Living at the orphanage on the weekends gives me the chance to hear the girls singing and praying.  We attended their Rosary ceremony last weekend, and ever since then, I have wanted to attend a church service.  I imagined it would be full of life, packed with spiritual people so grateful for the little that they have.

So today, Sunday, January 31, Raphael brought us to his church.  He picked us up at 6:45am with his wife, Lydia, and sons, Prince and Kingsley.  This family, so loving and patient with each other and dressed in suits and ties, was ready to go to pray.  The two boys sat in the back of the truck with their guitars in hand.  We knew Kingsley was a musician who studies song writing at school, but we didn’t realize that both sons were part of a gospel choir often led by Raphael.

On our way, we stopped to pick up several more children who we learned are orphans and part of yet another gospel choir Raphael leads.  From the moment I met him, Raphael’s calm and kind personality has comforted me in this foreign place, so far from what I know, and the more I learn about him, the more special he becomes.  We finally turned off the main road and passed through gates.  Along the path to the church was a health center and like many clinics in Malawi, there was a sign advertising HIV/AIDS counseling, prevention and testing services.

At the end of the road, there was a modest little church and a large half built structure, held up by tall thin tree trunks, resting against the outer brick walls.  A new church, we quickly learned, would soon replace the current one.  There were few people seated on the wooden benches when we arrived so we took a seat in the front only to be asked moments later to sit on the wooden chairs on the altar, facing the crowd.  It was somewhat embarrassing, but not half as embarrassing as when one of the church leaders introduced us to the whole congregation and asked us to address the crowd.  By that point in the service it was so packed that several children were sitting on bamboo mats rolled out in the front.  Deena stepped up and spoke for both of us – THANKS DEE!   Despite the awkwardness of this scenario and the length of this 3-hour service conducted primarily in Chichewa, it really was beautiful.  My favorite part was when several choirs, one after the other, stood up and sang so beautifully, moved with such grace and such feeling.  This group, made up of farmers and working class individuals, congregates each week to express their gratitude, sing their praises and celebrate the beauty of creation.

African time lasts much longer and starts much later than the pace and movement of things in New York City.  Here, if something starts at 2, we expect it to start at 3.   Similarly, when we expected to stay for a few moments after the service to greet members of the church, it was almost 2 hours later by the time we left.  And during those two hours, we had the chance to sit with Raphael’s choir.  They sang for us, introduced themselves and asked us to do the same.  Deena, who is an incredible singer, has nonetheless held back her beautiful voice, as she gets comfortable with the new people we meet.  But today, she opened up and sang “Lean on Me” for the choir.  I think she’s ready to sing for the children at the nursery school.  Though they won’t understand the words, the gift of her voice, I know, will soothe them.

Raphael’s closing words to these children were so moving – he told them about thethe importance of perseverance and continuing to practice and prepare for the opportunities that could arise at any moment, opportunities like singing contests that would, should they succeed, send them to various countries in the world.

Like the goals and dreams Raphael shares with his singers, the church members also set their sights high.  The new church will hold hundreds of people and will be the first of its kind in Malawi.  Because we are from America, they took time to tell us about the history of their church and their efforts to fundraise.   Several people asked us to take pictures and show them to our fellow Americans so that they might be inclined to make a donation.  Mostly, though, everyone gushed with pride and warmly welcomed us, as all Malawians do, to their place of worship.   It was a special experience, one I am grateful to have had on this rainy, cool Sunday morning.