Meeting Rebeka!!!

Yesterday I was able to see Rebeka Mwimbe for the first time since I've returned to Tanzania. When Jessica and I visited 2 years ago she had just been born. Pastor Mwimbe and his wife gave us the honor of naming her. She is now about 2 1/2 years old and is beautiful. At first she seemed a little shy around me (or possibly afraid of my white skin!), but by the end of the day she was comfortable and smiling. We went out to Gezalole for church together with a group of visitors, Rob & Linda, and some of her family. While I was there I heard that she had been named for me as well. Her middle name is Kristina. I was so excited to spend time with her and her older brother Isaac. I hope to have many more opportunities to spend time with her in the future.
I thought I'd also share what happens in a typical village church service. We left about 8 from LJS. It took us about an hour to get to Gezalole. Thankfully most of the ride was on paved (hard) road. We picked up Pastor Mwimbe and his family along the way. We spent some time gretting people after arriving and then were served maandazi and chai. After that we waited around outside a bit more before moving into church. We were in there about an hour listening to the various choirs before church began. It was a special harvest service. It was also the evangelists first Sunday at this church. With Pastor Mwimbe the congregation was able to have a few children baptized, a man made a profession of faith and we had communion. There were 3 guest choirs in for the special service. Surprisingly the service was around the 2 hours common for all services here. Sometimes with so many extra things we end up having a 3-4 hour service. After church all of the produce and fabrics that were given for the offering were auctioned. We then went for lunch about 3pm. After church we added 2 more people and a number of grain sacks and veggies to our already crowded car. There were 13 of us riding in a 9 passenger car. Normally that would have been fine but with all of the sacks it was a very tight squeeze! We made it home just after 5. I love church in the villages but I am usually tired at the end of the day and excited to be home!