Joshua Ballew
About Mission Year
Mission Year is a year long urban ministry program focused on Christian service and discipleship. We take teams of young people, place them in an area of need, and help them to serve people and create community. We are committed to the command of Jesus to “love God and love people,” by placing the needs of our neighbors first and developing committed disciples of Christ with a heart for the poor. Learn more about our first year program…
Joshua Ballew's Blog
Culture Shock - Part 1 / Feb 28, 06:35 PM
All over the world people have just finished celebration Chinese New Year. One of the traditions during this time is for married couples to give 利事 (red envelopes) to children or single people. The “red envelopes” contain some money and it’s a way for children to get pocket money for the year.
Last week my family ran into with a family who have two little girls. They were visiting from the States. When my parents gave the “Red Pockets” to the two girls they immediately opened them to take the money out. This caused a slight reaction inside of me. You see, in Macao it isn’t culturally acceptable to open gifts in front of the people who gave it to you. Although I know that there isn’t this expectation in American culture (it might even be the exact opposite) I was still taken aback by it. This brought to my attention that if the things that I already know are different can affect me then how will I react when I encounter an unknown difference in culture.
Please pray that I would be able to overcome culture shock when I return the the States and that the people around me would be understanding of my situation.
On a side note. I just had two of my wisdom teeth removed. I must now read a few chapters of Proverbs to make up for the loss.
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Preparing for Mission Year / Feb 8, 11:30 PM
The hardest step so far is just beginning.
I’ve got to raise my own support.
I am so blessed that some people have come to me asking how they can support me.
It is truly a humbling experience and I am so grateful to these people.
I’ve got to get going with writing those Support Letters.
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