A New Day

Sunday afternoon:

(I've got lots of pictures for today, but no internet speed to upload them. Use your imagination and I'll fill in the details next time we meet.)

Still a little oozy from the bug, I woke up this morning feeling much better. Got some needed sleep and some needed hydration. I never thought it would be so critical for both of these things here.

Went to the Sunday service out in the open courtyard. It was a little embarrassing having so many people worry about me today. I’ll get over it. My embarrassment remains. But the people were very gracious. They were sure it was the tie that I wore that caused all the hoopla.

The service was really fun to be a part of. They sat around in a huge square with a wide open grassy area in the middle. Probably about 100 feet across. The chairs were underneath a canopy about 5-7 deep. The main pastor, Joseph, got up to start the service and tell everyone to move in to two sides because they were too spread out. He started speaking Nkonya and I couldn’t make it out what he was saying to them. This little announcement came at about 1 hour after the time the service was supposed to start.

I laughed because it was just like CrossRoads when we ask everyone to move in (bunch up!) and move forward so that we would be closer together. So I leaned over to Wes and said as much, he started laughing and said that yes it might seem the same as CrossRoads but there you wouldn’t threaten them with making too much room for Satan if you don’t move in.

I laughed some more.

The worship and praise time was so much fun. These people love the Lord. They would all come out from the canopy and begin to dance together and sing to the Lord. They each had a small white hanky in their hand that they waved and waved, which means “Rejoice!”

As the service continued, more and more people showed up. By the time the service was over, 3 hours later; all the seats were full all around the square. At some point in the service they asked me to speak for a while on thanksgiving, so I did. It was fun.

The offering was really cool. They placed two large wood containers out in the open and sang another song where we all danced in procession to the offering plate and gave with great joy. It was quite an experience to be a part of. I found myself watching specific individuals and watching them dance unto the Lord. One lady, in a beautiful blue dress was completely absorbed in a dance to the Lord. She would life her hanky to the air and look into the sky and I could see her having a glorious moment in God’s presence, just her and her God, enjoying one another. It was a really powerful picture for me. 

This was a day of rejoicing . . . . in many ways.

jp