Himba Scripture Engagement Workshop Phase 1, Kaokoland, Namibia
July 27, 29, 30, 2013 in Opuwo and July 31 to August 4, 2013 in Ondie Area
Opuwo, Abba Guest House
Attendance: Assistant Pastor Edwin of Dutch Reformed Church/Nederduits Gerefromeerde Kerk, Pastor Elton John of Uniting Reformed Church, Pastor Kalusha of Opuwo Community Christian Church, Pastor Kapitango of Seventh Day Adventist Church. These men desire to reach out to the Himba and Herero. Pieter de Viliers attended some of the sessions. He has been serving as liaison for the workshop and is the leader of Opuwo Community Christian Church, which is part Christian Network Namibia (related to Hatfield Church in Pretoria). There were not any representatives of the Dhimba (reasons not known), but the Senior Pastor of the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk is an Herero speaking Dhimba.
This workshop gives a first time experience for these pastors to memorize and engage in Bible stories. I have prepared to tell the story of Jesus and the man who studied the Law of God from Luke 10, verses 25 to 37. The next story the participants choose is the story about the father and his two sons from Luke 15, verses 11 to 32. We discuss the importance of accuracy, clarity, and naturalness. I give them some ideas on how to memorize a story easier, using association, gestures, and story boards, etc. We also practice telling the stories in the same fashion and then follow through with relevant questions and/or discussion that draws people back into the story and also draws them to discover and apply relevant truths of the story. They are impressed by how memorizing and telling the stories helps them to learn from the stories. They also discover that when a story really has been memorized, internalized, and processed, that telling it will be much more natural.
I share with them how to consider developing relevant stories that belong together (story sets) and what it means to give a basic idea of who God is and how we can relate to Him. I also encourage them to keep telling the stories to others.
We also discuss if they wanted to do paraphrased Bible story telling or work towards an oral Bible. They see the need for having a real Bible that they could have in their hearts and to listen to, so they decide to work towards an oral Bible developed in a panoramic fashion, starting with relevant stories that people can relate to, building towards helping them embrace the restored relationship God offers them through Jesus and continuing in issues that will help them grow in that relationship. They will search for people or become personally involved in doing the work of the project. They will decide within a week of the workshop who will be the leader and liaison to see the project move forward. The second workshop will be scheduled between the end of October and December 2013.
Ondie Area, Himba cattle post
Attendees: Vezandu (Himba) and Noah (Dhimba) serving with the outreach work of Opuwo Community Christian Church who serve as translators, drivers, cooks, and mechanics. Pastor Uaherura of the local church in Ondie related to the Christian Network Namibia through the Opuwo Community Christian Church, two of her daughters, four other women (one of them was Tjize), two men, as well as a few younger children. Not all of them were Christians.
Noah suggests that we offer early morning sessions and evening sessions since during the day people may be gone with their herds to fetch water and let them graze away from the cattle post, as well as avoid the heat of the day (when the people get very sleepy and try to find some shade). I learn that in general they all know about God, the Bible, and Jesus, but that grasping the concept of salvation for some is a possible issue. There is no time to help them choose stories and they also don’t know enough Bible to suggest a story.
On Wednesday evening around the fire (it gets quite cold in the evening) we have our first session using the story when Nicodemus comes to Jesus from John 3, verses 1 to 21. The reason I choose this story is that Jesus compares our second birth (salvation) with the wind, which the Himba know well in the semi desert areas where they live. After I tell the story the first time through, I realize that there is a lot of teaching in this part and that it seems to be too much for the group. We practice the story to verse 8. I then start to ask questions about the story. It shows that some had been taught before about this story, but that they still have questions or misunderstand some of the things due to other doctrine/teaching imposed on this story. The session lasts about 3 hours.
On Thursday morning after breakfast Uaherura right away retells the story and after we discuss it further, we continue on to the story about the father and his two sons from Luke 15, verses 11 to 32. The session lasts about 2 hours.
That evening around the fire we repeat the first two stories and I notice that there are more people in the evening. All of them are very interested to listen and interact with the stories, but not all of them are interested in memorizing them and repeating them many times. They do engage well and all of them want to be like the father. They then tell me why with examples from the story. I then realize that there is a mixed audience of those that are Christians who see the value of internalizing the stories and those that are interested in just hearing and learning from the stories. There are also more people attending in the evening than in the morning. The session last almost 3 hours.
On Friday morning we have another session and one of the ladies starts spontaneously to share the story about the father and his two sons. We then add the story about Daniel and King Darius from Daniel chapter 6, which they really seem to like a lot. We start a bit later and the session only lasts for about 1 ½ hour.
