That's right, Oklahoma. A friend invited a group of us to stay with her family over our Easter break. They are hospitable and super nice, so we have been enjoying our time here. On Thursday we went to a nearby Jewish art and Holocaust museum, which was pretty interesting and sad. In the evening we occasionally watched a Brian Regan DVD. If you have never listened to his comedy, you're missing out. On Friday we walked on a trail in the local park. After climbing some trees and kicking our special soccer rock, we realized a storm was quickly approaching. Being about a mile away from the car, we knew we wouldn't make it back in time, so we kept walking to complete the loop. We stuffed our phones and cameras inside Josh's Camelback holder backpack in hopes they would be less wet there. The rain began pelting us. Soon we were drenched and shivering, sloshing along the path. In order to get back to the car, we had to walk down the sidewalk next to a busy street. Instead of letting everyone laugh at us from inside their warm, dry vehicles, we pretended to be excited about it all, as if this were our original plan. I'm not sure if the garbage truck did it on purpose, but he drove close to the sidewalk, allowing his tires to plow through the water running down the gutter, throwing a torrent of street water on us. I can imagine him driving away chuckling to himself. We went to church Saturday night, so today I ended up reading a short book in my free time. To some people that is not impressive, but I'm not much of a reader and it feels like an accomplishment.
Tomorrow we will return to the school and to our schedule. I'm glad I don't have to dread it like I used to dread high school or going to work. Thankfully classes are interesting and the ministries I'm privileged to be involved in are exciting, because God is at work. It has been a much needed break, and I think I'm ready to finish the rsemester.
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I didn't really want to go, but it was the place to be. Even if the event isn't appealing to me, I've learned that sometimes I should attend it regardless, just to be with people. Although you may not realize it at first glance, a parade shows many parts of a culture. Not every society has parades, but those who do, logic would tell me they display some of their more prized possessions in the parade. On Saturday morning, I braved the cold with hundreds of other people to watch the "Dogwood Parade". Any meaning I attach to the significance of the name would be pure conjecture, but I'm guessing it has something to do with all the dogwood trees that I'm told are blossoming. Despite the 40 degree weather, the bands marched by with focused looks on their faces. I was particularly intrigued with one young fellow in the ranks of the band who was wearing the same short sleeve shirt as everyone else, but didn't appear to have a function. His hands were empty and he wasn't directing them. In fact, he was toward the rear of the formation. Maybe he forgot his instrument, or his dog ate it. I'm not really sure. There were lots of 'kings' and 'queens' of various things who were dressed up and sitting in nice cars. Some people appeared to have entered their family with no particular marketing strategy in mind. A vehicle might be pulling an undecorated trailer with a typical Ozark family, a jet ski, and some summer toys. These things may seem standard to people living in certain parts of the US, but I'm telling you, there is much culture attached. Why is candy thrown on the ground in a society where everyone is super "eco-friendly"? I saw one girl hand candy to people, and I suddenly thought, "Why don't people normally do that?" You know that the street sweepers have a great time when Monday rolls around. Actually, I was just informed that people weren't supposed to be throwing it. In some cultures, I could see how that would be offensive. "Here, eat this off the ground like a pig, instead of me handing it to you like a fellow human being." That might be the basic unspoken message that would be communicated to some cultures. I'm always amazed at the varied ways that people think, and I realize that learning a culture is not a simple task.
CLA Methodology. Does that mean anything to you? I didn't know what to expect. That is the name of the class we started last week. CLA stands for "culture and language acquisition", which is a fancy way of describing the process of learning a society's language and culture. It soon became apparent that, besides the boring name, it will speak to some of the core issues I will face as a missionary. No matter what group I work with, it will be necessary to learn their language and also the way they think. I'm told that language and culture are pretty much inseparable, but I find a tendency to focus more on language. It is quite striking how vast the differences can be between our culture and another societies'. For instance, one tribe in Indonesia considered it adultery for a woman to be on a motorcycle with a man who wasn't her husband. It would be incredibly easy to commit a cultural blunder that would offend someone or make you the laughingstock of the village. Many cultures operate on the basis of shame, so there are certain things you would want to refrain from doing, even though they seem perfectly normal in America. I'm reminded of a story I read about an American man who was working overseas. He employed some of the locals to take surveys, but noticed that one man was making up answers. He ended up firing the guy. It didn't go over well and the man shunned him from then on. When a similar problem came up again, he asked a local pastor for advice. The pastor instructed him to send someone else to talk to the problematic employee and warn him of the imminent consequences of his ways. This way the employee was not shamed by the confrontation, and thereafter acted as if he and his boss were friends. This seems backward to us as Americans, but such things must be taken into account when working in a cross-cultural setting. These kinds of issues are probably included under the umbrella of "becoming all things to all men", which is necessary in order to introduce them to the God of the universe.
One of the things that is common around the world is a mixing of animistic beliefs with a major world religion, such as Islam or Catholicism. This is called a 'folk religion'. Today we began a class to discuss folk Catholicism, since this is rampant in South America among various people groups. This can be seen when crosses or Mary are incorporated into a form of appeasement of the spirits whom the tribal people fear. Or maybe a city dweller goes to the Catholic mass, but stops at the diviner on the way home to figure out why he has been feeling sick.
Last night at the drug rehab center, I talked to a guy who wants to one day become a missionary or do something to help people. He had been reading parts of the book I gave to another guy that left earlier in the week, so I gave him his own. I struck up a conversation with one guy who had been around drugs all his life because of his family. It was cool how he opened up a little and shared his story with me. When he heard I am studying to be a missionary, he assured me he believed in God. He had some understanding of the God of the Bible, but when he quoted John 3:16, I was a little worried with his response. In his mind, it seemed that eternal life was contingent on a person obeying God every day for the rest of his life. His idea of what salvation is was very fuzzy and misguided. He seemed interested in knowing more, so I gave him the other "By This Name" book that was in my car. Later on, I was saddened by a guy who was demonstrating his rebellion against the program by making lots of snide comments. "I'm not an alcoholic...I just like to drink." He may have been somewhat joking, but he doesn't seem serious about staying sober and will probably not make it. In time, he will probably get arrested for driving under the influence and may even end up back at treatment. It is a sobering thought to know how serious these addictions are and how quickly they can lead to death. Still, God is working at that place, even if some of them choose to reject Him. Thanks for praying! |
AuthorWe are normal people who believe that God would have us serve Him in Brazil. We are saddened by the existence of people who do not have access to the gospel due to their location and language. We want to live among such a people group and plant a church among them, shepherding the believers as they grow to maturity. Archives
November 2019
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