Ethnic meal passed the plate around the world during Global Focus Week

The aroma of a variety of worldwide cuisine filled the Alumni Ballroom Thursday evening as students immersed themselves in different cultures and pondered the thought of meals as God’s “sacred space” through LU Serve’s Ethnic Meal event.

The meal was one of many activities offered through LU Serve’s biannual event known as Global Focus Week. During the week, students had the opportunity to interact with many global mission organizations, browse goods from vendors and attend cultural events. 

Ethnic Meal attendees were assigned two different countries where they would enjoy an authentic meal. Countries represented included Colombia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, the Czech Republic, Lebanon, Israel, France, Rwanda, Turkey and India. Many of the representatives from each country prepared the dishes for students and lived in the country they represented for some time. 

Sophomore Daniela Garcia hails from Bogota, Colombia, and during the event, she served students at her table and shared about her culture. At the Colombia table, students enjoyed a meal of steak, rice and beans accompanied by a traditional Colombian drink  called Argua e’Panela, which is made from lemon juice, sugar cane and water.

Garcia’s father has a nonprofit organization that operates in one of the poorest areas in Bogota. Throughout her life, Garcia has seen the impact a meal can have on a person in poverty. Garcia shared that meals often become a vessel for the Gospel to be shared and a way to show someone dignity. 

“If I’m going with my dad to a specific community, I’m going to make sure I know their names, and I’m going to make sure I know what they’re going through,” Garcia said. 

For Garcia, having the opportunity to share her culture and see students interested in learning more about her culture makes her feel loved. 

“I feel so loved because people are interested in my culture and more than just food,” Garcia said. “They are interested in what we do, how we eat and how we share with one another.”

To conclude the night, three presenters spoke to students about the importance of fellowship over meals in ministry. Associate Director of International Engagement at LU Serve Daniel Smith was once a travelling photographer. During his time abroad, Smith photographed places and people from many countries. 

 Smith presented some of his favorite photos he had taken abroad, many of which were of people. Smith shared that he loved the photos he had taken in various environments, but explained that he noticed a difference between photos he took on the street and photos he had taken over a meal. 

“As much as I love these photos … when I compare(d) them to other images I’ve taken at meals, I realized there were some differences there,” Smith said. 

The difference, Smith said, was the expression on the faces of the people in an authentic moment. Smith explained that the cultural lessons he learned over meals could not have been learned elsewhere. 

“Over and over I learned so many things through meals … that I would have never learned through just walking the streets taking photos of people,” Smith said. 

Student Abbey Hayes followed Smith with a brief time of sharing about her time serving in ministry in Wales over the past summer. Hayes taught fitness classes while working with missionaries stationed in Wales, and her primary objective was forming relationships for the chance to share the Gospel. Hayes shared that learning culture and forming relationships through meals can be awkward but always rewarding in the light of God’s plan. 

Director of International Engagement for LU Serve Steven Gillum ended the night by challenging students to see meals as God’s “sacred space.” He admitted that even in his own life, he has often forgotten to take time during a meal to enjoy the presence of others. 

“I think, in our culture, we have forgotten that space,” Gillum said. “We are more interested in our phones, what’s in front of us. We are more interested in what’s next. We’re rushing, we’re standing and not sitting … We have forgotten God is the giver of food in our meals.”

Gillum and his wife experienced many meals with both friends and strangers through his time abroad. Gillum, echoing Smith, agreed that cultural values are underneath the food people share. Meals offer a space for people to learn about various aspects of culture, he explained. 

“The food that we see is not just a picture of art there, it’s also simply just an opportunity to know God through his creation and his created ones,” Gillum said. “So when we see food in that manner, we see meals are God’s designed sacred space he created for us.” 

Gillum left students with a challenge to see meals as a mission field. 

“Let’s reclaim our meals with that missional purpose, and let’s do it for his glory,” Gillum said.