House to House (Part 1 of 3)

House to House

On June 7, 8, and 9 we took part in something called House to House Evangelism. I remember my first day at Uswaa when Pastor Mmanga put this on my calendar. At that time I first thought that this would be something we would never do at Southwood, and then that it would definitely be an “out of the box” experience for me. But hey, I’m in Africa, and I’m a pastor at Uswaa, so this is what we’re going to do.

On the first morning it had rained and rained the night before, so the roads were a sloppy muddy mess, but this did not stop us. The others all had rain boots on, but I just wore my crocs. We headed out, slipping and sliding along and finally cut from the main road in 3 groups of three people each to meet in the homes of the church members.

The experience was one I will not soon forget. As we walked up to each home the elder in my group would yell “hodi hodi,” this calling takes the places of a doorbell. The homeowner would always respond with “karibu” or “you are welcome.” We were either invited into the homes (muddy shoes and all) or chairs were brought outside for our small party to sit down on.

We listened to the stories of each person’s situation. Some were stories of faith, some were stories of loss, and some were stories of gut-wrenching loneliness. Then we sang, we prayed, and we offered to them words of encouragement. Over three days we visited 22 houses in all, but more importantly we got to experience the real lives of the people of Uswaa.

From the balcony of the church you see the forest full of trees. When you head into that forest, you find that there is an elaborate system of trails, a village of people, small farms and homes filled with families the same as yours and mine. You can’t imagine the beauty of the landscape with little creeks designed for irrigating farms and those big huge banana leaves unfurling to capture the sun light. You also can’t imagine the homes, the majority of which have walls made from sticks and mud and wallpapered with pieces of old newspaper, they have dirt floors, crumbling door and window frames, and the farm animals wander in and out of the home at will.

The whole time I kept thinking that I wish everyone I know at home could spend just one hour taking a walk through this village. I wish you could meet this mother of 5 who is a widow and while her house is made of dirt her flower garden makes it hers and it is beautiful. I wish you could meet this little old lady who is all alone, crying into her hands with loneliness, but whose smile is filled with joy when we meet with her and pray for her. I wish you could meet Mzee Nkya who made us this incredible lunch and then thanked us for eating it.

When I got home after the first night of these visit I was reading The Pastor, by Eugene Peterson.  In talking about his Seminary days he recalls a pastor at a teaching congregation who was asked this question:  "What is the most important thing you do in preparing to preach each Sunday?"  His answer:

"For two hours every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, I walk through the neighborhood and make home visits.  There is no way that I can preach the gospel to these people if I don't know how they are living, what they are thinking and talking about.  Preaching is proclamation, God's word is revealed in Jesus, but only when it gets embedded in conversation, in a listening ear and responding tongue, does it become gospel." (page 87)

House to house is the chance to see beyond the Uswaa church.  Here the forest is filled with houses, the houses are filled with people, and they are the church.

Thanks be to God.