Church at 5000 Feet

September 14...

Today the Wingfields and I visited a small village church just outside Kilolo where St. Michael's is located. The local evangelist invited Miriam and Andrew to this special Thanksgiving service because they played a crucial part in the medical treatment of his young son. His boy was born with a club foot and for a number of reasons there was no corrective work done at birth. Recently though, Andrew and Miriam (and a host of other individuals and organizations) helped get the boy corrective surgery by an Italian doctor who was in Tanzania. So today, the church service was in celebration for the boy's successful surgery and to thank those who had contributed to the process.

It was a beautiful occasion. The drive to the church was long, but breathtaking. We literally were going to church in the mountains. Our road was far from smooth and took us around sharp bends and up steep inclines. But the views were incredible. It reminded me of walking along the tops of really high snow banks when I was a kid – if you were careful you could just walk along the top while precariously looking down to the ground and continue to make your way across the the narrow peaks. This felt quite similar. The road was carved out of the widest part of the hills allowing us to look down on the rest of the hills which seemed to go on forever. In all we were up 5000 feet.



The church itself, I learned, was fairly typical for a village church. A small mud-brick construction with a relatively low roof (yippee for me!). Though the building was modest, the music was heavenly. The small choir of six or seven children was amazing. They were in constant harmony and sang with a power I've only heard from large choirs. The service was conducted entirely in Swahili but Andrew was kind enough to translate for me. He and I were also able to share some music with the church as we sang a classic Matt Redman song together with the guitar. I was also invited to introduce myself to the church and conveyed my greetings from my home church in Canada. I explained that I was a teacher and working with Emmanuel International and considered it my honour to be invited to their service.




I really wish I could describe the music better for you. Every person in the small building was singing with such passion and sincerity – and with such beautiful harmonies. And even though I didn't know all the words to the songs, I found myself singing along. Again it was a privilege to be there and be a part of their worship.

Afterwards, we were invited to the family's home for a generous lunch. It is worth noting that the hospitality in this country is phenomenal. People value their guests so much and put a lot of time and effort into ensuring that they are looked after. The meal was delicious and gave me my first taste of Fanta – which tastes exactly like orange pop to me.

All in all it was a good day. Playing the guitar reminded me of how much I miss leading worship at Wesley Chapel but it was definitely a blessing to share some music with this church in the mountains.