Clap your hands, all you nations!

This morning, our family worshipped at Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, the largest mega church in the world.  Sadly, like so many churches, Yoido has been plagued by controversy, corruption, and  fallen leaders who allowed the lure of money to damage their testimony to Christ.  Such a good reminder to pray continually for those in church leadership.

For us, though, we wanted Levi to experience worshipping alongside thousands of other Koreans who love the Lord just like he does.  And, the experience was definitely powerful!  We sat in a special section in the sanctuary equipped with headphones that translated the service, and one of the ushers doted on the kids and kept bringing them candy and treats during the service (what??) 😄

As the music portion began, the pastor read these verses from Psalm 47 as a call to worship.

1 Clap your hands, all you nations;
    shout to God with cries of joy.

2 For the Lord Most High is awesome,
    the great King over all the earth.

And then, the entire sanctuary began clapping in unison and singing a familiar hymn, Power in the
 Blood.  Their voices rang out, and we happily sang along in English.  The prayer time was also powerful as the pastor encouraged the congregation to plead to the Heavenly Father on behalf of the people of North Korea.  Adam and I were moved to tears multiple times during the service as we were reminded that the Holy Spirit unites the body of Christ in a way that transcends language, race, and nationality.

We are so thankful for this opportunity to worship in the country of our firstborn, and we praise the Lord for his kindness to our family.  Clap your hands, all you nations.  Shout to God with cries of joy!