Living Successfully as a “Guest”

From SK 2004: from Mr. M:
            -He had learned in orientation to be receptive, patient

            -LISTENING and then after see what they think but don’t jump in right away

            -ate local; hired a cook to give her a job-Rice covered with different stuff leaves             etc.

            -One must try to live and eat like the people

From SK 2004: from Todd Roeske videotape:
            -To reach churches one would have to travel by foot horse or motorcycles

            -Solar power is what we run on

            -Gravity fed system which has given running water

            -Drinking water needs to be filtered and boiled and kept in special containers

            -3 hours closest American school so we prefer homes-schooling-US aids in giving books

            -Different sense of privacy-extended family/close quarters

            -Native style porch so they would feel comfortable and come visit

From SK 2004: from KB videotape
            -A missionary needs to keep up on their immunizations

            -Keep extra supply of medication-plan ahead for it won’t be easy to get it

            -Be responsible for the care of your body-don’t wait get help right away

            -Be flexible

            -Share your home

            -Remember that you should not by ahead or in bulk…Things will go bad.

Ideas from SK, 2004:             A Taiwan Experience interview: 
You are always in tension because you don’t look but you can speak and understand culture but your never completely Chinese. He Prepared ahead of time by getting cassettes

                                   Ideas from KA, 2003

Video - God Gave the Growth:

  • Step out of the way and let the local leaders do the job the Lord has given them. They have been where the people have been - you have not.
  • Realize that as an American, you will always be an outsider. (Video - God Gave the Growth)
  • View national Christians as your partners, not as children. (Video - God Gave the Growth)

From the book Stepping Out

  • Be willing to laugh at yourself (147)
  • View people within a new culture with acceptance, openness, and trust (148)
  • Get informed quickly about the particular health hazards in your locale (chapter 31)
  • You’ll discover that the recipients of your generosity are, in ways, superior to you (Stepping 114)
  • Remember - Every good gift comes from above, and all wisdom and knowledge come from Jesus Christ. Just as our Creator delights in a variety of colors and smells, just as He has ordained an amazing spectrum of cultures, He has programmed into people the capacity to make culture to enrich His world (Stepping 114)
  • “We aren’t to be conformists to any culture. Neither are we to be dropouts. Rather, both at home and abroad, we must be creatively different, people of conviction in the middle of the mass, the salt of the earth” (Stepping 114)
  • No list of hints can guide you through what you’ll face. The simple solution is to spend time with the local people as much as possible (Stepping 115)
    • Live with a national family, especially in first couple months
    • Use public transportation – sensibly
    • Be aware of local judgments on specific American material goods, and live simply
    • Learn to like their music, sports, games, and conversational styles
    • Get your news from local media
    • Learn to like the culture’s values
    • Have a disciplines program from learning the language; there’s no better way to begin sharing their thoughts
    • Find some of your closest friends from among members of that culture

From the book Culture Shock

  • “Culture, in its broadest sense, is what makes you a stranger when you are away from home” (47)
  • “Culture stress strikes the one hardest who is settling in to a community to make it his new home for possibly a lifetime. It is then that depression and disillusionment become real enemies” (49)
  • Spending so much time just to sustain life can be very frustrating. These time-consuming ways of getting things done begin to convince the foreigner that he is incompetent and inefficient. (54, 55)
  • “Involvement cannot be avoided without seriously limiting the effectiveness of the missionary worker. Though personal social relationships are stressful, they are necessary for reaching missionary goals” (55)
  • “If absolute cultural adjustment is the goal, then the missionary will feel frustrated: for no matter how much he may desire otherwise, he will always be considered a foreigner by the people” (56)
  • “For most people, the early experience within the new culture is one of fascination with the sights and sounds. Gradually this fascination gives way to dissatisfaction with the inconvenience caused by the culture, and eventually ends in one of four responses: (1) total rejection of the new culture, (2) total rejection of the old, (3) grudging coexistence, or (4) healthy integration of the new with the old. Only in the latter are behavioral irregularities minimized and wholesome adjustment possible” (58)

(Life and Work on the Mission Field, power point:

  • Culture shock is defined as assault on yourself, a devastation of your sense of self-value (if it’s not then it’s just adaptation)
    • True culture shock doesn’t happen until 6 months in
  • Missionaries react differently to culture shock depending on:
    • Personality
      • How open you are to change
      • How independent you are (need to be dependent)
      • How much of a self-started you are (if you need dictated structure)

      from Karen B. video:

  • Be careful to take care of yourself so you do not get sick
    •  
    • Much of the illness you get overseas you will not be familiar with, so you don’t recognize the symptoms
    • How to stay healthy
      • Keep up immunizations
      • Be very safety conscious
      • Keep an extra supply of medications
      • If you do get sick, seek help as soon as you can
  • Maintaining a home in a foreign country –
    • Think about what’s really important to you
    • Keep with you something familiar (something that means “home”)
    • Take those things that you do not think you can live without
    • Be prepared – your home will be different from what you expect
    • “Basics” may be provided, but what is considered “basic” may be different
    • Be prepared to be flexible and creative in making adjustments
    • Be ready to share and use your home for hospitality (it’s likely better than other homes)
    • Maintenance in the home is often a problem
    • Plan for clothing needs
    • Household help may be a necessity (Examine ideas of household help in that country)

    Interview with BO:

  • When you don’t know the language it’s very hard to communicate with the people. All you can do is pray for them.
  • Don’t eat anything raw – cook everything!
  • It’s good to be able to eat local food. “When I have the freedom to eat the food, I enjoy the culture more.”
  • In order to be a good guest it is important to appreciate hospitality. One way in which this can be done is by
  • From Dr. C interview:
  •  accepting gifts when they are offered
  • The place where you live, even though it is in a foreign country, begins to feel like a “home”

Interview with SW:

  • People will treat you as a guest (most cultures will anyway). They will treat you very well, be very giving, want to take you out and show you attractions etc. Yet, if you treat yourself like a native, so will they. If you speak their language and live like them, they will treat you like one of them.

Interview with D family:

  • Set aside time for family each week
  • Bring medical books

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