Kilosa and possession

The worship at Mabogeri today was so encouraging.  This is the village in the Kilosa area where there was the great conflict just weeks ago.  I have written extensively about it so I won't go into the details of the conflict itself.  I will say that today was something wonderful.  That is not to say that the conflict has gone away, but there seem to have been improvements.  There is much to be done, but today was a day to rejoice in what has been done thus far.  For example, the goats are basically all gone.  Yet, half of the cattle have returned.  Granted 800 were stolen so there is still a huge loss, but these little victories are certainly things in which we can meet each other in joy.  I feel like we have a very special bond with this place.  

The first time that we came, there was no way that the normal hospitality could have been shown.  Today was different.  As we entered the village, there were even Masai men out and about.  They are not hiding as intensely anymore.   So, the hospitality which was shown today was incredibly radical.  We were welcomed by a small group, not because the masses were in hiding but because they were preparing for ibadaa.  Just two weeks afer our first visit, we were welcomed with plates and plates of half cakes and cups full of the Masai ginger milk tea.  We met the familiar faces and caught up like old friends, as best we could.  When we walked away to play with kids, they followed us close behind with benches and found shade for us.  Now that we can talk to them hospitality is even easier to see and understand.  It just amazes me, we were so welcomed just TWO WEEKS after all the trouble.  I can't even express it.  After service we were welcomed again to the table for a huge meal.  These people are so resilient.  Hospitality is at the center of who they are!  I asked Pastor Hafermann if there is something in the Tanzanian cultural roots that creates this hospitality or if Christianity has something to do with it.  He said Tanzanian are ok but really the Masai are the ones for whom hospitality is most central.  This is very obvious.  So I asked where it comes from and if there is some sort of myth at the root.  If it is a reflection of foudational cultural stories or theology or just a result of life.  Of course, all of these things can be answered with a yes.  Things are never so easy.  For the Masai, there is practicality at the root.  People may travel to see them for three days on foot with little food.  Hospitality is shown because it is a necessity.  This harkens back very much to the biblical narrative where another traveler once said that "Foxes have holes and birds have nests but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."  They work for the other and make themselves vulnerable because they realize that people are very important and that there could be a loss of life if not for their hospitality.  Mch. mentioned also that the story of the midnight visitor in the NT is central to these people's understanding of God.  The Masai do not turn people away.  

Church today was something else.  It is still clear that there is a sadness in the air and many of the people were very thin and tired.  But burdens were set at the door for Church and picked up with a new strength when it ended.  Pastor preached on the antitheses in Luke.  Focusing especially on the "I no longer say to you an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth..." part.  This needed to be said in a village so hurt.  And it was amazing to see the young warriors nodding to this!  with no compartmentalization, church does something different to people here than at home.  People won't listen to this service and then pick up their guns right after church.  At home people will hear this in church and then go directly to vote for a war happy candidate.  yuck.  Oh, and the Wartburg Kwaya or the Obama four sang again today.  Getting real tired of Sanctuary.  But the people are always happy to have a guest kwaya.  

After service was so interesting.  While participating in the auction we could hear a deadened shrieking in the church.  So we followed everyone inside where a young woman was convulsing and screaming on the floor.  It appeared to be a possession.  She kept saying that she wanted to kill her children.  Apparently, she has been this way before so the pastors think the demon may be depression.  But either way, she needed something.  So the pastors and the evangelists laid hands on her and began to cast what ever it was out of her.   They claimed her in the name of Jesus so many times.  Mch says that when he has seen possession the people have bodily control to a certain extent but no vocal control.  This is why mch says it may have been possession: at one point when Mch was skeptical he said "I don't even think she wants to be healed." The voice screamed but the head pleaded for healing.  So they laid hands some more and after much screaming she calmed down.  In the past she just calms down but this time she repeated that Jesus is Lord and that she belongs to Him. The whole while Steve and Sara distracted the children in the church while Peter and I helped to clean up.  The overall attitude was not one of amazement but that it would be better to carry on with life as normal.  So that is what we did.  Personally, I don't know what I think about possession, something weird happens and I will make no judgement either way, but I do know that that woman was suffering.  Peter and I both felt physically driven to prayer which rarely happens to me and a great huge love for her overcame us both.  Regardless of what happened, she needed attention and love and found it from the faith community.  It was an odd experience to say the least.  I don't know what to think.  I just know it was odd and strange things happened in that church and within the Wartburg students...