Increasing Cultural Intelligence In Short Term Team Members, Their Senders And Their Hosts

INCREASING CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE SHORT-TERM TEAM
MEMBERS, THEIR SENDERS AND THEIR HOSTS

by

Lisa Anderson-Umana

B.S., Penn State University, 1982
Master of Arts, Wheaton College Graduate School, 1993

FINAL PROJECT

Submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
ES 8624 Cross-Cultural Conflict, Duane H. Elmer
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Educational Studies
at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Deerfield, Illinois
April 2008

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

BACKGROUND AND AUDIENCE FOR THIS PAPER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

DESIGNING A SHORT-TERM MISSIONS TRIP THAT INCREASES THE

CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE OF THE SENDERS,

THE GOERS AND THE RECEIVERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Mission defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Cultural Intelligence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Definition of culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Definition of cultural intelligence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Unique factors of the trilogy of participants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Process of nurturing CQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
First: Pre-trip Preparation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Second: Post-trip integration of the experience into the
lives of participants once they return. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Third: During the trip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

APPENDIX B: KEY CHAIN FOR GOERS-GUESTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

APPENDIX C: KEY CHAIN FOR HOST RECEIVERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

REFERENCES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

iii

ILUSTRATIONS

Figure Page

1. Categorization of cultural differences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2. Apron: Be a servant! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 7

3. Cartoon depicting a particular cultural orientation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

iv

TABLES

Table Page

1 Common stereotypes Americans and Two-thirds World have of each other. . . . . . . . . . . .6

2 Cultural differences relevant to a 1-2 week STM trip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 11

3 Aspects to observe during your “Foray into a foreign land” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

v

BACKGROUND AND AUDIENCE FOR THIS PAPER

The primary reader for this paper is my professor, Dr. Duane Elmer. My

secondary readers are myself, being that I am in charge of receiving short-term missions trips

in Honduras, since I live and serve in the host country, married to a Honduran, Alfredo

Umaña, with whom I would have already made most of the cultural blunders you can make!

I consider myself a host receiver together with six Honduran host families, Camp Villa

Gracia where we will build eight low ropes course initiatives, Santidad School and church

who serve children and families who live and work at Tegucigalpa’s city garbage dump and

over a dozen members of Christian Camping International (CCI) with whom I work year-

round. The CCI members will work alongside the North Americans who will be arriving.

The other secondary reader is my USA counterpart, Henrietta Doren, for whom this will be

her eighth consecutive STM trip to Honduras since 1999. She is in charge of the goers-

guests and serves as the liaison between the sending church and myself. Thirdly are those

readers who are fellow missionaries who serve in Latin America and receive short-term

mission teams as part of their ministry.

My home church, North Way Christian Community of Pittsburgh, Pa. has

been sending me a short-term missions trip each year since 1996. I was the first missionary

sent out from that church since it was founded over 25 years ago, so I will not be receiving

strangers, but rather friends and supporters.

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In light of the fact that I pretty much hosted the teams the same way year after

year, mostly focusing on construction work at camp, I am using the research done for this

paper and the ideas that it contains as my turning point. I am preaching to myself. From

now on, I would like to establish a new pattern of doing short-term missions and we will

experiment with this year’s team in order to “test out our new theories and practices.” The

short-term missions team members are willing and quite happy to serve as “guinea pigs” and

since half of the team has accompanied me on previous trips, they are looking forward to a

change! This being the case, the reader will note that I am combining theory with practical

ways to implement it. Thankfully, Henrietta and I are in a position to test each of the ideas

set forth in this paper within three months time with an eye towards creating a solid model

for many years of short-term missions trips to come.

By the way, I would love to see research done and material written for the

host receivers not from the angle of how to better serve (pamper in some cases) the North

American STM teams but rather, how to better teach the host receivers cultural intelligence

as well how to utilize this experience to grow in their own understanding of other cultures.

Most Latin American countries are homogeneous and not nearly as diverse in culture as are

the USA and Canada, with the exception of certain native Indian populations which are

usually isolated from the general population. Latin Americans can learn just as much about

Westerners as North Americans can learn about them through short-term missions.

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DESIGNING A SHORT-TERM MISSIONS TRIP THAT INCREASES THE

CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE OF THE SENDERS,

THE GOERS AND THE RECEIVERS

Mission defined

I begin with a confession. Only after having served for twenty-five years

on the mission field and having hosted no less than 25 short-term mission teams, has

cultural intelligence even appeared on my radar screen! No doubt God figured it was

time and I was ready for a new challenge. Or perhaps it was due to the convergence of

reading of Serving with eyes wide open: Doing short-term missions with cultural

intelligence (Livermore 2006) in 2007 and then attending this class in Cross-cultural

conflict that prompted me to focus first on my own cultural intelligence and now on the

short-term missions (STM) team that we will be hosting July 5-15, 2008, Tegucigalpa,

Honduras.

Lest I fall prey to making cultural intelligence an end in and of itself, I

want to clarify that “mission is not to be the focus of our life and faith…. God calls us to

a growing commitment to a Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, not a growing commitment to

a task, even one as admirable as mission” (Dearborn 1997, vi.).

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There has been a gradual shift over the last 20 years of viewing short-term

mission as the up and coming solution to reach the world for Christ to consuming

missions trips mostly for personal benefits in what Livermore (2006) calls the “drive-by

mission trip mind-set” to seeing short-term missions as one of the many life experiences

that impact us and others, albeit a good one! I have observed this last perspective in the

writings of a number of authors including Elmer 2002; Livermore 2006; Dearborn 2003;

and Stiles and Stiles 2000 to name a few.

My prayer for this paper and the ensuing short-term missions trip from my

home church is for all the participants involved to grow more globally aware, pray more

for missions and missionaries and become more missions-minded Christians (Borthwick

1996). By all participants, I will adopt Petersen’s, et al. (2003) participant trilogy of

senders, goer-guests, and host receivers. Senders represent the church or organization

sponsoring the trip. Goer-guests is a unique term meant to clarify the role of those who

go on a STM trip as being “guests” in another country. Host receivers refer to those who

receive the “guests,” serving as their hosts while they are in their country.

As an American married to a Honduran, serving as a career missionary,

living in Honduras, and receiving a short-term mission team from her home church, it is

clear I have a vested interest in all three participants! This vested interest is what

prompts me to design a STM trip that includes increasing the cultural intelligence of the

host receivers and not just the goer-guests.

As an interesting side note, my own area of expertise is Christian Camping

and I observe a strong parallel between the temporary community formed at camp (Slater

1984) and the one that is formed during a short-term mission trip. They even share some

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of the same limitations! (i.e. it’s temporary, it takes place in physically remote places,

it’s distant from the ordinary routine of life, and “we often take young people away from

their families and then try to teach them how to live in families! We seek to teach ways of

interrelating away from the primary group to which the campers must eventually relate”

(Slater 1984, 59). Part of my “hidden agenda” is to see if throughout this short-term

missions trip we discover some helpful insights that will help us deal more effectively

with these limitations in the camping ministry.

