People are really fascinating. I love to go the different places and people watch…restaurants, Walmart, mall and recently the beach. I have also enjoyed traveling to other places and observing people. Jill and I have been all over the U.S., from California to Virginia, Texas to North Dakota and a lot of places in between. We have been from Florida to Maine on the east coast.

We have been in Canada in the extreme eastern part (Quebec City) and down into Mexico south of Lerado, Texas.

I say all this not to brag on my many travels but to say that there are so many different cultures I have been able to observe. I have witnessed the southern hospitality, listened to the northerners’ accent and different ways they say words. California is a very diverse state with many people in it all going the direction I seemed to be going. The thought process is somewhat different in some areas, too. The food, ways of life, how they dress and beliefs seem to be different, but alike at the same time.

I have been to Oahu the past week and a half. I have been able to not only observe the culture but participate in some of it. Sunday I worshipped at church singing the traditional hymns accompanied with the guitar and ukulele. I saw the Hokule’a, a double hull canoe used even today to go across the Pacific, at one of the local beaches. School kids were given the history and had to sing a song to get permission to board. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with Sarah’s dad and learning so much about the Hawaiian history, tradition and culture.

So, as Jill and I came over to celebrate Kekoa’s first birthday we learned it is quite an event in Hawaiian culture. Early in their history, infant mortality was extremely high. If a child made it to their first birthday, it was an indication they would live to adulthood. This was cause for celebration. The tradition has carried on through the years and is still observed today.

With this in mind, the invite to attend was not just a small thing and should be taken very seriously by all that receive an invitation. So Jill and I made arrangements to get to the island early to help prepare and set up for the event. Little did we know the preparation actually began about 6 months ago.

We moved tables and chairs from a couple of places on the campground to the big tent (worship and other events are held there for the camp). We set up 20 tables and 120 chairs for the guests to sit. We set up a registration area, tables for the food, loaded ice chests for the drinks (water, soda and juice boxes) and then set up the sound system, a T.V. for video and a place for Kekoa to sit as the one being honored.

I asked Corey about all of this for a FIRST birthday? He further explained the tradition and it was a big cultural event. Kekoa’s party was a small one in comparison to most. It is not uncommon to spend on a first birthday party as much as you would a wedding!

The time for the party began and the people did come. Aunts, Uncles, cousins too many to count, friends of Corey and Sarah’s and folks from the church Corey and Sarah attended when they married as well as the church Corey currently pastors. I guessed around 100 people. They all sat around talking, eating and enjoying the celebration.

A couple of the cousins danced a Hula and it was quite remarkable. Knowing each action/ movement has a meaning or represents something in their cultureand was so fascinating.

Family is a big thing in Hawaii as well as back home. Not only was it a birthday party, it was a family reunion, also. The vast majority of the people attending were family and it was so inspirational to sit, listen to the conversations and just be able to be part of the event.

The food was catered in and very traditional. There was Katsu Chicken, Ahi, Poke (raw fish), Kalua Pig (pulled pork), Poi (paste made from taro root), Lomi Salmon (salmon, onions, tomatoes & chili peppers), Teri Beef, Panko Chicken, Sashimi, fried noodles and some rice. Quite a menu and yes, I tried almost everything.

It was so interesting to see how each loaded their plate and how many ate with chop sticks (I was not one of them). The talk around and about the food was as good as the food.

Tradition, culture… and God created all of it. As different as it is from home, it is so much the same but in different form. I am reminded that God created it all, in His image. We may look different, talk/sound different and have different ways, manners and traditions but we have the same God. We came from Him and someday we will go back to Him. We will see the total coming about of Galatians 3:28… “You are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Getting Cultured, Bro. Tim