Sunday experiences

(sorry this is a little late)
Sunday we attended Brad's church (1st Presbyterian) in the morning and then, in the afternoon, went to all 3 services at the ward that we would be assigned to if we were LDS, based on where our house is located. We were spotted immediately and ushered to front row seats. The bishop came over and met us and we began the first of many times we have to explain what in the world weare doing here. It goes something like this, "We are visiting SLC for 5 weeks, doing an Internship with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.We are here to learn about and experience LDS faith and culture." I think we also need to add in that we are "not members" of the LDS church, because people were still confusd about that. I usually explained that I was here last summer participating in the internship and returned to help direct this summer. Most people wonder what our"job" is and ask what specifically we are doing. Others want to knowif we are there to attack them or genuinely learn. We also hope to explain that were are here to build bridges between our two communities and not to tear them down. When we explain that we are here to learn directly from them what they believe rather than just reading books or talking to former members, they are very, sincerely grateful.

Anyway, the 3 interns handled all 3 services (Sacrament meeting,Sunday School, Relief Society/Priesthood meeting) very well, even though for some it was their first time inside an LDS church. It canbe overwhelming at first. If you ever go, be prepared for lots of tears, lots of "reverence" (quiet), and lots of emotion-filled testimonies. Also, in a singles ward, you can expect lots of jokes about dating and references to "hey, I'm still single (hint, hint)!"It's quite amusing.

After the ward we had a good debriefing time about what we observed in the services and what we learned about their culture and faith. We spent some time praying for the individuals that we met and for our interactions there over the next 5 weeks. In the evening we hung outwith students from Intervarsity, who barbequed out on the porch, andwe even ended up having a surprise visitor. One guy we met (we'll call him Dan) was walking by and recognized us. He came over, had a burger,and talked for about 45 min. It was really neat. Monday, after Family Home Evening, we spent anhour hearing his very interesting testimony of his journey into theLDS faith. More about that later.