Cultural Intelligence

There are many aspects of STM that could be considered and a wealth of

material to investigate as has been noted in an article entitled All You Ever Wanted on

Short Term Missions, (Moreau and O’Rear 2004) which if you access on-line, will

provide you with links and more than you ever wanted to know about STM! In addition

is the website of Short-Term Evangelical Mission (http://stemintl.org/). I have chosen to

focus on one part of the short-term mission endeavor, cultural intelligence (CQ). Given

that learning is an active process, one that must involve action in order to apprehend new

understandings (Mezirow & Associates 1990), together with the theory base of cultural

intelligence, I have created very practical ways in which to nurture it. Since the

implementation of these practical ideas will be the key, I will literally provide a key chain

to each of the trilogy of participants to carry with them during the 11-day trip. Given the

myriad of pressing concerns and the rush of new experiences, a key chain will provide us

all with a handy tool to remind the senders to pray, and the goers and receivers to seize

the moment each time they put their hand in their pocket. Throughout this paper, I will

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describe the different “keys” that will hang on each of the key chains. Images of these

three key chains can be found in Appendices A, B and C.

My hope is while these ideas and practices are applicable to a 11-day trip

the lessons learned will also be transferable to other opportunities for cross-cultural

connections once the trip is over.

Definition of culture

Culture, in the era of computers, can best be understood as the software

that runs our minds, mental software (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005). As a mental

program it contains the patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting that are likely to happen

given one’s past and social environment. Culture determines, to a large degree, what

people value, what they regard as right or wrong, what they believe to be true or false,

their likes and dislikes and what they regard as acceptable or unacceptable. It is passed

down from generation to generation. “Culture is in the person, not the setting or the

context” (Storti 1994, 40). Let us not be fooled by appearances, even though the

computers and office equipment may look alike all around the world, those sitting behind

the computers retain their distinct cultural orientations. Sadly, many STM projects pay

little or no heed to culture sensitivities, perhaps they perceive modernization and

globalization to pretty well have flattened the world and minimized the major cultural

differences, or they believe culture to be more a product of the context (Friedman 2007).

Definition of cultural intelligence

I have read a number of approaches designed to help the people deal

effectively with cultural differences. The authors use different terminology to describe

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more or less the same objective, like cultural sensitivity (Stiles and Stiles 2000),

adjustment competency (Elmer 2002), learning to delight in differences (Dearborn 2003)

and making the transcultural connection (Hales 1995). Here are a few highlights

gathered from their expertise combined with some practical “keys” for implementation.

Growing in cultural sensitivity is best considered a journey. Mack and

Leeanns (Stiles and Stiles 2000, 63) trace the journey traveled by our beloved St. Peter

concerning his own prejudices against Gentiles. Even though Peter had an earth shaking,

paradigm shifting experience at Pentecost regarding God’s desire to draw all cultures to

himself, it was but a stop in his journey since he needed further work, which prompted

God to give him a dream (Acts 10). Likewise, no short-termer should consider himself

“cured” of cultural biases just because he successfully completed a missions trip.

Mack and Leeann recommend the journey start like Peter’s did: with

prayer. It was while Peter was praying that God gave him the vision. “We need to ask

God to show us our cultural bias before we enter another culture. Name your fears about

other cultures to God and examine them in light of God’s love for all people” (Stiles and

Stiles 2000, 63). To this end one of the keys provided on the key chain for the senders

will be a prayer calendar (see Appendix A) which suggests how to pray according to each

segment of the pre-during-post trip.

Dearborn’s (2003) workbook contains a number of excellent exercises

with reflection questions to start you on the journey of discovering your cultural fears and

biases as well as exercises designed to help you learn to delight in the differences. Just to

give the reader a flavor of his exercises, Table 1 provides an example followed by

suggested questions for reflection and discussion (Dearborn 2003, 25-26).

6

Common stereotypes Americans have of Common stereotypes people in the Two-Thirds
people in the Two-Thirds World World have of Americans
lazy aggressive
inefficient preoccupied with tasks
emotional harshly pragmatic
slow and unmotivated tense and pressured
rooted in traditions discontented and lonely
corrupt leaders corrupt leaders
naive educated
strongly interdependent strongly individualistic
eagerly seeking a better life securely enjoying the good life
highly spiritual highly materialistic
Table 1 Common stereotypes Americans and Two-thirds World have of each other
Evaluate the list of stereotypes. To what extent do you share these

impressions of people in the Two-thirds World and of Americans? Which stereotypes

would you delete? What stereotypes would you want to add? What challenges and

opportunities do these stereotypes create? Our short-term missions team is using

Dearborn’s workbook (2003) to prepare for this trip.

Elmer’s approach throughout all three of his “cross-cultural” books is his

strategic use of the concept of differences. He defines cross-cultural conflict (1993) in

terms of differences, “the existence of differences which when misunderstood or

unresolved create distance in relationships”. In Cross-cultural connections (2002) he

admonishes us to broaden our category of differences in order not to label the cultural

differences we observe as right or wrong, prompting us to declare “It’s not wrong, it’s

just different!” when facing aspects of a culture we do not understand. I have modified

his diagram to add yet another category called “Not as good” in light of my own

tendencies to maybe not declare something as being “wrong” but rather just “not as

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good” as my way. Sadly, it may have been my way of rationalizing my rejection of some

difference.

Right Differences Not as Wrong
good
Figure 1: Categorization of cultural differences, adapted from Duane Elmer, Cross-cultural
connections (Downer’s Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity Press, 2002), p. 27. Used by permission.

This simple diagram will serve as a key on the key chains of both the

goers-guests and host receivers (see Appendices B and C) to remind them to broaden

their category of differences.

In Cross-cultural servanthood (2006) he makes a sharp difference

between serving with a towel or with a robe. His biblical exegesis leaves no doubt that

since God connected with us as a servant in the form of his Son Jesus Christ, we best

connect with others across cultures choosing not the robe of royalty and special

privileges but rather the towel of a lowly, humble, obedient

servant going not to be served but to serve. To remind the

goers-guests and host receivers to choose servanthood, each

keychain contain a small apron, see figure 2, which is a more

culturally appropriate symbol for Latin America since many

people have servants (domestic help) and they often wear

aprons to work in). Figure 2 Apron: Be a servant!

Expectations play a huge role in life in another culture. “Every

disappointment or frustration you experience is a result of some expectation that has been

violated or unfulfilled” (Elmer 2002, 54). That being the case, I have adapted an exercise

from Elmer’s book (2002, 56) to help our goers-guests and host receivers bring to the

surface their expectations by naming them, owing them and comparing them with what

8

may be reality. This, in the hope of closing the gap between expectations and reality and

thus allowing us all to have a “more positive experience, leave a positive impression on

each other and thus have a greater impact for the kingdom of God. In the final analysis,

your single most important goal is to represent Christ to the people in the other culture.

That is more likely to happen when you are not struggling with all kinds of unrealistic

expectations” (Elmer 2002, 57).

