On Tuesday night i went to the free Indigenous film festival with Shaz, Mez and Jill. The people who made the films were really talented and they achieved their aim - to educate people about Indigenous culture and heritage issues. In the interval, we were fed Indigenous food - i wasn't too keen to even try the Kangaroo tail soup - eeewwww. It was a really interesting and enlightening evening.
However, the thing that amazed me the most, was not the films or the food, but this Indigenous elder who carried out what's referred to a traditional 'welcome to the festival' speech. He was 72, had eight children and could speak five different languages, but could neither read nor write any of them. He gave us a bit of an overview about his cultural background before announcing to the whole theatre that he was a devout Christian.
He told us that what he was about to say was very important and he wanted us to listen carefully. Then he launched into this big speech about how Jesus was his Lord and Saviour and that one day we would all have to stand before Him and give an account of our lives and that we had better get our lives right with Jesus! I was shocked. His boldness and courage were just incredible. Shaz, Mez and I were just so inspired by him. Maybe it's easier to be so bold when you are 72!
Hearing this guy really challenged me and deeply encouraged me. I never thought Indigenous people believed in Jesus because their traditional culture is based on the creation of the world by spirits, and they place a high importance on protecting various sites and objects because of the spiritual significance of them. I guess Jesus speaks to all people. Praise God.
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