There's a high probability I'll pack my favorite remedies for common ailments on the Uganda trip. There's the pink lotion for insect bites and the other pink medicine for if any of us are "intestinally challenged." But there's nothing I can pack to treat culture shock.
The author of the devotional set I've been working through provides the following scenario:
When you arrive at your site, the warm weather feels so lovely, the little village seems quaint and friendly, and your hosts are so interested and neighborly. But... after a few weeks or maybe even days, you feel your attitudes shift. The honeymoon is definitely over. Suddenly the heat is stifling, the tiny village is closing in on you, and your hosts won't give you a moment to yourself.
Culture shock is the disorientation that results from unfamiliar surroundings and unmet expectations.
What happens when living outside of one's own culture? After the initial honeymoon stage, one of the first things to creep in is a judgmental attitude. If things are different from our own customs, values, and behaviors, they seem, well.... wrong or intolerable, or at the least, strange. This isn't confined to OUS experiences. It's even true when we get close to another person or family here at home.
Paul, a short-term missionary, lived in and out of many different cultures. In I Corinthians 10, we see how Paul dealt with an agitated group who thought eating certain meat was wrong. In verses 23-33, he addresses this issue:
The Believer’s Freedom
23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. 25 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”27 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. 29 I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33 even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
...So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble...
Lord,
Please open my heart to these words. These are great big LIFE words that should influence my every interaction. I'm humbled tonight as I read these words over and over again. I'm imperfect. I'm sinful.. I fall short of your glory and think of myself before others or judge others when I have no rights or understanding to do so. I'm so sorry - Please forgive me and grant me grace tomorrow as I hold these words close and work to incorporate them into my life in a bigger and better way.
In your precious Son's name, Amen.Tonight I'm praying that any "culture shock" I might experience will be focused away from judgement and toward a reframed understanding of what it means to be a survivor/teacher/believer in Uganda. I think the shock can be good and purposeful if the end result is the crumbling of a cultural barrier that would otherwise keep me from praying and loving all of God's people with a fervent heart.
Time for some sleep!
MaryAnn
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