Lean not on your own understanding

Culture shock, it has become such a normal part of my daily life that it hardly seems like shock anymore. It has become more of a challenge for me to come up with blog ideas because things have become mundane. I work, struggle to understand what is being said around, no matter what language it is in, and have become a pro at just rolling with the flow. All part of being a missionary. The hardest part becomes, learning to take a step back from your perspective and understand where the other person is coming from. Unfortunately there are very few times in life, regardless the context, where someone completely explains their point of view, but it is usually easier when you are both coming from at least similar cultural backgrounds.

The easiest way for me to explain this is to explain age. You would think that is a simple concept, how old are you?? I would tell you I am 22 years old. In Korea however I have been informed that I just turned 24. How do you get a two year difference? In Korea you are never just months old, you start out at age 1, then when the new year comes along everyone becomes a year older. Today I was talking with a guy who's birthday is December 31st. So on his second day of life, he was two years old. He was trying to explain to me that it all evens out in the end, but I don't quiet understand that concept.

Another, saying that gets me almost every time is; "you should go to the hospital." I have had a persistent cold, annoying but not too bad, but every time someone tells me to go the hospital I feel like I must be really sick. I am realizing that what they really mean is I should go to the doctor, but it has taken me some time to make that connection. Because each time I think about what an American would mean by that statement instead of what the person talking to me means.

All these frustrations in understanding however lead to a lot more learning in growing once I figure them out. Each time it is like a new door is opened as I learn more about Korean culture. Or just about the person I am talking with. This is so important because my journey here isn't a solitary one, it is a group journey, everyone I talk to and work with are learning and growing with me. Sometimes I have to lean on them for understand, sometimes they lean on me and together we learn through our trials and misunderstandings.

So today I have a special request of all of you back home reading this and thinking of me. Please as you continue to keep me in your prayers, pray for patience to take a step back and try to understand from a different perspective and strength for me as I learn to lean on the people around me as well as leaning on God.