Today, has been hot, overcast and very muggy in Manta. Not the kind of day, you would expect to be anything out of the ordinary. It's a day, you would like to stay inside with the air conditioner on full blast and just enjoy the cool with a tall glass of iced tea!
But it is Sunday. So that means, getting up, reviewing your Sunday School lesson one last time. Fixing breakfast for the family, making sure the kids have their clothes out and are getting ready for church. Then fixing your hair, putting on your make-up, that you know will be "melting off" in a matter of minutes after you walk out the door, but you do it anyway, because you can't imagine heading to church with your hair not fixed and your make-up not on! ;-)
Driving to church, you review the kids Bible verses with them, remind them that you are going to be talking to their teachers after church to see how they behaved, so you expect them to be good, no matter what the other kids might do! About half way to church, it starts to rain...and you think about all the mess that can cause, and hope that it doesn't last long!
When you arrive, you greet everyone, and make sure the Sunday School teachers have what they need, and the Nursery workers are all set, then you head upstairs to your class, which is at one end of the "auditorium" and the Men's class is at the other, with the older children's class behind you separated by a curtain. You start out with the 10 ladies that are there, and after greeting them, ask if anyone has anything for which they are thankful for this week? Blank stares greet you. You think, oh yeah, I can tell this is going to be a good one! Then finally a few ladies start to raise their hands, and share some blessings. Then you take some prayer requests, and get ready to start the class. By this time you are facing about 15 to 20 ladies. While you are listening to the opening prayer, the kids behind you are singing and you are straining really hard to hear the prayer, so you can start talking after the "amen" and not before, or not keep your head bowed for an extended period of time either. It is so hot that sweat is rolling down your back and dripping off your face. You try to ignore it.
After class, (which ended up being about 30 ladies!) you go and check again with the Sunday School teachers and Nursery workers, to make sure their replacements have shown up. The nursery is short a worker so you see what you can do about finding someone for them. The other classes are fine, so you head back up stairs and get to your seat in the middle of opening prayer. You started sitting up front with the Pastor because that way you aren't distracted, by the kids/people going in and out. Which just aggravates you and makes you want to yell at someone!
The song service starts, and you notice, that they are still having problems getting the bulletin printed so it folds up right...I know probably not that big of a deal, but it is an "irritant." The music starts. They are introducing not just one new song, but 2...but they are good songs and the messages are good. One song talks about how in heaven the Sun won't be there, giving it's light or it's heat, and you are thinking, how wonderful that will be to be without this unbearable stifling mugginess! The kid that handles the sound equipment keeps messing with buttons, but you just decide to ignore him. After all, he doesn't cause any major problem this morning! After the music, they are giving the announcements and you notice that for some reason they have erased the announcement for the next ladies meeting at the end of the month, so thankfully you are sitting by the Pastor, and he can add that announcement later! There are definitely some "perks" in having the Pastor's ear! ;-) Then it's time to welcome 1st time visitors...Viviana gets up and introduces her brother, Emilio who you have been praying for the past several months! She says, Emilio accepted Christ this week! Then
Neiger introduces a friend of his and he says, He accepted Christ this week and would appreciate your prayers as he starts his Christian walk! Then Consuelo introduces a family of 4 and says, "They have all recently accepted Christ!"
OK, so suddenly, the heat, the dirt, the lack of nursery workers, the kid messing around with the sound equipment, the crooked printed bulletin...None of it really matters! You have just been introduced to 6 people who have given testimony that they have accepted Christ!!
After church you find out that another man, Javier, Paola's husband, that you have been praying for during the past 3 years, has accepted Christ as his savior, too! We had 125 in attendance this morning. No we aren't a perfect church, but by God's grace he is using this work to impact the hearts and lives of people in this city! God is good! All the time! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
