By Marjanne Hendriksen
Early in the morning, I leave my cottage to go to church. I pick up my Zambian neighbours and together we leave our mission post. It is about an hour's walk. A narrow sandy path with man-high dry grass on either side takes us through the forest to a dry swamp. We cross that. Then a sandy path continues between barren fields where the maize and peanut harvest has been brought in over the past few weeks. Then we walk past the mud huts with grass roofs of our neighbouring village to the wide dirt road. Now we are almost there. Right on time. The church service should start in about ten minutes ...
At the little whitewashed church with corrugated iron roof, an elderly woman is already there. With a hand broom, she sweeps a nice fan pattern in the sand with her back bent. She then walks to the large tree in front of the church. In it hangs a rusty car rim. With a stone, she hits it hard a few times. This invites the villagers to come to the church. No, you don't sit down here well in advance. The service simply starts when there are enough people in the preacher's eyes. Most of them trickle in after that. The men sit on the left on wooden benches with backs. The women sit on the right and can choose: on a mat or on a low wooden bench.
For hours, I sit on one of those benches in the women's section. As the service progresses and more women arrive, I become more and more constricted. In front of me sits a woman with a sleeping baby on her back. Otherwise, there are hardly any children. They sit on a mat to the left of the pulpit. Walking in and out. The dancing women's choir in front of them can captivate them. I too enjoy the assiduous singing. When they - and we - have finished dancing and singing, more and more little ones leave to play outside. It is time for the scripture reading (sometimes just one verse, sometimes a bit more) and the sermon. It is not unusual for this to be over by 15 minutes. The theme is often predictable: doing good works, giving the tithe ... The fact that you have to walk to the front under loud chanting to deposit your collection money in a plastic tub perhaps helps to achieve this goal. Everyone understands that you don't give anything if you stay seated. And if nothing rings, it is clear that note money and not coins end up in the tub.
Netherlands
It is already noon when I walk back in the scorching sun. Still enough time left to digitally attend a Dutch church service. Of course the service starts punctually. Of course there are no latecomers.
What I miss in the morning gets caught up in the afternoon. Since attending church in Zambia, I appreciate Dutch sermons all the more. I am grateful for a piece of Scripture explanation, for lines I learn to see throughout the Bible, for a message that touches my heart. Then again, I do sing along in the Zambian way, although hand clapping and drum rolls are exchanged for beautiful organ playing. The collection? The QR codes in the picture give me a 'teatime feeling'. Invisible giving is no longer there. Would that boost revenue? Furthermore, I feel extra connected the moment I witness the intercession and hear how the congregation brings me and my work before God's face. That very thing, prayer, is the sustaining force under being able to serve in God's Kingdom. Indispensable!
Privileged
I am so privileged! I get to live in two worlds. From both worlds, I try to take the good with me and carry it out wherever I am. Whether that is easy? Well, no. The fact that I live on my own among and with my Zambian brothers and sisters sometimes really makes me misunderstand them or feel misunderstood myself. The same feeling can creep up on me again during periods of leave. I come from a different world even then. Is that a bad thing? No. It just makes me need the Lord Jesus even more. That's a great blessing of living and working on the mission field anyway. It makes you so dependent, right down to the details of your life. And how much joy have I already received through answers to prayer and experiencing that the Lord sees and knows you!
It makes me feel at home in two worlds, though I also definitely know something of being a stranger on this earth. Whether I am in Zambia or the Netherlands, I keep looking forward to living in the Heavenly Homeland.
