Training Pilots...

and aircraft mechanics. In April Shelly and I had the privilege of doing cross-cultural training with new MAF missionaries. This is a passion of ours. We didn't have much cultural orientation ourselves and had to learn things the hard way. Of course, there is no easy way. In fact, we were a little concerned that we had been too hard on the "new recruits." Some of the simulations we do can be as tough as the real thing--except that they are finished in an hour and they get debriefed. We love experiencing other cultures, and we hope we instilled some of that love in the new "MAFers." Contact us if your church needs help training people for missions trips. We have both done this kind of training--individually and together.

Here's a sample illustration we use to convince people that out minds construct things that really aren't there. Do you see the motion? It's not your computer monitor. Print it out. You'll see the same thing on a piece of paper. If your mind plays tricks on you at the simple level of an optical illusion, think how careful we need to be about coming to conclusions in cultural settings where we are newcomers. So there you have it. You are now ready to cross cultural boundaries, right? Web Source of the illusion.

An added benefit of the time with MAF was staying with Paraclete associates, David and Debbie Bochman, getting to see Ecuador friends and ministry partners Gene, Lynne and Ruthie Jordan, and visiting with Vern and Virginia Lind, hosts of our young married Sunday school class back in 1978!