Gamu

This is a new word for the day: Gamu. So, out of curiosity, who knows what a Gamu is?
a)a Senegalese food dish
b) a hairy lizard that bobs its head up and down
c)a celebration
d)what people call the temperature when it's 120 degrees.

Three weeks ago, I wouldn't have known the answer either. A Gamu is a celebration. It's a once a year thing where people get together to celebrate the birth of Muhammad. During this time they eat and eat and eat and eat, they share stories about the year that passed and catch up with family members that they have not seen in awhile. And then they take time to reflect on what Muhammad and the prophets had spoken to all people.

Today I went to a Gamu. It was in a good size town but 15 miles (yes, 15) into the bush. We arrived with goodies for helping prepare lunch. And we took time to greet many people in the village.

Lately I have spent a lot of time with my homeowner and his family. They had wanted to go and celebrate the Gamu here, and I reluctancly agreed. For one, I'm still a little hesitant in celebrating Islamic festivities. And 2, I knew that there would be a billion people on the road today. When the roads are busy, it's best to stay in town. People are not good drivers here, and if something happens and you're stranded, it's a tough spot to be in. But all this aside, I did agree to go, and so we went.

We left at 12 and got there about 1. After greeting the friends and families we knew, we made our way around the village. I got 3 lunch meals-which is normal at these celebrations. Every family makes a ton of food and if you visit you're expected to eat with the family. So I ate (sparingly) each time. We ate one of my favorite meals, rice and beef (cebu yap-pronounce the 'c' sound like the ch consonant sound). One of the families was having a wedding celebration today, and we celebrated with the family during the afternoon. After lunch, the people in the bedroom we were all in sang songs and danced. I even got down and boogied (yes I just said boogied, I'll never do it again) 2 or 3 times. I wouldn't call it dancing, whatever it was I did. There were a ton of people in the 12 ft x 12 ft bedroom-at least 40. Least it wasn't too hot today. And after eating and drinking, we made our way back around greeting people again as we left to go home.

It was a long day today being in the village. But I was grateful for the time spent with my friends and my new friends in this village. My highlight that I have to share was probably 2 things. One was getting to dance and sing and the response I got from that. Everyone loved it and laughed really hard. And the other highlight was talking to a man before we left. When he found out I could speak Wolof, he asked me what I thought of the Gamu today and what I learned. That's the best question anyone can ask after any experience, by the way. So I opened up to him, reviewing all I did during the day and putting into words what I understood the celebration to signify. When I said that a Gamu is a time to review all the prophets have spoken, he said, ok, tell me, what story did you review? And this is EXACTLY why I had come to this town. You can't ask for a better invitation to share a story. All this work to prepare stories in Wolof and to share creation to cross, is in preparation for these times.

I asked permission to share a story, and this man agreed to let me speak. So I did, I opened up and shared with him the creation story as I have learned it, speaking loud enough for all 30 people in the room to hear. And after talking about Adam and Eve and their sin, and being kicked out of the Garden of Eden, I said, you know, God is a just God. And he is merciful. Adam and Eve saw that they cannot choose to satisfy themselves. Today, you and I cannot choose to satisfy ourselves. When we do not choose God, we sin. But God sent a Savior to the world to give us life again. His name is Jesus. And if we believe in Jesus, we can have life again. And I left it at that.

My 2 friends continued to talk about the story in more sophiticated Wolof than I can speak with the men in the room while I prayed silently for the words to be clear and the conversation to speak truth. My friends have heard this story several times, and I was confident they could talk about what I wanted to say. And I did interject a few more thoughts as well. But this was a great 15 minute highlight of the day.

Now I'm exhausted and I think my bed and a new James Bond book is calling me. Thanks again for your continued prayers. Last week was a tough week with missed appointments and unclear words. I do hope this is the start to a wonderful week of sharing this week.