You can imagine our surprise when someone told us Claire is in the latest edition of ESPN the Magazine. Click here to see the full article with pictures!

Mark Twain reportedly said, “Travel is deadly to bigotry.”

Exposure to other cultures forces one to see the world through another’s eyes. Since the end of last year, we’ve been striving to see the world through the eyes of our host culture.

Our host culture operates according to a markedly different worldview than the one we were used to in America. They use different categories to explain and interact with their environment.

Theirs is an ancient culture. Collectively, they possess a wealth of wisdom, amassed through centuries of struggling against natural and social calamities. Their worldview guides them through life’s maze of relationships, finances, and politics. The fact of their survival, at minimum, bears witness to the pragmatism of their approach to life.

Through simple observation of our host culture, we’ve gleaned some valuable life lessons. We’ve collected a few snippets of wisdom and things we appreciate about our host culture.

1. Our host culture greatly values family. This is evident by the uncountable words they use to describe different relationships. For example, their language has different words for the grandmother on the father’s side and the grandmother on the mother’s side. They do not have just one word (or even two) for “uncle” as in English. Instead, they use one word for father’s older brother, another for father’s younger brother, mother’s older brother, and mother’s younger brother. Each uncle’s spouse has a different name, too. So whenever someone is addressed or mentioned, you can tell immediately the speaker’s relationship to the person without asking, “Is that your mother’s sister or your father’s?” And when you first meet someone you are not related to, he will immediately assign you a relational term that he will use whenever he addresses you. Their language reflects their deep-seated value of the family. In a society with no social security program or retirement communities, families look after each other (and often live together) from birth to death.

2. Our host culture seriously honors old people. I’m sure you’ve seen people from Asian cultures bow to one another. People in this country take bowing to an entirely new level. When a younger person sees a grandparent or a teacher after an absence, he will get down on his knees and touch the elder’s feet three times. This gesture, called “pronom,” exists in the Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian communities, with small nuances. A Christian from America may be appalled by an older person receiving what appears to be worship, but worship is not what this custom is about at all. It is a deeply meaningful way this culture shows respect. Frankly, Americans have a lot to learn about respect from this culture.

3. Along the same lines, people in this culture respect all books, and especially holy books (even if from another religion). They never place books on the ground. Holy books are placed on the highest shelf, often on a special stand. Some people wash their hands before and after handling a holy book, and holy books are almost always wrapped in some kind of cloth.

4. Our host culture recognizes the benefits of an afternoon nap. In fact, many countries follow their natural biorhythms. For some reason, America hasn’t caught on to the fact that a siesta enables you to wake up earlier and go to bed later. I can’t say I’ve adopted this [tempting] custom, but Claire has it down pat.

5. People in our host culture exhibit wisdom when asked to give criticism. When asked for input, they will float a small trial criticism first to see the response. If well received, they will offer more substantial criticism. People in this culture are reticent to give gut-level honest feedback. They have noticed, even when someone requests feedback, he might be sensitive and easily offended. So instead of giving a blunt evaluation, people here will mention something minor and insignificant. If the person takes it well, they know it is safe to proceed with more direct criticism.

6. Complaining is rare. Most people in this country experience a great deal of suffering on a daily basis. If anyone has a reason to gripe, they do. The way they endure discomfort without grumbling convicts me daily.

7. They understand servanthood. In America, only the wealthy employ maids, butlers, or drivers, but here, cheap labor means that even poor people employ poorer people as household help. I am in no way promoting an economic system that reduces people to a kind of servitude that pays such meager wages that they can hardly eat. I am, however, calling us as Christians to imitate the attitudes of those employed as servants in this country. Most of us just don’t think of ourselves as servants. We think of ourselves as leaders, overseers, or managers. Just look at business cards. What do you see? “Director of (blank)”, “Assistant (blank)”, or “Vice (blank).” When is the last time you saw the job title, “Work horse,” “Peon,” or “Gofer”? Whether or not we’re self-employed, we exhibit a fierce individualism that is quick to assert its rights, protect self-interests, and threaten to quit unless held in the highest regard. Servants in this country, however, truly embrace their job as a calling. What I mean is that in this country servants make it their ambition to make their employers look good. They want their employers to succeed.

