At the 3-self church ...

This morning we were up at the crack of dawn to attend the 3-self church in Beijing. The service started at 7:00, but we were told that in order to get a seat we would need to come early, and they we're right. We arrived at 6:25 and were seated in the back two rows. There were overflow crowds in rooms adjacent to the main auditorium and several other overflow rooms in buildings in the church complex. The service was typical of what you would see in the United States, except in Chinese. We were greeted with bilingual hymn books so that we could sing along with them. And wow ... Did they sing! A couple of the songs were familiar and they even obliged us by posting the scripture reference in English so we could read along. When we left, the courtyard was filled with those waiting for the next service that began at 9:00. There are days when we feel out of sorts because we have an 8:15 choir rehearsal before our 9:20 start of church. I don't think we'll complain . . . ever . . . again. We'll just appreciate what we have.