birthday blessings

so, yesterday we had our first "romsky dorast," or roma youth group, since my birthday.  fraňa, the leader, had mentioned that she wanted to celebrate my birthday with the group, so that is what we did yesterday.  i made a "kolač," which was really brownies, but it worked as a cake:)  we sang songs, as usual, and had cake and soda and chips.  then we played a game where four people had to answer different questions about me and the united states.  it was really fun.  then, what really meant a lot to me was what fraňa did next.  on behalf of everybody in dorast, she shook my hand, looked me in the eye, and heaped on me birthday blessings and gave me a birthday gift.

in slovakia, for a birthday, instead of simply saying happy birthday like we do in the states, the typical phrase is "všetko najlepši k tvojom narodeninom"  (i think i spelled that right) it basically translates as everything/all the best for your birthday.  that's the short phrase, anyway.  if you're saying it in person and not on facebook, then it becomes a time to hold hands, look each other in the eye and (for the birthday person) feel extremely humbled as the other person wishes you not only all the best, but much love, joy, happiness, health, children, and anything else they can think of.

in the states, if somebody congratulates you are compliments you, the general reaction is to look down as if you don't deserve it, which (as i learned at camp) can prevent you from hearing what's being said.  the challenge, then, is to meet their eyes.  to look someone in the eye and humbly receive their blessing and love.

how amazing would it be if, instead of giving each other presents and going back to our work, we heaped blessings of love onto each other?  there is no way i could have felt more blessed last night than to hold fraňa's hand and receive an incredible and loving blessing from her, and all of the dorast group.