My Viking Heritage

If things don't work out in Haiti I may have to move to Norway.

The family and I got back from our cruise last night. Here are the highlights and lowlights.

Highlights:

• Weather: We had sunshine the vast majority of the time which isn't the norm in Norway.
• Family Game-time: We owned the game room on the ship. I think its fair to say that several fellow passengers will be purchasing Settlers of Catan when they get home.
• Scenery: Pretty unbelievable.
  
• The Policeman in Honningsvag: He drove us around in his cop car while listening to Guns n' Roses. He also commented that "tourists are annoying......just like the reindeer."
• Animals: We saw reindeer on a hike and had a porpoise go underneath our kayaks.
• The British: Good people as far as I can tell.
• The Puppet Show: This is one of those deals where the guys dress in black and stand there controlling puppets. I didn't just like the show......I loved it.

Lowlights:

• The pool area: Let's just say that it's best to avoid the pool area on a cruise primarily made up of Europeans over the age of 65.
• Lack of darkness: Is it a little bit cool to see the sun for 50-60 straight hours? Maybe. Is it good for your sleeping habits? No.
  
• The French & Italians: I don't care if you do make decent salad dressings, I don't like you. (admittedly this feeling is based on a small sample size)

It was an excellent trip.

Mission Tidbits

One of our classes at HEART had to to with cross-cultural studies. We learned a few things about culture shock, language acquisition, and cultural distance. I thought I'd share a few of the main points, since I found them pretty interesting, and this is my blog and all.

Would anyone care to guess the three most important characteristics of an effective long-term missionary? Did someone say "compassion"? No, that's ridiculous. Here they are......

1. Sense of Humor: The ability to laugh at yourself and your situation is extremely important.
2. Low goal/task orientation: This one was a little hard to understand, but I think the idea is that you can't be hung up on reaching certain objectives, either on a day to day basis or more long-term. The frustration and discouragement could be too much to bear for some people.
3. Fear of Failure (the lack of): I'm in trouble on this one. I generally don't like to get into things where the outcome is uncertain. I'll have to get over that. I think I can.

Phil, one of the leaders at HEART, just moved back to the States after 20+ years in Haiti. He says that only 10% of the people who commit to a stay of more than a year in Haiti actually fulfill that commitment. Let that soak in a little.

There are a lot of reasons why people leave the field. One of the major issues is culture shock, which many people have a tough time getting over. Culture shock generally hits twice. The first time is around the 6-8 week mark. Many people on short-term trips think they have experienced culture shock, but they have really only experienced cultural disorientation. The second, and more severe shock, comes during the 8th or 9th month. This second shock is where many people give out and end up leaving the field. Phil described it as a time where he just wondered what the heck he was doing in Haiti. I'm sure at some point I will have to deal with these issues, but when those times come I'll at least know that I am not alone and that they will pass. (I hope one of you is copying this and making a note to email it to me next March)

That's all I got. Hopefully it gives a little insight into some of the struggles that missionaries face. Turns out they mean it when they say they covet our prayers above everything else.