Today we had the pleasure of worshipping with the Ngordoto congregation, located in a remote area on the side of Mt. Meru. We had some delays along the way and got terribly lost. Our path took us through mud holes, across creeks, down footpaths, and through animal herds, but we finally arrived... 1 hour 45 minutes late. Yet judging from the fact that there were no empty seats, not a single soul had given up on us and left. Can you imagine that in America?
Starting so late, you might expect that there would be an abbreviated service. Not so! Those Christians put in a full 3 hours of worship and study just like they would have otherwise. They didn't "short change" the Lord any time just because we were running late.
The Tanzanians, especially away from the city, are much more "event-orientied" than they are "time-oriented." Sometimes that's a little aggravating to us westerners, but when it comes to worship maybe they're on to something. What if we took down the clocks and just gave worship as much time as it needed to do it right? I know that there are various reasons why that may not be very practical in a lot of places, but there may still be something to say for slowing down and letting worship have its time. Just food for thought.
Enjoy some pictures from our day:
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