The modified comparison chart, found in Appendices B and C contains

four columns. The first column contains a brief reminder of how the senders will be

praying for the goers-guests, the second column describes the basic segments of the 11-

day trip schedule, the third column, entitled My expectations, is to be filled out by the

goers-guests (a Spanish version will be provided for the host receivers), after which

information for the fourth column named Probable Reality will given to them. My co-

leader, Henrietta Doren and I will provide this information for them. This chart would

serve several purposes: (a) to inform everyone of our schedule, (b) to prompt them to

foresee possible areas of conflict, (c) to allow Henrietta and I to shape their expectations

by informing them what “reality” will probably be like, and (d) to remind them daily that

they are not alone, they are being prayed for and that short-term missions is first and

foremost a spiritual exercise (Reese 2008), one to be approached with and covered in

prayer.

While there are numerous other points of counsel that could be

incorporated from a multitude of books available to prepare short-term mission workers, I

will dedicate the remainder of this paper to expounding on cultural intelligence (CQ)

(Livermore 2006).

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Livermore adapts cultural intelligence for use in the missions arena but the

framework for CQ was originally developed by P. Christopher Earley, Soon, and Joo-

Seng (2006) for cross-cultural interactions in the world of business and the hospitality

industry. I have taken the liberty of drawing exclusively from chapters nine through

twelve of Livermore’s (2006) book to explain cultural intelligence (CQ) through the

excerpts found below.

Cultural intelligence is just a way of measuring our ability to interact
effectively when we cross cultures. …CQ will help us sharpen our focus and
service in short-term missions, and it will enhance our missional living wherever
we are, all the time. …CQ is a matrix that consists of four different emphases, all
of which are linked together. …The four interconnected elements of CQ are: (1)
knowledge CQ, (2) interpretive CQ, (3) perseverance CQ, and (4) behavioral CQ.
…The interdependence of these four factors is important, because having one
without the others may actually be worse than having none of them. (Livermore
2006, 110-112)

Knowledge CQ refers to our understanding about cross-cultural issues and
differences. …The most important part of knowledge CQ is gaining general
knowledge about how cultures vary. … The point is not to master our knowledge
CQ before we take off on our next trip. Knowledge CQ continues to stretch and
grow throughout our lifetime.

Interpretive CQ is simply the degree to which we are mindful and aware
when we interact cross-culturally. …It is turning off the “mental cruise control”
we typically use as we interact with people, stepping back, paying close attention
to the cues and intentionally questioning our assumptions. As we interpret the
cues received through interpretative CQ, we continually adjust our knowledge
CQ. These two elements of CQ are very dependent upon one another.

Perseverance CQ refers to our level of interest, drive, and motivation to
adapt cross-culturally. It is the traveler’s robustness, courage, hardiness, and
capability to persevere through cultural differences. …It is soaking in the culture
and setting the tone for others to do likewise. It is persisting through difficult
interactions, trying the food and the language, continuing the hard work of
journaling and seeking to understand what is really going on beneath the surface
of what you see.

Behavioral CQ is the extent to which we change our verbal and nonverbal
actions when interacting cross-culturally. …Behavioral CQ is being sensitive and
appropriate with our actions and behavior as we engage in a new culture. At the

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end of the day, our cultural intelligence and, more importantly, our short-term
mission endeavors, will be measured by this element: our behavior. The things we
actually say and do and the ways we go about our work become the litmus test for
whether we are doing STM with cultural intelligence. Our ability to draw upon all
the other CQ elements and act appropriately is behavioral CQ.

Unique factors of the trilogy of participants

Having explained briefly what cultural intelligence consists of, I will now

explore ways to increase the CQ of the trilogy of participants, not just of the goers-guests.

There is a growing body of research available -http://www.calvin.edu/academic/sociology/staff/kurt/

but most of it focuses on the positive impact of STM on the goers-guests and the senders.

I am thankful to be in a unique position to promote, plan for and verify the positive

impact a STM trip can have on the host receivers.

Process of nurturing CQ

I will use the following order to describe how to nurture and increase

cultural intelligence.

The most important aspect of short-term mission service is preparation;
the second most important aspect is integration of the experience into the lives of
participants once they return home; and third most important aspect is the trip
itself.
The long-term impact of your service will be deeply affected by the
quality of your preparation, and the long-term impact on your own life will be
deeply affected by the quality of your debriefing and integration. (Dearborn 2003,
22)

First: Pre-trip Preparation

Knowledge CQ: The easiest element of CQ to work on prior to the trip is

the Knowledge CQ. Becoming aware of your own cultural frame of reference will enable

you to better understand your host culture. Rather than read a long grocery list of

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“culture does and don’ts” I would recommend reading a user-friendly version of cultural

orientations. Sarah Lanier’s book, Foreign to familiar: A guide to understanding hot- and

cold-climate cultures (2000) is a very easy read, it offers plenty of examples from Latin

America and highlights the cultural differences most likely to be relevant for a 1-2 week

trip (see Table 1: Cultural differences relevant to a 1-2 week STM trip).

Westerners Cultural Differences or Orientations Majority World
Task 1. . . 2. . . 3 . . . 4 . . .5 Relationship
Direct communication 1. . . 2. . . 3 . . . 4 . . .5 Indirect communication
Individualism 1. . . 2. . . 3 . . . 4 . . .5 Collectivism or group identity
Privacy 1. . . 2. . . 3 . . . 4 . . .5 Inclusion
Clock time 1. . . 2. . . 3 . . . 4 . . .5 Event time
Achievement focus 1. . . 2. . . 3 . . . 4 . . .5 Status focus
Categorical thinking 1. . . 2. . . 3 . . . 4 . . .5 Holistic thinking
Secular (scientific) mindset 1. . . 2. . . 3 . . . 4 . . .5 Spiritualistic (animistic) mindset
Cold-climate hospitality 1. . . 2. . . 3 . . . 4 . . .5 Hot-climate hospitality
Table 2: Cultural differences relevant to a 1-2 week STM trip (chart format adapted from Dr. Duane
Elmer’s handout, Differences, 14 December 2007, ES 8624 Cross-cultural conflict)

Table 1 conveys the fact that these differences are on a continuum; tension

exists between both extremes. You cannot talk about culture without generalizations, but

remember that while stereotypes may be accurate about groups, they are never going to

be wholly true of individuals (Storti 1994). There are many excellent books available to

study these orientations apart from Lanier’s book (2000). I highly recommend Elmer’s

(2002) approach because he provides you with the basic cultural anthropologic research

illustrated with stories, then he takes you to the Bible for further insights and tips and

then leaves you with very thought provoking personal reflection questions and group

discussion questions. Remember, knowing the differences will save you some confusion,

while understanding yourself and others will reduce judgmentalism (Elmer 2002, 142).

