The Sre Trang congregation had their Christmas program on Dec. 13th. We met in the new church building that had just been finished a few days before.
Several of the local police were there, as well as some area government leaders. One of the leaders got up and spoke, having highly favorable things to say about the church there and Christianity in general. What a blessing to have the support of the local leaders out there. We can't be naive. It wouldn’t be unheard of to, at the Christmas program, extol the church and affirm his most affectionate commitment to its prosperity, then shut it down the next day. But thus far local support has seemed genuine, so we thank God for this blessing and pray that it would continue.
All of our students and a few church members went to the program. (We left at 4:30 AM! Yikes!) Groups from both congregations presented songs and skits. I missed most of it. The crowd of children around Katherine (and I) was causing a significant distraction to the audience, so we went outside. There were over 100 children there; most without an adult counterpart, all without adult supervision. Some of our students played games under a tent with the ones who weren't interested in the program.
On a side note, Sre Trang has actually had over 100 children attend their Sunday worship service consistently over the past few months. Please pray for them as they figure out how to wisely manage and effectively teach them about the One True and Living God. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." Matt 19:14
When the program was over we all ate curry soup together, then our students taught the Sre Trang youth a series of gestures/movements to go along with the song "God Will Make a Way." They really enjoy doing gestures along with songs.
Overall, it was a really nice time for the two congregations to worship and fellowship together.
Jennifer
