The African Way

Things are so different here than they are back in the states. I think, coming from America, we were ready for the difference in language, the difference in clothes, and the difference in living styles. What I hadn’t quite anticipated was just much everything changes – from what a handshake means to what’s rude to what money is used for. Even things we think are unchangeable, like logic and fiscal planning, are so different here that we barely recognize them. We missed a lot of this the first time around because we were usually working with large groups of missionaries – a large enough group that the Mozambicans around us had to bend to our ways of doing things. But now it’s us that need to conform to the Mozambican culture, and it’s quite a bit different than we first thought.

For example, if you were working in Africa, would you buy a washing machine or hire someone to do your laundry for a couple dollars a day? Most westerners think that it would be better to buy a washing machine than to put someone in a position of servitude. Here, where unemployment is over 50%, it’s incredibly rude to buy a mashing machine and put someone out of a job. If you do your own laundry and you can afford to have someone do it, you’re seen as selfish!

Another example – if someone comes up to you and says, “When are you going to give me your car?” How would you react? Offended? Put off? Incredibly surprised? Here the question isn’t offensive at all. It’s a compliment (I like your car) and a conversation starter (you have to respond because it’s a question)!

I still haven’t figured out what makes up logic here… I can understand western logic (which goes from several things we know to make a point about something we don’t), Hebrew logic (parallels or opposites, like any of the psalms or prophets), and Paul’s logic (A to B to C… Usually connected by rhetoric), but even with a Physics degree and usually excellent logic skills, I can’t quite figure out African logic. There’s definitely a pattern; you can especially see it when listening to a really good pastor preach. At certain points, you can see the crowd react in a powerful way to what was said, but those points don’t seem to make sense. It’s like going from A to F – two points that, to me, seem unconnected. I’ll give you an example I actually understand; the evangelist at an outreach said, “If you are sick, come up and receive prayer. You wouldn’t feed one of your children and let the others go hungry, would you?” I was so confused at first, but the crowd all understood instantly – if we’re God’s children then all of us should be able to expect Him to give us what we need. He wouldn’t just touch one or two people’s lives.

I’m still praying for that “Eureka!” moment… Hopefully that will be a post in the near future!