Working in missions means being a student of culture. In this case, it’s the Dominican culture. And even here, the more I learn about a culture tells me there is still more to learn. This came into focus with my Dad’s birthday.

When I opened the morning class session with the pastors, I told them we had something to celebrate. Then I mentioned his birthday. I was not prepared for what happened next. It was standard birthday procedure for them, but it was a surprise to us.

That caused a bigger delay in the class schedule than I had intended, but it was worth the time spent. We worked our way through the hours of teaching. After we arrived at the Mission House, we had a little down time before dinner and an evening section of classes.

As we were eating dinner, a church committe began on the other side of the Mission House dining room. But when I brought the cake out, a scene very reminiscent of the morning unfolded. The meeting stopped, there was singing and clapping, and there was cake for everyone! Pastor Pedro had been in that committee meeting but moved to our table for the celebration. It was a good day.

Soli Deo Gloria!