Service at Dodoma Church

26 April, 2009. Its sunday, and we decided to attend a Church Service at Dodoma. This was the church that we noticed during our walk on streets of dodoma.

So Wolfgang, Liz, Sindu, Roku, Lucia and I decide to go and attend the morning service. I had visited churches before but this was my first time at Service, and I was very keen to experience that. We reached the church at 9.10 am and were surprised to see a large crowd there. Dodoma is a small but multi-ethnic town. So, we were standing there, assessing whats next (at least I was). We were approached by a gentleman who invited us to come inside the prayer hall and attend the english service.
Every Sunday, at the church they have prayers in two languages - swahili and english. To begin with, a group of young girls and boys sing those 'melody' songs, and dance with 'two steps to left, two steps to right'. The Pastor of church reads the prayer and others recite. Between two prayers, a pastor calls the 'volunteers' to come and sing the songs. I was amazed to see the energy and enthusiasm. Most of the people of Tanzania love music and can sing music. And I must say, they are very good at that.
So, we were sitting on one of the back benches, following the prayer instructions and reciting them. In the end, the pastor of the church announced our presence and invited us to the podium. And here we go. Another paparazzi moment. On the podium, we give our introduction that has become our signature now. It goes like, Wolfgang from Germany, Liz from USA, Sandip from India, Roku from Japan, Lucia from Slovakia and Sindu from India – and public says Wow!!. And sindu was nice enough to add a note of appreciation and amusement.
In the end, we followed them to the area outside the prayer hall. Everyone was standing in a circle, greeting each other. The handshake is so common here and we are getting better and better at the 3 step handshake and the Asante greetings.
We talked to a few people. One of them was an Investment Banker who managed Pension Funds. He mentioned that he has visited Ahmedabad, UP and Rajsthan in India. And he was happy to share his business card and wish us a pleasant stay at Dodoma.
So, we take a couple of pictures with kids there, exchange pleasantries and come out with the sense of fulfillment. What an experience.