Worship is Fun

Have you ever been guided through a warm up before worship on Sunday morning?

I think anyone who has had a chance to come to Hope Baptist Church gets excited about Sunday morning worship... you know that it is going to be unlike anything you'll get to experience in the United States.  

Today was no exception. 

Our worship leader gave us heads up that our worship should be heard through our voices and seen in our movement - and then led us in a bit of a warm up (maybe she didn't want any of us visitors to pull a muscle while we were dancing).  So many wonderful songs and dancing (yes, dancing) followed bringing us into such a wonderful time of praise and worship.  The songs ranged from very fast paced with lots of clapping and more dancing (you'll probably want to ask Linda and Kathy about how the spirit literally moved them around the sanctuary) to very slow and worshipful songs - some in English and some in different African languages.  What an awesome treat to get a glimpse into how worship might be in Heaven.

A familiar hymn: 

Our very own Pastor Keith was invited to preach - and he definitely brought the Word!  He shared a timely message of how we are called to worship in spirit and in mind, and to illustrate his point, he then sang a song he taught our children's choir a while back in an African language as well as "Come Though Fount of Every Blessing".

While that was going on, Hannah and Joy got an opportunity to teach Kids Church to about 50 kids from ages 0-17 (all in one room!).  Joy taught a lesson about friendship: how God invented friendship and how Jesus is a friend who will never disappoint us.  The kids then joined in a fun craft of friendship bracelets and a laughter-filled game with a 20' parachute (which barely fit in the room). 

The volunteers then served all of the church a delicious braai (BBQ) South African style of rice, pap (cornmeal porridge), beef, pork, chicken and sausages.  Such a wonderful act of service for us and the whole congregation. 

After some time to visit with Julius & Cintia, we made a quick trip to a small nearby mall and returned to the hotel to sort our glasses.

 

 

Some food for thought: 

- our worship leader started the service today by saying: make someone feel comfortable with a smile on your face... 

- at some point today, most of us were out of our comfort zone in some way (at least out of the dead center of the comfort zone) - and we discussed how the day was full and awesome.  What blessing might you miss by not stepping into a new environment?

- over and over, this congregation amazed us with how well they served our team - including something I don't think any of us have experienced before: prior to lunch a woman (assisted by John) came by and helped us wash our hands by pouring warm soapy water over our hands and into a bowl.  It was somehow both helpful and humbling at the same time.  It conjured a similar image of Jesus' feet being washed by Mary.  How can we challenge ourselves to serve others in a more Christ-like way?

Pray for: 

- continued health, safety, and protection from fatigue - we are going to be tired tomorrow!

- the fourth suitcase of glasses still has not been delivered

- tomorrow, our first day of the eye glass clinics where we hope to have the opportunity to pray with many people to make decisions for Christ or encourage them in the Lord.

A video perspective from Hannah on the day: