Pursuing New Interests

Tom & boys at match

One of the great things about working on the islands is the ability to put into practice the ideas we read in books.  When we went to school for further studies we read many, many great books, but so much of it remained in the theoretical.  It’s easy enough to see the wisdom and logic of an idea, but is it practical? Is it realistic?  Does it work?  You can’t know these things until you have a chance to put them into practice.

This week we were reading as a team about the importance of being an accepted and valued member of your society.  To do this takes a great deal of time and effort and it starts—not surprisingly—with language.  But it doesn’t end there.  There are other aspects like, how we dress, what we do for work, how we show hospitality, that all play a vital role in making us members of our adopted society.  Another thing that might seem obvious, but is an important part of this integration is friendship.  Friendship may look different in our adopted community, but it is still a vital part of integration.  And yet, it is not always easy.  Sometimes the distances between culture, religion, education, and experience are so great, it’s difficult to find common ground.  The simple question, “What can we talk about?” Becomes a major hurdle.

The match

This is where our reading this week gave us a good reminder: “If you want to find something to talk about you may need to become interested in what interests your friends.”  In other words, “Expand your own interests.”

And so it was we found ourselves attending a local handball final.  For those of you who don’t know handball, you might want to check it out.  It’s actually quite exciting to watch.  It’s like a cross between basketball and soccer. Fast paced, high scoring, and a lot of fun.  But the other benefit was to see friends come by and join us in the stands. We had come with one friend, but before long three others had taken seats around us and we were all enjoying the match together.  A few others came by to say hello and tell us which team was “their team.” 

Will our interest in handball lead to other invitations, other conversations, deeper friendships?  Time will tell, but as we sat in the stands, enjoying the game with friends around us, I couldn’t help but feel like… it’s nice to feel accepted.” 

PRAYERS ANSWERED
The consultant checking for the language project has gone well despite different challenges along the way. Pray for endurance as they finish up this round of checking! Praise God for more signs of belonging—just today we had two different mothers entrust their babies with us while they went to do things they needed to do. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for us as we continue to learn what it looks like to be members in island community. There is a project funded by the outside and carried out by friends from the big islands that distributes boxes to school children. It is just finishing up on our island. Pray that it would effectively spread the light as it hopes to do. Pray for us as team leaders (and Tom as the interim islands leader)— we are called to speak into complex situations that require wisdom and discernment that we don’t always have. We are thankful that we are well supported by others. May God protect us from grave errors and help us to lead well. Pray for good rest and encouragement for our team. Colleagues on the small island are having trouble with visas again— pray for wisdom about the right course of action for them.  Pray for favor before local authorities. We are looking forward to having a former worker/leader from the islands return for a visit— pray for easy travels and an encouraging time.