Goat Dinner

I am totally freaked out by what happened tonight, by how the Lord blessed us. We had our Thursday night dinner, but we did it in the garden. Mapigano was cooking—goat kabobs. People weren’t real sure what to think, but everyone that tried it really liked it.

Ok, so all week, I was asking people, thinking that having it in the garden is a little less intimidating for a guest than having it at my house. So I asked Stephanie and her kids (Jessie is becoming friends with Stephanie, and her daughter is in John’s class.) I asked Cliff and his family.

Leo worked like a dog with me setting up tables and chairs, getting it all ready.

Mapigano, Gabin, and Don Ellis put the kebabs together.

Over 60 people came. 19 of them were first-time visitors. People came off the street. One family came because Cliff told them about it! I was totally freaked out. Mapigano and I were cooking, and of course not getting to eat, and so we set aside some kabobs for us. We ate off the same kabob, and there was something intense in that, pulling goat off the stick it was like communion.

So there we were, young and old (there must have been 25 kids there. It looked like school was in session!) Eating goat. African, Hispanic, Anglo, African-American. Over the fire, I joked with Madame Itoula that one day there will be so many Africans in America that we’ll all eat goat and think we invented it, because finally, that’s what makes us so strong—everyone comes and adds to the potluck.

So I had lots of opportunity to witness, to invite. Lots of time to laugh, and just be as relaxed as I ever get. You know, you could start a church with all the people we had. Man, how I would love it if every Sunday , 1/3 of the people were brand new, didn’t know Jesus. It works if you work it.

I wish I could be really eloquent in this description. But I think I am too blown away that this many people came, that we ate that much goat, that kids played so hard without fighting, that groups were forming that we’ve never seen before.

And get this: Foti let us hook up the hose at his house, and the garden got watered. Can you believe it? We’re cooking goat, loving Jesus, talking, watering. My goodness, all we did was plant some seeds and plants. What’s going on here!?

I need to give a shout out to my kids who carried tables from the garden to the church: Samstress, Elijon, Seamus, Matthew. They work hard for me and it’s really something to see.