April 17, 2004

Dear Family and Friends,
The intertwining of religion and culture is an interesting interplay and can readily be appreciated in sub-Saharan Africa. In their zeal to proclaim the gospel the early missionaries were not as respectful of the Bantu religious traditions as they might have been. The pygmies watched from the cover their forest home as the missionaries encouraged the Bantu’s to cover their breasts “for modesty sake” when in reality for them immodesty was an exposed calf.  Likewise their gods were disparaged and little effort was made exploring the nuances of the Bantu’s spirituality. As a result the pygmies have been very reticent to discuss their spirituality and religious beliefs.   Two students from Trinity Seminary, Alan and April Morris, who recently visited us spent time with the pygmies and encouraged them to talk about their spirituality. Alan expressed the view that God had always been reaching out to these people therefore all they needed was a receptive, non-judgmental, approach. It became apparent that the pygmies beliefs were based on ancestor worship and demons (small gods)-a rather fear based theology. Most bad events i.e. children dying from malaria induced seizures, storms destroying houses, women dying in childbirth were a result of unpropitiated spirits of dead relatives. On further probing though there was a concept of “Nagasan” a gift giving god who had been from the beginning and bestows favors on the whole world-mzungus (white people), Bantus (the dominant tribal group) and pygmies. Although the pygmies received a lesser share than all the others Nagasan did care for them and did love them. Forgiveness, reconciliation and compassion are attributes of Nagasan which the pygmies find very appealing.
As a result of these conversations the pygmies expressed an interest in having a gathering place. It would be used as a place to explore spiritual matters on a regular basis but also to convene meetings to make tribal decisions. There would also be a secure area to store tools, materials for knitting and their decorative seeds and jewelry for their traditional bark cloth dress.
The pygmies had an idea of what they wanted but when we drew it out on paper they couldn’t envision the concept of what the finished product would look like. We walked over to the site they had selected and then they began distributing banana leaves around corresponding to the size and shape of structure they wanted. Mostly it would be open (Banda or palapa style). For the enclosed portion they placed a pygmy where the doors and windows should be. This design concept could be readily understood by all and easily adjusted as a pygmy would move one way or another to appreciate the best vantage point from a window. A lively discussion then ensued over who would provide the poles, reeds and carry the mud. We agreed to provide the cement to plaster the structure. Then the fun began; singing, dancing and much celebration. We look forward to witnessing how the spirit of God will move among these people as they continue to seek Him.

  Come on over and join in the adventure,
  Scott and Carol