Day 2

Sunday:

I got ten hours of sleep!

In Sunday school (yes, we slept inside the church we would attend in the morning - sure makes getting to church on time very easy), the guys half of the team (Jason, Quinn, Chad, and myself) had the boys. The boys taught us how to play snooker, their version of billiards, and then we read out of Daniel, the story about how the government releases a law that all must bow down to the king. Daniel decides not only to bow down to Yahweh, but also to keep his window open for all to see while he's doing so. Consequently, he is thrown into the lions den. We only intended to read a chapter or so, but the kids kept insisting with excitement that they wanted to read more. I think we read about three chapters. Chad asked the guys to think of the last time that they felt loved. One kid said, "when I got saved." He mentioned it had been a year since he "got saved" (Northern Ireland religious folks love the word "saved"). I wondered if he'd ever felt loved since then.

In the main church service, KB (Kate Beiler) and Jo sang "Hungry" for special music and they had really good harmonies in the chorus. Since Pastor Steve was away for a congregational meeting with Nazarene churches, a guest pastor did the service. He was probably the equivalent of a Christian fundamentalist in the US. There are both good and bad things about this. For one, he intimidated the heck out of the kids during "children's church." He also spoke out of Ezra with great passion and enthusiasm. We was very loud, which made me feel guilty if I wasn't paying attention. His sermon was packed with theology. Personally, I think he kind of made the Bible say want he wanted it to, but I guess every pastor does that in some way, shape, or form.

After church, we were taken to eat at The Carvery. It is a big fancy ballroom with delicious selections of meat and potatoes and top-quality desserts. I felt like a king eating there. I always feel awkward in sophisticated settings though because I like to stay real as a person, not act like I'm some big important human being that has my nose stuck in the air. Not that the people there did, but it seemed like they should, on account of all the fanciness. Regardless of how awkward I may have felt, the food was beyond excellent.

Chad Frey gave the "sermon" for the Sunday night service at the church. He spoke "with" the congregation, not to them or at them. He got down in the middle aisle with a marker board to illustrate his points and talk with people. Megan and Genna both gave testimonies to aid to the intercommunication and message. We closed with two worship songs. I played drums, Jason played guitar, Jo played piano, and KB sang. The service was followed by a potluck where we got to meet some older members of the church (the Church of the Nazarene really lacks a middle generation, it is mostly old and young folks).

Closing the night was a game of keepaway football outside with the kids.

The biggest thing I noticed today was the activity of a church's congregation. A few people do many things, always on the move, while many people simply show up for church once or sometimes twice a week.