One thing that I love about reaching out to others cross culturally is that God is continually teaching me new things. Over the course of years, I have come up with my own TopTen Cross Cultural Lessons Worth Applying. I wrote them down because I wanted to remind myself of these ideas and values during[…]
TopTen Cross Cultural Lessons Worth Applying Lesson #9 – Go back to Christ and His amazing gift of grace at the mid-point of the trip. Most every mission trip is filled with a sense of excitement and adventure upon first arrival. Long-term missionaries sometimes call this the “honeymoon phase.” Your heart and mind are fixed upon[…]
TopTen Cross Cultural Lessons Worth Applying Lesson #8 – Don’t Forget Your Team. I must admit that sometimes living intensely with 4 or 12 or 25 other people for one to two weeks can get a little, well…. annoying. It is easy to get tired of the group think, group speak and group decision-making, even if[…]
TopTen Cross Cultural Lessons Worth Applying Lesson #7 – Be careful of gift giving that creates unwanted indebtedness. Gift giving is a special part of a short term missions trip. In many ways, when we serve on a short term trip we give the gift of our time (often taking vacation days to be on the[…]
TopTen Cross Cultural Lessons Worth Applying Lesson #6 – Avoid continuous comparisons. Whenever we have new experiences we all have a tendency to compare them with previous ones. This is natural. Our minds work to fit our thoughts and experiences into pre-existing categories that provide context and understanding. North American culture wires people to compare so[…]
TopTen Cross Cultural Lessons Worth Applying Lesson #5 – Offer to pray with people. I normally describe prayer as a purposeful dependency upon God, but it is much more than that. In prayer, we share our heart and thoughts with God. We plead with Him to fulfill His promises and to accomplish His will here on[…]
TopTen Cross Cultural Lessons Worth Applying Lesson #4 – Wait upon the Lord and Obey His promptings. Maybe you have heard the phrase, “I need to get out of the way so that God can accomplish what He wants to do,” or something similar to this. The point is not that we disengage from circumstances, but[…]
TopTen Cross Cultural Lessons Worth Applying Lesson #3 – Listen, Learn and Listen. Comedian Brian Regan has a great sketch describing the “Me Monster.” You know, the Me Monster is the person inside each of us that has to be one step ahead of everyone else, share the most outrageous story and always get the last[…]
TopTen Cross Cultural Lessons Worth Applying Lesson #2 – Begin the day prepared and end the day debriefed and thankful. I have never been bored on a short term team. There are always more people to meet and things to do, than hours in the day. Sometimes it can get overwhelming and we can get swept up in[…]
TopTen Cross Cultural Lessons Worth Applying Lesson #1 – Understand and be able to articulate your purpose. Chickens crossing a road might be a common sight in a lot of countries. So why do they?…. Why are you? Why are you coming to my country? What are you here for? What are you going to do?[…]