Michael seems to be on the mend now. Fortunately it's nothing too sinister – the malaria test was negative – but still a bit rough. So he stayed home to rest while we bustled about getting everyone cleaned up and drove down the hill to church.
What a joy to meet many more friends and sing and worship together. The congregation of Indonesians and Papuans were warm and welcoming. We loved the robust congregational singing, with a mix of familiar and new (to us) melodies. Liz shared a favorite spiritual song that everyone appreciated and Pastor Eddie talked about the Holy Spirit with great charisma.
[From Liz about the evening English service at church] I counted about 20 people at the evening 'English' service. This is an occasional (maybe quarterly) event the Manokwari church is hosting, partly as an outreach to the community. There's a need and desire in Papua for people to learn English (not for the convenience of American tourists, but because it's the language of international commerce). However, there are few native speakers in the area, Susan and Michael have become fluent in Indonesian and it was actually a little surprising to hear English from a few of the folks with whom they've only spoken the native language.
Susan and I went to the service together while the boys stayed home to watch the kids and work. We sang some traditional hymns in English and everyone sang so well! We loved the confidence and energy from the congregation, many of whom were picking up harmony parts. The only time I hear parts covered this well is when I sing the doxology with my extended Colby family! We also heard some testimonies and prayed together.
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