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Scenario wi th low cultural i ntelligence
Negative Situation: Negative Action
Why is every one so
Action The entire team is
5
Can’t these people do
things on tim e? Time uptight? What’s the rush?
is m oney ! We need to to meet at 4pm, We’ll leave when every -
Scowls, get going. it’s 5pm and half one gets here. Avoidance of
grimaces; of the host fami- others who are
looking at lies have not yet uptight; faces
watch; flurry arrived with their downcast.
of activity to guests.
“ get the show
on the road”.
Clock vs. Event Time

Negative attribution Negative attribution

Scenario wi th increased cultural i ntelligence
Positive Action Same Positive Action
Hmm, Westerners operate by
Hmm , our hosts are not
worried, their concept of
Situation the clock, they seem to be
anxious right now because
Approach
tim e is oriented towards we’re behind schedule. Approach to
the event. I’ll just relax.
others to reassure them
converse and that the host
discuss families were
observations of probably just
their host talking and not
family to worry.
experience.
P ositive attribution
P ositive attribution
Figure 3 Cartoon depicting a particular cultural orientation

As a help to those who learn and retain best visually, the key chain for

both the goers-guests and host receivers will contain little 3x5 cards with cartoons

depicting cultural differences that are likely to experience (See example in Figure 3:

Clock vs. Event Time orientation). The format for each cartoon: (a) starting from the

middle of the page, a typical situation that is likely to happen during the STM trip; (b) in

the top tier, branching out from center to the left for North Americans and to the right for

Latin Americans, possibly two different thought patterns take place, this is called

negative attribution which can breed negative actions; (c) in the bottom tier, the North

American and Latin American use their increased CQ to generate understanding and

positive attribution (giving the benefit of the doubt) and thus fostering positive, edifying

behavior.

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Perseverance and interpretive CQ: This element is related to your

willingness to move out of your comfort zone into what in camp we call the groan zone.

You have to persevere through the groan zone in order to move into the growth zone, in

our case, to grow in CQ. One way to assess the goers-guests and host receivers

Perseverance CQ before the trip would be to ask them, as a group preferably, to frequent

some place (restaurant for example) where they could be exposed to people and customs

of that culture and then debrief afterwards. In the case of the host receivers in Honduras,

the group could go to a Hotel lobby or English-speaking church service where they could

sit and observe North Americans. In the case of the goers-guests, they could eat a meal

in a Mexican restaurant (must be an authentic restaurant with Latin personnel, not “YO

QUIERO TACO BELL”!). This experience would be combined with a written and

verbal debrief. Journaling, in order to increase interpretive CQ must go beyond recording

the superficial details, you must think and write about the meaning behind what you

observe and analyze the why’s behind your own reactions and those of others. Some

aspects to observe and comment on amongst the group members can be found in Table 2:

Aspects to observe during your “Foray into a foreign land.”

Food /Comida Clothing/ Vestimenta Architecture / Personal space / People interaction /
Arquitectura Espacio personal Interacción de la gente
Manner in Tone of voice, Concept of Misc. Gestures, body
which people inflection /Tono de time/ concepto language / Lenguaje
are served / voz de tiempo corporal
servicio
Table 3 Aspects to observe during your “Foray into a foreign land”

Behavior CQ: The last activity done prior to the trip is studying about the

country, culture, trends, language, and customs and implications for proper behavior.

The internet has made that much easier. Since it is almost overwhelming the sheer

volume of information you can acquire, I recommend the following process.

14

1. Filter your choice of information through this question: What do I need to do to
blend in well in Honduras (or for the host receivers, to get along with North
Americans)? Focus is on how you should act and behave.
2. Distill the information so it can fit on 1-2 typewritten pages, including phrases
and expressions to learn in their language.
3. Meet face to face with someone from that country (or a neighboring country) to
discuss the information and get their first-hand input.

Interpretive CQ: For the brave of heart, I would encourage you to check
your interpretive CQ by reading Craig Storti’s book: Cross-cultural dialogues: 74 brief
encounters with cultural differences (1994). It will test your ability both to notice the
subtle cues and then to interpret them. I guarantee you will quickly discover how
“clueless” most of us Americans are.

Second: Post-trip integration of the experience into the

lives of participants once they return

As the host receiver I have much less control over this aspect than what
the goers-guests/host receivers do during the trip, therefore I will offer a series of
questions whereby each participant can test him or herself to assess any increase in CQ as
well as be challenged to apply their new skills and understandings. Ideally, one would
take this test one month after the trip, then three to six months afterward and lastly, right
before they take another trip.
Knowledge CQ Interpretive CQ Perseverance CQ Behavior CQ
What do I know about How have I grown You are in a foreign Do I have a vocation or
the other culture that I more sensitive to country and are hungry, at calling to be a
did not know before? cues? Can I read more what place would you missionary?
Am I more accepting of between the lines of choose to eat? Will I give financially to
differences? Is my what people say and a. Find a familiar fast missions?
category for differences mean? food chain How willing am I to
broader? As I reread my b. Find a local restaurant adjust my behavior to
Am I continuing to read journal, what new (local cuisine) other cultural
and study about other insights did I gain Will I participate in conditions?
cultures, as well as read about myself, others, another STM trip? How much effort will I
biographies of the world, and God? How inclined am I to get put forth to learn and
missionaries? With who have I to know people from other use another language?
shared these insights? cultures?
There is a similarity between the control we have over campers and the

control we have over the goers-guests once they return. The key is the long-term

partnership established between the senders and the host receivers (Stiles and Stiles 2003.)

15

Third: During the trip

Appendices A, B, and C contain the bulk of the theory and practical means

of nurturing cultural intelligence during the short-term missions trip.

Interpretative CQ: As the hosts we have the liberty of creating a daily

schedule that best suits the needs of all parties involved. Given the vital importance of

time to pray, reflect, study scripture, journal and listen to the Lord we schedule sixty

minutes of quiet time each morning before breakfast for all and everyone to find a

tranquil place where they can comfortably sit, write and pray. In addition, we will stop

work or ministry early enough to leave time and energy at night, to reflect and debrief as

a group. In regards to CQ, journaling is one of the best ways to self-monitor particularly

in terms the perseverance and interpretive elements.

Knowledge CQ: Every evening, after dinner, we will take turns sharing

our stories of how we came to know the Lord. This type of exchange adds greatly to our

understanding of how God works in the people of other cultures.

Perseverance CQ: In order to persist in staying on the growing edge once

the novelty wears off, participants will be coached to identity what makes them

comfortable and what makes them groan in order to learn to how push past the

discomfort and grow through it, with the help of others. (See Growth Circles in

Appendices B and C.)

Behavior CQ: “As we nurture the other aspects of CQ, they have

inevitable implications on how we act. In a sense, behavioral CQ is the outcome of the

other three factors of CQ” (Livermore 2006, 157). I will provide on-the-spot training

immediately before we shift from one major segment of the trip to another. For instance,

right before we release each pair of North Americans to stay with their host family, I will

16

review a short list of pertinent “does and don’t’s related to proper conduct, likewise right

before we begin the work project with the Hondurans, as well as when we are on the way

to play with the children who live and work at the city garbage dump. This amounts to

on-the-job behavioral training which Livermore (2006) highly recommends. The

schedule for the trip can be found in Appendix B.

Conclusion

I started this paper by stating that missions is not the goal, but rather

learning to love God and grow in our commitment to love Jesus Christ and others is the

goal. My belief is that a lack of cultural intelligence can diminish our attempts to love

God and others (Livermoore 2006, 174) so my hope is that this paper and its ideas have

served to increase the cultural intelligence of the senders, goers-guests, and host

receivers, thus enhancing our efforts to love God and others.

