| Pentecost reflected every Sunday at Mount Washington  By Isaac Mawokomatanda The preaching mission of the church started at Pentecost. The disciples, full of the Holy Spirit and energy, let the Gospel of Jesus Christ be known to the world. We may not know exactly what happened at Pentecost, there in the Upper Room, except that those present experienced the power of God such as they never had before. There was speaking in tongues, where everyone heard and understood the Good News, each in their own language. This Upper Room experience is now being lived out in by the church I pastor, Mount Washington UMC in Baltimore. We have a very international congregation which started as an all-white American congregation. In the past few years, though, people from around the world have found a home in our little church. They have broadened our horizons and brought a fresh view of what it means to be a Christian, with a wider look at the world and its people. For example: Nine years ago, a doctor and his family came from Sierra Leone, attended our church and have been faithful members since. The doctor has been back to Sierra Leone as a missionary several times and has shown slides of his work, helping our members learn first-hand about the social and medical conditions of that country. One member, who is mentally challenged, has much to teach us about faithfulness and compassion. As a result, we now have two more mentally challenged people. A medical doctor and her son traveled to Baltimore from India and have also found a spiritual home at Mount Washington. She sings in the choir and her son is an acolyte. A young family couple from the Philippines found our church and felt at home with their two little girls. They, in turn, invited two more couples to attend. A Japanese couple with their son moved into our community. The wife has joined our church and sings in the choir. She has told us about attending a Missionary School in Japan run by Americans, accepting Christ as her Lord and Savior, even though her whole family is Buddhist. A couple from Russia with their your son joined our congregation. A young couple from Jamaica recently joined our church. Their new son was christened just a short while ago. The women of the church recently hosted an international luncheon after the church service. We tasted dishes from 12 countries. One of our members was commissioned at Mount Washington years ago as a missionary and spent 11 years in Brazil. She has shared many things about the medical mission she worked at and the growing church there. She is now the president of the United Methodist Women. What a wonder it is that God has brought us all together here at Mount Washington. Speaking in languages is no longer a problem because the Spirit of God has allowed us to understand each other. Different traditions are no longer a problem because each one enriches us. We are glad all these people stopped by. Let Pentecost be a time for regenerating our kindled spirit. The world, indeed, keeps getting smaller. The Rev. Mapipi Isaac Mawokomatanda is pastor of Mount Washington UMC in Baltimore. | 
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