Chrissy Jaeger

Africa:11.29.2007

I want to take some time to discuss some of my experiences in Africa. I went ther ea little over two years ago for a montyh and a half. It was one of the best experiences I have had in my life. But what is so neat about this experience is that I was able to see a variety of primal religions For example, Orthodox Christianity is really evident over there. We visted a church and had to go through all the rituals they did regularly. Like kissing the doorways before we entered the church (which I was really hesitant to do). We also had to take our shooes off and cover our heads. All of these rituals come from a very rich tradtion.

I also had the opportunity to visit an ancient church that had been built into the side of a mountain rock. It now is falling apart but you could still see different rooms and doorways. When it was a working church the members would climb this mountain for service. It is even believed that the ark of the covenant was kept ther for some time. My favorite part was a natural spring that came up in the middle of the church. It was believed to be healing holy water. We were still abel to touch the water coming out of the spring. It was also neat to experience the same journey that these members had 100s of years ago and to share something with them in touching the holy water, that even thought the church and its members were gone, was still special and significant.