They Say It's Your Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday (my age matches the uniform # worn by Hank Aaron and Reggie Jackson), and we celebrated it Peruvian-style. This included the crowds singing "Happy Birthday" at the end of both services at FRC-Lima on Sunday, plus a big birthday lunch in a Chinese restaurant afterward, and then dozens of congraulatory phone calls at home the rest of the day. Whew! In between, I even carved out a little bit of time to watch the Super Bowl and Bruce Springsteen's awesome halftime mini-concert.

Peruvian birthday traditions are unique. For instance, nobody mails you a birthday card in Peru. It's almost completely unheard of to put a birthday card in the mail for someone. Instead, the card is delivered in hand or by private courier, if in fact you decide to send one. There is a postal service in Peru, of course, but very few people use it, instead preferring in-hand deliveries or the use of one of the many private courier services which exist in the country.

In any case, a phone call is always the preferred manner of a birthday salute in Peru. A phone call is considered more personal. For instance, if someone in our congregation at FRC-Lima has a birthday, my wife and I will call them personally at home. To receive a personal phone call from a pastor is considered more special in Peru than a birthday card, so that's what we do. It's the exact opposite of what I learned growing up in Boston, where a birthday card was considered more personal (and longer-lasting) than a quick phone call. But Peruvians perfer phone calls on their birthdays, so that's what we do. That's also why I received just a few cards, but a ton of phone calls, all day and night on Super Bowl Sunday.

What are the birthday traditions in the country where you are doing ministry? Do you even know what those traditions are? Are you sending a birthday card when you should be making a personal phone call instead, or vice versa? Small touches like birthday greetings - properly delivered - can go a long way toward creating a ton of goodwill for your international church or ministry. It's worthwhle to learn as much as you can about your local birthday traditions.