Church: Why bother?

For ages mankind has tussled with the notion of religion and the meaning or meaninglessness it brings to everyday life. Notwithstanding any of these tussles, I went in search of a church here in Tanzania. I eyed a particular church but settled for the one which came the nearest on my route. It had none of the paraphernalia of a church. It was a make-shift school building, which they had hired to gather to worship. An unobtrusive worship service which had 5 adults including me and 4 children running around. One girl had studied English and was my translator for the day, trying her ‘best’ from Swahili to English.
To me it was just another Sunday morning worship in a church, just a different location. But not to the church members, especially the pastor. The moment they saw a visitor step into the church their hearts bubbled with joy. They did not expect me to stay for long. When they saw that I did stay through till the sermon, they were exhilarated to no end. That small church with no musical instruments, no proper chairs or tables, no AV equipment, was the last to expect a visitor and when they learnt that I am from India, the pastor was on the verge of tears. To him, I was God-sent, a blessing to his church. He repeatedly blessed me, which was a little embarrassing, for just choosing to sit in their church.
Most of the western world, has long abandoned church and any form of religion. “Christians do horrible things during the six days of the week. Come Sunday, they buckle a Bible under their armpits and strut along to church proclaiming godliness. What a shame!” they shrug. One of my friends gave a very profound reply to that oft-repeated trite against Christians. He said, “Christians go to church not because they are holy; but on the contrary they acknowledge their unholiness and are trying something concrete to do about it”. I would apply that to every seeker of God, while in no way condoning the hypocrisy involved in religion.
I asked the girl who translated for me if she had an English Bible. She said “No, but I woood like if I haad one”. I gave my English Bible to her and walked away. I came out of the experience trying to unravel the cosmic experience of it. God chose a person from India, who is currently, based in London to go to Tanzania and hand-deliver a little girl her much-wanted English Bible. When I learnt that my common everyday act can be a harbinger of blessing to others, it did give a chill through my spine. I walked out of the church empty-handed but filled with joy and blessing in my heart.
I went and sat in that small church in a sleepy village in Tanzania on a Sunday morning, not because I was holy, but because I wanted to seek God among fellow-seekers. Surely I don’t understand many things, like the Haiti-earthquake or even the poverty of my earnest fellow-seekers in that small church. But if I understood everything, I would stop the seeking, wont I?