I attended one of the Lutheran churches today with the Niles. It was packed with people: men, women, and children alike. Marc and Stacy think there's close to 1000 people who attend the service every Sunday. But unfortunately, most the Malagasy attend church because it's what everybody does. The same individuals who attend regularly are going to the witch doctors, drinking, and sleeping around on every other day. They don't understand Christianity and quite frankly don't seem to have a desire to learn about Christ. To them it's just religion. I was really shocked to observe how little many of the Malagasy paid attention during the service. Even during the sermon people were talking and walking around... It was such a stark contrast to what I saw of a couple church services in Uganda. The Ugandans seemed genuinely excited to praise the Lord and hungry to learn from His Word. Here, it was so dry, dull, lacking in any passion and any kind of excitement or even eagerness to learn from the Bible. I was warned ahead of time by Marc and Stacy, but I still found myself disappointed by what I observed. I also didn't like the way they do the offertory. Apparently they have several offerings throughout the service and you have to walk down one of the side aisles to the front of the church, place your money in a basket and then walk back up the center aisle. I just felt like you were parading in front of everyone, showing off in a sense that you were giving money to God (which is His to begin with). I guess I would much rather give in secret rather than marching in front for the whole church to see. I guess it's good that everybody tithes, but wouldn't it be better to just pass a basket so it's more discreet?
In the afternoon Stacy sang hymns in Malagasy with Karilosy's family. It was a lot of fun to listen and observe- it was a great time of fellowship with them. The kids are leaving Tuesday to stay with relatives for the winter, so I'm going to miss having them around. Even though we can't communicate, it's still nice to spend time with them.
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