Worship in Africa: First Impressions

Mercy Ships provides Land Rovers for free to those who wish to attend a local church in Conakry.  There was one church which was about 35 minute away from the ship (depending on the traffic and how many times you get stopped by police)  Before we left the driver made sure we all had plenty of water with us.  Our Mercy Ships water bottles hold a full liter and ours were empty by the time we got back.  We selected the “God Is Love” Church, because the pastor was from Sierra Leone and held the service in English with French translation.  The church also has a school and runs an orphanage.  

 The church was in a larger room at one end of their school.  It had a roof and fairly open cinder block construction to let the light in.  Outside were a lot of goats wandering around, and women washing clothes where there was available water running along the street.  Inside, there were about 40 people in attendance. 

We were informed by our driver, that the church wanted us to spread out and blend in with the rest of the church.  They did not want everyone from Mercy Ships sitting together.  

They really wanted us to be part of the church community.  We entered to the sounds of joyful singing and dancing.  The ushers guided us to the very front row. We sat in plastic stackable chairs.  In America we would call this the Amen section, but in Africa, it would be more of the Halleluiah section.  We were fortunate because we were under two portable fans mounted on the ceiling above us.  This kept us cool until the electric quit.  At some point the electric always goes out.

Last Sunday we entered to about 10 minutes of percussion and dancing.  I'm not sure if there was any singing, but we tried to clap to the right tempo.  

 Preached in English, with French translation, I was able to understand most of it, and could pick up some French words along the way. This is a community of believers who love Jesus.

Last Sunday there were three vehicles full of people from Mercy Ships, so near the end of the service, we became a visiting choir as one of our drivers also brought a guitar and some song sheets for us.  As we sang, most people pulled out cell phones, digital cameras or some other digital device to record our singing and our time with them  The believers in Guinea were so happy to have us there.  They are very welcoming.  Even the pastor took out his camera and took pictures while we sang.

The service lasted 2-2.5 hours, which is fairly short by African standards, so we were back on board well before 2pm. 

We were a bit fatigued, but delighted to worship our Great God, who is so good to us.

Our three Mercy Ship Land Rovers parked on the street
in front of the God is Love Church

Chuck