Day 5

There is something about Africa that is different from any other place. BBC.co.uk used to have a page called “Why I love Africa” and people would write a paragraph about what they loved about Africa. There wasn't a “Why I love North America or Europe page” because people don't think that way. But when you visit Africa there is something about it that gets into your heart. Africa is different and I love it. I love riding on a motorcycle on the bumpy, winding back roads while the sun is past its peak and shining gently while the breeze is blowing in your face. The landscape is amazing with the fields next to the road and the green mountains in the distance. As you ride on the motorcycle somehow everything comes together to create this symphonic experience that is breathtaking. In moments like that all I can think is “God this is wonderful, thank you for letting me be here”.

Today we worshiped at James' church. There were a few things that were striking, one is that fifty people worship in a room smaller than my living room. The second is that the children sit through a two hour long service without a problem. The third is that they sing and sing and sing some more. I don't even remember how many songs we sang, but we sang and sang and sang. I almost wonder if we sang more songs in one service than WOLIF does in one month. The certainly enjoy singing songs of praise to God. Chaewook was able to share his testimony and I preached from Isaiah 9 the same sermon I preached on Christmas at WOLIF. We believe that the people were encouraged.

From there we went to Tulia to eat a quick lunch before heading to another church. We ordered cokes and some bread. When I asked Chaewook what kind of soda he would like he answered “No, I can't drink any more coke!” James was more than a little shocked. This would be like a Kenyan telling a Korean that he doesn't want to eat Kalbi anymore.

After finishing our lunch around 2:00pm we headed to “The Praise and Worship Church” where the congregation was waiting for us to arrive. Along the way Mbondo got a flat tire. This was our third flat tire. The first flat tire was the day of the first youth seminar and delayed us several hours. The second flat tire was the day of the second youth seminar and delayed us an hour or so. The third flat tire now happened on our way to church. Fortunately, James was able to find a handy man in a nearby shopping center who came and fixed the flat for about 70 cents.

We arrived at the church around 3pm to find the congregation waiting for us. They had already finished their own service but were still singing as they were waiting. It was clear that they love praise and worship.

It is difficult to imagine a congregation waiting so long for visitors in Korea. Time was short, but we were able to introduce ourselves and I was able to briefly challenge them from Acts 1:8 to have a vision to send missionaries to the unreached. The leaders expressed their appreciation for our visit and invited us to come back again.