This past weekend, Blaise and I took a road trip to Atlanta, Georgia to visit friends. During our time there, we had the pleasure of visiting another Sudanese church service and spending some time in fellowship with the Sudanese of Atlanta. I LOVED every minute of the service. It is impossible to explain how amazing those services are, and how real and heartfelt their worship feels. I won’t go into extensive detail about the whole service, but there were a few things that I want to highlight.
First, everyone was so incredibly gracious to us (Blaise, Caleb, Shanna, Alanna, and I) and thanked us many times for visiting their church! I am always blown away by how kind and welcoming the Sudanese are to us. I always worry that I will be intruding on their private worship time, but they are always so joyed to have us with them. They have truly defined how a visitor should feel when going to a new church…like an immediate part of the family!
Second, like the first time we went to Louisville, the church leaders in Atlanta wanted us to come to the front to introduce ourselves to the congregation…all five of us! I know that is not what Caleb, Shanna, and Alanna had bargained for, but they came up with me and I introduced us. The Sudanese responded with smiles, claps, and later prayer for us!
Another wonderful thing that really struck me was that they did translate the entire service for us. The service, of course, was held in their native Dinka language. I was content to listen to them speak in Dinka, but Abraham was gracious enough to translate for us. They referred to a Bible verse which tells us that if there is even one person in a crowd who does not understand the language, there should be someone available to translate so that everyone hears the Word. I LOVE that they took the Bible literally and provided us with English. The singing was still in Dinka…but that is too beautiful to translate!
Finally, we were all quite touched by the message of the sermon. They talked about looking to God, of course, but they also talked a lot about unity among Christians. One of the women (I cannot spell her name) who talked spoke about the tragedy in Sudan and how many people ask, “Why, why, why?” She said that the blessing of being chased out of their country and then scattered around the world is that they are able to meet Christians around the world that they never would have met. We were at their church on Sunday to meet them, and this was a great honor to them. They prayed for us that we would tell people about Sudan, and they prayed for me and for my trip to Nasir. I was so touched by that personalization, and again, I cannot wait to go and live with the Sudanese for 3 weeks!
Blaise and I are planning another drive to Louisville to attend the Sudanese church there again…if you want to go with us, please let me know! The Sudanese are really honored to have others show an interest in them and what is happening in their country. Also, you’ve never seen church services like these…they’re amazing!
P.S. Only 43 days until I depart for Sudan!!!
