Worship & Sendafa

As most of you know, I (Chris) had the incredible privilege and opportunity of being a part of a team from Living Word that went to Sendafa, Ethiopia from July 11th to the 19th. Being invited onto the team was a surprise and blessing. Being able to see, firsthand, what God is doing through His church universal was humbling and inspiring. The kingdom of God reaches beyond borders, be they ethnic, racial, political, social. So many stories, memories and highlights that I will no doubt be processing for weeks to come.





One of the highlights for me was the opportunity I had to bring a guitar donated by a member of the Living Word community. I used the guitar primarily to teach kids songs about handwashing. I found out that Michael Jackson is very popular in Sendafa (I adapted his song "Beat It" to help the kids say "goodbye" to Mr. Germ). But probably the best part about bringing the guitar was the fact that we were able to give it to a pastor/evangelist/church planter in Sendafa. This brother in Christ was overwhelmed by the gift, and at a pastor's lunch he led everyone in a rather spontaneous time of worship through song. I captured a part of this worship time below and thought you might enjoy hearing our brothers & sisters in Ethiopia worshipping our great God.





The picture I had in my mind as I was listening to these beautiful songs of praise was of every tribe and tongue gathering before the throne of the Lamb, worshipping as the redeemed only can. I shared this thought this past Sunday in our worship services before introducing a new song that speaks of the scene in Revelation 9: "Now unto the Lamb, who sits on the throne/Be glory and honor and praise/All of eternity echoes the song/Worship and praise Him, the Lord of lords". The lyrics are from Brooke Fraser's "Lord of Lords" off Hillsong's Saviour King.


Hearing and seeing people worship in Sendafa gave me a glimpse of what worship will look like on that day when heaven comes to earth.