Friendly Facial Expressions

Because kids are WAY cuter and visuals always help people learn better… 

This is a picture of Lameck, a boy Melanie and I tutor.  He is the sweetest kid and works so hard.  His knowledge of English is pretty scarce and his response to everything is “Yes.”  This is the face Lameck made after being asked to smile so I could take his picture.  He most likely understood nothing of what I had asked him to do and hence the face matches the request quite nicely!  Although Melanie and I have had countless opportunities to blankly stare because we understood nothing, it wasn’t until we headed to Mwembehzi for church last Sunday did remember a precise moment where this look was for certain.  Let me explain a little bit more about this later…

Like Melanie wrote about in the previous post, Sunday we spent the day visiting a church in Mwembezhi.  I though pictures might help capture the scenery, emotions, and events from the day. 

First came the drive… I would like the sum up the driving experience by using the three G’s.

1.      Giggles:  I would catch myself with either a huge smile on my face or actually quietly giggling to myself during the ride to and from Mwembezhi.  Most of the time I just couldn’t believe how bumpy the ride was and the anticipation of how much we would actually feel certain potholes in the road was quiet thrilling.  Sometimes I would question to myself how was the “road” up ahead something we were going to continue to drive on. 

2.     Glances:  Next came the glances to the right and to the left.  I would periodically check to see if Melanie and Pastor Hartmann were having as hard of a time not laughing as hysterically as I was.  There were times when the feeling was mutual but other times when it did not seem as fun…

Gestures:  We felt like celebrities driving through the bush.  Nearly every single person (and there were many) waved to us as we passed by with a huge smile on both our faces and theirs.  Another common gesture during the drive was “the tree branch swat”.  Although the day was not terribly hot for this time of year, driving for hours in a non-air-conditioned truck required us to ride with the windows down.  Hey, they don’t call it the bush for nothing.  Countless times Melanie and I had to swat for our lives as branches flung in through the windows.  Just another reason to laugh!

Drive complete!

Next came many facial expressions and blank stares similar to our dear friend Lameck’s.  Don’t worry, it wasn’t my turn for the blank stare yet, that is coming... 

Below is a picture of the church we worshiped in.  (Notice the facial expression of the kid in purple after seeing us white-skinned people in their church)  This wasn’t even right when we all arrived.  See if you can spot everyone who is staring at us… I notice at least six.  Like Melanie said, every time we looked up, there were several children staring at us.

After the service and meal, we waited for the vicar who rode out to the church with us.  The church members feasted on the leftovers from what the vicar, Pastor Hartmann, Melanie and I had not eaten.  The children ate and ran around, but seemingly still started pretty intently.  Melanie and I had our cameras out and were taking pictures of all the church and it’s surroundings.  One of the mothers noticed this and quickly summoned all the children saying, “Come! Take pictcha fo America!”  Melanie and I were excited to get pictures of the adorable children.  And you guessed it…

One, two, three! Smile everyone!!

Ok, there are a few that smiled for me this time!  I notice at least two if you look really closely! 

Finally ready to go, but we were definitely leaving with more than we came with!  Everyone who hung around after church jumped into the back of the truck and was grateful for a ride home.  

 Everyone in the back was singing praises to Jesus from Sunday service.  I tried to be subtle and snap some videos and pictures from the cab as we drove.  I guess I wasn’t subtle enough…

Once we arrived at their huts, this woman came up to my window and seemed very adamant about something.  She was speaking in Tonga and, you guessed it, the look on Lameck’s face was probably very similar to mine at this moment.  She kept repeating it over and over again as the people behind her just laughed and giggled.  I looked around at them and just said, “Uhhh....” and smiled.  I even glanced at Mel but she didn’t understand either.

Finally, we realized that she wanted me to video tape her singing and dancing - and we did!  Internet is too slow here otherwise I would love to show everyone!   

So many smiles, so much joy.  The true beauty of it all was so overwhelming - something I pray everyone can experience at some point in their life.  I can’t find the right words to say to help you all experience the same feelings.  I could say, “Imagine life without a TV to watch the next episode of American Idol.  Imagine life without a stove to bake lasagna, or a microwave to make ramen noodles when you burn the lasagna. Imagine life without running water to shower or brush your teeth.”  But that doesn’t quite do it either.  The people we met on Sunday are people I am truly thanking God for using to teach me so much. 

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Being “joyful always” sounds extremely challenging because everything doesn’t always seem to be going well.  Maybe there is a challenge because you are comparing something someone else has to what you have.  Maybe you are thinking someone else has better skills and abilities than you have and that can be really frustrating.  Thankfulness and joy don’t always need to come from having more.  Melanie and I are thanking God for all that we have been able to experience so far on this trip.  We are reminded that our treasures are not found in earthly things.  Where your treasure is your heart shall be.

Thanks for reading and God bless your day! 

Hugs, 
Kelsi and Melanie 

Just a few favorite snapshots from the day...