It is quite strange to celebrate the Fourth of July abroad. Grandmother's recipe for apple pie with Mary's crust is in the oven and I just looked up my two favorite clips for the Fourth on YouTube and watched them with Emma. Both clips are from Holiday Inn - Lets Say It With Firecrackers sung by the Bingster (as Dad calls him) and the reprise in tap dance form by Fred Astaire as he drops firecrackers. We will have a shindig later this evening comprised of a potluck and yard games.
Party time!
It is strange that today one year ago we all three arrived in South Asia! Emma was a stomach stowaway. It makes sense, then to reflect a dash on this year in South Asia in light of it being our anniversary.
Some things I love about South Asians:
1. Genuine respect for the elderly - I've seen such beautiful grandparent-grandchild relationships here. They care for each other. Being really old is revered here.
2. Honor of parents - This can get sketchy because your parents actually program your life here by choosing your spouse and vocational training, but they set you up for success as best they can if you submit to their authority. If you are male this could work really well for you. If you are female, though, it is a toss up whether marriage and studies will be for your good or not because you truly have no say in them. Regardless, submission is an amazing thing to observe here.
3. Respect for the sanctity of marriage - divorce isn't super-prevalent here because marriage is about commitment more than it is about the likeability of your partner. The first marriage question I get here is, "did you have a love marriage?" This is a request for juicy gossip about a loose foreigner who dated and likely slept with the person she married before making a commitment. I always tell them that God, our families, and our friends arranged our marriage and once the commitment was made at engagement, we fell in love with each other. Marriage is very respected here - so much so that private investigators are hired to check out whether your fiancé/fiancée is honorable or not. It is shameful to divorce here, whereas it has become all too convenient back home.
4. Unashamed of what they believe... Regardless of how odd it sounds when they try to explain it. They make no apologies. They allow their god to be weird and unusual, capable of anything. I shouldn't care what people think of Christ's death and resurrection or of the Trinity when I talk about it.
5. God is allowed to be mysterious in South Asia and to do whatever He wants without losing love from His followers. People don't demand God to unveil His mystery in order to be able to easily explain all that He is.
6. Women aren't looked down on for being homemakers.
7. Women aren't looked down on for being workers.
We survived the first year!!! Now, lets learn to truly thrive here... Lotsa prayer and trust/faith. All people cry out to be free, and we are learning the language so we can sing the song of freedom.
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