In this country, saying “thank you” is usually reserved for special occasions when deep gratitude is to be expressed. Nevertheless, I often say thank you, sometimes out of genuine appreciation, sometimes in an effort to be polite, and sometimes as a reflex, but people here often act as if I’ve said something out of place. I’ve been told, “It is my duty.” They don’t expect to be thanked. They don’t expect praise, even when they work hard, display the highest integrity, and do a good job! That stands in stark contrast to American employees, who have to be prodded with bonuses and every kind of contrived motivation to fulfill their obligations. But the attitude of servants in this country stands in harmony with the Bible’s teaching. Jesus described what our attitude should be, “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done’” (Luke 17:10; see also v. 7–9). As Americans, we try to avoid low positions, but as Christians, we must embrace our identity as servants, bondservants, and slaves. Our ambition must be to make our Master look good, and to make His goals our goals.

Let me conclude by saying that I’m not claiming this country has it all figured out. No, far from it. This country is riddled with personal and social evils. Nevertheless, the image of God cannot be completely obscured. It can be seen in everything beautiful and praiseworthy about this culture. It reveals itself in ways different from the American culture—ways that all Christians would do well to imitate.

Click here to see a video of Claire performing a bit of her repertoire.

Our country has six season, not four like we’re used to. Right now we’re in the middle of the rainy (monsoon) season. No one told Claire it’s not supposed to be fun!

You may remember Sophia from our blog back in August and September when we were in Virginia. She is just 5 days older than Claire. We had the chance to reconnect with her and her family while we were in Thailand. Claire and Sophia picked right up where they left off—this time with a few more recognizable words in their unending conversations and a little more coordination in their motor skills. Pray for her and her family serving in Asia.

“Love is the only way to win the free response of men, and this is possible only by the presence of Christ within the heart.”
—Robert Coleman

The natural mind sees God in nothing,
Not even spiritual things;
The spiritual mind sees God in everything,
Even natural things.
—Robert Leighton

10. Lay off the caffeine. Yes, this means tea, coffee, and coke. Stimulants prevent your body from relaxing. Minimize your salt and sugar intake, because they cause your feet to swell.

9. Air travel, because of the high altitudes, slows your body’s ability to absorb water and speeds dehydration. It is wise, therefore, to avoid any kind of carbonated beverages since they do not effectively hydrate the body. Instead, drink plenty of water. If the flight attendants don’t offer water frequently enough, ask.

8. Stretch regularly and wiggle your toes. This will fight pooling, swelling, and most importantly blood clots (which are one of the most life-threatening dangers associated with flying). Get up and stroll around the cabin hourly. Drinking plenty of water will remind you to get out of your seat. Before you go to sleep, inform the flight attendant whether or not you want to be notified when the meals are served. Some airlines instruct their flight attendants to wake sleeping passengers before meals unless otherwise directed, which has a tendency to exasperate some passengers.

7. Bring some tracts or a few copies of Andy Stanley’s “How Good is Good Enough?” You never know whom God will seat you next to, and you don’t want to be caught empty handed.

6. Bring healthy snacks. Carrot sticks, granola bars, and raisins won’t leave you feeling icky and greasy like chips and candy bars.

5. Use care when stowing hand carries. Many back problems are associated with passengers placing heavy items in the overhead compartments. Studies have shown that the combination of lifting with the back (instead of the knees) and twisting at the same time causes more injuries than lifting with the back alone.

4. Wear layers. Better yet, pack layers. Before the plane takes off, the cabin is usually uncomfortably warm. Once it is in the air, it often becomes uncomfortably cool. Christy likes to bring socks for this reason. Also, wear comfortable shoes. Loosen them or take them off once you get settled.

3. Consider bringing earplugs. Planes are noisy, so earplugs can help you sleep.

2. Listen to your body. Eat only when you’re hungry and only as much as you need to feel satisfied. Sleep when you’re tired and don’t delay going to the bathroom when your body says, “Go.” Don’t try to adjust to your new time zone until you arrive. Once you land, reset your watch and try to stay away during the day as much as possible (sunlight helps). Then, when your watch says it is evening, take sleeping pills and go to bed whether you’re tired or not. This will help you a) sleep through the night, and b) adjust more quickly to your new time zone so you won’t miss out on anything fun!

