Monthly Archives: November 2013

This is Cara [de] Viejo… “Old Man Face.” After spending 9 days in Platanares and spending time with Cara Viejo every day, I´m ashamed to say that I don´t know his real name. Nicknames are the norm here in Panama, and I´m still struggling with the cultural etiquette surrounding this phenomenon. Often, I´ve asked someone in a small community such as Platanares the name of another person in that community. And often, they have a hard time responding… what name should they give? Names seem to carry a different value here. But I believe names are important. I believe this based on what I read in scripture, where names carry tremendous weight from Genesis to Revelation. “Isaac reopened the wells… and he gave them the same names his father had given them” Gn 26:18  and  “… but only those whose names are written…”  Rev 21:27. Also because I much prefer to be called “Alan” or “The Beard” or “White Indian” as opposed to “gringo,” which is not a name but rather a label.

So one evening in Platanares we had a lively discussion about names and nicknames. We learned that Hermes, our host, learned what his name was when he went to graduate from 6^th grade, until which time he believed his name was Hermito. His brother, Lochi, knew his given name and went to great lengths to avoid its use. His given name was Rosi, a name as feminine here as there. The story sounded like a rewrite of Johnny Cash´s “A Boy Named Sue.” And, of course, we were all in stitches as Cara Viejo´s mother shared the detailed history behind his other nickname: “Mama teta de Rosa”… “Suckles the teet of [the dog named] Rose.”

It bothers me when a familiar face greets me and I can´t call the individual´s name. Unfortunately, it seems almost impossible for me to remember all the names of the people we encounter in the many communities we visit. So we try to use tools and methods to learn names and remember them as we go… And we hope to recognize when and where the Lord would have us invest more time to deepen our relationships with individuals (and of course learn their names) as we go about the work ahead.

May God Bless [you] in all you do,

los Fosters

ps We just got back from another trip to Platanares. Old Man Face´s name is Lemo… pronounced Lame-O. Some folks just don´t get a break I guess.

We thank God for gentle reminders when we mess up… because harsh reminders stink. I´m very proud of Colleen for the progress she is making in language and culture, and I´m realizing that I have a long way to go. I thought that I´d pretty much got the handle on Spanish and could focus on Emberá bedea and Woun meu, the languages in the two indigenous groups we work with primarily. And there´s much truth to that, however, culture hoppers must always be wary and careful… and remember that we will never fully understand the other culture, much less express ourselves flawlessly in it. A recent reminder follows:

In English we can speak of “with the spiritual gifts…” or we might say “with spiritual gifts…” At least in my English anyways.

In Spanish, however, if you leave out the “the”, it changes from “with the spiritual gifts…” to “spiritual condoms…”

Fortunately for me, it was just Pastor Einer and I… and he is very forgiving. But what if I had been in front of a congregation of indigenous for whom Spanish is a second language. I would have breezed right through without knowing. None of them would have ever said anything. And the few that heard me clearly might be struggling to assimilate this new teaching… or at best trying to decipher my strange metaphors. Maybe I´ve already been saying weird stuff.

Cake tare of tour younge,

alan