17

APPENDIX A: PRAYER CARDS FOR SENDERS

www.lisaander sonumana.blogspot.com

1

Appendix A: Prayer
cards for senders
Audience: The senders
The primary audience for these prayer cards are those individuals who have responded to the
Lord’s pro mpting to prayerfully and/or financially support one of the goers-guests who will be
participating on the short-term missions trip to Honduras July 5-15, 2008. We call you the
senders because of your obedient support, the goers-guests can go!
The informat ion provided is designed to make you more knowledgeable about how to interact
effectively when crossing cultures (increase your cultural intelligence so to speak!). Further-
more, we wrote these cards to guide you praying for the one going on the trip (goer-guest).

Pre-tri p segment
2
I ask you to prayer with me so God can show me my cultural bias before I enter another
culture. As part of our team preparation I will be naming my fears about other cultures to God
and examin ing them in light of God’s love for all people.
Pray that I would work through my cultural bias by asking: Is this difference I see right,
wrong, or just different? Pray that I would broaden my category of differences and not see
everything that is different as being wrong or not as good as “the American way.”

Right Differences Wrong

Diagram tak en f rom Dua ne Elmer, Cross-cultu ral connections (Downe r’s Grove, Ill.: I nte rvarsity P ress, 2002), p. 27.

18

Day 1: Arri val — (S aturday) Pray for me to be curious about the other culture.
3
Curiosity is essential for cross-cultural service. When encountering a different culture in
the airport, upon my arrival, on the bus ride fro m San Pedro Su la to Tegucigalpa, tonight
with my host family, —and the strange way people act, live and think—pray for me to be
curious.

I need enough curiosity to seek to understand the meanings behind people’s actions, cus-
toms and ideas. If I do not penetrate beneath the surface to discover why people do what
they do, I will forever be a foreigner, on the outside rather than the inside of people’s lives.

Taken from Tim Dearborn, Short-term mis sions workbook (Downer’s Grove, Ill. : Interv arsity Press, 2003), p. 29-30.

Day 1-2 : Ti me with Host family- (Saturday and
Sunday) Pray for me to truly be a guest in my host’s home.
4
I am called a goer-guest. By virtue of this title, I am reminded of my proper role in
relationship to my host family, who will be graciously providing for me and my partner a place
to sleep tonight, Saturday and Sunday as well.
Pray for me to remember that when you are a guest in someone’s home, you do not come to
criticize or judge life in their ho me but rather to form a relat ionship. Americans have been
characterized as being the type of people who go into a country and try to change things, which
carries the assumption that we know best, our ways of doing things are superior and the local
ways are therefore inferior, not as good. That posture is like unto a guest going into someone
home and rearranging their furniture (Doolings 1994)! Pray for me to remember that I am a
guest here.
“When in Ro me, do as the Ro mans.” As we attend church together on Sunday morning, cook a
meal together in their ho me on Sunday, pray for me to try and blend in, which goes against our
individualistic cultural tendency to stand out, be unique, make a statement, etc. Latin
American society is more collectiv istic, people form part of strong, unified in-g roup, primarily
their family.
By the way, p ray for me to eat everything served to me, “remembering that eating the food is
an acceptance of their hospitality, and this has a higher value than the taste of the food” (Lan ier
2000, 47).
Richard Do olings, White man’s grave. (New York: Picador, 1994). A nd Sarah A. La nier, Foreign to f amiliar. (Hagerst own , Md. : McDougal Publishing,
2000).

19


Days 3-4- 5: Work Project at camp- (Monday, Tuesday, Wednes day until noon) Pray for
5 me to serve and “ do everything wi thout complaini ng or arguing” (Phil. 4:14).

Pray for me to choose to wear an apron! The towel (or apron) is
the sign of a servant. Pray that I learn the value of hard work for
a good cause. Pray that I would not be self-righteous about my
service, seeking human applause and wanting people to see and
appreciate my efforts. “True service rests contented in
hiddenness. It does not fear the lights and blare of attention, but
it does not seek them either. Self-righteous service is highly
concerned about results. It becomes bitter when the results fall
Be a servant!
below expectations. True service is free of the need to calculate
the results. It delights only in the service.”
Pray for me to be a true servant!
Taken from Foster, Richard. Celeb ration of discipline. (New Yo rk: Harper & Row, 1978 ), p. 112 .

During the evenings, Lisa and the Hondurans will be helping us get the big picture by showing
us pictures and sharing with us what they do in Christian camping. We will learn what the role
of short-term missions is as well. Afterwards, we will debrief our experience, so please pray for
me to be alert, aware and participative in these discussions.

Day 5: Preparati on day: (Wednes day afternoon & evening)
6 Preparation for ministry day, which will be done at Alfredo and Lisa’s house.

Pray for me because by this time the fascination of the culture may have worn off, and I may be
experiencing some culture shock.
A brief word about culture shock is due. “Culture shock is when you experience frustration from not
knowing the rules or having the skills for adjusting to a new culture.” Is that wrong? No, it is good and
normal to experience culture shock. It is good if I am experiencing it, because that means I am making
an effort to enter into the culture and it gives me the opportunity to know God better. God is so grand
that it requires us experiencing him in a diversity of cultures to more fully grasp his greatness. Culture
shock is normal in the sense that it is universally experienced by all who venture out from their familiar
culture to an unknown one like I will be doing.
Pray that I would not respond to the cultural differences by rejecting the culture, which can lead me to
withdraw and isolate myself or become critical of everything. Pray that I would not listen to the lies of
Satan in thinking that I am abnormal, or unspiritual for feeling this way or that somehow I have missed
God’s call, I should not be here or that I am not skilled for ministry.
Pray that I will relax and use this as an opportunity to grow and work through my feelings of discord by
journaling, asking questions, sharing my feelings with others and if necessary, make a strategic
withdrawal to recuperate and then return.

Taken fro m Mack and L eeann Stiles, Sho rt -te rm missions (Downer’s Grov e, Ill.: Inte rvarsity Press, 2000 ), chapters ten and eleve n.
Taken fro m Duane Elmer, Cross-cult ural connections (Downer’s Grove, Ill.: Int erva rsity Press, 2 002), cha pter five.

20

Days 6-7: Ministry to chil dren who li ve and work in g arbage dump (Thurs day &
7 Fri day)

Today and tomorro w will serve as a wakeup call to the injustices in the world around us.
Pray that I would not be so overwhelmed as to fall into a moral state of hopelessness and
despair.
Mack and Leeann, an experienced couple in short-term missions clarify what we can do so
that we see injustice and evil for what it is. Pray with me to:
1. Develop a co mpassionate heart. John Piper argues for a compassion for the lost based in our awareness
of their eternal destiny and the pain of their earthly existence apart from any satisfaction in Christ (Let the
Nations Be Glad!, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2003).
2. Develop an understanding of what the Bib le says about injustice. Pray that I will remember
that God cares and feels and “ so closely identified with us that he shared in our misery and tasted our death.”
Pray that I will remember that “ judgment will come beyond judgment on earth. One day God will judge the
world.
3. Be willing to take action. Pray that I will grasp, if ever so slightly, the forces that create poverty and
injustice. These are complex issues, both on the worldwide scale and here and now, but the way injustice
continues is for good people to say and do nothing. Pray that the action I am taking by just playing with the
children will prompt me to take further action in the future.
Taken fro m Mack and L eeann Stiles, Sho rt -te rm missions (Downer’s Grov e, Ill.: Inte rvarsity Press, 2000 ), chapter twelve.
Recommended reading fo r mac ro scale o f world poveryt: William Easte rly, The White man’s bu rden: W hy the West’s effo rts to aid the rest have
done so much ill and so little good. (New York: Penguin P ress, 200 6).
Recommended reading fo r micro scale: Ga ry Ha ugen, Good News about injustice. (Downe r’s Grove, Ill.: Inte rvarsity Press, 1999 ).

