Turning 21 in South Africa is a very big deal!

So, tonight has been an interesting night!
One of the Eagles Rising students had his 21st today. The 21st birthday in his culture group (Khoi or Colored) is a very big deal. I had one friend tell me that the 21st birthday is more hectic even than a wedding day. That's huge!

Now, this Eagles Rising student decided he really wanted to involve all of us from Eagles in his special day. I'm not sure how this happened, but I got asked to be the MC. I know it is an important day, so I would never say no to such a request. Though I have spent the past two weeks trying to convince him that this might not be his best plan ever since I have never been to a 21st before.

In the end I was the MC and also went to my first South African 21st birthday celebration in all the same night.
It was a big deal. There was a community center rented, over 160 people there, songs were sung, sermons were preached, words of encouragement were given....it felt somewhat similar to a graduation ceremony.
All the while I'm the MC, but most of the people speaking in between my introductions were speaking in Afrikaans. So I was saying thank you for sharing to people when I actually had no clue what they just said (that was entertaining!)
But also bear in mind....I'm a white American. Sorry for the label....but that is just how its done here...labels based on color and culture all the time. But the reality is that I am a white, American. That means I'm used to calm, slow, orderly types of events. Now a 21st here is probably usually really loud and fast and hyper (that's what the student's mom told me anyway:) So, I'm not sure this kid got the same 21st he would have gotten from anyone else.
I was so uncertain as to what to do so I just took it slow and calm. Throughout the service, I just felt God say "slow and calm". It was only after everything was over that I discovered these things are usually fast and hyper.
Well, there you have it.....put a white girl from Texas on the stage with a mike and this time around they got slow and calm.
I hope he enjoyed it. That is the purpose of the day...that he enjoy it and God is glorified.


It really was quite an event and it was very nice and I gather it was nothing like a typical 21st around here!
I did get two compliments.....one from the students mom who said everyone enjoyed it and she is so proud of how she knows her neighbors are going to talk about it. I love that about South Africa!
The second compliment came from another one of the Eagles students. They have a saying, "you boxed it" when someone wraps things up nicely like in a beautiful box. Well, he said, "You didn't just box it, you contained it, you totally contained that thing." Well there you have it...beyond boxing it...and I only discovered what "boxing it" is a few weeks ago. I am so moving up in the world of teenager/young adult coolness :)