Where am I going again?...Should I speak Japanese, or English?...Who's going to be there?...Will I have to give a speech? I should come up with something to say...Oh! I can ask about that lady's daughter, who I met. And I can talk about Fukushima's weather....and maybe we can play games, if the kids are there...Should I have brought more food? Less food? Different food?...Where am I going again?...
I confess that Jesus setting His face resolutely towards Jerusalem went through my mind as I walked to an "Imo (potato) party" by the riverside. Yesterday Sensei received a phone call from the leaders of an after-school program that I started volunteering at, and they requested that I come to their Imo Party and be introduced to their board of parental directors, etc...so, with a quaking heart, many questions, and a bag of sembe (rice crackers?), I made my way this afternoon to the riverside, hoping to find a familiar face and end up in the right group of people! Picture never hearing about 4th of July celebrations, and then being invited to join a 4th of July party--that is kind of how I felt going to celebrate potatoes with new people. :)
In the end, there were plenty of awkward conversations. I fielded questions like, "How long is your Fukushima?" (what exactly is that asking?) and somehow communicated that I'd majored in geology at school (yes, Dr. Trapp probably just fainted at the thought of me majoring in geology). I most likely sat when I was supposed to stand, ate when I was supposed to be not eating, and bowed at many wrong times...but there was also laughter and new friendships, and I got to meet the parents of the kids that I see walking by the church almost every day! There was sun, smiles, and new stories being wound together as we joined in that bit of time.
I pray, and stumble around, and hope that smiles make up for many broken cultural rules. :) And faith gives me courage to celebrate eating potatoes and to recognize that the opportunity is a blessing. :)
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