Spending sometime overseas has taught me to expect an exhausting phenomenon we know as culture shock. It is normally a symptom of travels achieved by long plane rides and extended stays in new places. What I learned this week was culture shock can be just as felt without the plane ride and new country. I had no clue that walking into my first Chin apartment would bring back waves of this familiar feeling.
Now I guess I should catch some of you guys up who have been keeping up with me mainly through this blog. My major is all about getting into the community and working with families. Yes there are specialties within my major that lead to people doing family research or administrative work for family related services. Really though, I think we can all agree that those areas would not work well with my personality. For my internship, then, I was looking for a chance to apply what I’ve been learning in a hands on, cross-culture setting. Here’s where the Chin Refugee Ministry comes in. The Chin people are a group from Myanmar who are pouring into this area as refugees. The first Chin who became a Christian was baptized in 1904 and now most of the Chin people will tell you they are a Christian. The needs of the Chin refugees are nothing short than overwhelming, but they are a constant testament to Philippians 4:19 that says “God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Right now I’m still meeting them and learning about their lives and how they think. I’m working on the culture shock thing too.
Walking into this internship the verse that God pressed on my heart was Galatians 6:9-10. It says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” I’m excited that my major has shaped another opportunity to do good and especially to brothers and sisters from Myanmar. I’m sure throughout this semester I’ll be writing more about God’s handy work in their lives. For now I should get back to the homework. This is the part where I moan and look around for an excuse to do something else.
