enculturation

noun "the process whereby individuals learn their group's culture, through experience, observation, and instruction."

enculturation. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/enculturation (accessed: March 21, 2009).

The picture below features a calabash bowl, which are used in Togo at tchakpa stands. We had a number of occasions to join with the folks from Dapaong sampling the local strains of tchakpa, a fermented millet drink. The calabash bowls smell like hay or the inside of barn, which combines in a very unusual way with the tchakpa. However, I can tell you from personal experience that the smell of hay is even wierder when combined with Schlafly's Pale Ale!

On Psalm 1:2 "His Delight is in the Law of the Lord"

"However, there are some even today who strive to twist this prophet's mouth and pervert his tongue. By their inflated thoughts and twisted works they want the law of the Lord to be in their pleasure and not their delight in the law of the Lord. This also the Jews wanted (beyond the fact that their delight was not in the law of the Lord, as stated above) when they desire that what pleases them, what they determine, what they affirm to be acceptable to God. But in this way they set up the Law for God, as if He were bound to take what they wished and chose, rather than that they received the Law from Him in order to do what He chooses and wishes. Such people, I say, chiefly many of the religious now are. They have reserved judgment to themselves beyond the command of their superior, and they want to make their own decisions and teach him what he ought to be commanding them. Or certainly, before they do what they are ordered to do, they want him to give the reason for it and to show them why and for what purpose he issued this order. [emphasis added] [...] And they would not do it except because they have the arrogance to want to do the judging and not be judged, and their delight is not in His law, but precisely His law is at their pleasure. Now certainly this is not being under the superior but over him."

-- Martin Luther, "Psalm 1", Luther's Works, Vol. 10: First Lectures on the Psalms. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1974.

Back from Togo

A copy of the email sent to my immediate family about my return follows. The blog for my notes mentioned in the letter below is found at http://journalingoutofafrica.blogspot.com/

"Family,

I returned home safely and on-time yesterday. I was not (and still am not) in a state of mind to write a meaningful "here's how it went" email, but I wanted to let you know that I am back safely.

Here's a short takeaway from the experience: The church in Africa is, in all the ways that truly matter, just like the church here. You can point to particular issues and challenges that are unique to or aggravated by the African context, but it doesn't take much thinking to realize that we have our own particular issues and challenges that are unique to or aggravated by our American context. The language is often different; the idiom definitely is; the cultural norms vary widely. However, the One we have in common binds us together in a way that transcends culture as he enters directly through his word, his body and his blood. I'll have more to write on this when I finally get around to it, but that's going to have to wait.

I took too many pictures to fit on the camera and my flash drive didn't make it on the trip with me; so my pictures ended up on Dr. Schumacher's computer. In fact, all of our pictures did; Dr. Schumacher is going to distribute the whole set (i.e. pictures, sound files, a few videos files) on a CD. Unfortunately, Dr. Schumacher is with his wife in Switzerland for a week (she works in the international school there and he visits regularly); so I am without the means to tell an effective story until he returns. I'm planning to post a very slightly redacted version of my twenty-two pages of notes in the form of a blog over the coming days and weeks; that'll probably be the best way to get the story telling started. I will welcome your questions, especially if you will post them the blog so I can answer them for everyone at the same time.

May the peace of Christ remain with you all in the coming days!

Brian

PS: David, although many years have passed, Glenn did remember you. I passed your greetings (as I assumed you would have wished me to). You were right: that guy has a lot going on upstairs."