Sunday’s in Kisumu begin around
7am. The first church service runs from 7:30-10, second service 10:15-12:30,
followed by a third service at 3pm. Today’s third service was what the program
labeled as “The Revival”. Long day.
First service I attended worship in
the church before moving to the ‘Baby’ Sunday school. Here kids ranging in age
from 2ish to 8ish learned about creation. I showed the older children Genesis
1:1-27 so they could answer the teachers questions, while one of the youngest
boys sat on my lap (his pants leaving mud on my shirt and jeans, haha). After a short snack I walked to the second
service to hear more songs and the visiting pastor literally scream his entire
message to the congregation. After the sermon he called anyone needing prayer
to the front of the church. He was saying some pretty cool stuff, and I’m
pretty sure the second person he prayed over got ‘laid out’. Curious, I
reluctantly moved forward, ending up as last person that he prayed for.
So… at different times during the
trip I have witnessed “Being slain in the Spirit” or “Getting laid out by the
Spirit”. This entails the pastor (or speaker) typically yelling (and spitting)
a prayer over a member of the congregation. One or more hands are placed firmly
on the forehead appearing to push the recipient to the ground. At this point
they’ll typically lay on the ground until somebody lifts them up by their lifeless,
outstretched arms. This practice is customary for some and super weird for
others. I fall under the second category.
As the pastor prayed for me, sweat
beaded up on his entire face. I guess when he prays he doesn’t use his
handkerchief (which is so liberally used while preaching). His hand is pressed
against my forehead as he prays over me, proclaiming such things as me being
promoted in heaven… then I walked back to my chair. Overall was pretty
cool, I’m glad I walked to the front. I would have regret not taking the
opportunity. I’ve been trying to make sure to be open to uncomfortable
situations while I’m out here.
Later that afternoon the visiting pastor
dropped about half of the small congregation during ‘The Revival’. At one point
there were three ladies attempting to corral a woman staggering back and forth
at the front of the church. This caused me to rise from my seat to make sure I
didn’t miss anything. This time I didn’t move forward, I figured if he really
wanted to pray for me he could call me out from the crowd.
Here’s a picture I just took at the cyber cafe to update you guys. hahaha
