECIALLY on Sunday afternoon when you’re dressed in your Sunday best, church bulletin in hand (to get 10% off your total meal purchase).**  And just in case anyone is still wondering, leaving a gospel tract is not an acceptable substitute for tipping.

Some of the best tippers I had were big groups of drinkers and college girls with their dad’s credit cards. Next were my regulars, who were also those whom I enjoyed serving the most — real conversation and real appreciation… and sometimes leftover portions of dessert (illegal for me to eat?).

But the best tippers (far and away) are always other waiters.  I would double my tips on a Friday or Saturday night with one 8-top if the waitstaff from the restaurant next door came in for drinks after work.  There’s a lot to be said for empathy.  When you understand someone else’s situation, you’re much more likely to respond appropriately and in love.

Maybe the church should ask its members to fulfill a mandatory service requirement, waiting tables in the restaurant industry.  Funny, isn’t it (or sad), that it’s almost impossible to imagine many of our church members humbly fulfilling that position of service?

And you know what I think… if we’re not willing to wait tables, we’re for sure not willing to wash feet.

Recap

• Randy Morgan is the man.
• The Sunday lunch crowd DOES NOT represent Christ well.
• As a matter of fact, large groups of alcoholics are more generous, kind, and thoughtful than are Sunday lunch Christians.
• Gospel tracts are not suitable for tipping.  [Nor, in my opinion, are they suitable for evangelism.]
• Servers should not eat their customers’ leftovers.
• If I’m ever in charge of a church, there will be a mandatory requirement that all members wait tables for a period of at least one month.
• If you can’t leave a generous tip, don’t go out to eat.  [This one wasn't covered in the post, but should've been.]
• Please think about how you act in public, and how it reflects on my God.

* Those of you waiting for a follow-up to the “definition of gospel” post will have to wait a few more days (not that waiting on a post of mine will be difficult — some of you were probably hoping to miss it altogether).  It’s just that, to be honest, I need more time and more intelligence to write that post.  It kind of overwhelms me and I feel ill-prepared.  Still, I’m working on it.  And plus, today’s Saturday.

** You know the 10% you save with that church bulletin would be a great start for a tip.  And it’s basically free.

gambling at hooters on a sunday

From “(The Customer is) Not Always Right:”

Caller: “I have an unauthorized charge on my account!”

Me: “Which charge is it?”

Caller: “The one from [Hooters]. That was a Sunday…I would never go there on a Sunday! Someone must have stolen my card. This is so insulting, to have this charge on there. I need you to remove it immediately!”

Me: “Sir, the date on your account summary is the date the charge cleared your account. The actual date of the transaction at the establishment was two days before, on Friday.”

Caller: “Oh…then that was me.”

We seem to enjoy separating the secular and the sacred — drawing imaginary lines in order to set apart holy days and spiritual places.  We say things like, “I can’t believe you told that joke in a church building.”  Or, “You guys are planning to get drunk right after we finish our Bible study time?!”

What are your thoughts on the way we set aside particular days, times, and places as being more spiritual than others?  You guys can post your comments here — but I’m off to my Sunday night poker club, where we smoke marijuana cigarettes while praying.*

* This is not true, and is only meant in jest…  we don’t smoke marijuana cigarettes.**

** This was purposely written to sound as if it is only the marijuana that I refrain from taking part in.  That is misleading, because we have no poker night on Sundays.***

*** Again, misleading.  There is no poker night… on any night of the week.