Today I was invited to sit for tea in the Uswaa dining room. Eli, the beautiful parish worker with the most amazing graciousness extended the invitation.
“Karibu sana, Mchungagi Sara”
“Chai?”
She does not speak much English and I can understand just this much Swahili. She asked said, “welcome pastor Sara, would you like tea?”
When my tea (which turned out to be coffee) was poured, she said: “I pray.”
I thought she meant that she was praying for me during my visit here. I said: “eco ma” (which is thank you in Chagga) as I turned to sit down with my coffee I noticed that she had bowed her head in prayer. Right then is what she meant, she would pray right then.
I’ve noticed that before a meal or tea time the one who has prepared the meal and is serving it, will say the prayer to bless it. I guess in our prayers before meals we are accustomed to praying in thanksgiving for “the hands that have prepared the meal,” but here those hands are not only preparing and serving, but praying too.
I like to think about the work of these wonderful people as a prayer in itself. It reminds me of Abraham Heschel who marched in the ‘60’s to protest civil rights violations, when he marched he said – “I felt like my legs were praying.”
Today I am so grateful for these servants who pray with their voices, their hands, and their hearts.
I LOVE your blog. It makes me laugh and remember how wonderful it is there! Mama Kweka must be staying with you? Their hospitality is evident throughout your blog! We all miss you. I am impressed you have not opened your peanut butter!:)
ReplyDeleteSara, your writing is so lovely. You are taking care to notice all the small things that people do to create and sustain a life. I suppose, as you struggle a bit to communicate and be understood, it is the smaller yet unmistakable gestures that are most profound.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful picture you are painting of daily life in Tanzania. There are many things we can learn from our brothers and sisters there.
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