The Mind of a (Cross-Cultural) Servant

I spent the whole month of February in North Carolina at a pre-field missions training, whose goal was to "equip the heart and mind of a servant".  Although the trainings lasted 6-8 hours per day (not counting homework), I will try to briefly highlight some of the most important ideas I am taking away.  We were encouraged to keep "snapshot" cards to encapsulate nuggets that we took away from different elements of the training.  Here are some of mine:

-- "Transition deficit" is when we feel that we are losing more (from the country/situation that we are leaving) than we have yet gained (in the new country/situation to which we have moved).  Transition shock is different than simply culture shock.

-- I thank the LORD that He is using the difficulty and uncertainty of transitions to develop His character in me ... and that my lessons/growth can also lead to blessing and encouragement for others. 

-- A greater self-awareness and awareness of others should lead to more humility, grace, patience, unity, and love.

--"The cross is the lightening rod of grace that short-circuits God's wrath to Christ so that only the light of His love remains for believers." -- A. W. Tozer

-- We may impress people with our strengths, but we connect with people through our weaknesses.

-- "The best thing that you can do for your first year overseas is survive.  Eventually, if you stay there long enough, by God's grace, you'll thrive." -- Andy LaBreche, one of the facilitators for the training

-- If you don't go humbly, don't go!

--  Spiritual warfare is an opportunity for God's power to be displayed.

-- In regard to spiritual warfare: We do not need to be afraid; we need to be alert. 

-- We often used the phrase of different cultural elements that they were "not right or wrong, just different."  One of my friends and fellow trainees added yet another consideration:  To say "It's not right or wrong, it's just different" implies that we are still the standard by which the customs of the rest of the world must be judged.  Instead, we should seek to see our OWN culture as neither right nor wrong, just different.

This is just a tiny sampling of the many things that we discussed at the training, but I hope to continue to share more as I review that time.  Stay tuned!