Learning to Listen: Lots of mud with a little perspective on the side

We had one crazy adventure last night! Four of the guys I am living with and I decided to go fishing in a town about 45 minutes away. We loaded the truck up and ended up driving down a long dirt road that eventually turned into a long muddy (lodo in spanish) road. After driving over a mile down this road, the truck got stuck in about of foot or so of mud. Lets just say we didnt end up fishing that night.

We tried to get the truck out but it would not budge. Fortunately we had a friend in a town nearby who brought his truck to pull us out of the mud. Unfortunately he got stuck too. After practically swimming in pools of mud, we dislodged his truck and were able to pull ours out as well. Once we got out of there, the next logical thing to do was clean off... in the river. Yes, we bathed in the river in our shorts. And it was refreshingly fun to simply laugh and crack jokes with the guys I live with and work with day in and day out. This night was truly an experience to remember.

As for “how I’m doing,” let’s just say the “honeymoon phase” of being in a different culture has worn off. Typically, short-term missions trips last about a week or so, then its time to get back to normalcy… this is my normalcy. Every hour of every day, it feels like my natural characteristics are dying a slow and painful death. Allow me to elaborate. I have character traits that until now I thought were just God-given and not as culturally defined as I’m now realizing. For example, I am a direct communicator who appreciates efficiency and organization. While these characteristics can function as strengths, they can also turn into weaknesses very quickly. These characteristics combined with my “fix-it” mentality feel like they’re slowly dying with every cultural interaction or observation here in Honduras. My life in the U.S. is very opposite from this rural Latin American culture. While I am used to things being quick and automatic, here they are slow and manual, while I am used to having a plan, here there is rarely a plan and if there is, it’s loosely followed. I’ve been thinking about these differences quite a bit as I run into them constantly.

Now, please bear with me as I put on my psychological/sociological/anthropological hat and attempt to analyze this situation. I’ve found myself asking, “am I just a bi-product of the culture I was raised in?” The differences in this culture are not wrong and for all I know, the way these people are living could be more glorifying to God in certain ways. However, it’s so tough not to dismiss things as “not for me” because they goes directly in the face of how I do things back home. I’m just trying to reconcile my thoughts about how I’m supposed to view things here. Am I supposed to agree with it all and want to move here next year? How do I show love for the people and their culture when most of it is very difficult for me to live in let alone adopt as my own?

Appropriately enough, I just finished a book called “Uncommon Decency” by Richard Mouw (president of Fuller Theological Seminary), which was written to answer these exact questions I’ve asked. I am not called to agree with everything here. I’m simply called to love the people and keep an open mind. I must maintain a willingness to learn. I’m pretty sure my willingness to learn has waned since my arrival. In some ways, I have shut off my heart and mind to looking for the good in these differences. My natural tendency has been to focus on the negative. From now on, I’m starting to ask God to keep my heart in check by teaching me to actively search for the benefits within this culture. I am trying to stay teachable by looking for take-away’s and important lessons I can learn from any cultural difference I notice. This is what I’m called to do. I don’t have to leave Honduras ready to dedicate my life to going to the bathroom/eating/sleeping next to cockroaches, but I do hope to leave with a better knowledge of how to be “uncommonly civil” and open-minded to learning from anything, no matter how much I may disagree with it. Although this trip is an example of extreme conflict of interests (my culture compared to Honduran culture), if I can maintain a Christ-like civility and a willingness to learn for these 8 weeks, I’m sure I’ll be able to apply what I’ve learned to real life in some way.

I’ll leave you with a verse I’ve been reading a lot lately as it pertains directly to this lesson I am learning. In Philippians 4:10-13, Paul is wrapping up his letter to the church of Philippi. I feel like Paul right now writing to the “church” back home (friends and family supporting me) saying, “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” –Phil. 4:10-13

Quick update: the construction project for the new Christian TV station building is going well. We’ve being laying bricks for the past week and are almost finished with the walls. My Spanish is getting better with each passing day. My listening skills have definitely improved, however, I need to keep practicing my speech boldly. I need to be willing to make mistakes, which is not easy. I found a long paved road to go running on in the mornings, running is a much-welcomed familiarity for me. The roosters here are the most scheduled out of anybody… unfortunately their schedule starts at 5am. There are so many of them. I want to kill them all and eat them because I’m so hungry :)

Ok, that’s enough for my rooster rant.

Thank you for your prayers and support, God is definitely at work.