Day 8: Family Camp Outreach —Ministry to families and chil dren who work in
8 garbage dump (S aturday) Pray for me to be bol d in communicating my testimony (i n
Spanish) as we work in partnershi p with Lisa’s mi nistry, Christian Campi ng
Internati onal, to present the g ospel.
“The point of cultural sensitivity is not to appear culturally sophisticated or simply to avoid
offense; it is to communicate the gospel. ...The g reatest tool in sharing your faith across a
culture is to know your own faith. …To go on a short-term mission without being prepared to
share our faith is like inviting people to a banquet while forgetting to serve the food.”
Taken fro m Mack and L eeann Stiles, Sho rt -te rm missions (Downer’s Grov e, Ill.: Interva rsity Press, 2 000), cha pter thirt een.

As part of our preparation, each member of the team will p repare his or her testimony. We are
to make it clear, use the right terminology (contextualized and free of Christian clichés), and
keep it short. The goal is to write it out and translate it into Spanish so we can actually read it
today during Family Camp Outreach.
We will use the fo rmat presented by David Staal, Leadin g kids to Jesus: How to have on e-on-one conversatio ns about faith. (G rand Ra pids, Mich.:
Zonderva n, 2005), chapt er three.
The pastor who min isters in the garbage dump has asked us to present the gospel to every
single person today (approx. 175 people). He informed us that because it is a special camp
outing many will be p resent who do not normally attend his church. This is a unique
opportunity. Pray fo r the ministry Lisa serves with, Christian Camp ing International, who is in
charge of the program.

21

Days 9 and 10: Cultural appreci ati on and debrief (Sunday and Monday) Pray for me to
9 conti nue to learn about the culture as we travel outside the camp.

Even as we travel by bus to Valle de Angeles, a picturesque town
known for its artisan work, p ray for me not to sing McDonald’s theme
song of: You deserve a break today… so get up and get away to a comfy
hotel and shop ‘til you drop (or run out of
money!).

Pray for me to be mindful of the setting, to
continue to learn about the culture. If I am observant of their
practices, I can see the symbols, like how they dress, hairstyles, but
pray for me to peel back layer upon layer, just like peeling an onion
to really understand the culture. Pray for me to ask questions to
help me understand who their heroes are, we have our Barbie’s and
Bat man’s, but who possesses characteristics that are highly prized
for Latin A mericans? I will probably have noticed their ritual in
Figure 1: The quot;Onionquot;: Manifestations
of Culture at Different Levels of Depth
greeting one another with a kiss, but are there other rituals I may
have missed? Pray for me to have eyes to see, even a glimpse of
what this culture values, the core of the onion.
Figure 1: Taken from Hofstede a nd Hofstede, Cultures and organizations: S oftware of the mind . (New Yo rk: McGraw-Hill, 2005), p. 7.

Day 10: Worship Celebrati on at Umaña-Anderson house for all the host families and
10 North Americans (last evening together on Monday). Pray for our host receivers as we
worship together and sing for joy, remembering that worship is the fuel and goal of
missions.
It is an odd feeling to think that many of the people with whom I have drawn so close, I may well
not see until we are all together again celebrating the wedding supper of the Lamb! (Rev. 19:9).
Today, as we stand and worship together, may I be reminded of what John Piper wrote about
missions:
“Worship is the fuel and goal of missions. It’s the goal of missions because in missions we
simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory. The goal of
missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God’s glory. “The Lord reigns, let the
earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! (Ps. 97:1). “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let
all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy!” (Ps. 67:3-4).
John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad!, (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2003), p. 17
As we come together from these two nations to be glad and sing for joy, pray God would sear
into my heart and mind this image of the unity of Christ’s bride worshipping before His throne;
on that day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Pray for me to enter into awe and wonder of God together with my brothers and sisters of
another land. Pray that we never forget the goal of missions, God’s glory! As we go our separate
ways, pray that each of us would remember the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him
forever.

22

Day 11: Departure Day —(Tuesday) Pray for our
re-adjustment and re-entry.
11 Over the last couple of days, we will be focusing on debriefing our entire experience as well as
preparing for re-entry back to our ho me culture. Th is cycle is so common to short-term missions
that there is a diagram illustrating the emotional cycle and readjustments we all may be going
through. Please observe the diagram and exp lanation below, prayerfully covering me throughout
the next days and weeks as I move through the re-entry process. Pray for me to turn the corner and
move into fruitfulness which takes time and effort to continue to journal, reflect with others and see
that my experience in another culture was a gift from 1. Have fun. I may feel euphoric to return to the
God, something to be thankful comforts of home. I feel changed and want to do
for and to benefit others with. Fruitfu lness things differently.
2. Flee. I may be discouraged by people’s lack of
Start interest in what was such a life-changing experience
here for me. I miss the sense of community we had devel-
oped on the team. I may want to flee back to Hondu-
ras.
3. Fight. I may want to fight against the materialism,
the busyness and self-centeredness I see all around
me.
4. Fit in. I may be ready to just give up my fight to
change things and be different. I just want to fit it
now. The trip may become a distant memory.
Taken from Tim Dearborn, Sh ort -te rm missions work book (Downe r’s
Grove, Ill.: In tervarsity Press, 2003 ), p. 96 -98.

Safety and health issues
12
Dear Senders,
You will note the obvious omission of prayer for safety and health in this prayer calendar.
We know that you will pray for that nevertheless. We are concerned over what we observe
to be a growing cultural view in A merica that safety is our highest value. We will not take
unnecessary risks and will be prudent, however, we refuse to worship safety over God. We
believe we have a Protector to who m we entrust our lives and well-being, therefore, we
have guided you to pray for many other aspects of this trip. Taken from Mack and Leeann’s Stiles Guide to Short-
term missions. (Downer’s Grove, Ill. 2000. ), p.149.

