Sunday!

What a great Sunday.  First off, I was a little off on the Korean church.  It wasn't Korean at all.  Must have got lost in translation somewhere.... :)  We went to a traditional American Samoan Church today and I will do my best to explain to you what we experienced.  Three of us went from the team.  One of which was giving the message.  Not one of us had even met anybody from the church and were going in completely blind as to what we were going to experience.  When we arrived, we were warmly greeted and introduced.  They were finishing up bible study and getting ready for the morning worship time.  One thing about the American Samoan people is that music is a bit part of their lives.  As were are sitting down, they are already singing praises and worshiping the Lord before the service started.  Once the time arrived to start, worship continued.  They began be reading the Word in both Samoan and English.  They then proceeded to sing songs of praise.  Let me tell you, I don't think there are any words to describe what I heard and saw.  I can just imagine the Lord sitting on His throne and listening to them sing His praises with a smile.  Yes, the Samoan people have beautiful voices and the harmony was outstanding, but what brought me to tears was the sincerity in worship.  You could see the Spirit working in them and the joy worshiping the Lord brought them.  The were truly reverent towards the Lord.

I also noticed while they were singing, they can't stand still.  They were swaying back and forth and bringing a joyful noise.  Then something that reminded me of home happened.  One of the things that we do at Morristown Christian Fellowship is that when you have a birthday or an anniversary, you come up to the front of the worship center for the congregation to sing to you.  When your day comes, you are to bring a dollar with you and put it in a jar.  Pastor Mike always says we must be the only church where you have to pay to have a birthday.  I am not sure if anyone knows when or why that practice started, but it did and it is still observed.  So, as a song ended, a woman form the congregation walked to the front and gave a quick testimony in Samoan.  Once she was done, the congregation began to sing happy birthday to her.  As they were singing, everyone walked up to her and gave her a hug and placed money in an offering plate.  You see MCF, we have it all wrong.  We are supposed to get paid not pay out.... :)  Anyway, it was a nice reminder of home.

Once that was over, the songs continued.  It was also amazing to see that the whole family was in church.  The American Samoan people are very family driven and there was not other area that they sent their kids for church.  Little ones walked around and the school aged kids were expected to worship along with the adults. No one was bothered by the little ones and all the other kids we singing as loud as anyone.  We had two boys that sat behind us that were about 7 or 8.  We could her them sing out every song.  They did however have a fascination with our arm hair.  It appears that the Samoan men do not have much arm hair if any at all.  This seemed to intrigue them to the point where the pulled on the arm hair of brother Don as he was sitting and listening to the sermon.

Brother Marvin did and excellent job giving the message and his testimony.  He is a new chaplain and this was his first time giving a message to a congregation.  The Lord blessed him beyond measure and blessed the ones listening.

When the service was over, the pastor invited us to lunch.  We had an awesome time getting to know them and hearing about how the Lord is working in the lives of the people at their church.  They were so appreciative of us coming to American Samoa to help, but what we wanted them to know is that we were blessed by their people and they way they worshiped the Lord.

Sunday is considered a day of rest and worship on the island.  In the past, all businesses shut down and the day was spent at church and with the family.  Things have loosened up of the last few years, but it is apparent that the focus has changed for the day.  Every restaurant and store we went into was playing Christian music.  And when I say every, I mean every.  I asked the pastor about it and he said that all of the radio station play Christian music on Sunday.  The people that you did see out and about, were dressed up in their traditional Sunday dress which is a Lava Lava (skirt) and dress shirt for men and a dress for women.  It was pretty neat to see.

After lunch, we didn't have much time before the evening service started at Happy Valley Baptist where we are staying.  We have two of the team members that have been here for three weeks that are leaving today and they were having a special presentation for them.  What happened at the service was an awesome time of testimony and worship that lasted 3 hours.  It was one of the quickest three hours I have ever had.  The Lord was moving in the lives of the workers and the people.  They shared from their hearts and began to sing songs of praise.  I was blessed beyond words.

It was a pretty awesome day and I am looking forward to getting back out to work tomorrow.  I hope all had a wonderful Sunday and I look forward to my next update.

God Bless.... Billy    (Check out the Pics below)

(The Emanuel Baptist Church)

(Me and Marvin.... yes, I am actually here and that is a Lava Lava)