I want to tell you about the meeting with the ladies on Sunday but first I need to introduce you to a different character in order to set the stage properly. Wekot is one of our sharpest ladies, a young mother of two that flew through literacy classes and even helped teach the last class. She’s actually from our third village, Tudaw which is the farthest away from us. Her mother is still alive and often comes to Wabuku to stay for a month or two before heading back to Tudaw. She usually wears her welcome out – with her daughter and the rest of the village. She’s the worst when she’s been in Tudaw for awhile and then comes here. She’s one of the worst Uriay Pharisees we know. J She’s always pointing the finger about how bad everyone else is and how good she is. She even told me yesterday morning that she’s a good woman (righteous) while others are not. She’s this skinny little lady with a big mouth. She’s always getting into arguments with the rest of the village – mouthing off to men so that people mock her and pretty much laugh at her openly. In that sense, we’re thankful as it means that they don’t take her list of do’s and don’ts too seriously as to how they can be righteous. She tends to think all the men are ogling her, wanting to marry her. She’s always telling us ladies that. It makes us want to laugh! I have a hard time keeping a straight face because it’s all she talks about it and it’s the farthest thing from any of these men’s thoughts! We wonder if she’s getting a little senile actually based on the odd things she says and does at times. More recently she even said she wanted to marry her son-in-law. Ok, so picture this skinny mouthy woman who is always telling the Wabuku people how bad they are and how good she is, coming in time to hear this week’s teaching after having been in Tudaw for the last three months basically. She was here the first week of teaching but then went back to Tudaw. She’s in her best self-righteous state (she does mellow out and become fun to be around when she’s been here for awhile) as she comes to Sunday’s lesson. She sits next to me and tells me how much she’s been wanting to hear this talk- on and on she goes. Really what she’s doing is establishing her goodness with me (in her mind anyway) while I’m thinking that if she really wanted to hear it, she could have been here listening to it. The choices was hers so all this talk means little to me while she thinks she’s buttering me up, so to speak. So anyway, as Elias teaches, she manages to listen and be still for a good part of it, but she can’t help trying to take over as he asks comprehension questions through the lesson. She tends to make statements – wrong ones but she makes them all the same as to how people get saved or who God is or whatever. Elias was gracious and didn’t embarrass her but he also made sure the truth was understood as he went along. Then even as I asked review questions, she was quick to answer….just incorrectly. But other ladies and the men answered with understanding and knowledge of the truths we’ve been teaching. It was really neat to see! The Tudaw folks look down on the Wabuku folks because they don’t do ‘church’ here. There are church buildings in our other two villages and they meet regularly but it’s a gospel of works not grace that’s taught in these buildings. You do this and don’t do that and God will save you. Nothing about them being sinners or that Christ died on their behalf – it’s all about your works. So to see our Wabuku folks answering questions with authority and real understanding while this Tudaw woman and other guys from the second village were a liitle off in their responses was really cool!
As soon as the meeting was over, the ladies and I were waiting for the men to leave so we could meet. My little Pharisee lady started going off on something. She was talking about some guy upriver that supposedly came back to life and lots of talk about sorcerers and sorcery. The men were answering her and the debate was going back and forth while the other ladies and I were trying to figure out if we should hit the tree gong, especially since one of the guys was sitting on it! Finally, we were ready to start and I just asked the other ladies if I could raise someone from the dead by my power. Could the sorcerers? Could any other man raise someone from the dead? They all responded without hesitation that none of us could, only God. This did exactly what I wanted it to do, it made the Pharisee shut up. I asked questions of the ladies about that morning’s lessons and previous ones and they answered quickly and correctly while this other lady, Sakwe, kept responding incorrectly. She kept trying to take the floor and direct the conversation to things about her, her husband’s death or what someone else taught. So I finally looked right at her and asked her if she came to listen to God’s Word or to preach. She’s about the only lady I would ever be that direct with but you have to be with her. She said she came to listen and so she turned to look directly at me (she was sitting next to me), pressed her mouth together tightly and made as if to listen, grudgingly perhaps but she was quiet anyway. I want her to understand the truth but she’s not really one to listen, she knows it all. And I sure didn’t want her to distract the other ladies or keep them from learning what they wanted to learn. As we continued to talk about the most recent stories, it was so amazing to watch the other ladies tell her the stories and the truths they’re learning! If Sakwe had a question, the other ladies would answer before I could, so I usually just waited and let them answer first. They were right on and I didn’t need to ‘catch’ her up – they were doing it! Wow! These ladies are solid in their understanding so far! That was the best part of the morning for me! I thought you’d enjoy it too! It made me think of that verse in 3 John 4, I have no greater joy than to see my children walking in truth. We’re almost there! We’ll soon be able to rejoice with God to see His Uriay children walking in truth. I was privileged to get a glimpse already!
Keep praying for these ladies – Imi, Dakruma, Nawiyem, Kayne, Ame, Tabe, Makay, and Maria. There are others but these are the ladies that are there most every week for the ladies’ meetings. Others are hit and miss but still tracking too.
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