23

APPENDIX B: KEY CHAIN FOR GOERS-GUESTS

Prayer calendar Schedule My Expectations Probable Reality
Day 1 Arrival day (Sat.)
Pray for me to be curious 4-hour bus ride from San
about the other culture. Pedro Sula to Tegucigalpa
Days 1 & 2 Host family experience (Sat.
Pray for me to behave as a night & all day & night on
guest, appreciative and Sunday)
nonjudgmental.
Days 3, 4, & 5 Camp- work project
Pray for me to serve and (Monday, Tues. Wed. ‘til
“do everything without noon). Build 8 ropes courses
complaining or arguing” initiatives.
(Phil. 4:14).
Day 5 Preparation for ministry
Pray for me as I may be days (Wed. afternoon &
experiencing culture shock evening at Lisa’s house, will
or fatigue. include some R&R and a
home cooked meal)
Day 6 & 7 Ministry to children who
Pray for me to develop a work in garbage dump
compassionate heart, to (Thursday & Friday)
develop an understanding Visit the garbage dump, do
of what the Bible says light chores at school, serve
about injustice, and to be as needed, play with
willing to take action. children.
Day 8 Family camp outreach
Pray for me to be bold in (Saturday)
communicating my Share my testimony in
testimony (in Spanish) as Spanish today as part of a
we work in partnership presentation of the gospel to
with Lisa’s ministry to families and children who
present the gospel today. work at garbage dump.
Day 9 & 10 Tourist attraction /hotel/
Pray for me to continue to shopping/ Debrief (Sunday
learn about the culture as & Monday)
we travel outside the camp.
Day 10 Worship Celebration at
Pray for our host receivers Umaña-Anderson house for
as we worship together and all host families and North
sing for joy, remembering Americans (last evening-
that worship is the fuel and Monday)
goal of missions.
Day 11 Departure day (Tuesday).
Pray for our re-entry and We travel by bus 4 hours
re-adjustment process to from Tegucigalpa to San
life in the USA. Pedro Sula where we fly out
from.
Adapted from Duane Elmer, Cross-cultural connections (Downer’s Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity Press, 2002), p. 56. Used by permission.

24


1

Appendix B: Cards for
key chain for goers-guests
Audience: The goers-guests
The primary audience for these cards are those individuals who have responded to the Lord’s
prompting to go on the short-term missions trip to Honduras July 5-15, 2008. We call you the
goers-guests because of your obedience in going and to remind you that you are going as
guests, to the hosts who will receive you, Lisa Anderson-Umaña and her team of Hondurans.

We call the informat ion provided “keys” since no doubt if you use them, they will unlock the
doors to discovering the great treasures the Lord has prepared for you. They are designed to
teach you how to interact effectively when crossing cultures (increase your cultural intelli-
gence so to speak!). The cartoons were created taking material fro m Duane Elmer’s book:
Cross-cultural connections (Downer’s Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity Press, 2002).


2
1 What treasures will you discover when you use this key?

It’s not wrong, it’s just different.
Widen your category of differences!

In my own life (Lisa) living in a foreign culture, I d iscovered that I had developed a subtle
variation of “It’s wrong category” called “It ’s not as good.” Maybe I wouldn’t be so crass as to
say “it’s wrong” but in reality the assumption underlying both categories is still the same: My
way is better.

Diagram tak en f rom Dua ne Elmer, Cross-cultu ral connections (Downe r’s Grove, Ill.: I nte rvarsity P ress, 2002), p. 27. Used by permission.

25



Since God connected with us as a servant in the form of his Son
Jesus Christ, we best connect with others across cultures choos-
ing not the robe of royalty and special privileges but rather the
towel of a lo wly, humb le, obedient servant going not to be
served but to serve.
To encourage you to choose servanthood we will be g iving you
a min iature apron. (this is a more culturally appropriate symbol
for Latin A merica since many people have servants—domestic Be a servant!
help— and they often wear aprons to work in).
In your journey to become a servant, remember these key steps:
Humility is the posture of a servant
Openness meaning welco ming others into your presence
Acceptance communicates respect for others
Trust entails build ing confidence in relationships Lastly, Serving is to becoming
Learning seeks information that changes you like Christ to others
Understanding means seeing through the other’s eyes
I highly recommend reading Cross-cultural servanthood by Duane Elmer (Downer’s Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity Press, 2006). He thoroughly explains each of these characteristics.

What treasures will you discover www.lisaandersonumana.blogspot.com

when you use this key? Step 3
4 Growth Zone
Growth Zone
If the Lord
blesses your
efforts and
Step 1 those around
Co mfort Zone you cooper-
Co mfort Zone ate, what
Identify what do you would that
need to have around growth look
you to be comfort- like? What
able? Draw or write it. would it
entail? How
would some-
one notice
Groan Zone your growth?
Groan Zone
Step 2
What causes you to groan? What stuff makes
you uncomfortable? Draw or write it. Growth Circles

26

Negative Situation: Negative Action
Why is every one so
Action The entire team is
5
Can’t these people do
things on tim e? Time uptight? What’s the rush?
is m oney ! We need to
to meet at 4pm, We’ll leave when every -
Scowls, get going. it’s 5pm and half one gets here. Avoidance of
grimaces; of the host fami- others who are
looking at lies have not yet uptight; faces
watch; flurry arrived with their downcast.
of activity to guests.
“ get the show
on the road”.
Clock vs. Event Time


Hmm, Westerners operate by
Hmm , our hosts are not
worried, their concept of
Situation the clock, they seem to be
anxious right now because
Approach
tim e is oriented towards
we’re behind schedule. Approach to
the event. I’ll just relax.
others to reassure them
converse and that the host
discuss families were
observations of probably just
their host talking and not
family to worry.
experience.
P ositive attribution P ositive attribution

What a wonderful
Negative opportunity to get to know
Negative Action
Time’s a’wastin! We
Action Situation:
6 raised a lot of money to
come here and get the The tea m is build-
new people. If it makes
work so much m ore enj oy-
j ob done. These people able, then why aren’t the
Glaring at those ing a ropes course.
Am ericans stopping to chat. Finding excuses
need to stay on task.
who are talking; The job can get done
if everyone pitches
to wander off;
head down, avoiding contact
in. But, the Hondu-
focused on task; rans keep talking to with those who
overcompensating everyone. are scowling.
to make up for
those “ slackers”
Task vs. Relationship

I need to understand that their
Starting a People come first. Situation culture does focus forem ost on the Showing interest
People are more im por-
conversation as tant than projects.
task, it’s not wrong, it ’s different. and appreciation
They don’t m ean to hurt any one’s
you work, May be my first task is for the work
pausing every so being done,
often to make asking permis-
eye contact, sion to take
showing interest breaks and have
in getting to hear down time to
people’s stories. hang out.


27

Negative I thought we were Negative Action
Why is she taking it so
Action friends! She barely knows
7 personally ? All I did was
mention there was room for
Situation: me and y et has criticizes the
Jody was sharing way we do things here.
Wonder what is improvement. I was just
her observations Due to feeling
try ing to be helpful.
going on, why did of life in Hondu- very offended,
Blanca withdraw? ras with her new avoid contact;
Try to further friend Blanca. “ walk on egg-
explain what she shells,” and keep
meant, break the your distance.
problem observed Categorical vs. Holistic
into parts to thinking
analyze and solve
it.
Positive Action Same Situation I need to understand that Westerners Positive Action
Life and friendship is like a do not mean to offend with their
tapestry , y ou cannot separate criticism, they see the world differ-
Apologize for them, the threads are all woven
ently , preferring to putting every- Approach your
together. Focus on the posi-
offending tive.
thing into a neat category . friend, confess-
Blanca. Praise ing hurt but
and affirm her willingly try
friendship and again to develop
appreciation for the friendship.
her country.


