#11 - Church Via Internet

I know, I know - we are church planters and we are here to start a new church - but we still yearn for time in a church to be fed with the Word of God and to worship and pray and be surrounded by fellow believers.  Eventually, in Illescas will be a group of believers with whom we worship together, but before then, what does church look like for us.

We actually are part of the Cristo Vive church in San Fernando.  We love the people and the pastor and the worship time.  They have opened their arms and made us feel just like we are at home and we know the day will come that it will be hard to say goodbye.  So for today we are blessed by and grateful for this congregation, but.... It is all in Spanish.  It is work to go to church.  We can worship in Spanish and feel like we have worshiped from our hearts.  But when it comes to prayers and sermons, we have to work to understand.  We cannot just sit back and absorb and apply.  Often, by the time my brain has translated what the pastor has said and realized he is saying something I really need to hear, I have just missed the next two points or the full explanation.

So after much prayer and searching, I found what works for my heart.  Each Sunday morning I get up and fix breakfast for the family (love that church doesn't start until 11 here).  While I am fixing breakfast I watch Church at Viera.  It is not just the audio, but it is also the video of the pastor preaching.  I am able to feel like I am sitting in the service (now if I could just hear the worship music too).  It feeds my soul and heart in my heart language - English.  Then, as I go to worship in Spanish I am already filling like God has been filling my heart with His word and I don't feel the pressure to take it all in.  I can sit back and rest in what God helps me understand and not stress over what I have missed.  Each Sunday, I get a little closer to feeling like the Spanish version of a sermon is filling, but until then (and probably after that) I am thankful for the many churches who broadcast their services in a video format - for everyone who can't be there, but especially for missionaries serving in other lands in other languages.

Perhaps today I should send a thank you note to the Church at Viera instead of just blogging about it.  Maybe that is the point of this whole month - maybe I should be expressing these thank yous a little more often and little more directly. Hmmm, something to ponder.