I cannot begin to tell you what a privilege it was to worship on Sunday morning with the Free Pentecostal Church of Tabora … We arrived according to “African time” and they were already well under
way singing. Their worship is so beautiful … completely uninhibited … they are full of energy and joy in heir worship.
They dance, they sing, they harmonize in ways that bring you to tears. They include all ages within their church and have choirs of varying ages that sing and dance (with choreography) and lead the congregation in worship. They were so welcoming to us and made us feel a part of their congregation. Stu preached and Daniel shared, and our group sang a few songs for them as well. Stu also presented them with the gift of a guitar for their congregation that Parkland Audio had helped to provide. They were very grateful. It was quite
a moving experience to worship, sing and yes, even dance, with their congregation!
Monday we worked on the house in the morning. Mixing concrete was started …. it is amazing. Everything is done by hand … it is gruelling work! We carried (in a chain / line) 84 buckets of aggregate (rocks) and later 50 more, all to be mixed in the concrete. This was used for the flooring of one of the bedrooms in the house.
It is all poured, one bucket at a time, and smoothed with a hand trowel in the rooms. Quite a job!
In the afternoon we had the “party” hat we had planned for the orphans. These were children who were invited by the church that are orphans and are being taken care of by various guardians or relatives. We had a compound location for the party, and expected approximately 75 – 80 children to attend the party. We were prepared with small gifts to give to the children and drinks and snacks. We had planned various games to play with them and were excited about the party ….. We were NOT prepared for over 200 children to come,
along with their caregivers! We were overwhelmed! We played with them and the games were a riot! They enjoyed frisbees, bubbles, skipping ropes, playing soccer, and playing with balls and beanbags
on a parachute! The kids were enthusiastic and excited and they immediately captured all of our hearts! We laughed and hugged and held hands with them and as we played with them our hearts ached that
they were ALL orphans and they ALL need sponsors!
When it came time to have drinks and snacks and give out the “gifts”, we were in a panic … there were not nearly enough. We quickly redistributed the items that were in the gift bags and went out to purchase more drinks and snacks. Still, we did not have enough. We worked hard and prayed hard, and by the end of handing out the little trinkets and items, there was nothing left! It was an unbelievable
experience …. such beautiful children …. and yet, such heartache, and an ocean full of need! They took our hearts with us when they left!
Where ever we go, if we take a picture of children and then show them themselves in the camera, they laugh and shout and clap! They get really silly and want you to do it again and again! We have even found it to be true with the adults! We have had great fun with the cameras!
(Nathan and Geannette)