In October me and my boyfriend who is originally from Sri Lanka, went to visit a newly wed couple. They got married in Sri Lanka. There were also some other people present who were all part of the same church. When they came to Belgium they converted from boeddhism to chrisianity and now they have a very strong faith and go to church every Sunday. The pastor was also there. She convinced me and my boyfriend to go and have a look at the next church service. My boyfriend called Imran is muslim but he does not have a very strong faith. So he did not have any problem to go.
The women who were at the house had been cooking together and they prepared some delicious dishes. The whole table was full of food. They asked us to sit at the table and eat. While we were eating some of the women kept on staring at us how we were eating. I thought it was strange and I thought maybe they have a doubt about the taste. So quickly I said it was delicious and they were happy to hear that but still they kept on staring at us..
Next Sunday we met the couple again to go to the church. The wife was holding her bible. Once we arrived we saw the church was full of people. Mostly Africans but also a lot of Sri Lankans and only a few Belgians. They were all singing and dancing. It was a bit of a shock because its totally different from the usual church services in Belgium. I saw the newly wed woman, called Naomi sitting very still. I asked if she liked the service. She told me that she is still a boeddhist and she is new in Belgium so she still had to get used to it. I thought maybe she is only doing it to please her husband?
When the service was finished, we were introduced to some of the other people of the church. Everyone was very friendly and I could tell that they were very strong believers. They all asked us if we would come again.
When we went outside me and my boyfriend felt happy because of the kindness of the people there. It is not something you experience every day in Belgium.
The next Sunday, however, we did not go to the service and immediately Imran got a phonecall from his friend to ask why we did not come. Then he asked him to come next week. But that week we also did not go because we did not have time and now we do not go anymore because that man got a little bit angry because we did not go and I do not want to be there if they are forcing us to be there. It is your own choice if you want to be there or not..
