Baby Naming Ceremony in the Village part 2

After the men of the village had come to pray over the baby and the name was announced, breakfast was served and then lunch preparations were made. About this time, I realized I had left my bottle of water in the truck and the caffeine was beginning to give me a headache.

Lunch preparations began with the sacrifice of an animal. Depending on whom you ask, the sacrifice may be for sins, or it may just be to have meat for the lunch. I missed the sacrifice being made this day because were were still hanging out in our hut. After a while, my friend took me to greet some more of her family.

I went to greet a group of men ranging in age from older teen to my age or maybe a little older. They asked me who I was and where I was from. It was a polite conversation. I greeted a bit more before we returned to the hut.

Observation: anytime women are together for any length of time, griping and complaining will ensue. I trust my friends from Asia to correct me if it is not their experience, but so far as I see, women can be harsh toward one another. (Yes, I am speaking about my own gender. Yes, that is to some extent a confession, at least of my former self.)

Finally about 2:00, someone was serving water. I passed, since I have my own and explained that I am not used to the water here, which will make me sick.  Someone asked if I would rather have...rice.   I agreed, thinking they were kidding or maybe talking about lunch. No...they were not. A short while later, someone brought in a bowl of rice with a little sauce and a tiny chicken leg in it. I are politely, though I was way past my starch intake for the day.

After this meal, we sat around and talked some more. I was invited to lay down to nap, but I passed up the opportunity in hopes of getting to share the Good News with these women. However, it was hard to find a chance to begin a story between regular conversation and griping/ arguing. Eventually, I was successful in beginning to tell Creation and the Fall of Man. A strange heaviness settled into the room. I have shared this story many times in the past, but it was as if a wet blanket was placed over the hut. I share a bit more about the promise of the Savior and then the conversation drifted away from me. I felt a politeness in their listening but no hunger in their eyes to hear more.

After a while, I became so tired of sitting and being in that dark hut. I went out into the bright sunlight. It was glorious to feel the warmth on my skin and the brightness it gave to the colors all around. I greeted some people. I had the opportunity to share Who and why I had come to this country. It is through my company, but it was because God had brought us here. I can to tell stories because that is what Jesus commanded of His followers. To go into all the world.

As I headed back to the hut again, I got a call from my husband. He was asking if everything was good. I said it was fine, but that I was planning on leaving soon.  He requested me to leave at a certain time, so that I would have a good reason to leave at that time. I told my friend that I would need to be leaving soon. A few moments later, my friend asked to see me in the "outhouse", as my daddy would say.  She told me she was planning on staying the night as was her mother. I was confident of knowing my way home and insisted I could not stay another day.  She wanted to pressure me to stay, but I expressed confidence that my friend would not want to disrupt the peace between me and my husband.  Her mother tried to insist that I stay as well, until I expressed confidence that my friend nor her mother would want to disrupt peace between my husband and I.  I remembered all the stuff they had brought, and I went to unload it for them. I saw that they were beginning to late up another meal right at the time my husband had said to leave. I agreed to wait until after eating, forgetting how long it can take to actually plate it all.

I returned to the hut to wait to eat. The other women began to tease me about being in a hurry to    leave. I told them that I was not in a hurry to leave the conversation (although I was ready to be away from the griping) but rather that I was in a hurry to show respect to my husband. The room silenced quickly.  They had no argument for that.

Statements like honoring and respecting, dare I say it submitting to, my husband in the states would have increased the derision rather than silencing it, as it did here.

I was given some grain "bread" to take to my husband and I offered to take the portion for my friend's husband to drop at her house for her. What a glorious time of quiet I had as I drove back home! I was tired but in a good way.

Baby Naming Ceremony in the Village

So two weeks ago, I was planning on taking my friend and her mother back to her mother's village.  Her mother had been here for three months recovering from an illness. I have been longing to go visit this village since we came back to the states, but the time has not been right. I was so looking forward to this visit.

Then the mother came to my house to ask if we could instead go to another village for a baby naming ceremony the next week. Then she would return to her village with others who would also be at the ceremony. I was confused because she kept saying Wednesday and and Thursday. I finally got to understand leaving Wednesday. How Thursday fit in would become clear later.

I was not quite as excited about the change in villages, since my time in the other had been sweeter. None the less, I was looking forward to a day in the village with my friend. Two days before the ceremony, I went to visit my friend to be sure of the time we were to leave. She agreed that 8:00am would be best in order to arrive before the baby had its name.

The morning of the ceremony, I was getting anxious as I rushed around the house to get myself ready and ate a bagel with some coffee.  I made sure everything was ready for my family for the day and the big kids knew what to do for school on their own. I finally got out of the house at 8:30. Though I am not sure why I was so anxious.....

I arrived at my friend's house. My friend was not dressed and her mother's things were still being gathered. So I sat. And sat. And sat. I was brought some bread and local tea, kinkilibaa, and I sat.  Finally almost an hour later, everyone else was ready to go.

We loaded up and headed to the village. We were among the first to arrive. Not terribly shocking. We greeted and visited a bit and then we were given a hut of our own to spend the day. I went to the hut, expecting that people who wanted to visit her would come there. I was correct. For along time,we visited. They brought us bread and coffee.

A man named Issa came by to visit. One could not avoid noticing the man's legs. I finally asked what had happened. He said that he has fallen into a fire. It had been a "long time" but his legs were still very swollen to the toes and bandaged around the shin. One could see white skin around the bandage edge. I found it difficult to follow his story, maybe because I missed the beginning because I was concerned about his legs. All I caught in his conversation was the repeated word meaning "beginning". We use this word when talking about creation. I took the opportunity to recall a bit of the creation and fall story and promise of a savior in an effort to share about Jesus healing the son who was possessed by a demon and prone to throw himself into the fire. It did not get received like I had hoped it would. The conversation soon ended and Issa went outside to be with everyone else.

