Church

Yesterday we worshiped at the church that Achen serves. What an experience it was.

We arrived at a place just a few minutes’ drive from Achen’s home. It is a simple but a beautiful building. It is not like the churches I am used to. Achen’s church is nothing more than a sanctuary. There are no classrooms or offices; there is no library or kitchen. It is a simple space for worship that is not strikingly beautiful. But the beauty, I believe, is found in this simplicity.

Before entering this place of worship, we took off our shoes. We simply left them outside the door and went in. Inside, the men seat themselves on one side while the women seat themselves on the other. This is the practice in India, although Achen is trying to get his congregation away from this tradition. Alex did sit with us on the women’s side.

The service was said in Malayalam, and, obviously, we could not understand a word. But it didn’t matter; we did not need to understand what was being said. We knew that the Lord was being praised. The singing was beautiful. The prayers were sincere. We did not need to understand the language to understand that.

Halfway through the sermon, I looked out the window to my right. There, before me, I saw nothing but green against a light blue sky. The tall green grass provided a soft bed for the palm trees, which rose up towards the heavens in all their might and beauty. I was awe-struck.

After the sermon, with Heather at the piano, Binu on guitar, me on clarinet, and Erin, Jenika, Becca, and Alex on vocals, we performed “Here I am, Lord” for the congregation.

The service went on for nearly two hours, but it felt like only a few minutes. When it was finished, everyone gathered outside for tea and cake. There, we were able to speak to some of the parishioners. They are used to new volunteers coming each year, and they were happy to meet us. We, too, were happy to meet them. Each one is just another extension of the family we are forming here.