God loves a cheerful giver!

Muli shani! (in Bemba)

Muli bwanji. (in Nianja)

Greetings from Zambia!

Rev Mwanda and
translator (UCZU student)

It's Sunday, so off to church.
People coming from many parts of Zambia, and beyond, reside in Mindolo.  So each week, Mindolo UCZ Congregation holds a service in English, the common language, at 7:30 am. Then at 10:00 a service in Bemba, the local venacular, is held. Some weeks a single united service is held at 9:00 at which everything is spoken first in English and then translated into Bemba.

Time for offering arises in each service.  Rather than being collected, people's gifts are truly 'offered' as each person brings their offering forward.  Row by row they come.  As there may be between 1000 and 2000 people attending, this introduces logistical challenges.  Disney World crowd-controllers might learn lessons here on orderly queueing and line movement. 

At the front of the church sits a raised box in the shape of a trough.  It is divided into sections clearly marked in bold black lettering: 'General funds', 'Building Fund', 'Section 1', 'Section 2', all the way to Section 8.  The ever-flowing line of people passes by the 'collection box' and the deep compartments begin to fill.

I try to capture the queue in a photo, but they are moving too quickly, constant and continuous.

The offertory? -- three choirs are in the ready, each with two songs prepared.

Apologies for the poor videos, but I hope you enjoy the singing; I was trying to be discreet from my seat up in the front facing the congregation.
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Be sure to click here to enjoy more photos and the videos I'm posting. Be patient, as the videos may take a moment. But the bird songs and singing are worth it!
Ana's Zambia Journey blog link: https://zambiajourney.blogspot.com/