It has been a month of change.
I have been in Texas for 3 weeks at the Mercy Ships International Operations Centre (IOC) undergoing a period of training before I join the ship.
I have changed where I live, who I hang out with, what time I eat dinner. The clothes here are different – Texas is boots and bling. The cars, the roads, the food portions are different. All BIGGER.
We have classes from 8 till 4.30 weekdays, plus some Saturday and evening sessions. Assignments to hand in every week. It is a change from giving anaesthetics and working on intensive care.
‘So far so good’. Or perhaps I should write with less of the British reserve and say something more American such as ‘So far it’s TOTALLY AWESOME’. Yes, there are cultural differences and realising they exist is one of the things we have been learning. I have experienced cultural differences through working and travelling to many places overseas. But until now I had little understanding of why those differences existed, or the prejudices that most of us unconsciously hold. Many of us are unaware of how our view of the world impacts our thoughts and actions. I am learning to change the way I think about the world. This is essential if I am to make any lasting impact in West Africa especially with regards training healthcare providers.
Understanding other cultures starts with understanding our own culture and ourselves. I teamed up with another Brit to present some of the British cultural values – see picture. We’ve also spent time understanding ourselves through personality assessments. I can’t change my personality but I can change the way I interact with others. This will help me bring out the best in them.
There has been a lot of change, or as I like to call it, realignment. My faith has been challenged, my view of the world expanded and adjusted. Realignment.
Change is not a bad thing. It is often necessary. If I need to sail on a bearing of 1800 to reach my destination, but I am just a tiny bit off, say 1810. After a while I will be way off target and may miss my destination altogether. The sooner I realise, the easier and quicker it is to make an adjustment, a necessary correction. Realignment.
So I am grateful for the realignment, minor corrections and adjustments to my ways of thinking. We all need it from time to time. But sometimes we are too proud to admit it. The only person who doesn’t need correction or realignment is God. He is totally consistent. He never changes. Africans have the phrase ‘God is good all the time. And all the time God is good’. So I thank God for His goodness and His consistency in times of change.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father….who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17
