Observations From a Stranger in a Friendly Land

By Alex Howard

The Rev. Tezenlo (pronounced Deezenlow) Thong is a pleasant man in his early 40s. He is a native of Nagaland, a landlocked province in northeast India.

  He married the delightful Eunjung Han when he was a student in South Korea. They have one daughter (Soye, 12) who was born in Korea, one son (Yechan, 10) who was born in India, and another son (Nako, 4) who was born in the United States. It’s truly an international family.
 
“What is such an international family doing in Pueblo? Exercising Christian ministry, that’s what.

  Tezenlo is the pastor at Vineland United Methodist Church. And make no mistake about it: He and his family call Vineland home just as much as they call Nagaland, South Korea, India and the United States home.

  Because of the non-Indian members in this family, Indian laws prevent the Thongs from visiting Tezenlo’s homeland for more than 12 days at a time.   Why this is so is the subject for another day. Suffice it to say that Nagaland hasn’t always been a part of India, nor has it enjoyed native sovereignty since the British came in 1832 and left in 1947.

  Shortly after the British arrival, (as others like them have done elsewhere) missionaries came in and eliminated the native culture and replaced it with their version of civilization. That, too, is a subject for another day.

  Despite all the choices others would have made for him, Tezenlo chose to become a Methodist minister and wound up in the United States on a student visa. He has since completed his doctorate, taken the pulpit at Vineland UMC and converted his visa from “student” to “religious.”

  Everybody seems happy with that, apparently including the congregation who would be glad to have him stay here for as long as he chooses.

  What makes Tezenlo such a valuable asset to the community — and here I’m including the community of clergy with which he interacts on a weekly basis — is that he’s not stuck in the same frame of reference as the rest of us are.

  This gives us a better picture of what the world outside our narrow field of vision is about. It’s not that he has a revolutionary point of view so much as it is a refreshing one. He brings a perspective to the Gospel that we don’t have — in fact, a perspective that we couldn’t have because of our cultural molding.

  Most of us — including many of the readers of this newspaper — have so long been accustomed to the world in which we live that we have forgotten how privileged we are to enjoy complete freedom in the choices we make and how we exercise those freedoms.

  I’m not trying to get all mushy and uber-patriotic on you. I just want all of us to remember that our religious preference is just that: a preference.
  Whatever we choose, however we exercise our choice, even if it means choosing to opt out of a choice, it’s our choice.

  It isn’t always that way elsewhere on the big blue marble. Sometimes choices are made for you. Give thanks for what you’ve chosen. You’re lucky to be able to do so. Blessedly lucky.

Alex Howard is a recently retired Episcopal priest. He may be reached at veracruz@socolo.net