Playing Dead

When I first came to the DR, I was determined that I was not going to experience culture shock. I had planned to be a missionary half of my life and I knew that would mean living life differently in a different place speaking a different language. I was not only ok with that, I was excited to embrace it and learn new things, maybe even better things.

Was I sorely mistaken! In fact, I might have even experienced culture shock worse than some because I was so determined I wasn’t going to experience it. Had I expected and embraced it, I might have worked through it faster.

But, alas, this blogpost isn’t about my process of working through culture shock. It is about the fact that I am still learning and still shocked by many things in this “new” culture in which I live.

Today was one of those days. It actually started a few months ago and hit me like a brick today…

Over the last few months, the idea of family keeps running through my mind. Or lack of family, more precisely. How not one of my kids (or teenagers) in the batey seems to grasp what God’s design for a family is. Not for lack of discussion, of course; but not having SEEN it, they don’t really have a mental file folder to put those conversations into. What they have seen is a whole lot of open immorality, unfaithfulness, families in which almost every kid is from a different father, etc., etc., etc. I want so badly for a couple of these teenagers to get a glimpse of what God’s design for the family is and to live it out for the next generation to have that example.

So today, I was sitting in the school watching the kids play at recess. Yariel called Daihana over and told her to “Come be the mom” of two other girls who were lying on the ground. I was immediately intrigued…I had never seen the kids play house before so I started watching more intently. I wanted to know what their version of “playing house” looked like. It didn’t take me long to realize that they weren’t playing house. Rather the 2 boys were racing each other on their chair “motorcycles” like maniacs. And the 2 girls lying on the ground? They were playing dead. The had apparently either fallen off the bikes or been run over by them. And the “mom” was supposed to come get her dead daughters. And that was perfectly normal to everyone involved. Why? Because it is what they have SEEN. Almost daily, I pass two or more young men racing down the road on their motorcycles at incredibly dangerous speeds. And quite often, those races end up in permanent damage or death for those involved. In fact, it has happened to several in the batey. It’s life they know.

What struck me was not the fact that they were playing a gruesome game that involved death. Unfortunately, I’ve seen that before in many places. What hit me like a brick is the fact that imagination and play give us a tiny glimpse into the mind of a child…What is it that they see every day? What is their “reality”? The fact is, I have never seen any of them play house before (perhaps they do and I haven’t witnessed it). What I have seen them play is fighting and driving recklessly and death. It breaks my heart that this is more their reality than family. I hope that one day, family will be a reality and I will get to witness their kids playing house - pretending to cook dinner, go to work, and discipline their pretend children.

Well, I’ve been back for 2 weeks now and this is my first post…not doing so hot at posting more often, but I’ll get there eventually.

The question I’ve been asked most since returning is “How does it feel to be back?” My answer? "Great!" The sun, the warmth, the ocean, my dog…I'm happy to see all of it, but not nearly as happy as I am to see my kiddos in the batey!

It’s no secret that my favorite part of doing ministry here is working with the kids and teaching Sunday School. In my class of kids aged 6 -14 in the batey, we have slowly but surely been working through the Bible chronologically for a few years and have now made it all the way King Solomon! Almost all the stories have been new to the kids, which has made teaching a bit more challenging than I had anticipated. At the beginning, every story seemed to have no context to them…they had no mental file folder to file it away in. I can’t tell you how many times I went over the story of Abraham. I wanted so badly for them to get it because understanding Abraham is so essential to understanding how God was working in the OT; however, every time I came back to review they were clueless as to who I was talking about and why it was important. Literally clueless. Like to the point that I really began to wonder if it would ever stick. I would move on for a few weeks and then direct it back to the story of Abraham so they could see how God was working. And every time, blank stares. Sooo frustrating.

(Let me just stop there and say that this isn’t all because they were hearing the stories for the first time. It is definitely compounded by poverty. While not all of my students have experienced the developmental delays associated with lack of proper nutrition and age-appropriate brain stimulation, many have. Sunday School might be the first place they’ve ever had someone tell them a story or ask them to respond to what they are hearing. It can take a while to learn how to listen to stories and process them. And top it off with the fact that the teacher speaks with a funny accent, using words they aren’t used to…there is definitely a learning curve for all involved!)

All that to say that my first 2 Sundays back were “review days” in which we reviewed the major OT events from creation to David. I was so happy to see how much they remembered and understood! Almost every kid can tell me the story of Adam and Eve without prompting (Yesss!). They know the names of Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Saul, David, and (their favorite) Samson. But what made me the most proud was hearing them answer questions about God’s promises to Abraham. Most were able to tell me that God promised Abraham a son, while a few others knew that He promised to make Abraham’s descendants into a nation and to give him the Promised Land, and one star student could even tell me that the promise included sending Jesus through Abraham’s family. I was soooo excited! Finally, it’s sticking!

I know that just hearing and comprehending these stories or being able to recall God’s promises to Abraham isn’t going to save these precious souls, but “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.“ I know that God’s Word is living and powerful and a “simple story” from His Word can, through the work of the Holy Spirit, pierce their hearts and help them to understand and fear and love Him.  For some that will happen soon and for others, that may not happen till years down the road, but I teach in faith that His Word will not return void but will take root in their lives and, in the meantime, I celebrate the little victories He lets me see!