It was a truly amazing day of worship with the UMC of Cote d’ Ivoire. The service was held on the grounds of the Methodist Hospital in Dabou. The ministers all were involved in the service (including robes – not the most comfortable wear outside, in AFRICA). We processed in with the Ivorian Methodist Choir and were seated in the main tent. The rest of the tents made a square in the field and were filled with members from various local UMC’s including 3 choirs. Bishop Huie gave the sermon (with translators) on Paul’s message of living hope. We then shared in Holy Communion. All of the pastors (Ivoiran and Texans) were served by Bishops Huie and Boni. We were then asked to go out to the tents to serve along side an Ivorian pastor. It was an amazing blessing to place the bread in their hands. This reminded truly how God’s spirit unites us together through Communion and our faith in Christ across barriers of language and distance. World Communion Sunday took on a whole new meaning for me.
At the end of our 4 our worship service (Yes, 4 hours – but it didn’t seem that long) we were journeyed to a church member’s home for lunch. Her father had been one of the original UMC pastors in Cote d’ Ivoire. It was a delicious meal and wonderful fellowship.
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