Negative Situation: They have not said any thing Negative Action
Action Hmm, will he ever get to his The sermon was about my serm on. I wonder if
8 point? He keeps going
around and around, with no translated well
they liked it. They probably
think they can do better. No
Offer to help him clear logic or outline in but the North doubt since they are so well Try to learn
write an three- mind. May be he is not Americans educated, there way is better.
the proper
prepared...
point outline of couldn’t make American way
what he wants to heads or tails of of preaching,
say; correct his it. feel insecure .
tendency to beat
around the bush Straight (linear) vs.
and show him curve d (spiral) logic
the right way to
speak. Negative attribution Negative attribution

Scenario wi th increased cultural i ntelli-
Positive Same We do think logically , but in a Positive Action
Action Oh, so there’s more than one m ore indirect, roundabout
form of logic? It’s not wrong, Situation m anner. Their logic fits to-
Comment on it’s just different! Their form of gether like a chain link fence. Learn from other
the main point logic looks Each culture has its own ways of thinking,
form of logic.
of his sermon without holding
and discuss the in contempt your
illustrations, own.
validating his
form of
preaching.

28

APPENDIX C: KEY CHAIN FOR HOST RECEIVERS

The key chains of the goers-guests and host receivers are identical with the exception of
the first three cards which you will find below.

www.lisaander sondeumana.blogspot.com

1
Appendix B: Cards for key
chain for host receivers
Audience: The host receivers
The primary audience for these cards are those individuals who have responded to the Lord’s
prompting to jo in as hosts of the short-term missions trip to Honduras July 5-15, 2008. We call
you the host receivers because of your obedience in receiving our guests from North A merica.
We call you hosts and you will serve together with Lisa Anderson-Umaña to receive this group
of a dozen North Americans fro m her ho me church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
We call the informat ion provided “keys” since no doubt if you use them, they will unlock the
doors to discovering the great treasures the Lord has prepared for you. They are designed to
teach you how to interact effectively when crossing cultures (increase your cultural intelligence
so to speak!). Remember, although it corresponds to the guest to adapt to the host culture, we do
not want you to lose the opportunity to grow in your awareness and understanding of another
culture. On this trip you will rub elbows with North A mericans, but who knows with who m the
Lord may lead you to serve Him in the future.

29

www.lisaander sondeumana.blogspot.com

2

As a host receiver, we ask you to commit to the following:

1. Co mplete devotional book that has been translated into Spanish in order for us to participate
in the preparation for the Short term missions experience. This book will also be studied
and discussed during the trip itself.
2. Co mmit to being present with the team fro m the day of their arrival, Saturday July 5, until
their departure, Tuesday, July 15 (with the exception of Sunday/Monday morning when the
North Americans will be spending some time alone as a team to do debriefing and
reflection.)
3. Co mmit to wo rk alongside the North Americans whether that be in camp build ing ropes
course elements or playing with the children at the school by the city garbage dump.
4. Co mmit to helping lead key aspects of the Family Day outreach at Camp on Saturday.
5. Co mmit to meeting after the trip for a t ime of debrief and reflection at Lisa’s house.


3

It’s not better, it’s just different.
Widen your category of differences!

As Latin A mericans, we may be inclined to bow our heads when we see how North A mericans
do things and mu mble to ourselves: Their way is better than ours. We tend to undervalue our
culture compared to their do minant culture. God has manifested His character in unique ways in
every culture and just like every culture has ways that manifest His character, each culture has
ways to distort His character and values. Let’s learn to say, it’s not better, it’s different.
Diagram tak en f rom Dua ne Elmer, Cross-cultu ral connections (Downe r’s Grove, Ill.: I nte rvarsity P ress, 2002), p. 27. Used by permission.

30

REFERENCES

Borthwick, Paul. 1996. Short Term Youth Teams: Are They Worth It? Evangelical
Missions Quarterly. 1996 October. Accessed 21 March 2008. Available from
https://bgc.gospelcom.net/emqonline/emq_article_read.php?ArticleID=2234;
Internet.

Dearborn, Tim. 1997. Beyond duty: A passion for Christ, a heart for mission. Federal
Way, Wash.: World Vision.

Dearborn, Tim. 2003. Short-term missions workbook. Downers Grove. Ill.: InterVarsity
Press.

Doolings, Richard. 2000. White man’s grave. New York: Picador, 1994).

Earley, P. Christopher, Ang Soon, and Tan Joo-Seng. 2006. CQ: Cultural intelligence at
work. Stanford, Calif. Stanford University Press.

Elmer, Duane. 1993. Cross-cultural conflict: Buidling relationships for effective
ministry. Downers Grove. Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

Elmer, Duane. 2002. Cross-cultural connections: Stepping out and fitting in around the
world. Downers Grove. Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

Elmer, Duane. 2006. Cross-cultural servanthood: Serving the world in Christlike
humility. Downers Grove. Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

Friedman, Thomas L. 2007. The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century.
New York: Picador.

Foster, Richard. 1978. Celebration of discipline. New York: Harper & Row.

Hales, Thomas. 1995. On being a missionary. Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library.

Hofstede, Geert and Hofstede, Gert Jan. 2005. Cultures and organizations: Software of
the mind. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill.

Lanier, Sarah A. 2000. Foreign to familiar: A guide to understanding hot- and cold-
climate cultures. Hagerstown, Md.: McDougal Publishing.

Livermore, David A. 2006. Serving with eyes wide open: Doing short term missions with
cultural intelligence. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books

31

Mezirow, J., & Associates. 2000. Fostering critical reflection in adulthood: A guide to
transformative and emancipatory learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Moreau, A. Scott, and O'Rear, Mike. 2004. All You Ever Wanted on Short Term
Missions. Evangelical Missions Quarterly. 2004 January. Accessed 21 March
2008. Available from
https://bgc.gospelcom.net/emqonline/emq_article_read.php?ArticleID=637.
Internet.

Slater, Tom. 1984. The temporary community: Organized camping for the urban society.
Sutherland, Australia: Albatross Books.

Stiles, J. Mack and Stiles, Leann. 2000. Mack & Leann’s guide to short-term missions.
Downers Grove. Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

Storti, Craig. 1994. Cross-cultural dialogues: 74 brief encounters with cultural
difference. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, Inc.

Short-Term Evangelical Mission. http://stemintl.org/. Minneapolis, Minn.

Peterson, Roger, Aeschliman, Gordon, Sneed, R. Wayne with Hurst, Kim., ed. Maximum
Impact Short-term Missions: The God-Commanded, Repetitive Deployment of
Swift, Temporary, Non-Professional Missionaries. Minneapolis, Minn.:
STEMPress.

Piper, John. 2003. Let the Nations Be Glad! Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.

Reese, Robert. 2008. Short-term Missions as Spiritual Exercise. Evangelical Missions
Quarterly. 2008 April. Accessed 1 April 2008. Available from
https://bgc.gospelcom.net/emqonline/emq_article_read.php?ArticleID=3815.
Internet.

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