La Casa de Dios

There is a group up front playing music. Some are there every Sunday, and some change week by week. There is the lady who changes the transparencies so that we all know the words, even if we don’t all know Spanish yet. There is a large group of children on my left. They are from the Casa de Esperanza, and they fill an entire third of the church. I can hear their voices over all the others. Every Sunday I listen to the praises of orphans that God has placed in the hands of a Christian community. There is a small group of people who have the more traditional Bolivian look. They have been in church for hours, attending the Aymara service and staying through the Spanish service. There are young families. They fill in the front and back around those from the Aymara service. There is a short lady full of praises. She sometimes has a special message to share with the congregation, or sometimes takes out her special handkerchief and waves it while dancing or jumping along with the music. Four feet tall, long braids, red skirt, handkerchief flying, full of praises: beautiful. There are the green hills in the distance and the palm trees next door, both peeking in at us through the openings in the walls. God’s creation joins us in praising. This is God’s house. It is good to be at home with the Lord in his house.