Unity in the Body Across Cultures

Last night was Nehemiah’s last evening in the Philippines…well, it was supposed to be our last but our flight out of Palawan was delayed and we missed our connection to Taiwan. The airline gave us hotel and food vouchers, but we need to be at the airport by 3:30 am.  Once we land in Taipei, we immediately catch the bullet train to Chaiyi, then a bus from Chaiyi to Budai, and then an Uber to our final destination where we are staying. THEN, we begin our ministry by going to the night market and inviting teens to a party we will be hosting on Wednesday. It’s going to be a long day.

The last few days back at the Palawan Christian Camp was just what we needed. We had time to recover, plan (for Taiwan), and play with the two other Team 4:5 teams, Thailand Team, and the Backpack Team. It was a great experience.

But leaving was really hard. One of the dreams that Gilmer and Julie (the founders of Team 4:5) had was to blend teams of Filipino’s and Americans. The goal was not just to work together, but live, sleep, and eat together. And that happened. Nehemiah team had two student girls (Sophie and Hanna), one female leader (Aleah), and Pastor Christian. Christian was with us a lot, but not all of the time. My biggest concerns that I often prayed about prior to the trip were the impact of absorbing people from another culture into the Nehemiah team, and the need to be able to blend the cultures and create unity. I am happy to report that God answered the prayers!

The three Filipino girls not only fit it, adding them made our team stronger. Filipino’s like to laugh and play, and they brought lots of each! They helped us negotiate and understand more deeply the culture we were immersed in. They were placed in the LG’s (leadership groups), and they cooked, cleaned, and led with us. They were willing to eat our food (most of it) and we ate their food (some of it anyway…the dried fish for breakfast wasn’t a big hit with the Nehemiah girls), they shared tents with our girls, and participated in all of our nightly Bible discussions. Bottom line, they fit right into the rhythm of the team. We shared the struggles of the basic conditions we were living in, the pressures of ministry, and the exhausting pace. It didn’t take too long before they were no longer Filipinos and we were no longer Americans (and one Canadian), but we were simply teammates – brothers and sisters in Christ - living and doing ministry together. It was an amazing experience.

And that made it all the harder when we had to leave Aleah, Sophie, and Hanna (Christian had gone home days before) and head to the airport. And I didn’t even mention the impact the Filipinos from the other teams had on us.

There were lots of tears. But first there was a party! Last night was a pig roast, complete with shrimp (heads on of course), crab, sushi, and other yummy - or not so yummy dishes – like the blood pudding, which I just couldn’t get myself to taste, and of course lots of rice! There was no lack of song, dance and worship! It might have gone on all night, but I finally had to cut it off because we had to get to bed and had an early and busy morning ahead.

What’s next? As I mentioned, we will travel to Budai, on the western coast of Taiwan, to begin a short English camp with about 12-16 students ranging in age from 10-14. There will be many games and activities structured around listening and speaking English. The program ends Wednesday night, and then on Friday, we are on the road again, to the small town of Zhuqi (just east of Chaiyi), where we will work with their youth group and hold a four-day (8:30-4:00) English Camp for young Taiwanese.

Thank you again for your prayers, they are much appreciated!

For the Nehemiah Team,

Tom

PS: That hotel in Manila? It’s beautiful! And the best part was the meal vouchers they gave each of us. It was an AMAZING buffet!!! It had everything and anything and after a month of good, but uninspiring Filipino food, most of us righteously gorged. Lydia ate through seven plates worth. Today was the first lettuce salad we’ve seen since leaving home, and they even had cheese…and Italian food made individually, and soft fresh baked bread and real butter! And the deserts! Well, I think you get the idea. The students are now sleeping because we have a 3:00 am wake-up, so I’ll finish this up. Next stop, Taiwan!