Gray Sunday

It rained this morning. A faithful walker went by, wearing a rain poncho, with her two Golden Retrievers, who were NOT wearing ponchos. After the rain, the bay was the color of obsidian, under a fluffy gray sky. That may sound like a silly description, but there is a texture to the cloud cover I don't remember seeing in Missouri.

We went to Sequim Bible Church for the third time. We went two weeks ago, but missed last week because we were with Chris and Caitlin at Caitlin's church in Edmonds. Chris and LaChanda have returned safely to Luang Prabang, Laos.

Sequim Bible Church has a traditional service at 9:15 and contemporary service at 10:30--same preaching, but they sing a few hymns in the earlier one, using guitars. We tried both; the music didn't seem that different between the two, but in the first service we were the youngest people, and in the second we are among the oldest. We also met a number of new people in that group. We'll stick to the contemporary service. I love the old hymns, but I like to hear them accompanied by a pipe organ, or at least a piano.

An insert in the bulletin talked about the church around the world. There was a report on Christians in southern Laos. In the village of Khamnonsung, a church of some 700 believers was shut down on Good Friday of this year. They were told they could no longer meet in the church building that had been erected in 1963. I've never been worried for Chris and Chanda before, but now I'm wondering if I should be. Some Christians that they work with were arrested this summer while trekking in a rural area, and detained until they signed a false statement that they were traveling without their passports.

   I'm still surrounded by piles still needing to be sorted and put away, but it's starting to feel like home.