Our DTS leaders decided that they would each take us to their churches for 6 weeks and then after that we would be free to choose which church we liked the best of all the churches we visited and continue attending that church during our time here.
The first church we went to was called Fraternidad Cristiana. This church was HUGE!!! It was like the size of an amphitheater with seating for 12,000 people inside. At first I thought I was going to be really turned off by the church because of the size, but as we entered I felt like it was one of those places that was huge but somehow still had the friendly, welcoming feel to it. As soon as our group walked in some ushers came and gave us welcome stickers. Later on during announcements they introduced our group in front of the whole church and we stood and waved to everyone like we were movie stars or something. The worship and message were really good as well and I was definitely impressed with the whole experience. One of the things that also amazed me was that they built the church not too long ago and when they did the pastor felt it was very important not to have loans or debts as they were building so they built this whole amphitheater debt-free!
The second week we were here we went to another church. The congregation was about 75 people and the worship was amazing. The worship leader actually wrote a song that is famous here in Latin America so it was cool to be able to worship in a church with such great leadership. There was also great passion during the worship and instead of passing out bulletins at the door they were passing out kleenex in the isles during worship. It was a little bit out the ordinary for me, but again it was good to experience the passion and love that the worshipers have for God.
Today we went to our third church. It was a Pentecostal church and from the second I walked in I knew I was in for a treat. First of all they don't pass out bulletins or even kleenex at this church, they passed out flags. Actually they didn't pass them out, they were just on a rack on the wall and people who wanted them went over and grabbed them. What happened next not only left me a little bit distracted but it also made it hard for me to keep a straight face at first. The people would wave the flags all around in the air, making it look like some sort of color guard show. I know that this is one way to worship, but it is not a way I have ever experienced before. Then the next thing you know a man is running around the isles waving his flag and blowing a whistle. At this point Janina (one of my classmates) and I looked at each other and couldn't hold it together. We laughed out loud at the sight of this show of worship.
So all this to say that I am definitely getting to experience the culture in a different way through the churches here. Let me just say that I have yet to find a Rosedale Bible Church, or anything close for that matter, but it is awesome to see how different people can worship in spirit and in truth.
Do you think we should get some flags? You make me laugh.
ReplyDeletePS - Erin got the 1-minute hug from you -- delivered by Layne, witnessed by many!
Love ya, miss ya, prayin' for ya!
I am so happy/sad that you are having so much fun. Happy that my little sister is such a wonderful woman and sad that you'll never come back to me! Really though I am so proud of you and the experiences you are willing to embrace.
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