Church in Africa

I really did come HOME! Church is church and God is God no matter where you are in the world, but worship, I always thought was unique to my personal experience. It is not! Most of my life I have heard that the worship experience in the Black church is born out of the memories of our African ancestors who where enslaved. Well, yesterday, I found this to be the truth. Every aspect of the worship was my experience at home and yet I had come home. So, the experience was somehow new and fresh and alive in a way I had not experienced before. The church building was not some grand house of worship, it was a building of brick and mortar with open space to the outside, inviting all to join in the service. There was music-music I had not heard since long ago, music that I knew all he words to, not the contemporary songs we hear today. The old Negro spirituals with African drums, a trumpet, keyboards, and voices of my African sisters and brothers sharing their love of God with all of us.

We were each introduced to the congregation after the service and welcomed to Ghana. After Church we went to lunch at the Ambassador's home. Although, Ghana is a poor country, all of the people are not poor. The Ambassador lives in a lovely home and invited members of the community to meet with our group and to have lunch. The lunch was sooooooo. good that I don't have the words to express how good it was. But, I can tell you that I loved every mouthful! During the course of lunch I thanked the Ambassador and told her the prayer she prayed for our stay and journey was the prayer of my heart. She prayed that our children and our children's children would have the desires of their hearts and that GOD would meet and supply all their needs in life and watch over and protect them. I felt that she had heard my prayer for my son and family, it was as if God gave breath to what I had only thought. I told her how much I enjoyed the service and loved the fact that the choir sung the old songs. The only one they had not sung was Amazing Grace and it was one of my favorites. Little did I know that she would ask the guest to sing the song for me. What a privilege. Then she asked if I would like to hear another and I asked to her My Eye is on the Sparrow, not knowing that it was a favorite for her. This journey is becoming a personal and spiritual journey. We have no TVs and are busy most of the time, so we talk and reflect. I feel blessed. I am THANKFUL to be here. Certainly, GOD has richly blessed us all to be here. Lena