We had a good service yesterday at the International Baptist Church –Kingereka. I made plans in September to observe the Lord’s Table and to receive those who wanted to join our church in membership. We took a good portion of time reviewing what our church believes and explaining that membership is not necessary for salvation. In fact, you must be saved before you can become a member of our church. We had 3 adults join our church!
Now, the communion service left me with a little anxiety. Well, not the service itself but the details of preparing it. This was the first time I was in charge of getting everything ready for the service. I checked around our town and discovered that they don’t sell those little square wafers of bread that taste a lot like cardboard. Nor do they have those plastic thimble-like cups we use for the grape juice. (By the way, if anyone wants to collect 500 or so of those cups –new or used- and mail them to me that would be great!) So, what to do? After asking around I finally got my answer from 2 veteran missionaries. One missionary bought 5,000 of those cups and after using them he washes them out to use them again next time. He offered to give me 50 brand new ones! The other missionary told me that he uses chapati for the bread. These chapatis are not the “Michigan chaptis” found in Ann Arbor that Wikipedia mentions but are simply flat bread much like a tortilla. Obviously, I couldn’t give each person a plate-sized tortilla for communion so I whipped out the pizza cutter and sliced them up into bite sized portions. The service went really well even though I noticed that my 6-year old daughter Michaela had been crying. She was upset that she wasn’t allowed to participate in the service by eating the bread and drinking the juice. That actually worked to my advantage because after church was over I needed someone to help me clean up the leftovers. She was happy to oblige.
Now, the communion service left me with a little anxiety. Well, not the service itself but the details of preparing it. This was the first time I was in charge of getting everything ready for the service. I checked around our town and discovered that they don’t sell those little square wafers of bread that taste a lot like cardboard. Nor do they have those plastic thimble-like cups we use for the grape juice. (By the way, if anyone wants to collect 500 or so of those cups –new or used- and mail them to me that would be great!) So, what to do? After asking around I finally got my answer from 2 veteran missionaries. One missionary bought 5,000 of those cups and after using them he washes them out to use them again next time. He offered to give me 50 brand new ones! The other missionary told me that he uses chapati for the bread. These chapatis are not the “Michigan chaptis” found in Ann Arbor that Wikipedia mentions but are simply flat bread much like a tortilla. Obviously, I couldn’t give each person a plate-sized tortilla for communion so I whipped out the pizza cutter and sliced them up into bite sized portions. The service went really well even though I noticed that my 6-year old daughter Michaela had been crying. She was upset that she wasn’t allowed to participate in the service by eating the bread and drinking the juice. That actually worked to my advantage because after church was over I needed someone to help me clean up the leftovers. She was happy to oblige.
It just so happened that October 31 was also voting day here in Tanzania. So far, everything has gone smoothly. I am aware of no riots or uprisings. Continue to pray for our safety just in case something does happen.
Please pray:
For our finances: We have been lacking quite a bit the past few months.
For Daniel: He sliced a 2-inch gash on the top of his foot Saturday while running bare-footed over a rusty piece of fencing.
Our day to day safety and health
For our finances: We have been lacking quite a bit the past few months.
For Daniel: He sliced a 2-inch gash on the top of his foot Saturday while running bare-footed over a rusty piece of fencing.
Our day to day safety and health
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