Saturday night as we prepared to turn in, we heard African drums and chanting. It was loud and ominous and captured my attention immediately. First came the drums, then we heard chanting, then cheering. For a split second I wondered if it were some sort of sporting event because of the cheering but then I’d hear the drums and chanting and the whole feeling changed. It wasn’t a good sound. It sounded dark. I asked Gayle about it the next day and she asked me if it could have been a bar or night spot noise. I didn’t think so. It didn’t sound celebratory or drunken at all to me, so she said it may have been a witchcraft ceremony.
The menu for this morning included oatmeal, scrambled eggs, toast, fresh apples and watermelon, orange juice and mixed fruit juice and coffee. I got done in record time and everyone said it was good. We had to leave for church at 9:30. Thomas, a friend of Pastor Carrol’s, drove us to the church in his van because Gayle had gone to Moka where she pastors a small church, and she takes the car. Thomas is from Ghana and is a tradesman. He makes rattan furniture, etc. He has a wife and some of his children here in Malabo and he very kindly drove us to church just in time for Sunday School.
There were three classes being taught at the same time in the unfinished sanctuary. Two classes were taught in English and one in Spanish. We broke up into two groups for the English classes so neither teacher would feel slighted. Our teacher, Paul, was well versed in the lesson and with the exception of the acoustics (it was very loud and echoey), I enjoyed the class. I thought he did a good job especially when someone asked a question and no one volunteered to answer. A man asked a question was about how the Lord’s mercies are new every morning. He wanted to know what it meant. No one wanted to commit himself to answering it so our teacher said, “Our brother asked a question to learn more about the things of God. Will no one help him understand what he needs to know? “ It took twice asking this same question but finally a woman gave him an answer.
She was Christy, a diplomat from Nigeria living in Malabo. She explained how the Lord meets our changing needs every day and the Lord is merciful to each of us by meeting these needs when we call to Him. She answered his question in a way that the man understood and he left knowing a little more about the Lord and His goodness.
The worship service was great! Lots of music, prayer, offerings and dancing. We also had communion at the end of the service. I love how the church in Malabo receives the offerings, tithes and missions giving. There are labeled boxes on pedestals for each type offering: tithes, missions and general offerings. They are lined up across the front of the church. First, tithes payers come up bringing their tithes with them. They stand in front of the box and the whole congregation and pastor prays for them and over their giving. It’s a solemn moment and, yet, happy. They are doing what the Lord requires and it is good.
The other offering boxes are lined up and the music begins again, loudly and lively! People come from both sides dancing as they bring in their offerings at the same time, meeting in the middle and then leaving up the center aisle. They sing, they clap, they dance. It’s beautiful! I love the joyfulness of their giving. It makes me want to dance, too!
Communion requires one be a born again and a water baptized believer for participation. If you qualify and want to partake, you must walk forward with everyone else to receive the bread and wine. One man prayed over the bread, another over the wine. We prayed, partook and praised. It was beautiful.
If I had to describe the main difference I see in US church services and Malabo services, I think it’s that everything is not so private. You come up front to pay your tithes. You come up front to bring offerings. You come up front for communion. It creates accountability and allows others to see Christians following the Lord, obeying His teachings. Another difference is that anytime during the service, music, preaching, or even after prayer if someone likes something she heard or if something sung blesses her, that person brings up an offering right then. It doesn’t disturb the service and it blesses the heart of those in the congregation. It allows one a quick view into the heart of another.
We ate lunch at a nice Chinese restaurant. I had chicken and pineapple which sounds really good, but the sauce was a clear cornstarch sauce that made the dish unappetizing. I mostly ate the rice, spring roll, bok choy and my hot jasmine tea, so I still left satisfied.
Dinner was grilled burgers, pinto beans with tomatoes, garlic, and onion, jasmine rice, fresh lettuce and carrots from the garden. Gayle received the lettuce and carrots from someone’s garden as a practical offering and they were delicious! She also brought home a big sack of fresh green beans and cabbages. I think I see beans and coleslaw on our dinner plates soon.
It was a good day and after our late dinner I went to bed early because I was tired. I find it hard to write down all I’m seeing and experiencing. I can’t overcome my feelings of desperation for the people of Africa—and it is spiritual need that I write of as with witchcraft ceremonies, but also of physical need. There is no place to look where poverty does not invade. Like the ubiquitous trash everywhere one looks, there is poverty and lack. The weight of dust, dirt, filth is overwhelming. It breaks my heart to see people living this way but, I also wonder how much of it is my American culture that pushes me to think how hard it is here. Not every culture has the same standards of cleanliness so is it them…or me?
I will write a lot about food on this trip but it’s my focus because I’m the cook. It’s on my mind all the time; what’s for breakfast, lunch, dinner. What’s the plan for tonight? How can I make this taste like home? Should we have a dessert EVERY night?
Food is our fuel for the job at hand. The guys need good food and lots of it. I want to make it tasty. When our need for nourishment is met generously, when we have familiar foods prepared in familiar ways, I think it makes being the distance a little shorter, the longing for home a little less painful, being away from home a little easier.
Father, thank you for providing for us in safety, in strength and in sustenance for this trip, for every day. Jesus prayed, "Give us this day our daily bread." We are grateful for needs met, however great, however small. I love you.
Suz
