You Just Have to Laugh!

Kerri here!  Today was certainly a day that the Lord made and we had to rejoice...even though our Sunday morning was pretty much a disaster!  Today Brent was preaching at a compound church not too far from us.  He had been to this church before one Sunday when Steve Allen was preaching, and it was this pastor who had escorted Brent to the village church where he received the goat!  Pastor Mwale is such a wonderful man who truly treats his guests with great honor.  It would have been a great experience....except we have 3 very American children!

The adventure began as Pastor Mwale met us at our car and took us into his home.  There he served all of us sodas (yes, Cokes for the kids at 10 in the morning) which we politely accepted.  After a few minutes of chatting together it was time to go into the service which was already underway.  We followed Pastor Mwale down the center aisle and up to the front where there is a special bench for guests.  The fun part is that it is positioned against the side wall so everyone in the church can see everything you do!  Immediately it became apparent that Maddie was not going to be cooperative.  One of the big things for us Americans to get used to is that none of the churches here have childcare.  Now this isn't a big deal for Zambian parents because their babies basically live on Mom's back 24/7, so sitting through church on Mom's back and taking a nap there is quite normal.  Not so, however, for my poor little church nursery baby who will only sleep in her crib and will not sit still or quiet for any length of time.  She was a nightmare!  I brought all manner of entertainment for her, but of course all she wanted to do was climb up and down the steps of the little stage at the front of the church and scream if I brought her back to where I was sitting.  I ended up being up and down and in and out of the church with her for the entire service - the other two following me every time I moved.  I'm sure we were a great distraction to the congregation!

The other really fun part of the morning involved, well, the potty!  We had been warned about the potty situation at this church - all they have is a pit latrine.  Again, no big deal for a Zambian living in the compound, but a bit...different for us.  So, I made sure everyone, including myself, went to the bathroom several times before we left for church.  But alas, since we had soda before church and being pregnant and all, before it was even time for the sermon I had to go...and I couldn't hold it.  So, I went out, asked a nice lady where the toilet was and she directed me to a little brick "outhouse" behind the building.  Now when I thought of a pit latrine I was picturing maybe a bench with a hole in it, but when I walked in the door what I discovered was just a hole in a cement floor.  "Oh my word," I said to myself.  Then I gave myself a little pep-talk, "You can do this, Kerri, you can do this."  The sights and smells in that little room were enough to send this pregnant woman over the edge, but somehow, like the Little Engine That Could, I managed to do my business and get out of there.  

Well, about half-way through the service Gracyn leaned over to me and, of course, she had to go potty too.  Having no desire myself to go back in the latrine, I described the situation to Gracyn and encouraged her to try and hold it.  She agreed.  Well, a bit later she looked at me grimacing and saying she really needed to go.  Again, I told her what it would be like if we went to the potty there, but she said she couldn't hold it.  So, back I went to the latrine.  We climbed the steps and went inside at which point Gracyn shrieked and started saying she changed her mind.  I tried to give her the same pep talk I had given myself, but it was no use.  She insisted she would just hold it.  

At this point the service seemed to go on and on.  On one hand I was trying to enjoy what was happening around me, which was a really neat cultural experience.  But on the other hand I was watching my poor older daughter suffering because she needed to use the bathroom so badly, and I was trying to keep my younger daughter contained and somewhat happy - even though she was making that very difficult.  Caleb, by the way, was oblivious to all this and doing just fine!

Finally the service came to an end.  Dear Pastor Mwale escorted us to our car, with Gracyn crying the whole way, and he and a whole crowd of kids stood watching as we loaded up to leave.   We were in the "let's just make it home as fast as we can" mode when Gracyn screamed out, "I can't hold it, I can't hold it, I'm going!!!!"  Out we jumped like we'd been attacked by bees!  Brent ran her over to a nearby wall, trying to hold his jacket up to hide her while she was crying, "I want all these people to leeeaaave!"  Poor thing.  She completely wet herself and rode home wrapped up in the brand new chitenge (a long piece of material) that the ladies of the church had just given me as a gift.  After it was all said and done she was fine, but we were all worn out.  We had planned to take Brent out to lunch for Father's Day, but after all this, we just decided to eat sandwiches at home.  Needless to say, I took a good rest after lunch was cleaned up and Maddie was down for her nap. 

To the glory of God, in the midst of all this Brent was able to deliver the word that God had given him to this congregation - and he did a really great job (I heard most of it from outside as I was pacing with Maddie).  So, I pray that God did a great work in the hearts of the people of this church in Chaisa compound.  Today He was training me in patience and endurance.  I have such a long way to go!