That evening around the fire we continue with Daniel and King Darius after repeating the story of the Father and his two sons. Again there are more people and everybody engages. When we get to the question who they like to be in the story, most answer Daniel and one wants to like King Darius. From the story they tell next why they want to be like Daniel or King Darius. Then I confirm with them what Daniel really did and how he risked his life by putting God first… still the same people want to be Daniel. Then I ask what they need to change in their lives to be like Daniel. I encourage them to see if they would like to make a song of one of the stories, but there is little response. Noah encourages at closing for everybody to pray out loud together, since normally they depend on prayers of others and feel like they cannot pray themselves. The group prayer seems to work well for them since everybody participates. The session lasts almost 3 hours.
For Saturday morning Noah suggests to meet at 6 o’clock and by 5:40 I am woken up by the noise of everybody getting ready for our session. The large group is present again and we meet for about 2 ½ hours. After a time of prayer and Pastor Uaherura telling the story of Daniel and King Darius with great accuracy and detail, I add the story of Jesus and the man who studied the Law of God from Luke 10, verses 25 to 37. They learn this story with ease and engage enthusiastically, repeating the story and interacting with the questions. They all want to be like the man from Samaria who shows compassion. I ask them what he really does in the story and then ask if they still want to be this man and they do. Then I ask again what that means for their life.
In the evening around the fire the same people are present. We start after quite a delay with the story from the morning. Then I tell the story that presents the gospel from Colossians 1, verses 15 to 23. There is a lot of teaching in this story and it doesn’t have a real story line and it is more difficult for the translator to repeat it in their language. Consequently the people also engage not very well. The interest of those just interested in hearing the stories has dropped off and several people fall asleep. This story doesn’t really captivate the people and it is getting late too. They need stories they can visualize and listing issues is difficult for them to grasp. For me it is a good learning experience. Afterwards a few people, including Uaherura and Tjize, continue to interact and we talk about the use of songs in their culture. They do use songs to tell history, about who they are, etc. I ask if they could use songs for telling stories and Uaherura says that she went to a workshop in Windhoek where they told her that they should make songs using their own music. Since it was a stand-alone idea without help needed to implementation, nothing ever happened. Later I also learn that they never sing their own songs twice the same way. Uaherura sing s a short sample of a song for us to give us an idea of how they sing their traditional songs. Next the discussion goes to a follow up workshop and how the work in Opuwo should provide them with stories, as well as that people like Vezandu, Noah as well as people from their community could be trained to see the work moving forward. I also encourage them to tell the stories, but when the official stories, that are consultant checked and recorded, become available that they should become the standard. I encourage them also that they can tell the stories not only in early morning, around the fire in the evening, but also around the watering holes or when they go and fellowship with others while visiting in Opuwo. Later they can also get the recorded versions and listen to them on their mobile phones, radios with SD card ports (some of the Himba have them), MP3 players, or designated listening devices that can be distributed. This session lasts about 2 ½ hours.
On Sunday morning everybody wakes up early again and is ready by 6 o’clock for their next session after Noah starts our time with a period of communal prayer. This morning I share Psalm 23 and I relate it to their pastoral life. Since there will a service at the church bulding in Ondie and we need to pack up before we go there, our time is limited to about 1 ½ hour. For the church service I have been asked to share a message and Noah will lead the service. All the children (about 20) from the school near the church are there with the teacher, his wife and about 7 other adults. After Noah spontaneously sharing the story of Nicodemus coming to Jesus and the story the father and his two sons, several people give testimonies, including the local school teacher quoting John 3:16 about God’s love for everybody in the world, and several songs I am asked to share. At their request I share a short personal testimony about who I am and then connect with Noah’s stories and John 3:16, sharing the gospel and ending up with telling the story of Daniel and King Darius once more. Everybody but one wants to be like Daniel again with one person wanting to be like King Darius. Again I confirm with them what Daniel really did and how he risked his life by putting God first… still the same people want to be Daniel. They also respond well to why someone could want to be like King Darius. Then I ask what they need to change in their lives to be like Daniel or King Darius and tell them that true change will only possible if they have been born the second time. This seems to communicate much better than the scripture passage of the previous night that contained mainly straight teaching.
The next step is to follow through with the team in Opuwo to the timing of the second workshop and for the Opuwo team to designate people to become part of the project by making the stories, thinking about which stories to choose first, recording the stories, and do outreach by teaching the stories in the region.
Respectfully submitted as I rejoice in serving together,
Durk Meijer, August 5, 2013
