Chapter 22 - Page 304 - Shanha Talks To Jesus

   All the girls' faces lit up as they recognized the song. Jim sang solo again, then Jackie and Simbatu joined in. Shanha stood and began dancing. Jim sang solo again. "Come, Mr. Tally man, tally me banana . . . "

   As the boat continued toward the village, people could be seen along the shoreline. All the natives were familiar with Jim and Rhasha, and smiled and waved as the boat passed. The closer the boat got to its destination, the more people could be seen on shore. Some could be heard singing along with the people in the boat, who were all smiling and clapping to the music. Even the birds in the trees seemed to be cheerful.

   When the song ended, everyone laughed and clapped, but the singers weren't silent for long. Simbatu began playing the keyboard. Jim started strumming on his guitar, and began singing "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" as if he were Neil Diamond himself: "Ahhh, an august night and the leaves hanging down and the grass on the ground smelling sweet . . . "

   Soon Rhasha, Shanha, Jackie, and Simbatu joined in. Everyone clapped to the beat. "Halle, halle. Pack up the babies and grab your sweet ladies and everyone goes, cause everyone knows, it's Brother Love's show . . . "

   They finished the song just as the captain pulled his boat up to the village pier. Several people stood on the shore, waiting for the gospel group to unload. The boatman tied up to the pier and assisted everyone off the boat to be greeted by the villagers, who led them to a treed area not far from where they docked. There was no church in the village, but a section of land had been cordoned off and designated a public meeting place. Logs laid lengthwise on the ground served as pews, with an aisle of hard-packed dirt down the center. It was obvious the aisle was used frequently. A makeshift podium stood at the front. Tree branches hung out over the log pews to form a jungle roof.