Experiencing Different Cultures

This week has been great. We start our immunizations this Friday, which means a lot of shots! Every Sunday morning we get in small groups according to our region and worship together. We are learning how to lead church, taking out any traditions or opinions of our own and sticking only to what the word of God says. We use the example Paul and the early apostles laid out for us in Acts.

On Sunday nights we have cross cultural worship services. The first week was Asia and we dressed according to their dress, we took off our shoes before entering, and we were not allowed to have a bible. The lights were dimmed and we all had to whisper due to the persecution of the believers all over Asia. The whole service was done in Chinese and although we didn't understand much our hearts were united in Christ. It was so awesome as we prayed for the persecuted Christians and missionaries there right now. The Holy spirit blessed us with His presence and a brokenness for the people of Asia.

This past Sunday night was an African worship service. It was so much fun! The women had to wear head coverings and skirts. We sang and danced to all the African songs we learned and had a great time. Any time the speaker said something we like we all said Amen in unison which made him speak longer, it was awesome. After the speaker would read a story in the bible or a passage he would ask for someone to repeat it back to him. They do this so they can all get a full understanding of the scripture and the group can share what Gods taught them through it all. Needless to say after the service everyone wanted to go to Africa!