“Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the assembly of Saints.” Psalm 149:1

Philemon Phiri, our project engineer, invited us to attend his church this week. He came into town on public transportation, and met us at the entrance to Ndola Central Hospital, in order to guide us to his church. His church and home are located in the community of Mushili, the largest compound in Ndola. Philemon is unsure of the population there, but said it well over 50,000. We drove past the Masala Market Place, which we have been advised by Teddy is one of the best community markets for shopping. It was a bit of a drive, traveling on paved roadways for awhile, then onto the dirt roadways. Philemon told us during the drive that he is originally from the mountainous region of the Western Province in Zambia, some 900 kilometers away. His surname, Phiri means mountains. We stopped in front of a primitive looking wooden structure, with a metal sign in front which read “Bible Gospel Church in Africa”. There was not a parking area since everyone walks to church, so we just pulled off the road and parked near the sign. As we entered the church, we were greeted by warm smiles and handshakes by those who would soon be conducting the service. It was a little dark inside, the only light coming from between the wood slats which were nailed together, forming the walls of the church. The roof was made from the same, but covered with heavy plastic which we could hear rippling in the wind. The floor was dirt, but the marks remained where it had been carefully swept. The altar was a large area in the front, built up with concrete blocks covered with compacted dirt, and two large rugs. The back drop for the altar was a burgundy cloth, stretched the entire width of the building, with small tassels hanging from the upper edge. The pulpit was constructed of two by fours with pieces of lace pinned to the wood. There were benches to sit on, some with backs, and some without. Many of the benches were made from old crates, displaying the names of different companies. Philemon’s wife was already seated, but rushed to spread a beautiful blue shetange on the front bench, a place of great honor, next to the minister and his wife, where we were to be seated. The order of service is praise and worship, followed by the lesson for the day, collection of tithes and gifts, and finally announcements. Praise and worship was a series of proclamations followed by prayer. “God has many names. He is The Great Comforter (Amen!), The Great Healer (Amen!), The Almighty Lord of Lords (Amen!), He is whatever you need – He is the One and Only Who can satisfy all your needs (Alleluia!). One day with You, Lord, is better than a thousand without You. (Amen!)” This was followed by everyone in the congregation praying aloud, their own individual prayer of praise, thanking God for His Word and being all we need every day, all day long. Then a song – no musical instruments, just the glorious voice of the praise leader, echoed by men, women and children in perfect harmony. This succession of praise and worship continued for well over an hour, and ended when we all clapped for the Lord. This was followed by the lesson for the day. These were brief scripture readings followed by interpretation and stories to illustrate the reading. It was like a sermon and Sunday School all wrapped into one. During this time, an interpreter was brought forward, who not only translated into the local tribal language, but also mimicked the actions and inflections of the speaker. Today’s speaker was the secretary of the church. Today’s first lesson was Deuteronomy 30:19 – “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses…Choose life so you and your descendents might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him…” There were many other readings and references to scripture, but all revolved around this first reading. Occasionally the “Amen!” was not loud enough, and the speaker’s response was “Hello?”, to which the congregation replied with a resounding “Amen!” Our final message was that God wants us be like the new wineskin (Luke 5:37), able to stretch and contain all His blessings. Don’t look for blessings and follow them; go forth and let the blessings follow you. Once again, this portion of the service lasted over an hour. Following this, two small baskets were retrieved from under the lectern by a young woman. She stood in front of the church, a basket in each hand, as each person came forward to deposit their offering. There was a beautiful little girl about six years old, in a lovely yellow dress, who walked past us after placing her offering in the basket. I thought she was returning to her seat, and then felt the gentle touch of one tiny finger on my hand. She stood next to me for several minutes, touching my hand over and over, I think fascinated by my white skin. I held her hand, she smiled, and then darted to the back of the church. Through the wood slats, we could see a small group of children outside. They were having a big discussion and pointing to where Ron and I were seated. We didn’t need to hear to know what was being said: “Did you see that? What? Those white faces! Where? There, inside the church!” They slowly crept nearer to the church, until there were three tiny faces peering between the wood slats. We smiled and waved, and they were off like a flash! We thought it was time for communion when another woman went to the side of the altar, and poured two glasses of juice and placed each on a saucer. Holding it with two hands, she very graciously presented the first to Ron with a deep curtsey, and then the second to me. We weren’t sure what to do. We looked to Philemon, who with a big smile said we were just supposed to drink it, and enjoy the refreshment! After this, Philemon was called to the altar and we were asked to stand and face the members as he introduced us. He explained the OMNI project at George, that we attend the Lutheran Church in the United States, how much he has been enjoying his time with us, and then thanked us for coming to pray with them today. After a few announcements, and another song of praise, we clapped for the Lord again, and then filed out of the church, bench by bench. As we left the church, we formed a reception line. As each person (adult and child alike) left the church, they shook hands down the line, bowing or curtseying, taking their place at the end of the line. This continued until we had greeted all sixty or more people in attendance today. Following some fellowship time in the blistering sun, we were privileged to accept Philemon’s invitation to visit his home and meet his children. We loaded the car with a half dozen people, and proceeded down the winding dirt roads to Philemon’s house. There we saw a concrete block building on a small plot of land, enclosed by a concrete fence. As we approached the doorway, we were greeted by one of the 18-month old twins, with a tiny little hand shake. The other twin started to cry when he saw us! Philemon and his wife have been married for nineteen years and have seven children in all, six boys and one girl. The oldest was not at home, but the rest ranged in age from twelve years to 18 months. The twelve year old boy had cooked nshima and relish (sauce and vegetables) over a small charcoal fire. He was busy washing hands and feeding the rest of the children as they all sat on the floor in the first room of the house. There were several rooms, and we were escorted into a room which contained a large desk, a small couch, and two chairs. We sat and talked for awhile, then went outside to see the pigeons and rabbits which they raise for food. There home has no electricity, or plumbing, but certainly contained an abundance of happy smiles. Today we were honored and privileged to be welcomed into Philemon’s church and home. God has blessed us with another good friend.