observations en la iglesia and more

Just a quick update...our showing of The Tale of Two Brains at the church is Los Robles went very very well. No video glitches, thanks be to God. The power for the projector and sound system was all run by a small Honda generator (un planta). We had an overflow crowd, as people were sitting outside the church to listen to Mark Gungor. We used the Spanish version of LYW, which has Mark and a translator delivering the message. One beautiful thing was that we had a bunch of young people attend and there was much laughter, which means they were understanding and connecting with Mark.

On another note, I have some observations on the church services we've attended here that you might find interesting. We have attended three Sunday services thus far, at two different churches. I must admit, there are some aspects of the Sunday gathering that I really like here and I'll start by sharing them. I love the free, lively, open praise that goes on at the beginning of the service. The music is upbeat, sometimes merengue, lots of movement, singing by all. From time to time, people in the congregation are free to come forward and lead a song, giving praise to "El Senor", God the Father. Beautiful! Also during this time there is sharing and exhortation from different deacons or deaconess, whatever gender, no problem.

I would say in general the gatherings are charismatic/pentacostal/evangetical, if that is a flavor. It takes a bit getting used to for those of us whose experience has only been the evangelical church in white America. Prayer times are interactive and community wide, again everyone has the freedom to share. Services generally last two hours.

I think expressive might be a word to describe the church gatherings. One of the things that has been difficult for us is how loud it is, big speakers and much amplification. My rock music days have taken a toll on my hearing I think, so the sound blast at church can be tough to endure for me.

All in all, we give thanks to God for the Dominican iglesia, their heart for God and love of Jesus and the ministry of Children of the Nations (Ninos de Naciones).

Today Monique and I celebrate our 18th Anniversary, What a blessing from God she is to me! I can't imagine life without her. The young guys from Los Robles wanted to take our picture, so here we are in the church after presenting Laugh Your Way. see picture above.