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I'm in Tanzania!

I already miss the Challenge Farm kids from Kenya! I got to spend 2 days in Nakuru with one of my besties, Amanda, from D Squad. Then we headed to Nairobi for month 8 debrief. There were many tears shed, many laughs, and God's revealed a lot of cool stuff to me about the future 🙂 We also ran a disgusting 5k, the "Allan Boehm 'This Ain't No Game' Milk and Cookies Memorial Run" and I successfully completed the task of drinking a liter of milk, eating 16 gross cookies, and running a 5k, all without puking.

Then our journey began from Kenya to Tanzania…

 
Our bus rides here were relatively safe. The first was awesome…
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Travel buddy: my favorite Chinese-Canadian, Miss Peggy Cheng.
 
 
But oh that second bus was horrible.

I had a lady's butt on me for 6 hours!!!!

Travel buddy: total stranger, Miss New Booty. I found you!

 
 
((Note to self, dive for the window seat, avoid aisle at all costs. Apparently pinterest does not have an easy, fun, creative way to disinfect one's shoulder. Somebody needs to pin that, stat. I'm sticking with bar soap and desperate prayers.))
 
But here's what the blog's all about 🙂
 
Today I stood in one of the coolest churches I've ever been to.
Mind you, I've been to the "Baptidome" Prestonwood, and I've been to super hipster churches in Denver, Austin, DFW, etc… but something was different about this Tanzanian church.
 
It had walls and a roof.
The inside was painted a weathered Tiffany's blue. 
As for doors, it had none.
Windows were just big holes on the wall, through which the children outside played peek-a-boo with me, popping up and down with their beautiful smiles and heavenly giggles.
There were no pews or chairs, but merely sand on the ground.
The stage was small, just a raised cement step at the front.
There were no paintings, no banners, no decorations, yet it was beautiful. The only attention-catcher was the thick presence of the Holy Spirit, blowing through the room.
There was no sound system, for it is not needed here.
There was no lights show, for it is not needed here.

People just come to church because they realize they need God.
It's not about the building at all.

 
It was humbling to be reminded of this.
 

This is my beautiful church in Tanzania:

 
 
Upendo sana (much love),
 

Helena

2 responses to “Beautiful Church”

  1. Your blogs always make me smile:) And i find myself excited when I discover that youve written a new one! Just wanted you to know

  2. so many people make it a big deal about how nice snd glorious the church looks..if you see buddist or hindu worshippers they make an altar as best they can..the streets of calcutta are not glamourous and do not have roofs or walls on most cases. but the most oppulent buildings in the world were not built to reach God or harbour his presence.He is omnisient and omnipotent.in my humble room or past apartments .my Lord and savior doesnt fill the space andwalk with me daily,hourly and by the second.bc ogf anything in here but my heart,mind and soul. every breath step thought and word i say or right is because.og his love that lives inside me and i spread to the world,because i will love and serve the lord for without his love i would just cease to pexist. it seems the mistake of oppulence would have been learned with the concept of buying yout salvation with the
    first schism of the christan church but no matter how big or small the “baptidome” or altar the love of christ tdoesnt fit in the building …..so no doors is the way to go