Mission Moment #3
While I am in Costa Rica, I have prepared some posts which should, if I have set things up correctly, appear automatically in my absence. I will be back to live posting on July 16.
My previous “Mission Moment” post discussed Sarah Lanier’s comparison of hot-climate and cold-climate cultures. A similar comparison comes from another LEAMIS-recommended book, “Figuring Foreigners Out,” by Craig Storti. It’s the difference between “monochronic” and “polychronic” cultures. Monochronic cultures place an emphasis on schedules, punctuality, being waited on one at a time, etc. Polychronic cultures look at time differently.
A woman who taught a low-level Spanish class which I took a few years ago told the story of moving to Mexico. Soon after her arrival, she was invited to a party at 6 p.m. She showed up at 6 p.m. sharp to find the hosts still getting dressed, and no one else there yet. She learned her lesson, and when some friends invited her to a birthday celebration a week later she deliberately arrived late — only this time, the friends who invited her were familiar with American punctuality and had shown up on time!
On my first mission trip experience, in 2003, there was one afternoon when we divided up into small teams and did door-to-door visitation. I happened to be in a team with the church pastor, who spoke no English. I don’t speak Spanish either, but I could pick up on enough words to recognize that the pastor was inviting our first few subjects to attend the services at the church at 4 p.m.
The visitation seemed to go on forever, and we were still at it by the time 4 p.m. rolled around — which is why the pastor started inviting the people on our later stops to attend the services at the church at 5 p.m.!
Today, please pray that we’ll have the endurance to finish up our tasks and maintain strong relationships within the team and between the team and our hosts.
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