You might ask, “Why did you have to
take an orientation course?”
The answer: Because cross-cultural
living can make a person—
baffled,
confused,
bamboozled,
stymied,
discouraged,
befuddled,
and even angry.
Cross-cultural living can leave a
person disoriented. My friend Ryan Murphy, teacher at Rift Valley Academy in
Kenya, points out that when you move to a different hemisphere, “even the stars
are not familiar.” (All That You Can’t Leave Behind: A Rookie Missionary’s Life in Africa.)
Culture shock. It’s real. It can immobilize
newcomers.
It can even lead to deep depression and
other mental health struggles.
Culture shock can make people fail in
what they set out to do—it can make them flee, hurry back home where life and
culture make sense.
But orientation courses can help
newcomers survive countless changes and challenges.
Our course, called Kenya Safari, helped
us make sense of our new settings, to adjust and flourish. (See our “classroom” in the photos.)
It equipped us and our fellow new
missionaries transition into the work we came to do.
And—this is crucial—our orientation taught
us expatriates to respect and value the culture new to us, to understand the
importance of not offending the host country’s people—our new coworkers and
neighbors (see last week’s post, NEVER say “_ _ _ _ _ pack”).
 |
| Our classroom under giant sycamore trees |
Throughout our course, we learned to:
listen,
observe,
stretch our thinking,
and, perhaps most important: scrutinize
our assumptions.
We had frequent opportunities to stand
back and examine our American ways.
And many times the African way seemed
better than ours.
My husband, Dave, and I often said to
one another, “We Americans have much to learn from Africans.”
Our Kenya Safari was a gift of God’s
grace and mercy,
providing tangible answers to often-urgent prayers.
It blessed
our lives beyond measure and changed us forever.
 |
| A page from my scrapbook |
Be sure to come back next week and meet
Sheryl O’Bryan.
She’ll share thoughts on transitioning—a
process she calls being in the Groan Zone—with everyday examples all of us can
understand.
Perhaps you’re transitioning into a new
job, or moving to a new city, or changing churches.
Maybe you’re transitioning into marriage.
Or into an empty nest.
Or maybe you’re considering missions
work, either short-term or long-term.
Most of us go through numerous changes in
life so you will appreciate Sheryl’s rich wisdom—it will help you brace
yourself plan ahead for your inevitable Groan Zone.
No matter what’s happening in your life,
you’ll find good stuff in Sheryl’s message!
C’mon back next week.
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