Down By the Banks

Who knew that all those years ago when I learned the game, "down by the banks" do I need to continue? "of the hankie pankie..." you get the picture...Well who knew that this game would come in so handy? I have a visual of my friends and I sitting in a large circle at Brea Junior High playing this game. (That's right junior high...others were talking about boys and make-up but my group played down by the banks. I also wore over-sized flannels and t-shirts that said, "Messiah." I was very hip.) This game has proven to be an instant "friend-maker" in other countries.

We returned to the church in Shiparango, (aka "the bush") on Sunday and I finally got to hang out with the kids for a decent amount of time. Yes, this was another 9 to 2 service and I loved it! (why is it that I am wide awake during these services but used to fall asleep in an hour-long chapel? ) We went with a Mozambican church choir and a small group from Portugal. The village kids seemed a bit intimidated by the newcomers and therefore clung to me because I was a familiar face. The service was a long one because the visiting choir sang a ton of songs and then the Portuguese group sang a song (and yes, it did cross my mind that all the visitors seemed to be performing so I said a prayer that I would not be forced to sing a solo song. I don't know which would be worse- having to sing in front of everyone or dance... Equally hellish situations in my opinion but luckily I was not asked to sing) The local villagers also got up and sang and it's amazing how quickly I've grown attached to this group and felt so proud of them. If you click on the following link, you can watch a video and hear them singing and see the kids I was sitting with who I'll introduce you to in a bit. Oh and for you Where's Waldo fans, find Ace Ventura in the picture above.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n8u8lQm0C0


After the service, the adults formed a big circle and were singing and doing something similar to line-dancing with rhythm. I stayed with the kids on the outer circle trying to do the moves along with the adults and wondering if it was my size 11 feet or Dutch roots which prevented me from moving like the others'. Seeing a "Kodak moment, " I went to the car to retrieve my camera but along the way, transformed into the Pied Piper. (or is it Pie Piper? I never really understood his name) While walking to the car with my pack, I finally learned every one's names. Being unable to communicate much to these kids, I milked this as long as possible because they loved hearing me pronounce their names. I didn't realize "Katie" would be such a tough name. Hearing them trying to pronounce it was adorable and I felt like one of my Chinese students on the first day of class when I would try to pronounce their names which sounded so foreign to me. The kids looked at me like, "Katie is your name? That's bizarre" and I wanted to explain, "actually in the states in the 80's just about every fourth girl was named Katie." (mom and dad I'm not complaining, I like my name but you get the point)
So after we reached the car I busted out the famous "Down by the banks" game again. Since the kids speak Shangana, I didn't even attempt my Portuguese and explained in English while acting everything out. The kids would talk back to me in Shangana and I would respond in English. We were not having a miraculous conversation where we understood each others' language- we just just wanted to talk while we acted things out. Best game of charades ever. (except maybe when I played with Katie and Cameron for an hour by ourselves) They loved the game but you can only play so much of this game (especially since I was the only one singing) and so we switched to playing with the camera. Here is my attempt at a "timer shot." I'm awful at trying to do this in the States so I don't know why I thought I could this in the middle of the bush with just jagged rocks to use to hold the camera. Please note how it looks like I have a floating head.
The women saw us playing with the camera and wanted to see how it worked as well. Gita is the woman standing right behind Christina in the picture below. (I realize you don't know who Christina is but you'll meet her later- not literally silly) Gita always tries to talk to me in Portuguese because I tricked her into believing I understood what she said one week. Big mistake. Well by this week, she realized I had no clue what she was saying but still tries to include me with the other women and insisted I sit and eat with them. While I was playing with the kids, the women congregated around a central hut where they cooked lunch and laughed together. After we tired of playing with the camera, of course I had to bring out the ugly faces. Although they didn't quite catch on to how to do cross-eyes, they came up with some great silly faces and poses. Here I'm showing them an example of an ugly face. The woman in the background is from the Portugal group. Martina is my favorite in this shot. Who knew the "ballerina" pose was a favorite in Mozambique? It reminds me of this hilarious picture of Dan, my brother-in-law, jumping into Biola's pool in his b-ball uniform because he is doing the same ballerina pose. I also love Christina's sassy "hand-on-the-hip" pose. Here they are attempting to cross their eyes as I showed them to follow their finger as they bring it closer to their nose. Yeah, this needs some work.

Well I promised you I'd learn some names so you could pray specifically for these amazing children and so here they are in no particular order:

MARTINA: She is the girl I mentioned in the last entry whose dress was torn and is not cared after very well. When we showed up this time, she was the first to greet us and had the tiniest baby I've ever seen strapped to her back. He was way smaller than Vander on Van's first day of life but then again, Van is giant compared to most babies. She was wearing a red shirt with fringe sleeves and a filthy jean skirt. Martina seems to be in the stage where she wants to be a "woman" and not a girl because when she sits, she is constantly mimicking the older women and trying to cover her legs completely like the women do. (I just picked up on this fact and I realized I may have been offending people or looking like a slut as I bear my calves) Martina is remarkably resilient. I still don't know her family story but it is obvious that she is not treated equally. I made room for her to come sit by me on the straw mat during the service but her filthy legs rubbed against one of the older woman's skirt, smudging it with dirt and the woman scolded her and made her move to sit on a rock. I was so angered by this gesture and felt very defensive for Martina. Later, when we were playing down by the banks, it took her longer than all the others to figure out when to slap the hand of her neighbor and the boys kept yelling at her and trying to push her out of the circle since she was slowing down the game. I realize that this is just kids being kids, but I grew defensive again and put her next to me. She caught on and when she won the game two times in a row, I don't think I've ever felt so happy about a victory. She threw her hands up and cheered when she won and I felt like putting her on my shoulders and parading her around the village. (Meredith once tried to do this to me after we won a game which was hilarious because Mere is about half my size) So when you're wondering how to pray for Africa, pray for Martina.

Andre: (aka Mr. Joyful) Andre had been a bit tentative around me in the past, but on Sunday, he let loose and showed me his crazy, wild personality. A typical ham, this boy was quite the joker. I love watching him during the service because he pays such close attention. Like Martina, he seems to want to be with the adults rather than the children during the service and chose to sit with the men rather than us. But after the service, it became quite clear that he loves being young and carefree and was the ringleader along with Bernardo. I worried about playing "down by the banks" because he is missing his hand, but that didn't slow him down one bit. I, on the other hand, felt a bit awkward about hitting his nub, but he didn't show any signs of awkwardness. Everywhere Andre goes, he is skipping or jumping, never walking. He is so quick to laugh and I was dying inside when after we finished playing down by the banks, he was trying to sing the song. Wanting so badly to keep singing the song, Andre would try to make up words that sounded like English to him. His version of "down by the banks" sounded like, "szhang szha szha szhu..." Full of life, Andre most certainly has the "joy of the Lord." He was definitely the best at making silly faces. This boy has an amazing passion and zeal for life.

Lorenzo: In the picture above I love how intense Lorenzo looks (he's the one to the right of Andre) I motioned for a "silly face" and he must have interpreted my motions as, "look pissed off at the world." It's funny because he actually is super sweet but has these really intense faces in pictures. He is the boy who has a very bloated stomach. This week he was in charge of one of the babies and had him permanently strapped to his back. Ever attentive to the babies needs, Lorenzo was constantly wiping his nose and bouncing him if he cried. He had color paint on his arms that looked temporary tattoos which he was quite proud to show me. At one point in the service a giant pig was digging through a pile of stuff outside one of the huts and Lorenzo bounded up and chased the pig off into the distance. Last week he was the one bathing his sister (if you are observant and have a good memory, you'll notice that I actually said he was bathing his brother last week. My mistake. No I don't need a course in human anatomy. They were far away and she was sitting down OK.) Lorenzo has a natural instinct to watch over others. He is quieter than Andre and Bernardo but has such a sweet, gentle spirit. I'm not quite sure what he is doing in the picture below. Perhaps he's just as awkward as I am in pictures and wasn't sure what to do with his hands so he resolved to put them on Martina and Bernardo. I think I'll try this tactic in the next group picture.

