A different kind of offering

So a typical Sunday morning trip to church in Tanzania is nothing like at home. You may think this is a silly thing to say - "of course its not the same, you're in Africa!". There are some things, of course, that are very different and you would expect them to be: the music, the dancing, the prayers, the preaching, the choirs...! But then there are the totally unexpected things, the things you might think would be pretty much the same but are not!

One thing we've got used to over the last few months is the different approach to the offering! Following what would seem a much more biblical approach, people bring whatever they have to put in the offering. This may be a chicken, a bag of maize or rice, or some fruit or veg! Then at the end of the service, after we've all filed out, shaking the pastor and the rest of the congregation's hands, forming a large circle on the grass, we begin the offering auction! One by one the items from the offering are held high and the highest bidder is sought... with all monies going back into the offering of course! So after watching this for many a week Matt, feeling adventurous, went in on one round last Sunday. Of course Matt, seizing the moment, chose to go in on an item the auctioneer himself struggled to describe... "uh, they are kind of like peanuts, I don't know" (Matt's rough translation!). We're pleased to write Matt 'won' the item (increasing our giving for the day just a little) and we enjoyed eating caramelised peanuts all the way back home!

This is just one more example of how fun life, and the 'normal' activities you thought you knew well, can be here. Often we come across things we think we could take home and learn from ourselves. How could this approach to our offering, giving out of whatever we have, help us understand the concept of giving in our lives?