Sometimes I feel like I’m living in two worlds.
Last week I spent a good part of my week at Catalyst Dallas, a leadership conference held annually here in Dallas. I always enjoy being at this event because Catalyst pulls in some great speakers. This year was no exception.
The event is geared towards young leaders in their late 20’s and early 30’s. You see this right away in the marketing for the conference but you also see this in the structure of the conference itself.
This year, the conference featured a climbing wall outside, a dance party in the lobby, a caricature artist in one of the booths and inflatable duckies in the baptismal. It was loads of fun!
But, there was one thing that hit me in a weird way.
In between sessions, volunteers would form conga lines, grab some instruments and parade through the crowds playing their instruments in an effort to drum up some excitement.
The first time I saw this, I did a double take. For a brief second, I thought I was in Port-au-Prince.
Let me explain.
Rara Bands
Every year around the time of lent, Haitians celebrate carnival. Carnival is essentially a wild party with thousands of people in the streets drinking, singing and dancing.
Closely associated with these carnival celebrations is something called Rara. Rara bands are groups of people that parade through the streets with various instruments dancing and making lots of noise. Rara is generally associated with Vodou and Rara bands often make their processions during Holy Week.
I remember one year in Haiti we were having a Good Friday service at the church when a Rara band passed in the street just outside. When they came to the church, the band stopped in the street next to the sanctuary and camped out there for a few minutes in an effort to disrupt the service.
Rara bands are perceived by some as celebrating the death of Christ and those who killed him – so you tend to see them do this kind of thing especially on Good Friday.
I remember the noise was so great that we paused the service and prayed for the Lord to move them on. As soon as we prayed, He did. Talk about something they don’t prepare you for in seminary!
Culture is Huge
It’s funny how something can mean one thing in one culture and something entirely different in another.
At Catalyst, something that resembled a Rara band (to me anyway) was being used to drum up excitement so we could celebrate what the resurrection of Christ means for leaders of the American Chruch. It was fun.
In Haiti, Rara bands are used for something entirely different.
As we prepare to move to Haiti, one of the things we spend a lot of time thinking about is how the things we do as Americans will be perceived by our Haitian brothers and sisters.
Truth be told, there are things about our faith that are not only Christian but are also distinctly “American.” We want to import as much as we can that is distinctly Christian while being mindful about the things that are distinctly American.
The challenge will be that regardless of where we live, we will always feel like we are living in two worlds. Sure, with time we will become more “Haitian” but no matter how many years we live there, we will never stop being “American.”
Our hope is that as we continue living and serving in Haiti, we will have an awareness of both the things that are distinctly Haitian and the things that are distinctly American so that as we disciple people, we can pass on things that are distinctly Christian.
After all, our hope does not come from a Rara band or from being able to grill a killer burger – our hope comes from the fact that Jesus defeated death by stepping out of the grave.
That is a hope that is good news to Americans and Haitians alike.
Do you notice anything particularly American (or Haitian, etc) about your faith? Leave a comment below – I’d love to see your observations.
