August 22. 10am. Be
in attendance. Special offerings were taken up weeks before, duties divvied
out, and people from all over the community were invited.This was the day that the MK people were given permission to
meet together and worship in their own language- this what they call a yom
kebiir, a big day.So Wednesday morning arrived and everyone was still busy
with preparations and anxious for the celebration to begin.
However, as we have all learned, tragedy does not respect
our plans. It comes uninvited, devastating all who dare to love. We received
news that our main Elder, the man who was respected throughout the community,
the man who represented the MK people before the government, the man who guided
his people through years of war, suddenly died.
The morning of celebration took a turn. The leaders all met
together to decide what must be done: Do they continue with the celebration, or
cancel it to go to the mahaal bika where the elder’s body
was moved to?
The decision was made to continue with the celebration- this
is a day that they must remember and give thanks to God for; it is something that
this late Elder also took great pride in. Yes, it must continue they
determined. After the celebration was over, everyone would go together to the mahaal
bika to see his body and remember him.
The celebration took place, even though it was a bit
subdued. Our main translator spoke, and my heart was beating with joy as I saw him sharing with his people.
I was given the last speech of the day, and tried to speak in Arabic only :)
Afterwards, we all continued to the place of mourning
together. The clouds had become dark and there was rain falling on us as we walked …. somehow even the clouds knew it was now time to cover the sun and partake in the mourning...it just seemed appropriate.
Friends, what I witnessed next I will remember forever. It was
one of those moments when the world seems to stop, and you experience the glory
of the Lord in a way that is new. There was a huge crowd of people, all
standing in the rain and mud. His body was surrounded by
dozens of wailing women. Shortly after we arrived, a pastor took out the new MK Hymn
book and told all those wailing to be silent for a mintue - it was time
to sing a song to the Lord. He led a song in their language and temporarily their wailing turned into a song. This was followed by a different leader getting out the book of Matthew
in the MK language, one of only 3 books of the Bible that have been translated and printed, and he read from chapter 25 to encourage the people. What a powerful thing to experience for the first time! Yes, I have seen them read this book in church, but never before have I seen them read it with spontaneity and urgency like this. The Lord is beginning to weave His word into their lives...
What a mix of emotions! Joy mingled with sorrow in my heart;
sorrow at this great loss, yet joy at
seeing how the Lord is speaking to these people in their heart language like never before.
What a
merciful God we serve; that in the midst of tragedy, he speaks to our hearts, in
our heart language.
