We left the chiefs house and crossed the village on foot, again surrounded by a choir of dancing, excited children. We headed over to the church, a set of partial walls of cinder brick and some lumber frame, topped by a corrugated tin roof. There were approximately 200 people in lawn chairs and sitting on benches with all children in the back five or six rows. We were escorted to the front of the church to sit at a set of decorative chairs next to the table. A service had been prepared for us that was a combination of chuch service and a welcoming ceremony. Since we were late, we missed the regular church service and so the resulting ceremony was a bit of prayer and a bit of introduction and a but of pomp and a bit of Amen. We were introduced and our credentials and a greeting from Eliot were translated into Ewe, the native language. Instead of saying a few words of greetings to the village from Bob and me, I lead a round of “seek ye first” and “joy to the world” and Bob and Eliot joined in, and we sang them in round.
All the while, children were oozing into the space through windows, doorways, gaps in the wall, and rows of chairs. They constantly watched with wide eyes following every move we made, and trying always to catch our attention to smile at us or to make faces or to try to get us to take their pictures. The children are always trying to get their pictures taken and whenever my camera would aim in their direction, kids would all try to hustle to be front in line or to have the silliest face or to be shown carrying things on their heads.
So anyway, back to the service.