Sunday's Songs

I thought I'd post some pictures of the inside of our tiny church. I can't fit all of it into view, but believe me, there's not much that you're missing!

Here is our hymnal; notice the English and Arabic.
Each song is written in English on the left side of the page, and the words in Arabic are written on the right side of the page. I haven't heard any "native" songs, only traditional hymns that we're used to in the United States. I'm assuming this must be because of the small percentage of Christians in the Middle East. Our Pastor is Lebanese, so it's not because their influence has been only from America. I have started learning some songs in Arabic, but just from mimicking really; I don't know what I'm saying. ;)
Yesterday at church I took my place as pianist. This time I thought ahead of time and went through the hymnal to pick out a few songs, so that I'd be prepared. My daughter picked out "Count Your Blessing", which I was pretty sure everyone knew. Now, at home I could play that song no problem, but at church, in front of everyone, my nerves get to me and my fingers get all "tied-up". It's a fast song too, so that didn't help matters any. I was fumbling through this song, without too many mistakes and I hit a snag. If you click on this picture, maybe you can see what was wrong.
The end of the song was missing! Well, by this time I've already dropped out from playing because I can't find my next note. I turned the page...no it's not there. Then it dawned on me......in Arabic, they read right to left......I needed to turn the other way!
I turned the page to the left and found the end of the song...but not in time, of course. However, I was ready for the next chorus. What a humbling experience this "job" has turned out to be! :)
The next song proved to be another challenge. Before I started playing, all of the songs were sung from memory. One Sunday they chose to sing "Let the Lower Lights Be Burning". However, the tune was from a different song! So, yesterday I thought, "Hmmm, I'll do them a favor and play this song correctly so they can learn the right way to sing it." Did my plan work? No.....it was just a horrible mess as I played the correct notes, to their incorrect tune. Half-way through the first verse I decided it would be better to drop out, since they obviously weren't planning on following the piano's lead. When we finished, one of the older kids leaned over to me and asked, "Was that wrong?" All I could do was smile and say, "Very".
In between services one of the families asked us what day of the week we were free. Which only made us laugh; because, with my husband's job, we are never "free". They were trying to invite us to their house for dinner.....which was a very nice gesture. Unfortunately, we will be unable to accept their invitation. You see, this family lives in the West Bank.....and we are forbidden to enter the West Bank. I don't think they really understood this concept of "forbidden", so I hope they didn't take it personally. With the language barrier, we're never really quite sure if they understand us. As a compromise, they said they want to make lunch for us after church next Sunday. I think they're planning on making tabbouleh as one of the dishes; I'll let you know if it is any good.
Later in the day, my daughter was on our balcony and noticed this beautiful scene of the sun's rays coming through the clouds. Beautiful, isn't it?