Day four:
Well since today was Sunday, we went to church. Drew and I woke up at about 8:30 this morning to get ready to meet Hein at the McDonalds so that we could follow him to church. Before I go on, last night was a rough one. I woke up at about four in the morning and just couldn’t go back to sleep. My mind was racing on so many things that I just couldn’t calm down. I also had some odd dreams that made me try to think about them and what they meant. That finally ended at around 6:30, but the damage had already been done. The alarm went off and I was tired. Also, something that may have contributed to not being able to sleep was the rain. I poured several times last night. I was really odd too. It would monsoon for about ten minutes and then stop. Then maybe thirty minutes later it would start again. I mean if it had decided to rain and then stay raining, and then I probably would have been able to use it to sleep. But no such luck. Anyway, we got dressed and went to meet up with Hein. Oh and by the way it was still raining… We got to McDonalds and went in so that Hein could grab a bite and talk about what he was going to be preaching about and the questions that he was going to ask about during his sermon. He wanted us to share a bit about our testimony to the church. Honestly I had not thought about it much and so I felt a bit nervous. We left McDonalds and started heading to the church. Again the drive was very pretty; even though, it was raining. That is one thing I have noticed about this country, the scenery is very beautiful no matter the weather. We drove about twenty kilometers to get to the church. Actually it is on the way to Cape Town and so we drove that road heading to Stellenbosch. The church building is located in some of the more impoverished areas, but not the slums. The houses there were very small, but seemed to be in good condition. Parking is non-existent, I came to find out. We ended up parking in the entrance way of the church. That kind of gives you an idea of how small the place is.
Church:
Hein said that the church regularly has about 40-50 members. Today I think there were closer to 30. The building is a small three room place. There are the main worship areas, a storage room, and an office. There is also a restroom but I didn’t really count that. It wasn’t much bigger than a closet. There was a keyboard, drum set, and a base guitar for worship. Yes, this is not a traditional Church of Christ. The chairs were white lawn chairs that the men set out before each service. In front of the band there was a pulpit with a simple blue and gold tapestry on it that says “Jesus is Lord,” and above that there was a blue and gold banner running the width of the room. The service was very interesting, but amazing. We started out by singing. The pastor, Pastor Bailey, led the singing. There were people on the drums, bass, and keyboard. There were also a couple of girls singing backup. I am trying to figure out the best way to describe the worship. From a musical standpoint, the pitch was off and the words to the song were not always sung correctly. However, it was beautiful. I have been in lots of worship services in my day, but this one was different. This service really tugged at my heart. Seeing the faces of the members as the contorted into longing and want as they sang the words was breath taking. Like I said, I have had my share of worship services. Some of them have even brought the chill bumps, but this one may have been the first one to bring me to tears. I mean driving up and seeing the condition that these people live in, and then seeing them praise Jesus as passionately and genuinely as they did was beautiful. That is the only word I can think of to describe it. I think I felt some of the walls that I have put up in the past start to crack. After we had worshiped for a while Pastor Bailey got up and introduced the youth. Then we sang some more. This time not only did the congregation sing, but they danced. They danced up and down the aisle. Pastor Bailey himself was even breaking it down at the front of the church. It was a sight to see. It was then time for Hein to give his message. He decided to talk about Jesus walking on water, and the story of Stephen being stoned. Most of the time when those stories are brought up it is,” Ye of little faith, or something to do with Peter.” Hein took a different approach, and decided to talk about the disciples. He spoke on how the disciples were afraid to get out of the boat and what fears we have in our lives that keep us from getting out of the boat. The part about Stephen was a little bit different. He pointed out something very interesting. He showed that in the New Testament, when it refers to Jesus at the throne, he is always sitting. However, when Stephen sees Jesus he is standing and applauding. I had never thought of that before. That Jesus was so happy that he stood and congratulated Stephen. All in all is was a great service. Hein also mentioned something to me that I found very interesting and something that I think I will pursue when back in the states. That is that the entire church’s yearly budget is around 500 dollars, and that it wouldn’t take too much to support a church from the states.
Lunch:
Afterwards the women went to a nearby house and started cooking. Meanwhile, Drew and I stayed in the church and talked to the kids. And for the first time I had my camera to take pictures. So we did that until lunch was prepared. We went in to the house, where a large feast had been prepared. I mean there was a lot of food. The wives had prepared lamb chops (yes we had them the night before but they are good!!), sausage, chicken curry, potatoes, sweet potatoes (some that would give my mammy’s a run for their money, and lasagna. It was a fantastic meal. While we ate, Pastor Bailey talked to Drew and I about South Africa and the politics that were involved. It was an informative conversation and one that I was glad to have. After lunch, we thanked the people and headed back to the cars. We headed back to the room with full stomachs and a nap on the mind.
Evening:
Before we headed in, I finally did something that I had been meaning to do since I got here. That was take pictures of the place, which they will be posted eventually. Drew and I then laid down to take a short nap. But, in true Brandon Fry style (yes you just made my blog), we woke up two and half hours later. So much for sleeping tonight... Anyway I lay in bed for a while, while Drew went to go see if he could get an internet connection. And low and behold he did. We finally are able to get connected without having to go to the office. So I spent the evening updating my blog, checking emails, and then facebook. Once that was done I decided it was movie time, so I watched the” A-Team.” This, by the way, has a South African actor in it. Didn’t know that did ya? Well it is getting late and so I think I am going to call it a night. Tomorrow we are headed to the office finally get started doing things. The only problem is that it is an 8:00am day so things must happen early. So this is Ryan Dillon signing off.
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