Talk about given into the "fear of deities." This one had all of them! Hindu gods, Sikh, even Christian "gods." In addition, her 1 yr old baby boy had the "black string" tied around his belly for protection from what they call the "evil eye." It is not uncommon in The PI to study with PJ's who believe in the Hindu religion. This home I thought was a bit much, but it really shows how much of their worship is based on fear. I really feel Acts 17 come to life: " . . .his spirit within him became irritated on seeing that the city was full of idols. 22 Paul . . . said:
“Men of Athens, I see that in all things you seem to be more given to the fear of the deities than others are. . ." So teaching them that Jehovah is a non-punishing type of God, i.e. not a bully demanding worship is refreshing but it takes weeks and weeks for them to fathom that concept . . . one of those "deeply entrenched things. . . "
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| That's a mary-jesus-joseph statue at the bottom left corner of the frame that I mistakenly thought was Guru Nanak. |
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| Yesterday we took Parveen and Mandeep to a Tagalog meeting in Baesa. They can't always attend the PJ meeting so this will be back-up, it's less than 5 min from their home, vs 1 hour to PJ. This was quite an experience. No air-con, but fans, and very very hot and humid. Beads of sweat. (I feel light headed and I think I need oxygen!) Super crowded, seats were even put outside to accommodate overflow. And . . . we loved it! The love and excitement from the Tagalog speaking friends was overwhelming. They made the studies feel so welcome. And the goal is that when they can't attend PJ, they will still come here on their own. Let's see. . . |
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I "had to" share my fan with Manvi. She is the cutest thing ever!
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I, or should I say my nose, attracted more attention than ever. About 20 kids from ages 2-20 looked at me like they had seen an alien from another planet (no comments from the peanut gallery please!) and could not look away no matter how hard they tried: "wow, maganda (beautiful), can I have it? I want that in the paradise! " I'm like, "I'll trade you any day!" But the jackpot was this little 2 yr old boy walking with his grandpa - while looking up as if he was earnestly trying to see the top of a New York skyscraper, yelled something at me in Tagalog, pointing up with quite some authority. I thought he was mad. Was I in trouble (again)? How I wish I knew Tagalog. Grandpa translated, "he said your nose is so big!" So yeah, we're gonna do a nose trade in the paradise.************************************************************ |
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