1. Bring a toothbrush and (if allowed by the TSA) toothpaste in your carry-on. You won’t regret it and your traveling companions will appreciate it.

Please share your ideas for making air travel more bearable in the comments section.

Click HERE to read this disturbing article. Don’t be a “reader” only. Be a “do-er.”

Apologies to everyone who has been disappointed by the lack of updates recently. We returned from 10 days in Calcutta (now spelled Kolkata) yesterday, and had limited internet access while there. We received some great training and enjoyed the change of scenery. Here are a few of our favorite photos from Kolkata.

“Those who choose error as their principle must use violence as their method. Those who choose truth as their principle must use peace as their method.”
—Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Two devastating natural disasters slammed Asia recently, a cyclone in Burma and an earthquake in China.

Please lift up those affected by these events and those reaching out in the relief efforts.

We should not act shocked as if earthquakes and cyclones are an anomaly. Cyclone and earthquakes are not bad events in an otherwise decent world. They are horrible events in a horrible world. Such events only accentuate and call to our attention the conditions we live with as inhabitants of a fallen world. Chaos is the norm in this world marred by sin and in rebellion against God.

What about that gorgeous sunset or beautiful landscape you saw recently? Even nature at its most glorious is tarnished by sin. The most beautiful sight you’ve ever seen can’t hold a candle to what God has in store.

Why must we prevent ourselves from growing comfortable here? Because if we become comfortable, then we have stopped wanting something better—which means we have stopped hoping. “Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?” (Romans 8:24). If we are not hoping, then we are not looking forward to God fulfilling his promises and we are living a life devoid of faith.

Hope is believing that God will make good on his promises. His promise to recreate the world and bring peace and tranquility to nature has yet to be fulfilled. For this we wait.

We await the day when God does away with tragedies and catastrophes—but our waiting must not be idle. We labor to do our part to alleviate the suffering that accompanies life in this world. We are all in the same predicament. We Christians are different, not because we have found a way to escape the suffering, but because we have found hope in the midst of it. The world is groaning all around us, whether with an earthquake in China, a cyclone in Burma, a hurricane in Louisiana, or something on a smaller scale in our neighbor’s home next door.

We work to alleviate suffering, not to preempt or upstage what God himself will do someday (because we could never accomplish what he will do), but to give people a glimpse of what he will do. When people get a glimpse of the glory to come, we pray that they will become filled with a similar hope.

When is the last time you spilled sugar on the floor and the crystals spelled out a message? Never, of course. Words don’t happen accidentally. Order does not come out of chaos.

Okay. So maybe asking spilled sugar to form letters is too complicated. How about a simple shape, say, like a spiral pattern?

Oh. So you’ve never seen that happen either.

Even though a spiral isn’t a word or a letter, it still has a design. And designs don’t happen, they are made.

This link illustrates patterns in nature. Hurricane and galaxy. Can chance explain this coincidence? If given enough time could a cluster of stars in space and a storm on planet earth both accidentally make the same shape?

If it is not an accident, then it is intended.

One morning, as I was leaving our apartment to go to language school, I saw this guy with his monkey walking down our street. I called Christy, and she took these photos.


Some friends of ours have this gerbil as a pet. Claire calls it “Bunny.”

We spotted this creature crawing under our front door. This was not the first of its kind that we’ve seen. Can anyone identiy what kind it is and whether or not it is poisonous?

In the process of learning a new language, we’ve discovered that we knew some of the words already—we just didn’t realize it.

In this country, for example, “taco” means “stay,” and “nacho” means “dance.” Of course, “burrito” means “indigestion” in any country.:)

Other words are just confusing. For example, “Momma” means Uncle, you call your Aunt (your father’s younger sister) “Poo-poo,” “Aunty” means “ring,” and “Daddy” means Grandmother (on your father’s side). An elephant is a “hottie,” bellybuttons are “nobby,” “book” means chest and “boy” means book!

The command to eat is “cow!” Cows don’t say “moo,” they say “humba-humba!” Even the animals speak a different language!

Our prayer is that God would give us joy in English and “joy” in Bangla (which means victory!).