A Day of Rejoicing

I wish I could do justice with words to what we experienced on Sunday. I know that I will fail, but I will try to at least provide a small glimpse of the sights and sounds of worship in the largest slum in Africa.

Imagine a room about the size of a third of the FLC fellowship hall (I’ll use a FBC Senatobia reference since most all of you are familiar with the building). In this room, all the walls are cement, the floor is cement, and there are movable divisions that have been lifted up from their usual position of dividing the room into multiple classrooms that now occupy the ceiling. Since it is Sunday, the desk have been moved out and there are plastic chairs lined up across the floor. The church usually has about 45 members present on Sunday. Of course this Sunday they had an additional 4 visitors who stuck out dramatically. I am sure our 4 white faces with wide eyes were very noticeable against the sea of dark faces surrounding us.

There service had just begun when we arrived so we, of course, were greeted immediately from the announcer in the front of the room. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind who the visitors are or who he is greeting. After greeting us, the quickly go into the musical praise and worship portion of the service. They sing serious, more reverent songs for the “call to worship” and then starts the praising. I close my eyes to fully take in all that is going on around me. There are people who are shouting, others dancing, still others crying. At several points throughout the service, a very loud “tribal call” goes out. To me it is as if this person is so moved in the presence of the Lord that their heart burst forth in joy. I like to think of it as a calling… an invitation for those present to come with them (dancing and singing) to the throne of God. There are three men at the front who are leading the songs. It seems very spontaneous. There are also young girls who are at the front leading the dancing. Their pattern is much more similar to a “follow the leader” format rather than spontaneous like the men they are helping. The children are sitting on the side of the room, some are participating… others are wandering in and out of the hall. Some raise their hands in shouts of acclamations of all that the Lord has done for them. The preaching comes from the assistant pastor. He speaks in Kiswahili and the senior pastor interprets in English. There was so much animation and shouting throughout the message that I had trouble completely understanding all the points of the sermon. After the sermon, we sang a little more and then ended with the “the Grace”. (I had forgotten about saying “the grace”.)

The most difficult part for me is the harsh truth that many of them are hungry and don’t know when their next meal will come, yet they sing out in worship more joyfully than I have ever dreamed.It still brings me great joy to think of the day when we ALL will be invited to the throne of God to worship together in His presence. I know my imagination is no match for that day. However, what I can attest to is this… if that day is anything like the worship I have been a part of in Kenya, what a day of rejoicing that will be!

“And now, may the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you now and forever more, amen. “