THE LIFE OF RICHARD WILLIAM MUELLER, JR.
(Continued)

Dad’s Autobiography – Chapter 21 – In Book, Page 46

Tea In The Bush, Remnants Of The Truth – The Truth Distorted, Proverbs, English Expressions

Tea In The Bush I would like to mention here that the best tea I have ever drunk came from – not a well, but a river. This water was poured into a five gallon kerosene can which, of course, had been thoroughly cleaned. The water was boiled over what we would call a campfire. Then tea, sugar, and milk was added. What came out of that kerosene can was delicious tea. I looked forward to it every time I went to Mhlanga’s village. And I hardly ever drink tea in the United States.

“On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.” Acts 16:13 As far as I know, this is not a custom in Zambia and Malawi. However, the scene described here is one that brings back another memory of Africa. I can see women at a river washing clothes. I can see them bent over rocks and pounding their wash on those rocks – then laying them out on nearby bushes to dry. Every time we saw this scene, the scene which the Apostle Paul came upon outside of Philippi, a city in modern Turkey, ancient Macedonia, we were reminded that the Word of God can be proclaimed anywhere.

REMANTS OF THE TRUTH – THE TRUTH DISTORTED

During our years in Zambia and Malawi, I learned some of the African lore. I wish I had learned more, but that is not why we had been sent to this mission field. We had been sent to establish an indigenous church. We had been sent to prepare indigenous men to proclaim the teachings of the Bible in their own environment. They would apply God’s Word with their knowledge of their customs and practices.

On one of our visits to the German Lutheran church in South Africa, that vision became clear to me. We were told of an African pastor who concluded his sermon with this statement. “Every cow is known by its mark.” The statement was made in his own language. Even though it made the white South Africans wonder, that statement was very clear to the black South Africans. A Christian is known by his mark – love. That mark is love for God and love for our fellowman. Christ Jesus is the author of that mark.

“The great dragon was hurled down–that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” Revelation 12:9 That is what God’s Word says. African lore has distorted that truth. A story is told about the Baobab tree. This tree is a huge tree. It grows mainly in the valleys of Africa. And it grows in such a way that it looks as though its roots are growing toward the sky. It is said that once upon a time this tree grew in the normal way – with branches rearing into the air. It is said that this tree grew bigger and bigger until, finally, it wanted to be the god of the forest. God, however, took that tree and threw it down from the mountain into the valley. And that is why it grows in valleys – with its roots pointed at the sky.

“I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”  Genesis 9:13 That is also God’s Word. The rainbow has a scientific explanation. It appears when the sun shines through water vapor. However, for Christians it is a sign that God will never again destroy the world by water. Even though the non-Christian African does see in the rainbow that promise, he does acknowledge by whom that bow was made. He calls it “Uta wa Leza” – the “Bow of God.

“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.” Exodus 14:21,22 Again, this is God’s Word. Moses was commanded by God to stretch out his hand over the sea. By God’s power the
Red Sea parted and the Israelites walked across on dry land. And again, African lore has distorted this truth of God’s Word. They tell a story of the tribes of Africa moving through Africa. As they did, they came to the Zambezi River. When they saw it, they wondered how they would cross. It was then that one of their leaders held his arm over the river – and it parted to allow them to cross to the land on the other side of the Zambezi River. Again, a distortion of God’s holy, pure, and true Word.

These stories of African lore tell me that they have their origin in God’s Word. However, as the centuries passed, the truth of God’s Word became more and more distorted and adulterated. Today it bears only a remote resemblance to Words of the Bible. To me it resembles the “Telephone Game”. A statement is whispered in the ear of the first person in line. As it is passed down the line, it begins to change. Finally, when it comes out of the other end of the line, it bears little resemblance to the original statement.

PROVERBS

This is another area into which I had delved more thoroughly – but, again, it was not for this purpose that we were sent to Africa. However, I do remember a couple of African proverbs that I picked up.

The first became known when we had to cross streams on our way to village churches. There were times that we had to be carried across them – on the backs of our African evangelists. That is when I learned the proverb, “Go through the stream when the water is up to your knees.”  The words, “not when it is up to your shoulders” could have been added. We would say, “A stitch in time saves nine”. “Do what you are going to do when what you are going to do is still simple. Don’t wait until the task becomes almost impossible to do.” This is a proverb both black people and white people should take to heart.

“Chikomekome cha mkuyu, koma mkati muli nyerere.” A fig is pretty on the outside, but inside is a worm.” Our English proverbs would be, “Beauty is only skin deep” or “You can’t tell a book by its cover.” For the African, this proverb is much more understandable. He sees fig trees almost every day.

Again, I wish I had learned many more African proverbs. The sermons that I did preach in Chinyanja could have become much more meaningful to the peoples to whom we had been sent.

ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS

When a person lives in a country that was under English rule, it is of a necessity to learn expressions that the English use. If a person does not, he may not get what he asked for.

If you want bacon and eggs for breakfast, you ask for “Bubble and Squeak.”

If you want steak and chicken for dinner in a hotel, you order “Bull and Bird”

When you go to a gas station, you fill up with petrol. Kerosene becomes “paraffin.”

At the butcher shop, you never ask for hamburger. “Minced meat” is what it is called by the British.

When you live in Zambia and Malawi, you learn to call the hood of a car the “bonnet”. The trunk is the “boot” — the place where the luggage is stored. Consequently, if you are driving a Volkswagen, you are driving a vehicle that has the “boot” in the “bonnet”. Confusing – and amusing.

Here are a few more – from American to English. A Pacifier is a Dummy. Diapers are Nappies. A Truck is a Lorry. A Period is a Full Stop. A Hot Water Heater is a Geyser. A Radio is a Wireless. A Horn is a Hooter. A Windshield is a Windscreen. Tennis Shoes are Tackies. Surgery is a Doctor’s Office. A P.K. is a Toilet. A Sister is a Trained Nurse. A Napkin is a Serviette. A Garden Hose is a Hosepipe. Window Screen is Gauze. A Swim Suit is a Bathing Costume. And that is just a beginning of European English.