New Year's Party

Sunday was February 5, and after church we had a . . . you guessed it! New Year’s party!!! It’s never too late, you know? The year is still young.

It was so much fun! We did our service, as normal, and then everyone brought out their food. We re-arranged the church to put all the seats in a square, with other seats in front of them doubling as tables. The process is a little bit like a pot-luck. Everyone brings rice, and something to go with it. Then, girls from the church take the pots of rice and sides around, making sure that everyone gets a little bit of everything. No matter what you bring, or how much, there’s enough for everyone to have all they want.

I love these meals. There is dancing, singing, sharing of scripture and sometimes jokes, games . . . the overall theme is together-ness. By the end I am always so full—full of food, and filled up with just the sense of being with this family.

This time, to celebrate New Years’, we did something else, too. Each person brought a wrapped gift, and then we drew numbers to choose a present to take home. Everyone was really excited about this! The unwrapping of the gifts was accompanied with smiling, laughing, and even hollering and whistling, as people opened things they considered extra special. I received a really cute little brown mug, which I am very much looking forward to filling with coffee in the coming weeks.

Churches here do these types of pot-lucks frequently. Every time, I marvel at the incredible value I see Malagasy people placing on relationships. It seems that they cannot get enough time together, that every second is precious and significant, simply because they are with each other. Living here has given a whole new depth of meaning to my idea of “quality time”. I would love to leave Madagascar with this value firmly rooted in my heart. I would love to learn to simply delight in being with others—not in the food, or in the entertainment provided, not with my running to-do list knocking at my subconscious, telling me to hurry on to the next thing—but simply to enjoy the present together-ness.

This doesn’t always come naturally to me, but I am learning. Maybe 2012 is the year! New Year’s Resolution idea (it’s never too late): Learn from those around me the deep value of quality time, and how to give it freely.