By John B. Din

It must have seemed weird to the Brazilians on first meeting me to be greeted by just a handshake or a nod of the usual hug and kiss on the cheek. I know they were surprised to see me eat rice for breakfast, lunch and supper.

John Din is a lay missionary in Brazil. He hails from Zamboanga del Sur, diocese of Pagadian, John is one of 13 brothers and sisters and graduated from the Columban College, Pagadian with a Bachelor of Arts degree major in Psychology. He reflects here on the challenge of the culture of Brazil to him as a Filipino.

A Vision

Leaving the Philippines for Brazil in 1993, I felt myself equipped with a lot of ideas on how to be a missionary – a Faith in God that I experienced personally; the support of the community that sent me and a vision full of ideals on living missionary works.

Portuguese Tasted Terrible

The first big barrier I faced was language. Portuguese seemed terrible. As I sat through language school class and watched as others quickly acquired fluency, my worries increased all the more. However, now that I am living in a community, the people help me along. For a long time, I felt like a child being led along by the hand. My living among them helps me to pick their language and ways of expression, different as they are from what I learned in language school.

Cling to my Culture

After years and months I have started to find my way, but I experience many frustrations and difficulties in living in and adjusting to a new culture. I am tempted to cling to my own Filipino culture because in it I feel safe and easy. It must have seemed weird to the Brazilians on first meeting me to be greeted by just a handshake or a nod of the head, instead of the usual hug and kiss on the cheek. I know they were surprised to see me eat rice for breakfast, lunch and supper. Equally strange much have been the sight of me sitting quietly during the Mass in the midst of the crowd as they swayed and clapped to the rhythm, of the traditional “Atabaque” (drums). Knowing that I had difficulty adjusting to the high noise level, they comforted me by telling me to find God in the noise. I must be very difficult for them to understand my timidity which contrasted so sharply with what, to the outsider, would seem an almost aggressive culture. Maybe they were happy to see me trying my best to move my hips in time to the dance. I know that now they are very happy, when I visit their houses, to see me grab a plate for lunch at three or four in the afternoon, depending on when food is available. They seem to be content with eating only twice a day. This would be a problem for me.

Why is he here?

I know that they were puzzled when, without really knowing them, I started to talk to then about community, about black consciousness, because they see me as a ‘white’ outsider. I know it was hard for them to understand why I made a friend of a ‘Pai de Santo’ (A priest in the Afro-Brazilian religion) when the Catholic Church here is so strong against religious syncretism. I know too that they understand poverty better than I do. I know they are hurt when I fail to visit every home because of lack of time. And I realize that it’s hard for them to understand why I am here, though most seem happy that I have come. One of their biggest difficulties is realizing that I am neither Chinese, Japanese nor Korean, because they associate all ‘Oriental’ with matters economic.

Which God am I bringing?

If God loves these people I have ever met! To share my Faith? The same Faith that was brought here by the colonists and resulted in the massacre of the ‘Indians’, the enslavement of the Africans and the destruction of their cultures? To proclaim God? The God of the colonist who wants to expands hid empire among ‘pagans’; a God cold and careless about peoples’ cultures? No, that is not my God.

Here in Brazil I am a witness to the God of the Africans and the Indians and the same God that I experience in my daily life in the Philippines; a God that loves to celebrated and is happy with different race, culture, and religion; a God who reveals Himself through the Gospels, through nature, our forefathers and the history of people. The God who walks with all oppresses people towards their promised land. I have come to walk with them, too.