Whatever is True

I'm embarrassed at how surprised I am when God answers prayer!

I prayed that I would be able to start building a bridge over the cultural gaps at work, and all of a sudden, the whole tone has changed. In the past week there were three new bricks added to the bridge.

On two occasions, a co-worker used an example from Indian mythology as an analogy to explain a situation at work. But it seems that 'mythology' sometimes means an old saying. So already I have learned something. For example, P. told me that there is a story in their mythology that says when one person says something, no one pays attention, but when more people say it louder, then it is listened to. Well, that certainly explains some events on this project -- I was the one person saying it softly. It was a good analogy to the situation. And it opens the door for cultural conversations.

And today, the nicest thing happened. On the monitor for my computer, I have taped a little card where I printed out Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

P. was working with me at my desk, and suddenly noticed this verse, and was very taken with it. So he started declaiming it out loud. He read it beautifully, and loudly! So today, the day after Christmas, the sounds of the gospel were heard ringing down the hallway.

I was intimidated and frustrated by last quarter's classes on Acts & Missions. I felt totally incompetent to even have the social ability to cross a cultural gap. But the class brought me to the point of recognizing my need, and asking God for help. And I think I am experiencing God's grace, and He is teaching me how to take baby steps.

Communicating with cookies

Wow. Now that I've committed to looking for and noticing opportunities to connect with my multi-cultural co-workers, the opportunities are already popping up. It's not as overt as 'witnessing', but I'm trying to simply build a conversational background, by answering their questions, without violating the workplace constraints against saying anything that anyone in the world might object to. I work in an environment where polital correctness rules. So far this year, we have celebrated African American month, Hispanic month, American Indian month, and Gay, Bisexual and Transexual month. We have eaten lunches in honor of Indian Independence day and Korean independence day. And there is such a fear of saying something that could be taken the wrong way, that people are inhibited from normal conversations that ask sincere questions about other people's culture.

So I brought in some Christmas cookies today, and referred to them as 'Christmas cookies' when I invited my co-workers to share them. Since I had taken Friday off, to bake, my team-mates were interested to hear my 'Christmas Cookie Day' tradition. They asked curiously if we used the pre-packaged dough that is advertised on TV, and they were astounded to find out that we actually make the cookies from scratch. H. even mentioned that she had never had a cookie made from scratch. I know it's a long distance from cookies to Jesus, but maybe if they have a question in the future about Christianity, or the meaning of Christmas, they will come to me.

Later on, P. noticed on my desk a calendar that E. gave me, called 'small miracles'. The front of the calendar had a statement explaining that Jewish holidays start in the evening. Both the title and the Jewish reference caught P's eye, and he asked me what it was, and whether I was Jewish. So I had a chance to naturally and conversationally mention that the calendar includes Jewish holidays, but that I'm Christian, and interested in miracles.

More thoughts about multi-culturalism

Every once in a while, something happens at work that reminds me of how multicultural the department is. The day before Thanksgiving, one of my co-workers asked me if there was any meaning or origin to the holiday. And I suddenly realized that he didn't grow up sitting around the table at Thanksgiving. He doesn't have a family tradition of what kind of stuffing to cook, or whether or not the sweet potatoes have marshmallows on top. He never dressed up like a pilgrim in third grade. I gave a rather lame explanation, but afterwards I realized that all American holidays might be opportunities for conversation.

The firm is so politically correct that I'm afraid to initiate any conversations, or even to ask sincere questions about their culture. So I need to get better at responding to openings when they ask me something. Occasionally they will ask me a question about American culture or religion. But most discussions are work related. Maybe I can learn to run with those questions, and engage in an actual conversation.

Many of my co-workers are vegetarian. They generally eat eggs and dairy products, but not meat or fish. Most wear Western clothes (although the women occasionally wear Saris), but some have dots or other designs on their foreheads and/or scalps. I assume that many are Hindu, but I don't really know. And the most confusing thing is the way they rock their heads from side to side to indicate 'yes'. It's funny, because we don't realize that responses such as nodding or shaking the head are not instinctive, but are actually learned behavior. I'm always afraid that I'll inadvertently do something offensive. So I bend over backwards to be respectful and polite, and I'm afraid that it will come across as fake.

I need God to soften my heart, and give me a true love for those around me.

I hate to fly

It always seems implausible to me that a jet plane can actually stay up in the sky. I know intellectually that it is safe, but it doesn't feel safe. Usually, I make it through by reminding myself that thousands of flights arrive successfully every day. But in bad weather, the possibilities of disaster overwhelm me.

