Suyamvaram ;-)

So this morning was fun. It started off a little rushed because my Dad forgot to tell us that we were supposed to be at the seminary by 10:30 a.m. for a little welcome/meet-n-greet/worship time. Of course there was no driver at the house this morning so we had to leave my parents' car at home and rent a vehicle instead 'cuz the cars always come with a driver [but this means we were running even more late]...yes, if you haven't lived in India for some time you definitely need a driver...traffic is way too crazy and should be braved ONLY by those who are fearless and somewhat "insane" ;-) Most folks who return to India from living abroad hire a driver - it's the smart thing to do.

My Dad teaches a couple of classes at a local seminary [about 15 min. away from home], and the folks there wanted to meet us [the kids] and honor us with this time of fellowship. It really was a sweet time - they were extremely hospitable and all-around gracious. In the past there have been a few women who have attended the seminary, but this year it's all men. We arrived there and first spent some time with the professors and the directors and then moved over to the fellowship hall to meet the students [age 18-30 something mostly]. I started cracking up when they all came in. My aunt from Dallas [yes you, Aunty Vanaja ;-)] recently used a Tamil term in an email she sent me..."suyamvaram" - basically means "choosing of a partner"...groom in my case. In her email she playfully wondered when the suyamvaram would be happening. When all these sem. students filed in I started cracking up because it felt like a "suyamvaram" of sorts. The only other women in the room were my mom and the director's wife. It was somewhat formal at first - we sat in a circle and the students were instructed to tell us their names, where they were from, and what year they were, and after the introductions they each had to ask us a question of their choosing. It also felt more formal because each one would stand up and address us. The director gave them some ideas of questions to ask - he said in Tamil "ask them about their lives, what they do, how they like being back in India, whether she'll marry you [pointing to me]...she's not married you know!" ;-) One student chose to sing and dance because he didn't have a question...I wish I had caught it on video 'cuz it was a good time. It was a song they teach little kids in Sunday school...and he presented it in such a genuine way you couldn't help but love it. Some of their questions were about life in America, comparisons of India and the US, if we prefer Indian culture or American culture, what kinds of food we like to eat, where we work, what we do...lots of questions of what kinds of ministry we're involved in and whether we'd be interested in doing ministry in India at some point...one student wondered about Obama winning the presidency, a prof. wondered about our response to the recent Mumbai bombing, someone asked my brother if he prefered white folks or black folks (made me very curious about what he really meant by that but didn't have the chance to ask)...my bro responded by saying that we're all equal in God's eyes :-) The part that felt most like a "suyamvaram" was when one student asked me how old I was, another wondered if I cook Indian food, and then another asked if I'd sing a Tamil song for them [it was a total Bollywood movie moment. For those of you who watch Bollywood flicks...you may have watched scenes where the groom comes to see the potential bride and they always ask her to sing...LOL!]. If they had asked me to serve chai I would have had to run away as fast as I could ;-) But if you're wondering...yes, we [my bro and I...poor guy he couldn't get out of it - I made him sing with me] shared a song with them..."Give thanks with a grateful heart..." first in English and then in Tamil. They asked us a lot more questions...great questions too...forced me to think through some stuff.

Then we had the chance to ask them some questions. My bro kicked it off by asking them why they wanted to study theology...great questions and great responses. I very much enjoyed hearing their responses and learned much from them...tears welled up in my eyes a number of times. Almost all of these men come from very poor backgrounds, and many of them are Hindu converts - they have such powerful testimonies of God's call on their life and how they hope to serve him in their communities, and they talked about this with such passion, conviction, and desire. It made me think about my life...who I'm becoming...what I do...why I do what I do...how I choose to go about daily activities...whether my life gives witness to God's faithfulness, goodness, mercy, and love. I have been given so much - so many opportunities compared to these men - but I don't risk like they do - I don't always express the passion and desire like they do...I pray that I will learn to do this. It was a blessing to be among these students...to share in fellowship, laughter, conversation...worship. It was beautiful. At the end of our time they came and put garlands on us...a common custom to honor guests, welcome people, celebrate a bride and groom... ;-)

I left the house this morning a little grumpy because everything was so rushed...but I had no idea what the Lord had in store. My heart is full, and I'm grateful. I pray the Lord continues to bless each one of these students and staff members as they boldly live out the Good News.