First Sunday Morning - Église de Pentecôte d'Aibatin (Pentecostal Church of Aibatin)

I had the opportunity to go to a local church today, thinking I would be sitting in the church service.  Instead, we were able to help out with teaching the children.  It was wonderful to be part of their Sunday morning!  There were four of us ladies from the ship who travelled together to go to the church.  One of the day crew from the ship, Francis, attends this church.

The three ladies who travelled with me to church.

The Sunday school class seemed quite similar to what we would see in Canada on a typical Sunday morning.  A school teacher on the ship named Floor (pictured above on the right) had prepared a lesson and taught through a translator.  Her lesson included something from the Bible as well as an English language lesson using the different parts of the body that God has created.  The children also shared what they want to do when they grow up, and some of the selections were: doctor, businesswoman, teacher, and football player (soccer).  Kids always have the best answers to any questions! (:

Our travel to the church was quite interesting, as there was a torrential downpour.  We got very wet just walking down the gangway onto the dock and toward the vehicle.  We met the day crew worker outside the port gate, and unfortunately, he was driving a zemidjon (motorcycle).  In the heavy rain, he was already soaking wet, but he had to lead us the 20 minutes to get to the church!  The roads are not all nicely paved and smooth either.  Many roadways were full of water, at least one foot (30 cm) deep in places, with ruts and bumps.  Once we parked outside the church, we had to cross rivers of water in the road to get to the building.  It was an adventure for sure!  I was amazed and humbled by Francis' dedication to get to the church.  He wore a rain slicker which did absolutely nothing to keep him dry.

The Sunday school class was held in a family's home, and the electricity was out.  This is common in parts of Africa, but has also happened to us at my church in Canada.  My pastor was able to keep on preaching with the light from the open doorway, but in our circumstance, it was winter and still quite cold with the door open.  In Benin, we used our cell phone lights to help the children see their colouring sheets or to read passages from the Bible.  Thankfully we don't need light to sing and talk.  The children have amazing voices.  I understood some of what they sang, but as it was in French, it still was quite difficult.  Floor taught and Francis translated for her.  Below is a sample of the children singing:

It is amazing to see (and I'm not sure why I was surprised at this) that there can be friendship and unity amongst Christians worldwide, even when we do not speak the same language.  Even though I could barely understand these Beninese Christians, we have a bond in Jesus Christ!  And although we may differ the order of church services, or in how we dress and sing, we still had sweet fellowship with these people.  They were extremely kind and giving to us, although we had just met!

This was an unexpected gift provided by the generous people at this church.

To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. ~ 1 Peter 3:8-9