Cultural Differences that Let You Know You've Been Abroad a While

We were gone too few days to experience what some would call 'reverse culture shock,' but we are finding ourselves amused by some of the differences we are noticing now that we are back.  It started as soon as we touched down in the airport in Miami and has continued all week.

So let me put it this way.  You know you have been abroad a while when you:

Protected trees in the middle
of a Bolivian street.

• get excited about how inexpensive something is and then realize that the price is in dollars. 
• find that seat belts actually work and you are expected to use them.
• lean in to kiss the cheek of someone who has offered you a hand shake. 
• look for fresh milk at the grocery store in one-liter plastic bags.
• see a blue-eyed person and wonder what country they are from and how long they have been here.
• cannot find the bill you need to pay for your items because they all have green on them.
• wonder why the driver stopped for a red light when there was no oncoming traffic.
• say "Muchas Gracias" to the clerk who has been speaking to you in English.
• think it strange that so few properties have fences and walls around them.
• automatically toss your toilet paper in the trash can instead of the toilet.
• wonder why people are watching baseball when there surely must be a good soccer game available to watch.
• miss the shade of the protected trees in the middle of the streets, sidewalks, and parking lots.
• are surprised by how few forty-year-old cars are on the road.
• wonder if the tap water is safe enough for you to use it to brush your teeth.
• think it is normal for a taxi ride across town to only cost a couple dollars.
• see a construction site and wonder why they would spend money on a porta-potty.

Since we were only gone a couple weeks, it is not taking us long to get back to the way of doing things here.  However, I am grateful for the tapestry of cultures that we get to enjoy, and we look forward to going again where there will be new things to learn when we go, and thing to unlearn when we return.

Similarities Between Three Nations

 

Mexico, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. How are these three nations alike? Here are some interesting features that unite them.

First, they are united by a common language. They all speak Spanish. Yet that is like saying that the Australians, Brits, Indians, and North Americans all speak English. Yes, it is the same language, but the accent and many of the idioms and expressions make them quite different.  

A group of believers in the Dominican Republic

On our first visit to the Dominican Republic, I was lost.  I had been out of Latin America long enough that my Spanish was very rusty.  Added to that difficulty, the Dominicans blend their words together and speak rapidly.  When I was surrounded by the locals, I understood very little.  Mexico, on the other hand, was the easiest for us.  Was that because we've become more accustomed in the last couple years?  Perhaps.  But I think it's also because I hear more Mexican Spanish spoken here in the US than I do the other accents.

Second, they are all in the Western Hemisphere.  This is helpful to us since it does not cost as much for us to travel to these nations as it does to those on the opposite side of the world.  We can make two or three trips for the cost of one trip to Asia.

Third, we hope to visit all three of these countries this year, and in all three of these nations, IPM's missionaries are church planters.

Morning service in Cuernavaca, Mexico

We were privileged to visit Cuernavaca, Mexico, for the first time this year and see the church plant that Sergio and Alejandra Herrera have planted there.  As you see from the previous post, we were quite impressed by that church.  When they came together, they were excited to be there.  At night, the pastor had to shut the lights out in order to get them to leave.  On Sundays, they spent almost the entire day together.  Eagerness abounds in learning new things about God and in sharing those truths with others.  Although they will miss the Herreras when they return to their homeland of Chile, they are looking forward to the process of becoming completely independent.  

Teaching the children in Guatemala

In just a few days, we will be heading out to spend a month in a little town called Cerro Alto, about two hours outside of Guatemala City.  There we will be working with Giovanni and Barbara Avendano.  Giovanni is a Guatemalan who came to know Christ while he lived in California.  He has gone back to the town of his birth where he planted a church.  That church is vibrant and strong.  On a typical Sunday morning, there are over one hundred people there.  We know we will be involved in multiple ministries while we are there:  teaching teachers, training leaders, preaching and teaching on Sunday and Wednesday, and anything else the Avendanos need from us. 

Giovanni has a deep desire for his people to know Christ, so one church plant is just not enough.  When we were there, he had begun meetings in another town nearby.  A smaller group of about 30 were meeting there.  Then, sometime during the last two years, He has begun church plants in another nearby location.  His desire, like that of Paul’s, is that all men would come to know the truth.   

Students taking a quiz in the Bible institute

In October, we hope to head to the Dominican Republic to work with Enrique and Solanlly Mejia.  They have also started a church.  One difference with Enrique Mejia, however, is that he also has a thriving Bible institute where pastors and future pastors gather from all over the island to increase their knowledge and ability to use the Word of God effectively in their ministry.  

Fourth, our ministry will be in Spanish.  I will do all of my teaching in Spanish.  Over the past couple years, I have become much more comfortable doing this, but I still feel very inadequate.  I would greatly appreciate prayers for fluency, especially since I am often teaching new material every time I go.  

Preaching through a translator

Charlie teaches through a translator.  In Mexico, the translator that was available had never translated before.  His command of English was good, but translating in front of a group of people, some of whom also have an adequate command of English, was intimidating.  In the Dominican Republic and in Guatemala, the missionary men themselves do the translating.  Their command of English is excellent, and they do a great job of translating.

We are looking forward to the next month in Mexico.  There is still much to be done before we leave, but we are eager to go.

Waiting to Return

“I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.  My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.”  Psalm 130:5-6

Spanish swirls around me as I wait for the Miami-bound plane.  I could easily be in a Latin American country, but I’m not there yet.  Instead I’m in the nether land of airport-secure zones while we wait for our delayed plane.  CNN broadcasts its headlines into the room, but the only contact with the real world outside is through the tinted glass looking out on the skyline of New York City.

We all wait.  Some sleep.  Some read.  Some talk.  Some text.  Some work on their computers.  One man listens to music, his fingers keeping time against his temples.  A couple of twenty-something parents try to keep their twin toddlers happy.  Fortunately the little boy just dozed off a few minutes ago, but the girl, pink sneakers kicking the air, desperately wants to be released from her stroller cage.  An orange lollipop pacifies her.
We all wait.  For most the waiting is passive.  We have one assignment.  Get on the plane when it arrives.  There is nothing we can do to make the plane get here sooner.  There is nothing we can do to make our trip more pleasant.  All the preparation work was done before we got here, and we sit here waiting.

It is so unlike the waiting we are called to do when we wait upon the Lord.  That is an active, expectant waiting.  Like the psalmist’s watchman, I have worked the night shift when the first rays of dawn across the sky were happy reminders that my waiting for home and bed were almost over.  I was actively doing my job while I waited, but the streaks of morning light were much more exciting to me than the arrival of a delayed plane.

When it comes to waiting for the Lord and for His return, there is no comparison.  Every day I know His return draws nearer.  Even though I don’t know when it will be, I am sure that every day brings me one day closer to seeing Him, and I happily wait, almost as though on tiptoe.