Yesterday I visited the Baptist church only a few blocks from where I live, which is the church Clemilda (the Brazilian lady living in the flat behind the house), as well as friends of mine, the Rogers, attends. I had been quite eager to get an idea of what the Baptist church is like here, since they are a very big denomination. I was caught off guard a few times – first I was prepared for the visitors having to get up and say something, but didn’t think it would be almost as soon as I sat down, and then later the worship leader asked me to pray for the offering. The acoustics were terrible though, so it took me really long to understand that he was speaking to me! The prayer was not a success, praying in Portuguese is really something I need to work on! It was a small, friendly congregation, and everything was quite informal and comfortable. On some of the worship songs there was a young guy that got behind the keyboard and tried to get some electronic drums going, but everything actually sounded best when the only accompaniment was a bongo drum. The prayers were meaningful – I dearly love the people in the churches that have joint prayer, but I very much prefer being edified by actually hearing what is being said! The message was good, from Exodus 3 on God being the one who is working, but giving us the opportunity to be part of what He’s doing. At times it was raining so hard that we could barely hear the pastor, and all had to huddle together in the first few rows (it was a lovely, rain-filled, cool day). Afterwards I fulfilled the “work” part of my visit by talking to the pastor and explaining my job and inviting him to make more use of the bookshop, and then also met some other members of the congregation. One advantage of going to a church with other missionaries is that you have someone to introduce you to people afterwards. All in all, it was a blessed day. I was home nice and early, which was a bonus, and our Missionary Fellowship was also a great blessing last night, with a very timely message about our need to live daily in God’s grace. And so one gets ready for a new week…