Last night, my flight was turbulent. Due to heavy winds (not even mentioning the rain in the sky and the snow on the ground), the pilot had the flight attendants strap themselves in for almost the last hour of the flight. And as I experienced the swooping of the plane, and heard and felt strange sounds and vibrations, I became more and more scared. And yet I knew that it was irrational -- not just because of the industry safety record, but because I'm a child of God, and know that my life is in His hands. I knew that He has the power to calm the storm, that he has the power to safely land the plane even without calming the storm, and that even if the plane didn't land safely, that my eternal destiny is assured. But I was still scared. So prayed, but I was still scared. So I tried to distract myself by working on my next Bible memory verse. Ha! Irony of ironies, I was on Ephesians 4:14.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

No, I don't think the verse was meant to apply to plane travel, but I also don't think it was a coincidence. I think it was meant to remind me that I have a long way to go to maturity, and that growth is not easy.

Preparing for the final

Now I'm frustrated again.
We still don't have our results back from the mid-term, and the Final is tomorrow. I would like to have more feedback, to understand how short, or wordy, or precise, or descriptive the short answers are supposed to be. I'd like to understand more about the style of how the tests are created. The midterm irritated me, because some of the questions were worded ambiguously. I'm still trying to figure out how precisely to read the questions. If they are worded differently from the lecture, are we supposed to pick up on the difference, and call it a false statement, or are we supposed to recognize that the topic was discussed, and call it True? I'm still confident that I did well, because I had studied a lot, and knew the material. But I would like to feel that I was studying in an efficient way, and that my grade would reflect my knowledge.

And, to top it off, I'm having trouble getting the new book for next semester. It's not listed yet in the Columbus bookstore; it's not available from CBD; Amazon's estimated delivery date is Jan 1-9; and Church Smart Resources doesn't answer the phone. Of course, it's not actually a problem yet -- I can always go ahead and do the reading from the other books first. I'm projecting anxiety about future quarters. Oops. This sounds extremely 'SJ' (Meyers Briggs) and 'C' (Disc) of me. I can recognize that I don't need to be as anxious as I am, but there is a delayed reaction before I realize it inside.

Actually, I should admit that so far the work hasn't been as hard as I expected. I was afraid that it would be unmanageable, and that I would be studying every waking second that I wasn't at work. But it's really not that bad. Compared to the work I did in graduate school, this is both more interesting and less demanding. Ha! It feels great to confess that in writing.

Have you seen the movie? No, but I've read the book.

My whole life, I've been a reader. From grade-school on, classmates delighted in asking me if I had seen a particular movie, and invariably my answer was "no, but I've read the book". It's not that I dislike movies in general -- I have some favorites that I really enjoy. But I usually only go to the movies a few time a year. So this is another area where I'm on a different wavelength from normal American culture. Somehow, every interaction I have feels cross-cultural to me.

Anyway, here is a partial list of titles that I view as books, while the rest of the country assumes they are movies.

• Mary Poppins
  
• Mutiny on the Bounty
  
• The Christmas Carol (ok, I've finally seen the movie)
  
• Jaws (this was not a literary success -- I read the book that was made from the movie)
  
• To Kill a Mockingbird
  
• Bridge on the River Kwai
  
• Wizard of Oz (I finally managed to see this on TV when I was in high school, but I didn't find out until I was around 30 that the Emeral City suddenly shows up in green, since I watched on a black and white set)
  
• Gone with the wind (yes, I finally saw it)
  
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  
• Pinocchio
  
• The jungle book
  
• Sleeping Beauty
  
• Cinderella
  
• The fellowship of the Ring
  
• Dr Doolittle
  
• Jayne Eyre
  
• Lost Horizon
  
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (they changed the movie title to Willie Wonka, but I remember it as Charlie)
  

I have to confess something. I simply don't 'get' animated films. I don't grasp the appeal. Of course, it is dangerous for me to say this, because invariably someone thinks that if I watch their favorite film with them, that I will share their joy. But I still don't get it. It's as if it's in a language I don't know.

But my funniest eposode about books vs movies occurred at work, a number of years ago. Knowing that I am involved in church activities, a co-worker was trying to make conversation, and asked if I had watched the movie "The Bible". It was irresistable. I couldn't help myself. I answered her truthfully:
"No, but I've read the book".

Acts & Missions - Recap

The final exam is tomorrow, and my head is in a whirl.

There are the things I'm studying for the test, and the things I've actually learned. In a perfect world, these would be identical sets.

Here's what I'm studying right now: the places (and verses) where Paul learned certain missionary lessons.
Here is what I've actually learned: that nothing should be a hindrance to preaching the gospel.

What I'm studying: That of the 12 purposes for signs in mission work, 5 of them have keywords that start with the letter 'P'.
What I've learned: "People's amazement is not the faith, but may lead to faith". Or may not.

I'm studying: the essential nature of missions, in the ministry of Jesus.
I've learned: that while my personality is ill-suited to cross-cultural ministry, I need to pray that God would give me grace to be fruitful in my current environment. Without traveling more than my daily commute, I'm surrounded by people who were born all over the world. I would be surprised if more than 20% of my co-workers are American. For some reason, it wasn't until the end of this quarter that it suddenly occurred to me that the very situation in which I was complaining about being a minority, could actually be something God had planned. How could I have been so blind! And what will I do now? Help! I need grace!