We Welcome You with Both Hands

June 14

This morning we travelled outside of Mutarara to two different villages. The first was on a road that was not really a road, but a path through the bush. We knew we were approaching the village not because we saw it but because we heard it first. Only then did we see the patchwork of colors that was people's shirts. They were standing in a crowd, clapping and singing as they waited for us to drive closer. Soon our car was surrounded by the jubilation; they accompanied us for over one hundred yards as we inched closer to the church. 

When we arrived, we began the same process we would repeat at every congregation we visited. We got out of our vehicle and greeted people as they stopped singing and clapping long enough to shake our hands. Children especially would look very wary as we extended our hands, then as our large white hands took theirs, huge smiles would wash over their faces. Several times I did what seemed natural to me: I reached out and patted their shoulder or touched the top of their head, as I would with my own kids, but it was clear to me that this was not something they were at all used to. 

After the initial welcome, we would file into the church, which sometimes had brick walls, sometimes sticks and thatch, and sometimes no walls at all. It was typically about 15 or 20 feet wide, and between 30-40 feet long, and would hold up to about 200 worshipers. After singing several songs, the people would sit down while Nedson would say something. Then one of our team would give a welcome (which Nedson or Sebber would translate), on behalf of our congregations at home and the Outreach Foundation. After we were each introduced, a local elder would stand and welcome us on behalf of the congregation. These welcomes were very touching. The people were exceedingly grateful that someone from somewhere else would have thought of them and taken the time to visit them. They showered us with gifts of appreciation--chickens, gourds, even a goat. 

During one of these welcomes, the elder said, "We welcome you with both hands." What a fitting and beautiful picture of their hospitality and attentiveness. I came to understand that this notion is present in other ways in their culture. For example, when shaking hands, a person will place their left hand on their right forearm before taking the other person's hand, as a way of showing that they are not hiding anything. And when you wave hello or goodbye to someone, the response is a two-handed wave. May we learn to welcome people with both hands.