I slept for a solid six hours, woke up at a normal time in
the morning and said to myself, “boy, you got this time change thing licked!”
Then, about 1:00 this afternoon I started to feel very, very sleepy. I had a
difficult time staying awake and didn’t realize what was happening until
someone reminded me that back home it was 1:00am. So…. I guess I don’t have the
time change licked yet. Maybe I’ll have time to run out to the local CVS and
get a 5 Hour Energy Drink. Oh wait, they don’t have 5 Hour Energy Drinks here.
Oh wait, they don’t have CVS here.
The day started with worship in an Indonesian Reformed
Church. The same band that blasted music last night blasted music in the
morning. A great way to wake up and experience the presence of God in the
spirit of worship.
Once again we had traditional dancers who sang and danced to
open worship. It was nice until I looked at the words they were singing:
Our respect to the brothers and sisters
We convey respect at this time
God in heaven, look at us…
Look at us who ask Thy blessing… oh God
Today, is a great and happy day to all of us.
Let us always unite to follow the right way
How beautiful if we are living in harmony and peace
If there is a problem to be resolved
God in heaven look at us…
Which already there this time.
That was when the dancing and singing went from nice to
powerful and moving. It is reassuring to see the way a local culture/tradition
can be brought into worship.
The rest of the day was listening. Listening to people talk
about the history of the GCF (Global Christian Forum). Listening to people talk
about their hopes for the GCF. Listening to people share their faith stories.
That last bit of listening was done in small groups of 25, making it much more intimate and
personal.
I have been thinking about my crybaby rant yesterday. I am
still finding a reticence in many to share, but it is not as strong. What I
think is part of it is not just the reticence to share but a fear of sharing.
There are people here who would never consider talking to another Christian
group. A Syrian Baptist said that he might have to work with the local Catholic
priest in order to reach out to Muslims. Yet he admitted that it was a very
difficult and scary notion for him and he had not yet brought himself to that
place.
There are walls between people, denominational walls that
are much higher and stronger than I realized. If this is the case, then the
idea of actually sharing with others is a dangerous idea for others. It is a
question of trust and vulnerability.
Tomorrow I will try to start to ask people about the
particularities of their faith tradition, i.e. what makes them different than
others. I will also ask why they are a part of that tradition. These questions
are more driving, more personal, but I believe will get more to the point of
this event.
The people I met:
A Syrian Baptist
An Indonesian Salvation Army Major
An Indonesian Roman Catholic Priest
A Syrian Orthodox priest from Malaysia
An Independent Christian from South Africa
An Assembly of God (Pentecostal) from Kenya
An Independent Christian from Kenya
A Swedish Pentecostal
A Palestinian Lutheran
A South Korean Methodist
A Burmese Christian
40 More Countries and I get to go to the bonus level!
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