Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackEagle
Somewhere in India, 1975. Dad, mom, and my younger brother were on a mission trip to see just what God was doing in His church in various places around the world. Dad had been alerted to one church. They got there Saturday and the elders interviewed Dad fairly extensively to see whether he was fit to preach. They decided he was and invited him to preach the next day. People had been walking in from the surrounding villages to spend the night and get an early start on the worship the next day. Dad asked in passing when the service began.
The conversation went something like this: "After breakfast we have an hour or two of prayer". "Then how long should I preach? An hour?" " Oh, we have walked a long way to hear God's Word. We don't normally finish untill 3 or 4 in the afternoon, to give the people time to walk back to their villages."
Dad preached through the book of John that day.
Everyone sat on the ground under the roof, no walls in the church. The women sat on one side, the men on the other. During the prayer time one of the elders would comment from time to time. When dad wondered what they were saying, he was told that the women were praying too much; the men needed to speak up more.
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Services in Zambia, Africa are much the same. People come from a long way, and the church services can last hours.