Bernardo: A gifted leader, this boy also was in charge of watching after a little one during the service. He didn't seem to mind one bit when Vladimir (the baby) peed all over him- he just went to the bathroom/straw hut to clean up and came back smiling. This is the boy I predicted will become a pastor one day. No, I'm not prophesying, just guessing:) He is clearly looked up to by the other children and given many responsibilities. When the adults were dancing in a circle, Bernardo was the most excited as we tried to dance along. I love how he pronounces his name. When he introduced himself he proudly said, "Berrrrnarrrdo" Luckily I can roll my "R's" and was able to mimic the way he said his name. I love his choice for a pose as well. I need to take a lesson from this kids on how to pose for pictures.

Christina: This sweet one reminds me a bit of myself as a child. She is quiet but you can see thoughts running through her head and she is bit timid around the others. She is always thrilled to see me and stays glued to my side. She sits as close as possible to me during the service and although I usually am weird about my "personal bubble," I love how close she gets. Although she says little to the others, it is clear that she enjoys joining in on the games and is constantly giggling.

I love how there is a common thread in all children around the world. Whether raised in the suburbs in America, or the bush in Mozambique, kids are dearly loved by God and have an amazing innocence and vulnerability. Some are joyful hams like Andre, natural leaders like Bernardo, bashful and compassionate like Lorenzo, tough and resilient like Martina, and sweet and socially awkward like Christina. Though they are all so different, they all posses such a sweetness and make me think about how Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (Mark 10:14-15)

Receive the kingdom of God like a little child. We are called to have a child-like faith in the sense that we trust and cling to God like a child does. With a child-like faith, we are humble, vulnerable and completely dependent on God. Not ignorant, but completely trusting in and relying on God. When I think of children, I think of purity. They have not yet been corrupted and jaded by the world. At our bible study we spent a hefty amount of time discussing James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

We talked about how there are 2 parts to this verse. On the outside, our acts should be pleasing to God (hence the looking after the hurting) but we also must work on the inside. When I think of children, I see beautiful people who have not yet been "polluted by the world" and I desire to be like that. To live in the world but to refrain from being polluted by it. Easier said than done.

I'll end with a neat passage from "Experiencing God," which talks about purity and our intimacy with God.

Clean Hands; a Pure Heart

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in HIs hold place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. Pslam 24:3-4

"God has rigid requirements for those who want to enjoy intimate fellowship with Him. There is no easy access to God for those with unclean hands or an impure heart. It is an affront to holy God to assume that we can indulge in our sin and blatantly disobey His word, then brazenly enter the holy of holies. In Old Testament times, one's hands represented one's activities. Clean hands symbolized pure activities. Priests washed their hands before serving in the temple to symbolize that only those who were cleansed could worship holy God.

There are levels of intimacy with God. The moment you become a Christian you begin a relationship with the Lord. However, if you persist in your sin, sin will separate you from God and keep you from enjoying close fellowship with Him. If you follow only God's basic commandments but resist every time God gives you specific, personal directions, you will never fully experience the depths of God's Person. If, however, you are like the psalmist and understand the holiness of God, you will adjust your life to His standards and respond to His prompting so that you may have deeper fellowship with HIm.

The closer you get to holy God, the more obvious even your smallest sins become. The more you know of God's character, the more you will realize the need to wash your hands and purify your heart before you can get close to Him.

Are you willing for Almighty God to make you absolutely pure before Him so that you can enjoy the maximum possible relationship with Him?