I wish I went to church more often.

Sunday morning we went to church - the Queen of Peace Catholic Church to be exact. This is one of 25 churches in our town of 3500, and the church that Gladys, our cook, and her family attends. We got dressed in our Shabbos clothes (unlike some of the other women, I chose not to wear a dress with printed pictures of the Hohoe archdiocese and Ghana bishop on it...), and one participant wore his kippah (head covering). At church, we sat with Gladys and one of her sons, quietly listening to the preacher's sermons, which were a mix of Ewe and English. In the first (of four) sermons, the preacher gave us a shout out, and welcomed the white people to the congregation. He welcomed his white brothers, and white sisters. There was drumming and singing throughout the whole service - by both men and women, and no kneeling (while we were there). Holy water was splashed on us a few times (not a sprinkle, but a full-on splash). We were told not to take communion because we weren't Catholic (another shout out to the group). It was really beautiful, and I wish we had made more efforts to attend church while we were in Golokuati.

The highlight was the end of the service. The preacher called up the group, and 17 awkward white Jews nervously walked up the aisle to the bimah (I don't know what else to call it). The preacher gave us a blessing for the work we had done, for what we believed in (he said it was the same thing as Christians), and then pulled up the kid who wore the kippah. He really stands out because of his bright red hair. The preacher said something about him, the congregation laughed, and then we got more holy water drenched on us. The congregation laughed, as we didn't know to turn our heads down as the preacher blessed us, and I walked away with water dripping off my hair, into my eyes, and down my blouse.