We flew out of Kenya on the fourth of December and arrived in India the following day. We had a four day leadership development weekend, where we worship and taught one another as a quad before heading out to our ministry sites for the month. It was an incredible few days of just getting filled up, fired up, and ready for another month on the race.
On the ninth, our team hopped on a seven hour bus ride to Guntur. We are doing village ministry this month. So, Tuesday through Sunday, we do outreach in the surrounding villages, traveling anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour and a half. We typically leave at two in the afternoon and return home at eleven at night. During that time, we pray over individuals and homes, we play with beautiful Indian children and teach them silly songs, and at the end of the night, we lead a church service and then we share a meal with the church leaders.
So, during our travel to Guntur on the ninth, I mentioned in passing to our host that my birthday was the following day. I couldn’t well understand his response, as his English is minimal, but he basically said blessings over me. The morning of my birthday, we went to our host’s apartment (we live in an apartment in the building adjacent to his) for breakfast. When we arrived, he had the biggest smile on his face and told me happy birthday. He then proceeded to bring out a cake he had purchased for me. It said “Happy Birthday to SR Joolie :)” (I have no idea what the SR means). It was the sweetest thing. They lit candles (which ended up being trick candles, so it took me five minutes to blow them out lol) and sang happy birthday. He told me to cut a small slice and then proceeded to have everyone in the room (all seven of them) finger-feed me icing. It was the most awkward thing I’ve ever done, but it’s the birthday tradition his family has, so that’s what was required of me in the moment in order to embrace culture.
In order to fit in culturally and be accepted for ministry, women have to cover their ankles at all times. We also must be double covered in the chest and rear areas. This means long pants, a dress-like top that goes to just above the knee, and a scarf around the shoulders. So, later in the evening of my birthday, we went shopping for dresses and clothes for ministry. If you know me at all, you know that I’ve always despised shopping for dresses. It’s basically torture to me and the absolute last thing I’d choose to do on my birthday, but that’s what was required of me in that moment in order to embrace culture.
The following day was our first day of ministry and we headed out to the village. We prayed over hundreds of people and then led a small church gathering late at night. We were exhausted and as their worship came to a close, they asked us to lead a few songs. So, me and another guy on my team stood up and sang a few songs as they tried to sing along. I have never considered myself a talented singer, by any stretch of the imagination, but that’s what was required of me in that moment in order to embrace culture.
Each of these examples stretched me. They were not things that I would normally choose to do. But, in the moment, when you choose to embrace the culture you are in, beautiful things happen. By allowing strangers and my teammates finger-feed me icing, I made a memory that will last a lifetime (of the strangest birthday tradition I’ve ever celebrated). By going dress shopping, I got to admire all of the beautiful colors of Indian clothing and buy some beautiful clothes for this month’s ministry. By standing up and leading worship, I got to bring joy to the people of that congregation. Embracing culture rarely means doing what I would choose to do, but God meets me in the challenging moments and I get to share a piece of His love through it.