Finally, about 11:00, the baby's name was announced. Soon after, the celebration breakfast was served. If I did not know that I was in a village before, I certainly knew it now. In the capital, a thick grain mixture, like a thick oatmeal, is served smothered in a delicious sweet yogurt. Even in our town, this same thick mixture is served, though maybe not as sweet as in the capital. Others here might serve mixture of the same grain but more of the consistency of small noodles and mixed with a sweet milk. This day, rice. Rice cooked in oil and with some onions, but...rice.  Still full from all my bread, I was still political and ate. (For those counting, that was fourth breakfast. Hobbits would be so happy!)

It's Not About You!

When things go well, we say, "Yea me!" Or maybe if we are being really spiritual, we will say, "God has blessed me." When things do not go well, we say, "Woe is me." Or to be really spiritual, we say, "Satan is against me." But it is not all about me! Or you!

God is the Creator of all things! By Him all things have been created, but it is not for our sakes that we have been created.

God the Sustainer is the One who keeps this world turning in its place rather than drifting a smidge closer to the sun and keeps us breathing. We do not take one breath or one step without His enabling our bodies to do so.

God Almighty is the Glorious One worthy of all our praise! All that we do is to be done to His glory!

Not mine! Whether in good times or bad, it's not about me!

How often do we comfort the one going through struggles with Romans 8:28? "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose."  We try to tell the struggler that it will all work out for their good. But it is not about them! It is about accomplishing His purposes. Yes, His purposes will in the end be best for me, though it may not feel like it at the time. It might not fit in to my definition of best, but it will be because it will make me more clearly able to reflect Him!

So whatever happens between now and the day's end, give Him glory, for He alone is worthy!  He sent his Son that we might be made in right relationship to Him. What a glorious salvation! Let us spread this Glorious news wherever we go today! Let us give Him all glory, honor, and praise!

"The Lord giveth and The Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of The Lord!"

Human Being or Human Doing?

I found myself looking at my life and laughing. There was a time in my life where the more I had going on, the happier I was. I loved the stress of it all. Going to school full-time for my masters, living and working at a bed and breakfast, and serving at a church part-time was thrilling! Of course, that was before children, but alongside of my faithful husband.

Over our last term overseas, I became overwhelmed with so much to do and not enough time in the day to do it all. I sought to know what my priorities needed to be. I was lead to Titus 2:3-5.
    "Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored."
I was not crazy about realizing that in my local area, I am very much the older woman, whether literally by age among others like me or older in terms of faith compared to my sisters in Faith here. I want so much to be mentored myself , but I realized that my times away from our town gave me opportunity to be mentored. However, in this place, I am to be the older woman. The way to do that is by actually loving my husband and children and being that sensible worker at home. Being the older woman was way more responsibility than I really wanted, but I knew that was what I was created to be. So I gave more emphasis to being a wife and being the mom!

Since we have returned last year, my responsibilities have increased. We have two wonderful young ladies here who God has gifted in different ways and yet has called here at the same time to serve Him. What a blessing these ladies are to me! Serving as language mentor and assisting my husband in their supervision, brings extra responsibilities. I would find it very easy to slip into that old mentality of doing, doing, doing were it not for the time The Lord spent teaching me about loving my husband and my children.

I am currently reading a book called Be the Mom. It is a reminder to do that very thing. Be the wife! Be the Mom! Be rather than just merely check off the to do list. This week I had a choice to make. On day 7 of the 8 days my husband was out of town, I found myself worn out and all the kids were emotional. It was one of those days that you are just hoping to make it to bed time. I could have sent them all to bed with all of us so worn out. Instead I made the choice to read a book, an autobiography of John Newton, with them before bed that I had begun reading last weekend. What a precious time! I am so glad that I chose to end the day with my children cuddled up to me, rather than getting them to bed as quickly as I could. I do not always make the right choice, but that day I did and was so rewarded for it.

We are to be human beings rather than human doings. Let us remember to be more than do!

Metamorphosis

"To wear righteousness like a bright raiment, requires a complete metamorphosis," says Joni Eareckson Tada in her study on Heaven. A peach pit must die in the ground to sprout forth a blossoming tree. A caterpillar must endure the solitude of the cocoon and wrestle to get out in order to transform and soar as a butterfly.

Last week's science study was on metamorphic rocks. Regional metamorphism comes first through pressure of other rocks on top and then by heat as the rock gets closer to the magma under the surface. Contact metamorphism occurs primarily through heat as the rock comes into contact with the magma. It is through this pressure and heat that the rock is made into even more precious stone.

So why is it that we as humans do not get this? Is it because we have free will? Do we honestly think we can resist and avoid these laws of nature? We grow and mature through pressure and heat. Silver is refined by fire as it is heated and the dross skimmed away. Why is it that we avoid this refining? Are we honestly ok with where we are? Are we happy, or even content, the way we are?

We were meant for so much more! We have been created in His image. "In the image of God He created them." The image that God had for us when He created us is so much more than what we are. That caterpillar might be perfectly content being a caterpillar. Why make him change? Because he was meant to be so much more! He was meant to reflect beauty and grace in flight. If that is what God does with such a small aspect of His creation, imagine what He will do with us, His greatest creation. Rather than looking  at our struggles as something to escape. Let us look at how God desires to refine and shape us.

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which The Lord has promised to those who loveHim." James 1:12