MISSIONS LEADER TRAINING
Read the articles “How to Train Your Team to Be Culturally Sensitive” by Shawna and “How to Prepare for Cross-Cultural Mission Experiences” by Faithward, and answer the questions that follow.
By Shawna
Source: https://www.flyforgood.com/how-to-train-your-team-to-be-culturally-sensitive/
Is the heart of your mission hidden by cultural barriers? If your team of volunteers isn't prepared to engage with a new culture, they could end up doing more harm than good as they travel. Cultural sensitivity is already something you as a leader are probably already very aware of. However, this can be a tricky subject to tackle with first-time team members–especially if they are young.
Are you traveling during a major holiday or festival? Are family units structured differently at your destination than they are at home? What past political and social events have shaped the cultural landscape? Thorough knowledge of these things will allow your team to have a greater understanding of how to interact and communicate with locals on their trip.
Words, gestures, and practices that are perfectly respectful in our home country may be considered offensive somewhere else. Find a list of "cultural taboos" for your destination and share them with your team before you go. You may want to review the credibility of your list with your local hosts. Not all sources of information are equal!
Find a local market or restaurant that offers the cuisine of your volunteer destination. Watch a film or read a book written by one of the country's celebrated authors. This will give your team a small glimpse into the culture before you even go. It will also get your team excited about their upcoming trip!
Create a Volunteer Code of Conduct and make sure every one of your volunteers understands and agrees to your rules. When your volunteers travel with you, they become representatives of your nonprofit wherever they go. Characteristics such as respect, honesty, integrity, and responsibility are a few great things to go over. Your rules for personal behavior should take into account both the cultural values of your destination and the values of your organization. Here are a few important topics to consider:
Are you traveling to a destination with a more conservative approach toward clothing? Would fancy or expensive accessories cause an unintentional cultural barrier? Do some research to determine how your team can dress appropriately (and comfortably!) for your destination.
Prioritize your mission over your media. What does this mean? You should never let a camera come between you and the people you are trying to serve. Many new volunteers struggle with this concept because we are so accustomed to sharing pictures and videos of every moment of our lives. The tendency to "overshare" is less common in other parts of the world. Encourage your team to ease back on their use of technology. If they do wish to take a picture with a local, they should always ask permission.
Travel changes us for the better–if we let it. Encourage your volunteers to take a position of humility as they travel. If they approach their trip prepared to listen and learn, they will take home a rich new understanding of the world that can only be gained through experience. Show them how to ask the right questions, observe intently, and serve selflessly. Following these guidelines will help create a safe, meaningful, and effective volunteer trip for everyone on your team!
By Faithward
Source: https://www.faithward.org/short-term-mission-trip-planning-toolkit/how-to-prepare-for-cross-cultural-mission-experiences/
Every day we connect with people who are different from us. These connections usually go smoothly, because despite our differences we share the same culture. On many mission trips, however, this is not the case. We intentionally go to places where the culture is unfamiliar and our differences are obvious at every turn. Adjusting to a new culture can be difficult. You might be tempted to judge or reject parts of the culture because you are not used to them or because you feel uncomfortable. So how do you prepare for a cross-cultural mission experience?
Developing greater cultural awareness and agility will help you see God's creativity in new cultures and be more open to the experiences others live every day. Here's how you can grow your cultural agility and sensitivity before your cross-cultural mission trip.
Connecting well with people who are different from you starts with cultural agility, the ability to adapt the way you interact with people based on the cultural context. This doesn't mean being an expert on every other culture; that's a nearly impossible task. It also doesn't mean being inauthentic or "fake." Instead, cultural agility involves being aware of your own cultural biases and managing those biases when you interact with people from other cultures.
Since most of us don't really know how to explain our own culture, the first step toward cultural agility is identifying what makes your culture distinct. Think with your group about the traditions, customs, values, institutions, and worldviews represented in your culture. How might your cultural biases shape the way you think and act? For example, you may be offended if someone shows up to an event two hours late because your culture values punctuality. In many cultures, however, arriving two hours late for an event is no big deal. Recognizing your own biases will help you handle differences like this with understanding and humility.
Cultural agility also means continually being open to learning from the differences you encounter. For example, you might find that being less focused on time helps you relax and enables you to engage more fully with the people around you.
It isn't enough to be culturally aware, you have to also be prepared to act in culturally appropriate ways. Cultural sensitivity is an important part of cultural agility, but it is often overlooked by mission teams. Being culturally sensitive involves how you act in public situations as well as how you connect with individual people.
When your team goes out into public spaces, think about how you will appear as representatives of Christ. North American cultures tend to be louder and more boisterous in public than other cultures, so be aware of how loudly your group is talking or laughing when walking down the street or eating at a restaurant. In many countries, it is common for people to speak multiple languages, including English. Be aware of how what you say in your group might sound to a local who understands English.
Cultural sensitivity also applies to how we interact directly with the people we meet. You may be invited to hear someone's story or to come into their home. Be mindful of their feelings as you respond to their story or their home. Ask questions that affirm their dignity and do not imply that they should be more like North Americans.
Before you leave for your trip, do your best to learn about the culture with which you'll be engaging. Although you won't be able to learn everything about it, you can still prepare for some of the cultural differences you may encounter. Here are a few ways you can become more familiar with a culture:
Here are some questions to think about as you research the culture you'll be visiting:
Based on the articles, answer the following questions. Then meet with your trainer to debrief what you learned. Your trainer will at times give you more assignments to help you grow in the competency of context awareness.
Ask your trainer what you can do to practice what you have learned in this module. After practicing, answer the following questions.
💡 Email option sends a beautifully formatted email directly to your inbox. Download creates a text file you can save or share with your trainer.