A Sabbath Celebration

The first celebration came in the form of four extra hours of sleep. Thanks to a first and second service by the church, Trent and I were able regain our rest and make it for the second service at 11:00. As we made the short walk to the church I began to hum the tune of ‘My Jesus, I Love Thee.’ The great hymn sung by the popular Selah had been running through my head this morning and began to overflow from within me. The thought of possibly singing it in church came for a short time but soon left as I figured it would be unheard of here. However, despite my foolish thinking we paced down the aisle and into one of the middle pews on the left to the piano introduction of the very song. What a treat! We even sang all of the verses-something that doesn’t typically happen. Haha!

The Mission Spotlight updates on the church in Africa that we were are all used to watching with the roof lifted by the strength of the voices was clearly evident in the service this morning. The pianist pounded the keys (literally) and the congregational leader blared into the unneeded mike as the present churchgoers lifted their voices in one accord. Forget dynamics. Every song was an understood triple forte. The energy was alive and well, fueled by an increasing attendance and general popularity of Adventism across the country, continent, and beyond.

‘Children’s Church’ or the children’s story as it is called in the States was given by a woman who shared some pictures of some African animals from an old calendar. A five or six year old Malawian girl then offered to pray the Lord’s Prayer. And the Lord’s Prayer it was. She not only recited the entire prayer but also managed to do so in English-her second language after the local language Chichewa.

The sermon was given by one of the local elders emphasizing the return of Christ. Entitled ‘When He Returneth,” the speaker revisited the life of Jesus from start to finish, emphasizing the sure soon return of Christ where He will not be threatened by the reign of Herod, judged by Pharisees, or interrogated on moral issues by church officials. He then proceeded to play two songs by the ‘Kings Herald’ on the Second Coming. For whatever its worth, they appeared to be appreciated and well liked. Debatable.

Church ended in good time as Trent and I made our way over to a Blantyre Adventist Hospital potluck hosted in the home of Dr. Tiffany Preister- the only Cardiologist in the Country. Together with the general surgeon and his family, the O.B. Gynecologist, two dentists, a senior P.A. student from Loma Linda, an Infectious Diseases specialist, Pediatrician, C.E.O, Hospital Chaplain, and Director of ADRA for Malawi and his family, we feasted on a huge selection of food from all over the world. This was the perfect Sabbath lunch to follow a great morning. What a privilege it was to fellowship with our ‘team’ of Adventist leaders-most of which are ex pats from South America, Asia, and North America. It was a humbling experience much the same for I am only a student teacher hahaha… It’s ok though. Soon I shall join the ranks of the medical world seeking to relinquish pain, provide healing, and educating those on improved health tactics. A life in the science of Medicine is all very exciting.