Sunday Worship at Trinite

Sunday – August 22, 2010

It is Sunday. We were scheduled to visit Trinite Lutheran Church in Bel Air this morning where Pastor Muzakuza is the pastor. We didn’t eat breakfast, just refilled our water bottles and grabbed a quick glass of juice. We were picked up at 9:00am, picked up Mr. Essien, and made the now familiar trip to Bel Air. We were there a little early (I think) and they were still waiting for members of the congregation to show up, so we were invited into Pastor Muzakuza’s home were we visited a little while we waited. Finally at about 10:00am we were escorted by the church usher from the house over to the church and through the singing congregation to the front of the church. I went first, followed by John (our translator), Todd, and Mr. Essien, then three robed pastors and finally Pastor Muzakuza himself. The usher kept busy moving people from one set to another to make room for the people that continued to arrive. The choir sat on one side of the church, near the front and opposite them was the children’s section. This section also filled up quickly. Finally there was no room left. Chairs were brought in from the outside and even the center isle was filled! Once again, people were left standing outside. There must have been members from several churches here, because there were at least 4 pastors of the ELCC in attendance, as well as several church leaders from several other congregations we had visited.

It was a service of joy. Many songs were sung accompanied by clapping and dancing. The dancing was so vigorous that the stomping of feet raised a cloud of dust from the carpet at the front of the church! You could see the haze in the air and it was difficult to breath at times, but the air was also full of praise.

In the middle of the service, Todd was invited to preach the sermon. He preached on the Good Shepherd and brought a wonderful Law and Gospel sermon to the people gathered at Trinite church. Following the sermon Pastor Muzakuza conducted the installation of two elders for the church. We were invited to participate in the laying on of hands along with the three other pastors who were in attendance. It was obvious that this was an important occasion for the church.

The service lasted two hours. After the benediction was given and some greetings were shared, we were ushered out of church through the throng of people. When outside we formed a line with everyone shaking hands with everyone else in true African tradition. Following the service we met for an hour and a half with the ELCC translation committee to discuss the work of translating books and pamphlets into French and Swahili. They had done a great amount of work translating Doctrinal Pamphlets from English into both languages, but the sad conclusion was that, with the MDF depleted, we currently have no money available to assist with the printing of any of these documents. Once again we pray for the Lord to provide the means to continue the work that has been started here.

From this meeting we rode to the home of Mpoyo for lunch. This man is one of the church leaders and is quite well off by African standards. He works as an agricultural engineer for the government, and has a large family of 10 children. We were treated to rice and soup, chicken and fish, bugari and potato wedges, as well as a few other vegetable dishes. It was all very good, and we enjoyed the time relaxing and getting to know the people better in this different environment. While Mpoyo speaks very little English, his 15 year old daughter, Angel, spoke English well enough for us to visit with her for a while. She was eager to practice her English which she had been learning in school. You could tell that everyone was glad to relax and enjoy some camaraderie.

Mpoyo and his family standing in front of their home.

On our way back to the hotel they drove us to an Arts and Crafts “warehouse” so we could look at and purchase some local gifts if we wanted. The prices were very high (because we were Americans) but the prices were always “negotiable” they said!

It is our last night in the Congo, so we are wrapping things up and making preparations for our return to Kenya and Tanzania. I had the chance to Skype home and talk to Debra and a couple of the kids, and even talked with my parents for a while. What a wonderful thing technology is when we can communicate so easily from across the world!

It has been quite a trip to the Congo. We have done a lot while we have been here, and seen some progress, but it will be important to find someone who will be able to return here on a regular basis to replace Missionary Koenig. We pray that the Lord of harvest would provide a man to work in this harvest of souls in the DRC.

In Christ,

Nathanael

“Then He said to them, ‘The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’” – Luke 10:2