Category Archives: Cultural Issues

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PUSH! PUSH!

Cultural Differences (PART 2)

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“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.” Psalm 127:3

Leading up to the delivery of our first child in the Philippines, where we served, our team leader and his wife, came to the house with doctor and nursing outfits on, ready to teach us the Lamaze method of child delivery. Natural childbirth classes were underway. What a great evening sitting around laughing and learning together.

The week before, the doctor and the hospital let me go into the delivery room to put up a mirror so I could see the baby delivered. That was what they were doing in the States. Why should I miss out on anything just because I decided to heed the call to go to the Philippines?  Oh, the passion of youth! The maintenance man helped me figure out where to put the mirror.  

Two weeks after the due date I woke up in the middle of the night on Oct. 11th, 1983 with contractions telling me it was time for this little one to come.  Jim and I, like little kids, giggled. The long awaited time had come. We were finally going to be parents. Will it be a girl or a boy? It was a special bonding moment between the two of us. Until my water popped. (more…)

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FINDING A DOCTOR

Cultural Differences (Part 1)

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For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (Romans 12:3)

You can mark it down, there will be cultural differences when moving to a new culture. But it doesn’t mean anyone’s ways are right or wrong just opposite than you are familiar with, in most cases. Learning to appreciate those variances is important but may take time. Such rich varieties of cultures is God’s idea. It expresses His creativity and allows us to convey our God-given gifts as His image-bearers. We are not to think of ourselves more highly than we should but extend grace where we can when moving to another culture.

For example, one of the first things I was always told when moving to a new place in the US, besides looking for the best school for your child (if you have kids), was to make sure you find a good doctor in the area. However, pursuing medical professionals in another culture can be most challenging. Why?

First, there may not be wi-fi or google to search out quality doctors. 

Second, if one’s teammates haven’t paved the way, then strangers from your host culture may be called upon for advice. 

What questions do I ask? Who do I ask? I know so few people here. How would they know my values as to what I like in a doctor?  

Third, what if they don’t speak English? Talk about being vulnerable and feeling insecure!

By the time Jim and I arrived in the Philippines we had been married for a year and a half. We were ready to start a family. In hindsight, since we had the choice, we should have pursued language study before we even considered children. (Take note new field workers!!) But, six months after arriving in the Philippines, I found myself pregnant.  (more…)

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If WE HAD YIELDED TO A RAT

Cultureshock

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Psalms 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (NIV) 

Jim, myself and the singing group of young people arrived in Bohol, Philippines on June of 1982.We were exhausted from a long trip but excited at the same time.  After a few days the group would go back to the USA and we would stay behind on Bohol making this our home for the next four years.

The next day we headed off on a bus, stopping at various churches or towns outside the city, to minister and share Christ.  

CultureShock #1:  Riding on the roads of Bohol in a bus was interesting to say the least.  Rounding the curves at high speed made you feel like your life was over.  It was scary but somehow we all made it. The Filipino drivers seem to know every inch of that road and got us to where we needed to be every time in one piece.  

James 4:14 “Life is but a vapor it appears for a little while but vanishes away.” Everyday, after those bus trips,  this verse seemed to become a reality and an opportunity to realize our lives are definitely in the hands of God and not our own. :}

CultureShock #2:  After a week of setting up and taking down equipment you could sense that everyone was feeling tired and ready for their trip to end. The outskirts of Bohol was definitely not your 5 star hotel like in Manila, where we had stayed the weeks before.   (more…)

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FOOD GOES BAD

God Cares

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Matthew 6:25,33: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?…33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you  (ESV)”

When we first went to the Philippines we couldn’t work and receive any money from the country itself. All of our finances had to come from the USA, our home country. We shared our vision with churches and individuals who then partnered with us financially. However, we ended up going to the Philippines under supported.  

After getting paid once a month, I would go shopping. Of course, we had only so much money to spend. I felt rich at the beginning of the month and poor at the end.

What would you do if you had only a little or no more money left to even buy food at the end of each month? How might it make you feel? How might it make you think about God’s concern and care for you?  (more…)

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WHAT ARE YOUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS?

God can use our personal needs to open doors for us to connect

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Hebrew 13:2  “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (ESV).

Like many of you, after many months of raising support, much reading, planning and prayer, we looked with anticipation and mixed emotions to the day when we would say our goodbyes to family and life as we knew it. We would soon be leaving America and proceed to a new place of calling in Asia, the Philippines. Did we mention we were also exhausted?!

THE WHIRLWIND:

  • We were  married in December 1980
  • I graduated the next May 1981
  • We spent the entire  summer with 40 something young people in Philadelphia doing inner-city work
  • During the month of August we joined a singing group and started  traveling with the group in September. At the same time we began our deputation (raising support and building partnerships) before leaving for the Philippines the following year.

20160222132419514_0003Jim, my husband, lead this singing group of young people, where they would sing and he would preach. Our plan was that we would minister in various churches during the year and then all of us would finish up with a trip to the Philippines in May of 1982. I was only 23 at the time, with no kids. Jim was 25 and we had only been married for about a year and a half. Most of the students on the team traveling with us were only a few years younger than we were at that time.  

After arriving in Asia, our plan was to do a month of mission work with the team. Jim and I would then stay, making our new home and career as missionaries in the Bohol, Philippines,  while the young people made their way back to the States.   (more…)