It was a rainy morning as usual when we began the climb up the
slick muddy road to the church. So off we went on one of the most exhilarating
Sunday morning drives to church you can imagine. We bounced and slid our way up
until we came to a stop in front of the church and were swept up in the warm
welcome of the Chagga children as they sang “welcome, welcome, how do you do?”
At tea before the service, Pastor Mushi asked if I would be
willing to preach which did not surprise me so I had some notes ready to go on
my ipad. Young Pastor Stephen was my translator as usual and we soon fell into
our familiar rhythm with Stephen converting my words into Swahili as we
preached together.
The congregation poured out of the church for the "offering
auction" as the sky cleared right on cue. We purchased bananas and
avocados and other strange looking fruits to hand out as gifts, much to the
delight of all the people.
Then it was off to a delicious lunch served in the lower level
meeting room of the new library. Lunch was capped off as usual with the
dramatic presentation of a "Kilimanjaro banana" which is their
affectionate name for a large barbecued goat!
As we made our way back outside the whole
congregation broke out in happy songs celebrating our partnership in the
gospel. They followed us all the way
down the hill and kept singing and waving until we drove out of site.
Tomorrow we leave for a few days on
safari so it may be a little while before we have an internet connection again.
Happy Fathers Day!
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