Wednesday 04 Oct
Cultural immersion that opens doors.
Our candidates are often asked the question of what they will be ‘doing’ once they head off to the least reached people group they have been called to. Empowering a community to develop their own distinctive ways of following Jesus requires a long term commitment and ability to share deeply alongside people in their heart language. Therefore, the first 3 years an intercultural worker will spend in country, approx. 20 hours per week will be spent with a language nurturer learning the local language and immersing themselves into the local culture side by side with the local people.
Rob and Deb have been serving in Cambodia now for the last 10 months. They have been saturating themselves daily into the culture while devoting time to learning language and putting in into practice what they are learning. Embracing the local mode of transport – a bike – taking in the sights, sounds and smells as well as spending time with Khmer neighbours learning how to cook in the traditional Khmer way.
Throughout their first year of service they have found that, while they are still very much learning, the fact that they are learning alongside the local people has opened doors to conversations and inclusion in several family happenings. Being invited into the local people’s lives, is a sign of acceptance and trust, and helps to build lasting deep relationships.
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