Sunday... a day of rest????

Believe it or not, Sundays are my busiest day. Let me give you a run down of my day today. This will also give you a little insight on what we like to refer to as "Venezuelan Time".

I woke up at 7:00am to get ready for church. I was told by my host mom last night that we were leaving for church at 8:00am. Church starts at 8:30am. By 8:00am, she was still in pajamas. She started getting ready at 8:40am. We left the house at 9:18am.

I spent the next 5 hours observing, videotaping, noting, and working with the children's Sunday School classes at the church. This is exhausting work for someone who is completely healthy. However, I am still battling my illness. I have become completely wiped of energy and by the end of the 3rd service (a little after 2pm) I was fighting to stay awake and alert. We left the church sometime between 2:30 and 3pm.

At times it is hard for me to enjoy church because I am still in the observation time for the children's classes and don't get to spend time actually in church beyond the initial 3 worship songs. I did manage to sneak into the service to hear the second half of the pastor's message, but by then, as exhausted as I was, not too much was sinking in. I asked God for an opportunity to have church time without it being a "work time".

After church, a group of us went to the mall for lunch. We sat in the food court chatting until around 5:30 or 6pm. While we were there, I was told that a friend of mine, Abraham, had been invited to preach at a church this evening. I was invited to go along to hear his message. As exhausted as I was by then, I decided that this was God's answer to my prayer. I was not about to pass this up.

We left the mall and went to the church, where we originally thought the service started at 7:00pm. When we got there, the church was locked up. The pastor let us in and we realized that the service did not start at 7. We were told it started at 7:30. A little later, we were told it starts at 8:00. By about 8:15 most of the people had gathered and the service was about to begin.

The service was great. God provided me with enough alertness to be able to stay awake during this service. At the end of this service, the pastor (who discovered that there was a missionary visiting from the United States), ask me to address the congregation. I love the absolutely no notice speaking times because it allows God to speak through me without me stepping in and overthinking.

After the service, our same group decided to go out to dinner at a small street vendor stand. These are very common here (and sometimes very popular). We sat, ate, and chatted for a while. I arrived home just before midnight.

I love Sundays. They are always so full of activity. However, I think I now need a day of rest to recover from my "Day of rest".