THE SUNDEI BELL by Geneva Kosher
A true story from Kenya, Africa)
D in g , d o n g ! ding, dong! ding, dong! ding, dong! ding, dong!” Mulwa turned the wheel over and over and over to make the bell ring. “ Ikalata,” called Yosevu to Kalon- du, his little sister, “ The Sundei bell is ringing and we’ll be late if we don’t hurry!” “Niwa,” answered Kalondu, “ but I must make a visit to the hen house before I can go!” Finally they were on their way, Yosevu clad in khaki shirt and shorts and Kalondu in a long, flowered dress and a new kitambaa tied on her head with a perky bow in the back. Nei ther one worried about breakfast, for they knew the clay pot of water was on the fire and when they came back the usuu made from com meal would be ready to fill their tumbos. Up the hills and down the hills they hurried, sometimes walking and sometimes running, to join a group of children ahead of them, all hurrying in the same direction. “ Ding, dong! ding, dong! ding, dong!” This time the Sundei bell stopped short, for Mwalimu Edith
could see that all the children were anxious to start singing. “ Let’s begin,” she said, “by singing ‘Allelu, allelu, allelu, alleluya, Praise ye the Lord.’ ” Maybe there were two hun dred children singing when they started, but more and more kept pouring in through the boys’ door on the right and the girls’ door on the left, until there were nearly twice as many children. “ And now you may choose a cho rus,” Yosevu heard her say. Up went his hand like a shot! “ The Wordless Book Chorus!” he said. “ You come up and lead us,” said Mwalimu Edith, “by showing us the pages in this lit tle book.” Yosevu bounded up to the front, remembering the first time he saw this little book and understood clearly that Jesus could wash his sins away. So he turned the pages: black, red, white, gold. The Mwalimu Edith asked all the children to say the verses for each page as he turned them again. For the black page, the children repeated Romans 3:23: “ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” ; for the red, I John 1:7: “ The blood
of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” Next came the white page and Matthew 5 : 8 : “ Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” For the gold page they recited John 14:2, 3: “ I go to prepare a place for you . . . that where I am, there ye may be also.” As Yosevu returned his place on the long bench, squeezing in be tween his friends, he thought that some day he would like to be a Sun- dei teacher like Mwalimu Edith and show many children the Wordless Book. “ Now we will worship God with our gifts,” said Mwalimu Edith. Kalondu carefully unwrapped the gift she had brought from the hen house — a freshly laid egg! Along came the soft bag on the end of the long pole, and plop went the egg safely into it. Yosevu carefully drop ped his offering in also — a big round copper ten cent piece with a hole right in the middle of it. Then he became absorbed in watching an assistant teacher collecting all the gifts the children had brought for the Lord, such as ears of com before
rang the Sundei bell at Kangundo, as
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