Recently, Mackey has been joking around about the national male attention I get from some of our believer friends here. It’s quite funny to say, ‘ugh I just got another SMS [text for you ‘mericans] from so-and-so’, or ‘look who’s calling now oh I forgot to tell him I’m coming to the Ch.rch program tonight.’ To which Mackey quips, ‘look who’s smitten,’ or ‘Stephanie has a date tonight,’ in her sing-song fashion.
But the truth is, I have some great national guys here that look after me. They are truly precious brothers, and I am constantly trying to be more aware of cultural ok’s, but really appreciating the level of care they afford me. I just wanted to share a bit about the three of them.
They are all single, and very good friends with each other. The fact that they are all single is quite strange. They range from 24-30, and are of marrying age though none have “settled down” as we say. I’ll call them Hank, Sam, and Steven.
Hank is the eldest. He is from the northern part of India, near China, so this Beach-Haven is not native to him. [Side note: each state in India has it’s own language, culture, and dress…sometimes multiples of each]. At 30, he has been in here for about 7 years. He lives alone in a small rented single bedroom some distance from the slum where he focuses his m*nistry, and drives his motorcycle to my side of town each day.
Hank is quite the funny cat. The very first time I met him, he came to pick me up from the train station and told me to hop on the back of his motorcycle. If you know me, you know I’m pretty deathly afraid of motorcycles. I think it has quite a bit to do with the year my brother had a motorcycle. He had a couple of very close calls because other drivers weren’t watching for him. Just compound that scariness with crazy traffic in India and there’s a good reason to be afraid.
Hank is the first Indian man who proposed marriage to me…only after commenting that it’s okay that I’m 2 inches taller. And he is always quick to laugh. He has the sincerest heart when it comes to reaching the people of this slum community. Following him as he goes door-to-door building relationships is quite interesting, especially when he comments, ‘the first time I came through here the women were asking me to be their [paying] customer (laughs). I told them I didn’t have any money.’
Sam, whom I will affectionately refer to as ‘Sam-bo,’ is a 27-year-old pastor of the ch.rch I attend. He is a mile a minute. Just imagine the most hyperactive 12-year-old boy, give him a goatee and Indian accent, add 20 pounds, and an incredible ability to channel his hyperactivity into serious business, and you have Sam-bo. He is also not from this state, but came in his teens to live with his uncle after some hard times with his pastor-father. He is quite the musician, but I take quite an issue with his playing guitar chords whilst singing because he never never plays the right ones. It’s entertaining, but distracting at the same time.
Sam-bo is like my little brother whom I never had. He picks on me constantly and I pick on him. Recently he told me, ‘Stephanie you are becoming very naughty with me.’ To which I laughed and just shrugged. It’s generally a compliment when someone calls you naughty here. It is without any innuendo or negativity associated with it. He is passionate about bringing young people up in the ch.rch and guiding them to disciple others.
Steven is probably the most serious of the three. Though only 24-years-old, he has lived a lot of life. He grew up in the slums here in Beach-Haven as the middle child of three brothers. He dropped out of school after 4th standard and started working in a restaurant, which then led to a job in a bar. From this work, he lived a very hard life. He became addicted to alcohol and had to keep working to support his habit though no longer supporting his family.
He came to know the gospel when a person in the slum started reaching out to him. He followed this person for several weeks; learning about this J-man, and gave his life to the Father at the tender age of 14. Since then, he has had some B*ble Training and his whole family, mother and two brothers, also became believers. He still lives with his mother and brothers and yearns for many things. He hungers after his relationship with the Father and wants to plant ch.rches. He also has tried about 3 times with 3 different girls to propose marriage. Only recently, he has been heart broken by the third. [Marriage Proposals many times come before a relationship here, in order to avoid a scandalous “love marriage,” so this is not too strange].
All of these guys are such great brothers to me. Hank is a good guidance and probably makes me feel the most normal as a foreigner here. He is the one to whom I look to find out how to enter into the community and interact with the nationals. The easiest to joke around with, he may possibly be my favorite. Sam-bo is the kidder. He is a sweet little brother who wants to show young hip teens the Way and is a good stand-in for Jeremy when it comes to pestering someone. Steven is a great encourager. He is constantly challenging me to go deeper in my faith and reliance upon Jesus.
Though all very different, they are such good friends and I am grateful to have friends like them around.
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