Sunday church starts at 9 so says the schedule. The praise band starting getting warmed up a bit after 9 and at 9:45, the real deal started. Mozambique time. Many people came later...some in the back of packed trucks...or in Iris vans...also packed. About 10:15, the preacher shouted, "Let's sing and dance to the Lord!" And with much enthusiasm & rhythm ...they did!! We had been given a translator so we could understand...imagine that here?? About an hour later, a young preacher who had grown up here in Iris & had become quite wealthy building homes started preaching...in English! He was super charismatic and he was being translated by another guy who used as much expression and body language as the preacher! It was a two man show. The preacher said some people have given him a hard time about having such a big home but he told them he was blessed by God and refused to feel anything but blessed. Not guilty or ashamed. He'd prayed hard, worked hard and believed he could improve his life. He challenged the congregation...especially the local leaders...to do the same. He said, "Don't be ashamed to be a Mozambique ...be proud of what you can and will become!" A strong message to all the young Iris boys & girls sitting in the pews. He actually said a lot more...spoke for 2 hours...but that was the gist of it.
I kinda wished I'd recorded it all and given it to Jack Harnish (our former pastor) to minimize & deliver in one of his dynamic 30 minute sermons!
The rest of Sunday & Monday (a Nat'l holiday) was slow time which gave us time to play games, color and of course, hold babies.
It's was so hot that just thinking about moving is strenuous. It's almost 100 degrees at 3 and starts to cool down around 5 to about 85 degrees. That's when we feel energized & actually toss around the frisbee or football.
Tomorrow will be the first day back to school...like our fall...so uniforms were being passed out, girls were braiding hair & the boys got their heads shaved. Kids told us they were excited to go back to school and like school. The school day is 8 to noon for the younger ones and 1 to 5 for the older ones. The class size at the Iris school (which is open to all) is about 50...average in public schools is 75-80.
So Tuesday, the kids were up at 5:30 (lots of kids to share few bathrooms) and gone by 7:30 and we had the whole morning to spend time with the disabled & babies. Kids came back excited about their day and ready to play with us. Sure wish we could communicate better so we could really hear more about their day!
Sent from my iPhone
