I Can't Wait to Be Old

A frail lady comes up to Darlene and in a German accent says, “Are you smiling at me? Because when I see someone smiling at me I just have to hug them!” And without waiting for a reply she wraps her arms around Darlene’s waist in a long embrace. When she sees me smiling at the situation she says, “You too?” I can’t help but grin and say “Yes, me too” as we hug. She looks over at Brianna, who is a little less sure of the situation and says, “You too?” She timidly says “sure” and receives a hug from the lady who didn’t even tell us her name.

This was my second Sunday going to Clearbrook MB for church. I can’t say that I’ve ever attended a drier church… but they’re doing something so right there, I am blown away by how loving the people.

This is a bit of a bizarre place. When you walk in people are staring, mostly because your hair still has natural color and you don’t need assistance to get to a pew. At the same time you feel a little bit like you stepped back in time, there are a few other young people around but they all look like they walked out of another decade. They’re all in suits and long dresses, women have their hair tied back in buns and the men have some pretty sweet side parts (they must be practicing for their future come over)… but all in all, welcome to the 1960’s.

The preaching is a bit everywhere… I wonder if the congregation was tracking with the pastor? The dear man who preached this morning, I was seriously worried that he might fall over in the middle of his sermon: he was just so frail. There are hymnals and an organ, the church choir is pretty cool and every week there are numerous prayer requests for those who are ill and have passed away. This church has a unique ministry when it comes to funerals and grieving.

But after the service ends, everyone files into the foyer to hug, shake hands, and talk. Everyone knows who we are as soon as we say we’re part of the trek program. One woman told us about how her and her husband started the MBMSI ministry in Berlin. Another woman who is 86 years old told me about how she came over after the war with no English but a lot of faith; she spent many years praying and finally got her family over to Canada with her. Everyone asks where we’re going and tells us that they are praying for us. They love us and don’t know us… They pray for us constantly… They are Church in the best sense of the word.