Safari

We attended an Assembly of God church yesterday. It was the church that was connected with the Child Survival Project that we visited on the first day, so we recognized some of the members. Although we had seen the church from the outside, I was surprised how big it was once we walked inside. People poured in, as the choir sang up front. I wish I could have taken pictures of the dances that they were doing or captured the sound as they sang for you, but we did not want to be distracted or to be a distraction from worshiping the Lord. It was a powerful experience to worship a God who sees every tribe, tongue and nation as we sat side by side with our brothers and sisters here in Africa.

Once everyone was seated, the attendance was about 1,000 people. We were told that 700-800 children attended Sunday School. After a series of songs were sung (words up on the wall in Swahili), the pastor preached a sermon from Matthew about the man who was cured from leprocy and the centurion whose servant was healed. "Trust God's power... trust God's mercy!"

Afterwards, we had lunch and headed up the road about three hours to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It is a beautiful crater that was created by volcanic activity. We drove Toyota Land Cruisers up and over the rim of the crater, and enjoyed a "game drive" inside, which allowed us to see spectacular sites and animals in their natural habitat.

This scripture was pouring through my mind as we drove: And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so... And God saw that it was good."

It WAS good. What an amazingly creative God we have! I'm so thankful that Compassion gave us this opportunity while we were visiting Tanzania. I learned from my sponsored child, that Compassion had taken her on a trip too! Praise God!