Blessed Sabbath Day
We’ve had 4 Sabbaths here already; time seems to just be flying by! Since we arrived on a Friday afternoon, our first full day was a Sabbath. It was lovely to meet many of the church people as well as witness a baptism. The next day was also a wedding, so right away, we got to celebrate two special occasions with our new church family.
The following Sabbath - now that our student missionary had also arrived - we were officially welcomed to the church, and presented with traditional tais scarves made out of the colours on the Timor-Leste flag.
By the third Sabbath, we started to get the hang of things, sorta. Here’s how it goes: Sabbath school starts at 9am with a couple songs before breaking into groups for the lesson study. Thankfully, there are 2 English-speaking lesson study groups, so we have chosen one of those to join. After the lesson study, they end the Sabbath school time with the mission story. Most of the time the PA system is set up with headphones that give us the English translation so we can know what’s being said (one of the members that can speak English sits at the back with a mic which is transmitted directly to our headphones!).
Church begins with lots of singing. Since there aren’t many songs in Tetun (the local language), all the singing is in Portuguese (the official language) or in Bahasa Indonesian (the borrowed language from during the Indonesian occupation). Most of the speaking (announcements, preaching, etc.) is in Tetun, unless the person speaking is Indonesian, or English-speaking. Only English gets translated into Tetun since pretty much everyone else understands Bahasa. Sometimes it’s hard to know what language they are using, but we’re slowly starting to recognize words in each of the languages, particularly Tetun which we are informally studying.
[ SIDENOTE about the languages here: before coming, we had been told that Portuguese is the official language, so we had started learning a little bit. Although it is true that Portuguese is the official language, unless a person works for the government and has been trained in Portuguese or is from the much older generation (grandparents) when Timor-Leste was still under Portuguese colonization, most people here don’t understand much of Portuguese (except for words that have been borrowed into the Tetun language, and numbers). Public schools are supposed to be run in Portuguese, but since most teachers don’t speak Portuguese themselves, most teach in Tetun or Bahasa. Some people – the ones who grew up and were educated during the Indonesian occupation – don’t even speak Tetun, they only learned Bahasa, but since most people also know Bahasa, they are able to communicate just fine. So, to say that the languages are quite confused here, is an understatement! ]
Back to Sabbath… our 4th Sabbath, being the last Sabbath of the month was a little different than the rest. At the end of every month, all the small groups and companies from around and nearby the city come to worship together. The day started extra early around 8am, with a short choir practice to review the songs we would sing for church (I only joined the choir last week, but I happened to know both songs which made it easy; all I had to do was learn the Tetun and Bahasa words to go with it!)
After church there was a potluck with lots of new foods to try! The rest of the afternoon was filled with programs and seminars. As part of one of the programs, I did a short presentation to introduce the teachers and the classes that we will be offering with our new school this year. Finally, we ended the Sabbath together at sunset – a long, but blessed Sabbath.
Although many things about Sabbath are different here compared to back home, it is always such a blessing – especially to know that our family and friends around the world are also celebrating it!
With our student missionary, Stephanie - sporting our new tais scarves
By the third Sabbath, we started to get the hang of things, sorta. Here’s how it goes: Sabbath school starts at 9am with a couple songs before breaking into groups for the lesson study. Thankfully, there are 2 English-speaking lesson study groups, so we have chosen one of those to join. After the lesson study, they end the Sabbath school time with the mission story. Most of the time the PA system is set up with headphones that give us the English translation so we can know what’s being said (one of the members that can speak English sits at the back with a mic which is transmitted directly to our headphones!).
Church begins with lots of singing. Since there aren’t many songs in Tetun (the local language), all the singing is in Portuguese (the official language) or in Bahasa Indonesian (the borrowed language from during the Indonesian occupation). Most of the speaking (announcements, preaching, etc.) is in Tetun, unless the person speaking is Indonesian, or English-speaking. Only English gets translated into Tetun since pretty much everyone else understands Bahasa. Sometimes it’s hard to know what language they are using, but we’re slowly starting to recognize words in each of the languages, particularly Tetun which we are informally studying.
[ SIDENOTE about the languages here: before coming, we had been told that Portuguese is the official language, so we had started learning a little bit. Although it is true that Portuguese is the official language, unless a person works for the government and has been trained in Portuguese or is from the much older generation (grandparents) when Timor-Leste was still under Portuguese colonization, most people here don’t understand much of Portuguese (except for words that have been borrowed into the Tetun language, and numbers). Public schools are supposed to be run in Portuguese, but since most teachers don’t speak Portuguese themselves, most teach in Tetun or Bahasa. Some people – the ones who grew up and were educated during the Indonesian occupation – don’t even speak Tetun, they only learned Bahasa, but since most people also know Bahasa, they are able to communicate just fine. So, to say that the languages are quite confused here, is an understatement! ]
Portuguese sign in front of the church yard
Our Church
After church there was a potluck with lots of new foods to try! The rest of the afternoon was filled with programs and seminars. As part of one of the programs, I did a short presentation to introduce the teachers and the classes that we will be offering with our new school this year. Finally, we ended the Sabbath together at sunset – a long, but blessed Sabbath.
With my translator during my presentation about TAIS:
Timor-Leste Adventist International School
Timor-Leste Adventist International School
Although many things about Sabbath are different here compared to back home, it is always such a blessing – especially to know that our family and friends around the world are also celebrating it!
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