GIFTS

The choir piped merrily around the organist. It all looked wrong in the small charismatic church, meeting in a room that could hardly hold fifty adults. In this room, they were packed like sardines, full, some stood and others sat to shouts of “Hallelujah!” and “Amen” throughout the praises.

Dora appeared late, lost, looking for a different room within the building where there was supposed to be a seminar for nurses. The mix of adults looked professional, well dressed and as the organ and organist were covered by the crowd (congregation), she thought this could be it. There was standing room only, so she squeezed and a got a little space by the wall. Behind her were two men also seeking some standing room. Dora was confused as on the stage was one man clad in a grey suit with a hidden priest’s collar featured under his chin. She felt stuck as there was no moving space.

“I have come to the wrong place again,” she thought.

Before her arrival, she had gone to two rooms along the hall, where there was nobody. She got on this strange lift that had three or four doors, this was rare, she had never seen anything like that. What was happening to her? Where could she be?  What about the seminar?

Unfortunately, Dora was not given a room number so she had to search this four story building, which seemed practically empty, with no one walking along the corridors. What drew her to this room must have been the sound of people congregated for one reason or another but not the reason she was there for.

Now Dora had to get out. How? The door was blocked with worshippers, enthusiastic worshippers, who responded heartily to the priest. That is when the priest called for Salome to share her testimony. Salome climbed the stage slowly, head bowed, she spoke with a little lisp, the microphone did not help, the lisping sound turned into loud tweets. At some point during her delivery, Salome stopped, wept a little and broke out in song, a nice melody spat out. That is when the organist flipped.

“We are the singers in the room.”

“How can she stand up there and sing.”

The choristers joined in.

“How can we allow this at this church.”

There were many voices blurting out at the same time. The whole ‘church’ was in chaos. People moved about, the priest could not control the anger of the small group that seeped into the congregation. That was the time for Dora to flee. She squeezed, flattened her body against the wall moved sideways till she got to the door, knelt a little and writhed through the two large men at the door.

“Thank God,” Dora breathed, when she got out.

“What a mess!”

“Are they not supposed to be orderly?”

Dora gave up and thought, she had wasted the morning, searching. Next time she would have to get better directions.