A Big Circle--Sunday, May 13th

We went to a church at the university for service and I was stunned at how liturgical
it was. We read creeds and prayers and took communion. All-in-all, I think the service lasted a little over two hours, not to mention another hour of greeting people and being welcomed (we were referred to all the time as "the visitors" with a clearly articulated "t") and of talking to the children who were amazed to see so many of us "whites" (wuzungu--the plural Swahili term).

After shaking a million hands of both children and adults, we went to the football field where we would host a sort of Vacation Bible School for the same children who so warmly greeted us just moments before. Along the way we got to meet Judah and Leviticus (Levy) who would be leading the music for the children during the week (pictured at right with John Rinehimer). Followed by a mass of curious children we arrived at the field to pray with the pastors and teachers from the university for the ministry that would take place on that ground in the coming week. Many of the children joined hands with us as we prayed making the circle very large. I would not doubt it was the largest prayer circle I have ever been a part of. I could feel the distance that stood between myself and some of the people on the other side. I could hear their prayers as if they stood beside me. I could feel the bond of the circle, the unbroken ring of joined hands, of heat being transfered and received, of faith in the ministry at the university and of the church.

Heavenly Father, you love all people equally and sent your son for the sake of your love for each and every person. I see here a circle of people of different ages, languages and cultures and it is a very large circle. But there is a much bigger circle of people from every church in every country, I pray the children and everyone else would not only see the differences in the way we look, the way we speak, and in many ways the way we act, I pray they would see that Jesus was sent and died for all of us the same and see the love that sent him, the same love that holds us all together in the bigger circle, the same love that has brought us here.