Memorial Service

Friday 6.19.2009
So today when I arrived at school, Florence informed me that we would be attending a memorial service in the afternoon for Mr. Odara’s mother. Mr. Odara is the guidance counselor. He is such a sweet man, so I had no problem agreeing to attend. It was going to be held at his house which is only a couple of streets over from where we stay. So, we taught three streams (double-shift classes). I was excited because I looked up the reading study from Cambridge University…I know you have gotten this forward before. It is a whole paragraph but all the words are spelled incorrectly except for the first and last letter and the whole point of the paragraph is to show you that you can still read it without a problem because the brain reads the word as a whole, not every individual letter. Anyway, I wrote it out on a sheet of paper and brought it to class. I put it on the board and had a volunteer come up to read. Then the whole class read it aloud as a whole. They really enjoyed it, I think..or they just like to laugh at the crazy muno. I wrote “czary tneus” at the bottom of the page to teach them about “crazy tunes”…I’m hoping it will catch on.
The third class I taught by myself because Florence was tired. No problem.
So, after class, at about 3:00 we began walking to Mr. Odara’s house. Myself, Florence, and four other teachers went. We walked through corn fields and back roads. I saw four BABY goats! So precious! Mr. Odara’s house was a brick house (room) about 20x25. It is surrounded by displacement huts. We took off our shoes and walked into the room. It was like a sauna. I really thought I was going to be sick. After about two minutes, Mr. Odara took us outside to sit on the porch in plastic chairs. Thank God! It was breezy. Apparently, we had to be received into the house in order for our blessing to be fully given. I was the only muno in the bunch. Mr. Odara’s wife, his uncle, his landlord and his neighbor were also there. So, most of the ceremony was said in Lwo. Mr. Odara’s mother passed away three weeks ago. There was a great deal of formality involved in the ceremony. We were all sitting in a row along the side of the house in plastic lawn chairs. Mr. Odara got up and said a few words to open. Then, the landlord got up to speak. Then, Mr. Odara’s uncle, who leads the catechism at Holy Cross Church, got up to say a few words and pray. It’s interesting that, though I could not understand a single word being spoken, the sound of grief and compassion is universal. I feel as though I could understand exactly what he was saying. Then, one of our fellow teachers got up to speak and to thank Mr. Odara for having us. Then, we prayed the rosary…in Lwo. I’m glad I had a rough idea of what was going on. Then, Mr. Odara got up to say a few words about his mother’s life. One thing I have noticed about the Acholi people is that when they are telling a story, especially one that is close to their heart, their eyes go into a far-off stare. They do not make eye contact. It is very dream-like and there is a certain rhythm to the words that they speak. Mesmerizing. When he finished his story, he turned to me and said, “would you like to say a few words?” I think my internal response was “huh?” But I could not refuse. So, I got up, put my shoes on, and faced the line of eyes waiting for the “wise words of the muno”. It went well, though. I talked about family and prayers and how grateful I was to be a part of their family today, etc, etc, etc. I think that it made Mr. Odara happy. When he smiles, his whole face smiles and his eyes actually light up. It is beautiful. So, I sat back down and Florence got up to pray, then Odara’s uncle prayed and we were finished. We had to hurry a bit because the sky looked like the bottom was about to drop out. But it didn’t. So, after the service, the women went inside to receive soda, hard-boiled eggs and bananas. So hot. It had been a few hours and I felt the need to get back to the house, so I said my goodbyes and Mr. Odara’s landlord drove me home. He drives a landrover…thank God! The road was so terribly constructed. I think it was more like a series of peaks and valleys. Literally, there were trenches in the dirt. It actually felt more like the tires were stepping as opposed to turning. We were so slanted…it was kind of terrifying. Riding the roads here really feels like a rollercoaster ride. I am very glad that I went and was able to be a part of it.