We Had Church

Fiends at Kusheyeny Lutheran Church

We spent last night in a small motel up in the Machame region.  This positioned us close to the church in the morning and also provided a great opportunity to view the mountain if she decided to be revealed.  The mountain remains shy and the quiet little motel was surrounded by more ruckus all night than a motel six in Manhattan.

We climbed aboard the magic bus and started bouncing and spinning and slipping our way up the wet muddy slopes toward the church.  You are gonna have to see video to appreciate this ride which at times became so ridiculous the whole group was laughing out loud.

As we cleared a bend in the path and began our final assent to the church, a crowd of children came into view screaming and singing and waving branches to welcome us to their village and their church.  As we passed through the crowd of welcoming kids we looked out the rear window to see them running and laughing after us up the muddy road.  As we approached the church and slid to a stop, the entire congregation joined the children in a rowdy, welcoming embrace that seemed to go on forever.

After tea with the pastor and the elders the service began.  Even the kids in our group agreed that the two-hour service seemed to go by quickly.  The adult and youth choirs sang gorgeous African songs and the Spirit of God surrounded us all even though we speak different languages and come from different worlds.  I was the preacher with Pastor Stephen as my translator.  Stephen and I have done this many times and it is so much fun to share the good news in this unique way with such a good friend.

Delicious!

During lunch after the service a trumpet fanfare could be heard approaching the room where we were all gathered.  Our group was delighted to see that a large goat had been roasted in our honor and everyone enjoyed at least a bite or two!

As we said our goodbyes, Lydia, Clara and Mia talked me into making an unscheduled stop back at the orphanage to spend more time with the babies.  The bonds grew even stronger with those little ones during this visit and once again we boarded the magic bus with tears flowing down several faces in our group.