I thought I was going to get emotional. But the only moment I felt that I was going to weep was when I hugged one of the older members of the congregation (in his 70s). This member is among the first to arrive in church and he would always greet me with one of the warmest handshakes and smiles. After service, he would thank me profusely and would give me a hug before he went on his way. I only see him in church so yesterday when I reached out to him, I felt a tinge of sadness that I would not see him in the Muhibbah church again. On Saturday I had an early start with the Secretary-General bringing a former principal to visit the College and we had wonderful fellowship until almost 2pm. By 7pm, I was back in church for the rehearsal and we had dinner fellowship and it went on until almost 9pm before the rehearsal began. I had to ask them not to try too hard when I saw the clock ticking 11pm and it was time to leave the church in order to rest and return by 7.30am the next morning.
I preached for the last time in the 2nd service and having felt the Spirit quickening, I left two front rows vacant, first for tambourine dances by three young ladies but then for altar call. I preached a message from Isaiah 43:1-7 with the theme, "I called you by your name and you are mine." At the end, at least 40 people came forward and space was premium as I prayed for them lasting 15 mins. So the service ended slightly later at 11:45pm and I rushed home to prepare for baptism service at noon. We proceeded to the first SIB Ranau church with a baptismal pool and I baptised 8 people in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We were treated to some delicious mee soup for lunch and we went home joyful at 2pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment