How did you spend your Sunday?

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving. It caught us by surprise since we are the only Canadians for many miles. I did find one chicken in our freezer and took it out to thaw this morning while we were at church. It is baking presently and the mashed potatoes and corn are ready. I didn't take the time to make pumpkin pie although we have 4 pumpkins ready to eat. It isn't as simple as opening a can :)

I would love for you to be able to catch a glimpse into our Sundays as each one is so unique. This morning, most of the congregation was distracted by mating lizards on the wall and a flying bat. At the end of the service, the entire congregation decided to catch the bat and spent 20 minutes harassing the poor thing. Too bad it couldn't figure out that there were 6 open windows and an open front door. Several men brandished long wooden poles and several others waved their shirts in the air. The children all yelled and screamed whenever the men came close to hitting it. Occasionally the bat would land on the wall for a brief rest and then resume flying. How long would this continue?

Well after 20 minutes, one of the men hit the bat with his pole and the kids all scrambled to be the first to pick it up. A young boy picked it up and ran out of the church with a dozen more boys following. I didn't actually want to know what they were planning to do with it next? Things settled down and Rolf and I were able to spend the next hour teaching. Rolf and about 20 young men spend the hour choosing next week's ministry team and studying the Luke passage for next week's sermon. It is an opportunity for them to practice reading the passage in Gumuz, understanding the passage in greater depth, and coming up with an application. The 2 Sunday school teachers also attend this teaching time. They meet in the church office which is used during the week for translation.

In the main room, I meet with about 20 women and we are storying through the book of Genesis. Today we finished the story of Jacob. One of the women has an amazing capacity to remember the story as is unofficially designated as the teller of last week's story. Each Sunday, as Rolf and I enter these teaching times, we are so dependent on the Lord to help with teaching. Each week, we are amazed at how powerful God's word is. We teach in weakness but he speaks with power. 

We pray that these men and women will catch the vision to not only hear the word of God but live it out and share it with their family, neighbours and friends. Oh that they might love the Lord with all their heart and soul and mind and love their neighbour as themselves. 

The men then began their six hours of volleyball....yes, six hours! No one seems to drink any water or eat any food until they go home at 6:30 pm. I returned home from church to find that my kitchen was clean (Kalia did the dishes), SS was taught and the floor swept. The kids attend church until the sermon and then go home to watch a Bible video and take care of Sonia while I teach. Church starts at 9 am and ends at 11 am. After a half an hour break, Rolf and I teach until 12:30 or so and then come home for lunch. No Sunday is quite like the last but it is good to fellowship with these men, women and children and worship the same God.