Not only is today Sully’s 35th birthday, but he was also able to be baptized earlier in the day as well. It’s not very often that you get to celebrate your birthday and the day you make a public profession of faith in the same day. When I was talking to him after our baptism, I told him that this had to be a big day for him and he just smiled and laughed. That may have been because he didn’t understand anything I said, but I chalked it up to good small talk. Anyway, after our ceremony, his wife came up to ask me if I would join them for his birthday celebration later that night. I don’t think I’ll ever turn down a birthday celebration.
When I arrived, I felt almost like I was the guest of honor. They ushered me inside their house and gave me the prime seat in the middle of their seating area. As I sat down on what used to be a car seat in the middle of a wooden house with one light bulb dangling from the ceiling as everyone else hustled around the room preparing and speaking in a foreign language, I should’ve felt out of place. But I didn’t. This has become my life over the past two years, and I love it. I just sat there with a goofy smile on my face because I was thinking about how common this scene was becoming. And, in a weird way, I’m going to miss the two room shacks and dirt floors.
We had nearly 20 people crammed into the house for the celebration and joked about the fact that I could only barely understand them, so they could say whatever they wanted and I wouldn’t be able to respond. Meanwhile, they prepared a spread of food that could definitely be classified as a feast. We sang songs and feasted, and then it was time for Sully to give his testimony. He told us how thankful he was that God was pursuing Him and loving him enough to provide for and bless his family. He knew that accepting Jesus wouldn’t mean a free meal ticket here on earth, but he was excited to raise his kids and tell his friends about the decision he had made. He even told me that he held a lot of pride (the good kind) in the fact that God had blessed him with an American friend that he could invite into his home.
I had no idea how much my presence meant to Sully until we talked a little after. You see, one thing that I’ve learned is that 90% of the ministry out here is just showing up and being social with the people. Just the fact that I’m willing to come and eat rice and fish with my hands in a shack with dirt floors means a lot to these people. They take pride in the fact that they can host a “real life American”, and they want to hear what I have to say. Unfortunately for me, tonight they wanted to hear it in song. I’m a horrifically tone deaf singer, and I typically stay away from these situations, but it was his birthday and his one request of me. So I had to suck it up.
Luckily, or unluckily, I told them about my favorite hymn, The Power of Your Love, and they all knew it. My solo turned into a group chorus, and we were all able to sing old hymns for a while after we ate. It was really a sweet time to share with the family. While Sully couldn’t fully understand the words we were singing, one of my friends was able to translate for him the meaning of the song. He said it was because of the power of God’s love that he was able to make his decision that day and that he now loved that song as well.
We didn’t stay very long after, but it was just long enough for everyone to leave with a huge smile on their faces. When people ask me to tell an exciting story of my time abroad, I wonder if I’ll be able to do this one justice? Dirt floors and old hymns may not sound very exciting, but it’s times like these that I believe I can never be the same…
