Church
Jackson and I were worshipfully participating in the song service during church on Sabbath when one of the elders came up and tapped me on the shoulder. "Sister," he said, "Domingo wants to speak with you." He motioned me to the back of the church.
I followed him, and was a little surprised when Domingo asked me to offer the prayer at the end of his sermon. I'm not too comfortable with public speaking in Spanish, but I couldn't say no. "Go get your Bible," Domingo told me, "You must walk up on the stage with us and kneel down and then stand up during hymn number 70, 'Santo, Santo, Santo.'"
We took our places in the front of the mud brick sanctuary. The offering time went by uneventfully. Then one of the elders stood up and announced cheerfully, "We now have a very special presentation--musical piece by our visitors from the United States." He beamed at me.
We had nothing planned and had to force ourselves to stand up in front of the small congregation, but somehow Jackson and I managed to struggle through two verses of "In the Sweet By and By," a capella. We sorely missed the other student missionaries who were worshiping with different congregations throughout the Tarapoto area.
As I took my seat next to Domingo again I was laughing inside. Our "special presentation" hadn't been very special, but it was memorable.
After the sermon I was preparing to stand and pray when that elder again surprised me. He leaned over and whispered, "Please lead us in singing hymn number 277."
"What?" I asked.
"We're going to sing hymn number 277 now, please stand up and lead it," he said.
I had a moment of panic as I realized I might not know number 277 at all. The hymnals in these churches contain only lyrics, no music to get you started, and most of the Spanish titles are unfamiliar to me. You can imagine my relief when I turned to 277 and saw that I had previously penciled in "I Surrender All" under the Spanish title.
I followed the hymn with the closing prayer, as planned, then fled the muddy platform before they could think of any other way for us to participate.
I followed him, and was a little surprised when Domingo asked me to offer the prayer at the end of his sermon. I'm not too comfortable with public speaking in Spanish, but I couldn't say no. "Go get your Bible," Domingo told me, "You must walk up on the stage with us and kneel down and then stand up during hymn number 70, 'Santo, Santo, Santo.'"
We took our places in the front of the mud brick sanctuary. The offering time went by uneventfully. Then one of the elders stood up and announced cheerfully, "We now have a very special presentation--musical piece by our visitors from the United States." He beamed at me.
We had nothing planned and had to force ourselves to stand up in front of the small congregation, but somehow Jackson and I managed to struggle through two verses of "In the Sweet By and By," a capella. We sorely missed the other student missionaries who were worshiping with different congregations throughout the Tarapoto area.
As I took my seat next to Domingo again I was laughing inside. Our "special presentation" hadn't been very special, but it was memorable.
After the sermon I was preparing to stand and pray when that elder again surprised me. He leaned over and whispered, "Please lead us in singing hymn number 277."
"What?" I asked.
"We're going to sing hymn number 277 now, please stand up and lead it," he said.
I had a moment of panic as I realized I might not know number 277 at all. The hymnals in these churches contain only lyrics, no music to get you started, and most of the Spanish titles are unfamiliar to me. You can imagine my relief when I turned to 277 and saw that I had previously penciled in "I Surrender All" under the Spanish title.
I followed the hymn with the closing prayer, as planned, then fled the muddy platform before they could think of any other way for us to participate.
posted by Ansley at 7:29 PM
6 Comments:
Dear Ansley, I'm sure your song WAS special, especially to God! You and Jackson sang with hearts willing to praise Him and willing to serve others!!
Well done. I hope May 20 wasn't a similar surprise.
:) Yes Ansley, it was special! The people you are meeting will have a better picture of God and His love because of you guys!
La historia me hizo reir un poco. Pero, te doy 'kudos' por hacerlo. Aún tengo miedo de hablar en español en frente de muchas personas, lo mismo por cantar--no importa el idioma.
Te deseo muchas bendiciones.
Don't worry about making it to my wedding. much as I'd love to see you, I think you're more needed in Peru.
I don't want my plans to wet blanket yours.
Your experience reminds me of what a Peruvian Dr. Rittenhouse could create...
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