food for thought

Sunday, April 11, 2010

This morning I noticed that my Kreyol must be improving because I was finally able to hear some short phrases during the sermon and understand their meaning. I still don't understand most of the service or the sermon, but I am making progress. We learned some songs in Kreyol which helped. I am definitely more of a visual learner than an auditory one, but for a language both components are crucial to comprehension and retention. Pe August had copies of the songs for many of the congregation members. We spent the first half hour or so learning the 5 songs by practing the verses repeatedly until the congregation seemed to remember the tune and words (many people just listen and learn because they don't know how to read).

I ended up sharing a short bench with a little girl and her mom. The little girl was enthralled by me and the sunglasses resting on top of my head. At one point in the middle of the service, the mom grabbed the girl's head in both her hands and turned it to show me something on the side. I didn't understand at first, but after the mother turned the girl's head to the other side, I finally saw the dime-sized knots that jutted out of her neck. My first thought was that they were swollen lymph nodes, but further consideration led my thoughts to the possibility of a bone-deformation of some sort. I really didn't have any clue, after all I'm not a doctor, but the woman obviously wanted me to see them. I'm assuming she thought I might have some insight or a connection because I'm blan. I had planned to encourage her to take the little girl (whose name I later learned is Ginny) to see a doctor, but they left immediately as service was ending.

Another train of thought gripped me toward the end of the sermon as people jumped up in fear. We were sitting outside under the shade of a large tree with a vertical wall of dirt behind us. All of a sudden the earth started shaking. The aftershock seemed strong, but no more than the other 4.somethings we had already experienced. Despite sitting outside in the open, probably two dozen people in the congregation stood up and prepared to run. Almost three months after the earthquake, people are still experiencing strong fear in the midst of the aftershocks. For a few minutes, the mood of the service was interrupted by side conversations and laughter as people dealt with their adrenaline rushes. The fact that people jumped up to run even though they were sitting outside stuck with me on some level. I know that a couple book sized boulders shook lose and rolled down in our midst and that people were responding instinctively, but this experience served to remind me of how intense that day of their lives was and probably still is at times.