I Will Survive

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What a day!

We got up super early and had a long drive to the venue for a morning school show. It was the full-length show, but for a few thousand school children. The kids were exhausted from the late night and early morning, and during sound check, I managed another nap on the bleachers. This time, though I was on the bench, rather than the floor, and sort of slipped off a few times. The locals along with my crew were commenting today on how versatile I am in my sleeping arrangements- noise, light, a book for a pillow (mostly because the floor was gross)- nothing really phases me when it’s time to nap!

The show was chaos. Children were falling on the stairs, the audience was coming in for probably the first 40 minutes of the program, then some started leaving about when everyone was here. The spots were new to the job; Sarah was acting as security and CMS as well as SM; microphones weren’t working and something was wrong with the amps; I ran the show live. It was a mess!

At one point, Kyle went back stage to fix video, so I slid over to the dark side (the sound board) to keep an eye on things. One of the spot operators said, surprised, “The lighting girl does sound!?” I looked at Sarah who just repeatedly said, “leave it.” Then, Sarah had to go act as crowd control, so I was calling cues as well. Wow! Musical jobs for sure. It was a show we all survived through, barely. Load out was a bit quicker than load in was, thank goodness.

We all piled over to the cafeteria for lunch. It’s been quite some time since I ate in a university cafeteria… and I don’t miss it. Afterwards, I was way ready for a nap! Kyle and Craig went to the toy store (Best Buy) as Sarah, Dana and I headed back for the hotel. I did a bit of reading and slept until it was time for dinner.

The presenter arranged for us all to have dinner at a “soul food” place in town. She prefaced it by saying that the cook knew what they would like because she cooks for the African ladies who own the braiding parlor down the way. The food came out. Plates piled high. Rice, tomatoes, onions, fish, macaroni and cheese, green beans. All of it SUPER spicy! Oh man! It was rough on the kids, and getting drink refills was a bit of a wait as well, but they were troopers.

I sat with Claire, Tony, Joshua B, Joel and Rose. They started asking me all sorts of questions, and I just wasn’t sure how to answer most of them. Here is a smattering:

*How did they decide where to put lines between countries like Canada and America and Uganda?
*Why can’t we see God’s face?
*How did mountain lions get to America?
*How is it that Jesus and God are the same, yet God is Jesus’ Father?
*Before God made space, where was he?
*Why do Masaai put smells on their hands and bones in their ears?
*Why can snakes break their jaws to eat things?
*Do snakes have bones, or is it cartilage like fish?
*Where is the curtain that Jesus tore now?
*Why do some years count down and some count up?

Wowo! At one point, while we were discussing theology, Joshua B said, “Auntie looks like her brain is going to explode.” He was so right. It was a fun conversation, though.

They also were telling me about “night dancers,” which are the cannibals in Uganda. Rose was telling stories about them coming after her father, but I couldn’t tell if she was telling folk stories or true ones. All the kids were feeding off of them and adding bits. Whether or not they’re real, there’s some scary stuff going on, and these kids have been exposed to way too much of it, unfortunately. But at one point, Tony said that they were in fact night dancers, since they dance at night. Then he said, “If I ever see a night dancer, I will just pull out my Bible and say, ‘You are not real! This is real! Because of Jesus, you must leave and not hurt me!’” Oh, for that kind of faith.

As I was talking to the kids about God and how big He is and things, I was rather impressed with how much of the Bible they know and understand. “But Moses saw God and his face shone like an angel!” “Then he wore a veil, but Jesus tore the veil away.” And my favorite, “Auntie! It is in the Bible! I will show it to you!” Tony was so confident in what he knows to be true, and he knows a lot.

Between that, and the book I’m reading, it makes me weep to think of how pathetic my quiet times are- how little I know about God and the Bible, and how little of the Bible I know in my head. I live somewhere where I can have it with me always, without fear, and I can read it at any time, yet I don’t. And when I do read it, it is a few chapters a day that I read through, rather quickly, on most days.

Sarah’s line of the day: If we have too many lights on on stage, the children will melt. They have a chocolate coating.

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