Ugandan Choir

February 12, 2009 Thursday

It has been a very interesting last couple of days.

I can’t remember if I told you that I’ve joined the Chapel Choir here at Uganda Christian University (UCU). Well, UCU takes their extra-curriculars very seriously and expect high attendance and full participation. I usually go to practice every Tuesday and Thursday from 7:30 to 9. We are taught new songs which are often very obscure hymns or 90’s praise songs. I was forced to become a soprano because apparently there was a lack of sopranos, though I don’t see how my wimpy/off key/alto voice would contribute to the quality. But, I figured, I’m in Africa and have the ability to stretch out, many people in that choir do not have the most amazing voices ever, and have led chapel with off key voices, and I just thought it would be fun. So I’m in chapel choir, where my rhythm is often called into question when I have to sway, clap, AND sing all at the same time. All I can say is the Lord is working wonders in me, who knew I could actually clap in time, sway with everyone else, and get the words right when I sing.

Well, this last Tuesday (the 10th), Chapel Choir led worship in Chapel. We sang “These are the Days of Elijah” (a real clapping song), “How Great Thou Art” (played in the most upbeat way I’ve ever heard), A Lugandan Song (that I had never practiced before or heard, that was an interesting scene), and “Come to the River”. For all the songs but “How Great Thou Art” I was constantly looking over my shoulder to catch the lyrics on the screen behind me. I was front row of our lovely choir in front of a full house. I was working hard at making sure I wasn’t self conscious about being up in front of everybody but being more worshipful. It was pretty hard, especially for my first time and with songs that we hadn’t practiced. But overall, it was a great experience. Hopefully next time we lead worship I’ll be able to memorize all the songs and not be worried about knowing the words. Maybe I’ll even know the Lugandan songs.

One of the things I really like about UCU is that when you join a club, you’re not just a casual member. Everyone knows your name, you’re missed when you’re gone, and they meet outside of normal practicing time. Every Wednesday, the Chapel Choir has lunch hour fellowship just for Chapel Choir members. And every Wednesday, two people from the choir lead the group in worship, intercession, and a short message. Well, since my roommate and I were new to the choir, we were assigned to lead this week’s fellowship hour along with a Ugandan named Kenneth. Needless to say, we were a little freaked. I got the job of leading worship (that means I had to sing, alone, in front of people…), leading testimonies and prayer. Kelsey, my roommate, was to give the message. And Kenneth was to help out when we didn’t know what to do.

Wednesday came around, pretty quickly, and I was ready to lead worship. I made Kenneth stand up with me, because I was pretty nervous and didn’t know any of the songs he wanted to sing. So the leading worship was a little more Kenneth starting the songs and me joining in while standing in front of our little choir. Occasionally he would tell me I should start a new worship song. I was scared that I would start a song that no one knew and therefore be forced to sing a solo. So Kenneth basically led the worship songs with me standing next to him. And, apparently there is a difference between worship songs and praise songs. One of them is more upbeat, clapping, and swaying, while the other is slower and more somber, I’m not sure which is which yet.

After worship was over, I was to lead the group in testimonies by starting with my own. Again, the Ugandan meaning for testimony is different than the US word for testimony. I had always believed a testimony meant the story of your faith’s journey. How you became a Christian, etc. Well, a Ugandan testimony is more like: “I finally finished this paper that was due today, and I turned it in on time. Praise the Lord.” Or “Praise the Lord, I was struggling with a friend but Jesus has helped me see her side of the story.” However, Ugandans do often tell their life story but I don’t think it’s called a “testimony”. Well, I knew the difference between Ugandan and American testimonies but I figured I would tell my faith story anyway just so they would know who this Mzungu was that was leading their worship hour. I then introduced Kelsey as the speaker and prayed for her. She gave a wonderful message on a passage from James. We were both so out of our comfort zone, it was crazy. God is definitely working in us.