Kesega is the hometown of these young men and following the church service we were invited to Augustine’s home for Christmas dinner. We relaxed in the shade of the straw-covered hut, although the day was cloudy with a chance of rain. A calf visited our small enclosure as did a chicken and a child or two.
Joel cut up my favorite Ugandan food – pineapple – while Augustine’s mother prepared the meal in the hut just beyond. I peeked my head into that hut at the invitation of Augustine and saw the crude fire and many cooking instruments. His mother spoke no English so I greeted her warmly with Augustine translating, but I wish I would have stayed longer to express my appreciation for the man Augustine is becoming.
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| Joel, Gabriel in the background, and Augustine |
Inside the dining room hut were chairs enough for six people – chairs borrowed from the church – where Gabriel, Lauren, and I sat on one side of two small wood tables and Joel, Augustine, and Pastor Sam sat on the other side. After finishing the pineapple appetizer, the tables were presently filled (and I mean filled) with delicious traditional Ugandan foods: matoke (boiled banana), irish (potatoes), spaghetti, beef, chicken, cabbage, and rice.
We all leaned back with full stomachs as I asked if Augustine and his family ate this kind of meal after church every Sunday. He laughed. I learned that around August the family began saving to buy the meat to serve at Christmas dinner with the food staples. How could they have known we would be with them for Christmas? Oh, I wish I wouldn’t have eaten so much.
