Awake My Soul

This Sunday morning began much earlier that our other Sundays. Alex and Daniel made a trip to the slums early in the morning (at 6:30) to Skype with a camp back home. I woke up at 8 and got ready for church. A missionary family that is staying here came to pick us up at 9:45 and took us with them to their church. We climbed the stairs of an ordinary building and reached a room on the second floor filled with about 50 people. We took our seats as the pastor began speaking. The pastor referred to every member of his congregation as Brother or Sister and he knew every person by name. Not only did he know their names, but he also knew what was going on in their lives and what to pray for. This church truly epitomizes the definition of fellowship. It was like worshipping together as one large family. At periodic times throughout the service, any random member of the congregation would boldly pray out loud for our Father’s glory. Even in the middle of one of the worship songs, the band stopped playing and brought to the congregation’s attention a verse that had just come to his mind. The service was truly spectacular and the people’s faith is so genuine. At the end of the service, tea was brought out so that the members of the congregation could enjoy fellowship over a cup of tea. This is not unusual for many churches outside of the US. Upon leaving the church, we returned home, napped, and then got ready to head to the slums for ministry. Alex, Daniel, and I went straight up to the oldest group and started off with a few songs. The group gradually grew to a little over 100 children! When the Tori and Chelsi arrived, Alex started telling the story of Saul’s Conversion while we acted it out. The children learned of God’s ability to turn the least likely of us into witnesses for his glory and of Ananias’ obedience to God. They were able to retell the story in their own language while some of their peers acted it out. They also had verse memory today (Galations 2:20) and became aware of the concept of becoming a new creation in JC. After I had gone through the verse with them, some of the girls asked if they could borrow my copy of the Word. Unsure of what they were doing, I permitted them to take it. They took out a sheet of paper and copied down the verse so that they could memorize it at home. This truly warmed my heart! Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you”. It is my prayer that these children commit our Father’s word, which is sufficient in portraying His glory, to their hearts so that they may “meditate on [His] decrees” (Psalm 119:48). Please pray for the children, that they might know their creator. Pray that our Father will awaken their souls to his presence and that He will be glorified. Pray that they will delight in His glory.

Grace and Peace.