Four Sundays in Malawi, Four Unique Churches: Part Two

During my time in Malawi I attended four different churches. Last week I shared about the first two churches I attended. The third Sunday started a bit earlier than the other two. That week rather than stay in Lilongwe, we went to a church in a rural part of the country. We also took along all the Bible School students to observe the church service. So 16 of us piled into the van and headed out. We didn’t get very…

Four Sundays in Malawi, Four Unique Churches: Part One

When I visited Malawi in January of 2020, I was only able to visit one church, the one on the school campus. This time I wanted to make it a priority to visit different churches so each of the four Sundays I was there, my friend Bern and I visited a different church. Let me say some things in general about churches in Malawi. First of all as a visitor, the churches always treated me very well. They gave me…

Church Life Challenges in the Dominican Republic

In 1974 I moved to the Dominican Republic to teach in a school. However, my presence there was under the guidance of the Free Methodist Church so being a part of the church was an expected part of my responsibilities there. It was in the church that I really encountered much of the cultural challenges that I had in the country. While teaching I worked mostly with American adults. At the church I was with Dominicans. I had much to…

“The Blessing” Around the World, Part 2

Six weeks ago I shared with you how the song “The Blessing” has become an international phenomenon. Just a few months after its release, virtual choirs around the world were recording the song as a way to bless their countries during our worldwide pandemic. As the pandemic has continued, so has the creation of new videos. Since my post six weeks ago, I have often searched YouTube and discovered even more renditions of the song. Virtual choirs, solo artists, worship…

Zambia: Travel with a Purpose

It was just a year ago that I traveled to Zambia but not for a vacation. The reason for this trip was different. Along with three other adults, I was accompanying a group of 16 high school students from my school on a trip designed to introduce them to ministry outside the US. In many ways it was a short trip but with a very loooong flight time. We left Seattle Saturday afternoon and flew overnight to London. We then…