What's On My Bookshelf
Ever since Randy and I committed in our hearts to move to Mexico my bookshelf has started to fill with stories of missionaries, mission trips, Mexico, and how to help without hurting. This is the way I'm intentionally choosing to prepare for our move in November.
"When Helping Hurts" is the only one I've made it all the way through so far, but I absolutely loved it!
Initially when God put it on our hearts to help at the children's home in San Felipe we thought it only made sense for Randy to replace the cook who was leaving and for me to become a "mamá", providing an extra set of hands and relief for the other mamas who work so hard. But when we told the directors of the home that we felt called to come and help, they didn't mention any of these responsibilities. They mentioned lots of things that we hadn't even thought of, but not the ones we assumed we were best suited for. Why? Because those are positions that they want to fill with local workers. The directors were excited for us to come and use our gifts and talents, but they had no intention of us taking jobs away from the local people.
This is just one example of how our desire to help can sometimes be misguided. And we saw countless other examples during our visit earlier this month. A box full of pillow case dresses that are strapless and too short for the girls to wear in public (solution: pajamas!). Soccer uniforms that they have no use for (solution: suggest they be donated to a school!). A donated school bus stuck at the border because the donor didn't take into account the tariffs (solution: ???).
The book "When Helping Hurts" has opened my eyes to cultural differences, the importance of asking before imposing, and not assuming that I know best. We definitely have a lot to learn! And we're intentionally trying really hard to listen and be open to new and different ways of doing things.
If you have other tips or book suggestions about cross-cultural missions or missionary journals, please leave a comment below!
"When Helping Hurts" is the only one I've made it all the way through so far, but I absolutely loved it!
Initially when God put it on our hearts to help at the children's home in San Felipe we thought it only made sense for Randy to replace the cook who was leaving and for me to become a "mamá", providing an extra set of hands and relief for the other mamas who work so hard. But when we told the directors of the home that we felt called to come and help, they didn't mention any of these responsibilities. They mentioned lots of things that we hadn't even thought of, but not the ones we assumed we were best suited for. Why? Because those are positions that they want to fill with local workers. The directors were excited for us to come and use our gifts and talents, but they had no intention of us taking jobs away from the local people.
This is just one example of how our desire to help can sometimes be misguided. And we saw countless other examples during our visit earlier this month. A box full of pillow case dresses that are strapless and too short for the girls to wear in public (solution: pajamas!). Soccer uniforms that they have no use for (solution: suggest they be donated to a school!). A donated school bus stuck at the border because the donor didn't take into account the tariffs (solution: ???).
The book "When Helping Hurts" has opened my eyes to cultural differences, the importance of asking before imposing, and not assuming that I know best. We definitely have a lot to learn! And we're intentionally trying really hard to listen and be open to new and different ways of doing things.
If you have other tips or book suggestions about cross-cultural missions or missionary journals, please leave a comment below!
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