Death, Sacred Rituals, The Corona Virus, and Hope

Grave site in Thaoumazou, Haiti near Port du Prince

I remember being in Haiti and learning about burial practices. Tombs are rented. When a family can no longer pay rent, the bodies are dumped on the hillside and the tomb is used for someone else. In Hawaii it was a cultural practice to burry your loved ones in your yard so that they are kept close. At the Grand Wailea in Maui they have two or three mass burial sites of the bodies that were found when building the foundation of the hotel. The hotel respectfully moved the bodies into designated cultural sites.

I have always been interested in cultural things that all humans experience. And even more specifically the mundane, daily things like different bathroom styles, food preparation and processing, textile design, worship ceremonies, and what people do with those who have passed away. So many aspects of life come with important, and even sacred, rituals.

I never thought I would live in a period in time where such rituals are being changed due to a global pandemic and the rates that people are dying and spreading a disease.

I’ve been seeing body bag videos for months now, as an online teacher in China this virus did not spring up out of nowhere. It did not come as a surprise. It’s been around for a while. As American news unfolds, we are all seeing similar things that we have been seeing in other areas on global news and major news sources for a couple months. Cities are converting ice rinks into massive cold storage facilities for the dead bodies. We are seeing army trucks taking bodies from churches full of caskets. We hear about laws to determine who will be left to die when resourced run out.

Mass grave in Hawaii 

Though the above stories are primarily from Europe, Americans already have grandparents and children going into the hospitals by themselves. Families do not see those who pass away until they are already dead. The old are dying alone. Children are going into hospitals alone. Pregnant women will be delivering babies alone. Funerals and weddings are cancelled or postponed. Doctors are losing patients. Nurses are scared to go to work. Doctors are scared to bring sickness back to their family. New York is running out of cold body storage. And similar laws dictating who will and won’t be given ventilators, if (rather when) we reach that point, are being drafted in the US to protect doctors from needing to make such decisions on their own.

Guys, please stay home. Listen to the expert warnings for a while, maybe a long while. Act as if you have the virus already. It’s not going to be easy. There is nothing easy about this situation. It is hard. It is heart-wrenching. And it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better.

Alabaster Jar - Felicia Follum
Painting inspired by a woman who gave up
all she had to follow Jesus and in return she was
given peace.

And to be clear, this is not meant to make you more fearful. Statistically most of us will be ok, especially if we can slow the spread. If we slow it enough, many more will survive. We all have heard this before and people will continue to scoff at the advice, saying it doesn’t make sense, the decisions aren’t fair, and people will likely continue to disrespect authority. Be thankful that it isn't' personal for you yet, but don't be naive.

I’m so thankful right now that my hope does not come from manmade mantras or rituals. Though important and I am so thankful for what we have in America, I don’t put the bulk of my hope in statistics, individuals, politics, and government. These systems will fail at some point, and likely many times.

My hope comes from the LORD. I believe Jesus is the God of hope, peace, love, and redemption. And I wish I had more answers to all the hurt and pain right now and theres so much I wish I understood, but I am thankful for the peace that transcends all human understanding and comes from Him alone. My prayer is that you who are crying out to Him will find the peace of Christ through all of this and that you will seek him more sincerely, and be drawn closer to him, than you ever have been in the past. 

How I Used Multiple Languages in One Day in America

ESL class (level 4) from last year

I had a friend in high school and one day we decided to "play" as many sports in one day as we could. We rode our bikes with confidence and threw footballs with less than perfect spirals. We also tried to rollerblade on an outdoor ice skating rink....that was not our best moment together, but nevertheless, we were able to fumble our way across the rink and survived.

Today was a bit like that day, but with languages. Some went great, and others, well I was able to say "hello" and "pencil." Even if less than perfect, the amount of languages that I was around and used today was certainly memorable.

On my way teach my ESL classes this morning, I listened to 20 minutes of a French audio app.

In the first classroom, my students were From Cuba, Mexico and Somalia. I don't allow other languages in my english classes but from time to time I do get to say "hello" in their languages or after class we will have a small conversation. I only know a few Somali words but I did use them with a grandmother.

The second class was a very low level class with students from Iraq, Mexico, Somalia, and Karen women from Burma. My co-teacher was able to use Karen, I could understand some of the Arabic for simple things as there were side conversations, and both my co-teacher and I used bits of Spanish to help with reflexives and question words.

On the way home, I listened to the French audio again.

I did a training for an upcoming trip and took notes on Islam using Arabic and French words.

Writings with friends in college.

Finally I taught my online VIPKid English classes and used some Chinese with a little brother and I began writing a "Stay Strong Wuhan" video, and posted on FB in Chinese asking my Chinese friends to proof read the script.

And finally, I responded to a friend from Sudan and told her how much I miss her in sudanese slang Arabic. And I messaged an online friend who is fluent in Urdu and Hindi (maybe Arabic too).

Oh man, I wish every day was this diverse but I am simultaneously thankful to have these days from time to time. If I could teach my students one thing, it's that it's ok to make mistakes and it's ok to fumble your way through a conversation. It's ok to not be perfect! We don't expect perfection and mistakes are the best way to learn and grow.

Friend at an international dinner in our home.

Just like the massive sports day, you never know if something will work if you don't try and honestly, I will never forget how hard we laughed stuck on the ice alone in the center of a  giant outdoor skating rink. Sometimes failures are worth remembering.

Bible Reading Goals for 2020

I recently typed my goals in a group of friends who do Bible study together. To simplify, my main goal is to open the Bible app on my phone before opening anything else. 

But I would also like to get back to language study and there is something so beautiful about how each language relates to me in a different way and how new things show up as I read scriptures that I understand and think try to through the eyes of a variety of cultures.

This year, I would like to read:

Português - Ecclesiastes, proverbs, and a gospel (Maybe John)

Hindi - Jona, Ruth

Urdu - Listen to the Jesus movie

French - Jonah, Ruth

Spanish - Matthew

Lakota, Chinrse, Somali (or other languages that I can't read/speak) - listen to the Jesus movie, if I can find it on YouTube (I've listened to it in Hindi, Urdu, Português, Spanish, Arabic, Krio, Patois, Creole and others just for fun)

Greek - memorize John 1:1-?, and review/relearn other verses, vocab, grammar, and alphabet

Hebrew - memorize the Shema

What are your language or Bible reading goals for 2020?

*Image from a Bible inspired book I created 🖤