Learning & Understanding

[Jaylen]

I very much agree with the principles laid out by Elmer. If we are not able to listen to the people we are trying to love well, then how can we effectively reach them. Furthermore, the way we listen is essential. It is important to be intentional and discerning when we listen and commune with locals. We must lean on the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and figure out the difference between a felt need, and an actual need. Then we take that conclusion another step further and make sure that our solution is not brought through the lens of our culture, but is something that will genuinely help the other person.

One of the things that I’ve found difficult in recent years is paying attention to people who are telling me stories and such. I don’t take on the identity of a person with ADHD, but it is a reality for me and I’ve certainly struggled to actually listen to the words people are saying to me sometimes. I can’t help but get caught by a thought and sort of disconnect from the conversation. For me, this is a challenge that I must work hard to avoid with practical implications, and also rely on the Holy Spirit to knock me into shape when it matters most.

[Emma]

I have learned the importance of taking time to get to know the culture you are going in to because otherwise you will go in with your own ideas and thoughts and may not be as effective as you could be. It may also drive relationships away if you have your own ideas of culture and are not open to learning a new culture and a new way to do things. This posture of learning and openness is an essential skill to ensure that positive relationships can be built and to help us see things from another persons cultural perspective.

Some ways that I can start the art of listening well is intentionally focusing on that in conversations. I often listen to reply instead of listen to understand, which is a habit I definitely need to work on for an overseas context. Another way I can do this is by trying to have more conversations with those from other cultures to better understand them and their perspective and listen to the deeper parts of what they are saying, not just the surface level parts.

[Taliya]

Duane Elmer is so right that if we try to serve in a different culture the way we understand servanthood in our own culture, it wont be effective and we’ll be “nice oppressors at best.” It is so important to learn and understand culture to inform how you should serve, and how servanthood is received. His list of the pilgrimage of servanthood makes a lot of sense backwards; you cannot serve someone you don’t understand, you cannot understand someone you haven’t learned about/from, and that learning doesn’t happen without trust which wont come unless theres openness and acceptance present in the relationship. Understanding someones culture must come from a place of teachability and humility, to know assume that you can learn about how to best serve people on your own, but you need to learn from the local people you want to serve. Having openness to understand their culture will help with that so much! I will be practicing this by asking questions and withholding judgment about why someone with a different cultural background does certain things differently. Rather than thinking and arguing that the way I do it makes more sense, I want to understand the reasons behind their behaviour/beliefs.