The brightly colored garb presented by Amazigh women in North Africa reflects a stark contrast to the plain colors the men wear for their traditional dances. In these photos, an ancient movement called a Ha'wash, was being performed (yes they invited me to join...it's not like I really had a choice).

Eating the food of other cultures can be a great experience. It can also be less than that. We never know until we try how our bodies are going to react to the ingestion of things we have never put in our mouths before.

While in Africa, we ate from tajines. These are large ceramic, flattened bowls that hold quite a bit of food. It is placed in the center of the table and all share the food from that one bowl. You are only welcome to the pizza wedge in front of you. Of course, it is not sliced like pizza, so the lines are imaginary, and you must be careful not to overstep your bounds.

We ate a great deal of Couscous in Africa. My body handled it well, my mind grew weary of it a little too quickly.

In Peru this summer, we ate a lot of chicken and fries. The fries always came with mayonesa. It is similar and yet different to our mayonnaise. It is a delicious combination. When Beej came home talking about it, I thought it was disgusting. When I tasted it, I changed my mind!

Lauren came home from India with great stories about the food. She really enjoyed it. Recently, when a new Indian restaurant opened near our office, we made a point of going there to try the food. Lauren was very excited. I was very nervous.

When we got inside, it smelled like I expected. The servers were all from India, and spoke broken English. Lauren soon discovered that our server was from the city she ministered in this summer. She was excited.

I fought off the urge I always seem to have no matter what country I am in. I always want to speak Spanish to people who don't speak English. Unless I'm in Latin America, it isn't going to help. However, it is always my first instinct, as it is the only other language I pretend to speak. Voicing my inclination caused Lauren's face to match the color of the food I was about to eat.

I have never seen food this red...except jello. This chicken had been marinating all night and was the color of embarrassment. When I put it in my mouth, it tasted like potpourri. Not that I've ever eaten potpourri, but it certainly tasted like the smell.

I ate many other things I have never tasted before...after all it was a lunch buffet. This would only happen in America. I don't think the people in India get to eat quite this well.

I can honestly say I enjoyed the experience. I can honestly say my body did not. For the next two or three days, it reminded me frequently. No one else had these issues. I was the lucky one.

We have a video of Beej's first trip to Peru. In it, he sips a drink he has never tasted before. The audio is pretty bad, but he reports that the concoction tastes like "liquid potpourri." He grimaces, then moves on to talk about the food he actually likes.

I never related to that until I tasted this 'red chicken.'

I won't be doing that again (at least not in America).

Embracing the cultures that the Lord leads us to is a part of the missions experience. There are many things we must learn. One sacrifice we never make is changing the truths of the Gospel. However, we must learn about the culture we are in so that we can find ways to make it relevant for them. Missionaries have been doing this for eons.

We don't seem to be very good at doing this in our own country. We keep practicing the same traditions and expect them to bring about results that we have not seen in a long time. His Truth will never change. The way we make it relevant to people where they are, must.

We need to release our non scriptural traditions, and meet those in need where they are.

It might even happen over a dish we have never tried before.

dad