baptism

Alrighty readers, how many of you are there? I have 17 followers but I have the distinct feeling many many others read my stories.(no you don’t all have to register as followers, not even all my immediate family have done that:P ) Not that I mind it, I just allowed a link to this blog to be attached to another blog about the ferry. Just wondering how big of a captive audience do I have?

Well, Kevin and his daughters arrived last week. We all hung out on Saturday. Which I had thought was Sunday until JP corrected my mental calendar. I have heard of forgetting days, but adding days is not usually my specialty. We went to the large market that I accidentally went to last time. Then Bryce led us thru awino, also known as claustrophobia incarnate. Imagine a long low building of the sort they build for fair expeditions, the kind with a metal roof. Now imagine little cubbyholes which are 2-4sq meters with raised wooden floors where the shopkeeper sits. Im not sure what the walls are made of because they are so covered with clothes. Layers of jeans, shirts, bras, even prom dresses. Those are the shops. In between these are the walkways which sometimes consist of wood planks, but usually just dirt and whatever else is on the ground. Considering how close packed it was, I found it surprisingly clean. But very claustrophobic. Did I mention no electricity for light? So Bryce, Kevin, hallie, jael, I, and JP all walked thru a small part of awino, saying hi and ignoring the more persistent calls for us to come look at their wares. On the other side I felt that I could breathe again. That’s when Bryce told us the awino market covers 1-2sq kilometers. That’s a lot of cubbyholes.

Oh, and 2 guys tried to rob jael. Great intro to Uganda for a 12yo girl. The guys walked past her, pushing her to try and get the cellphones out of her pockets. The second time jp realized what was happening and grabbed one of them and sternly said “no!” they ran off, very scared of this mzungu. I am amazed of how little it takes to scare off these thieves. But I can sorta understand it after hearing what happens to thieves. The mobs on the streets judge and execute punishment. It rarely gets to a judge. Same thing for killing a cow with a car.

They burn the garbage in piles all over the city. I woke up to that odor because someone upwind of us was burning. Burning garbage smells so much worse than plain garbage.

I went to Sunday school on Sunday at KPC central. The kids were adorable so I took several pictures. Then I went inside the main sanctuary for baptisms. That’s when I realized it would mostly be infant baptisms. And the priest actually said that this baptism saved the child. Gah. And everyone packing the pews were dressed to the hilt, many of them in traditional dress. The main traditional dress around here is a fairly formless fitting sheath with sleeves which have drastic points at the top and a wide belt around the middle. From what I can tell, the idea is to pick the most blaring fabric to make the dress out of and another that will make the belt stand out. I saw one woman in a neon pink dress surrounded by a neon green belt. Somethings just shouldn’t exist. Anyways, I felt very out of place in my nice jeans and shirt, but im perfectly fine not blending in with those dresses. I later found out this is the richest church in kampala. I don’t deal well with pomp and circumstance. During the baptism service several photographers and filmcrews wandered around the sanctuary recording the occasion. Its hard to concentrate on worshipping with a stage light and camera pointed at you.

Since I had gone with one of my new prayer group friends, I got to attend one of the baptism parties afterwards. One family had waited till they had enough money for the expected party before baptizing their 4 girls. I tried to bring up the theology behind baptism with my friend, asking of she actually believed baptism saved/made those children born again. She did. I tried to ask about the kids who refused to go thru confirmation. We went around and around on that question. Finally I got out of her that no children in this church ever refused. Those poor kids. Forced Christianity is failed Christianity.

One thing stuck with me to explain their baptismal beliefs. Ugandans have kingdoms that they are born into, and there are several kingdoms in this country. Your kingdom defines you. Cross kingdom children are rare and considered halfbreeds just like a halfbreed from the American frontier back in the day. The priest compared the kingdom of God to these kingdoms; something you are born into and stay in your whole life, passed down thru blood. It is a very physical understanding of the kingdom of God. This is a very interesting view, even if it is wrong. What about adults who want to enter the kingdom of God? I guess they just have to go to the Baptist church.