Today we went to our facilitator's church. It is an off shoot of a local Lutheran church. Very cute and far out in the sticks. Having never been to a Lutheran service, I was in for something completely new. The majority of the service was conducted in Kimeru which I know none of and the message was in Kiswahili. I only caught a few words here and there. The pastor greeted us and we had to introduce ourselves to the congregation of about 220 in broken Kiswahili.
Even though I understood very little of what was going on, I completely felt God's presence there. I was moved by the love, grace and compassion I saw in the people. They also were big givers: four offerings total and i think everyone gave something even if it was just 100 shillings.
After the service, there is an auction every week of items people bring. The proceeds are used to buy building materials as they are trying to finish their church still. We all brought something and my fabric went for 12000 shillings. Quite the pretty penny...and I thought no one would like it. :)
After church, we were sent out with different families for lunch and a "get to know the village" time. My host family wa
s nice. Mama and Baba were quiet, but kind. The village tour was interesting. The highlight for me was seeing the village dispensary and the closed maternity ward. The maternity ward is over 75 years old. It was recently closed because it is falling apart. When women in the village need to have a baby, they either walk 3km to the next clinic or hope a birth attendant can get to their house. I think I'd like to help build them a new one. It's surprisingly inexpensive by our standards. It's something I will be praying about.
Even though I understood very little of what was going on, I completely felt God's presence there. I was moved by the love, grace and compassion I saw in the people. They also were big givers: four offerings total and i think everyone gave something even if it was just 100 shillings.
After the service, there is an auction every week of items people bring. The proceeds are used to buy building materials as they are trying to finish their church still. We all brought something and my fabric went for 12000 shillings. Quite the pretty penny...and I thought no one would like it. :)
After church, we were sent out with different families for lunch and a "get to know the village" time. My host family wa
s nice. Mama and Baba were quiet, but kind. The village tour was interesting. The highlight for me was seeing the village dispensary and the closed maternity ward. The maternity ward is over 75 years old. It was recently closed because it is falling apart. When women in the village need to have a baby, they either walk 3km to the next clinic or hope a birth attendant can get to their house. I think I'd like to help build them a new one. It's surprisingly inexpensive by our standards. It's something I will be praying about. 
1 comment:
3km while in labor - isn't that considered cruel if not unusual?
I am glad that you see more of how amazing our God is in this world - He's so much bigger than the little boxes we try to keep Him in.
Love you - Christmas is coming!
Robin
Post a Comment