Visiting

Sunday afternoon is a time for visiting friends and family. So today we went to visit Margaret, a friend who lives in Namugongo, a nearby village. She has grown children and many of the children’s children are with Margaret. When the children saw baby Patricia, they were so excited; everyone wanted to hold her. She was very cooperative.

Margaret is a wonderful storyteller. I hope that I can give you even a glimpse of the story she told us. I had a difficult time trying to decide if I should laugh or cry. She is now 58. When she was 22 (in 1974) and still a student in secondary school she got pregnant. This was not a good thing, so the family hushed it up and even pretended that the baby that was born belonged to someone else. He grew up thinking his grandmother was his mother.

But the funny story was how her aunt insisted that the witch doctors be brought in to help her give birth normally. Apparently she has an abnormal cervix which closed instead of opened so the doctors were planning a C-section. The doctors suggested that she be brought to the hospital and that the witch doctors work on her there. I can just picture the chanting and jumping around. They smeared all kinds of things on her body. The funniest part of the story was when one witch doctor – a woman – told Margaret to spread her legs. She then puffed on a pipe with who knows what in it and then blew between her legs. While Margaret is explaining this she is using me as an example – putting her hands on my knees and blowing. It was hysterical. Ultimately, the doctors prevailed and the parents sent the witch doctors away.

We prayed together with her family before leaving and came home. Monica is now bathing Patricia in preparation for sleep – we hope!

Blessings on your day.