Deputation - Baptist Bible Tribune

BBFI Mission office special featurecontinueCultural AdaptationJim & Amy Smith, JapanThe first year in a foreign country is like anextended boot camp. While my boot campfor the Marine Corps only lasted 13 (seeminglyendless) weeks, stretch that out to a yearand you have a fairly good picture of what thisexperience is like. First, there is the adrenalinerush, the "Wow, I'm really here!" phase. This isfollowed by a somber realization that, "Wow,I am really here," accompanied by the notion,"Okay, now what?" Then, there is a moresomber realization that you have no idea whatis going on, but that you'd better get to work,fast. After a few weeks of hard labor, you realizethat you have to pace yourself becausethis is going to be a long haul.There is no fast and painlessway to learn a new culture. It'seasy to learn about any culture.There are dozens of great bookson Bushido or the Samurai spirit,and tea ceremony, and tatemae(public expression), and honne(true thoughts). Anyone can learnabout Japanese culture. But toreally learn it is to live it, and in thecase of Japan, it's all tied up in language.Language isn't just a vehicle for expression,but is in itself a cultural forum with its ownintricacies and influence. Every once in a whileI hear of “missionaries” in other organizationshere in Japan that conduct all their activitiesin English. There may be a few foreigners herewho can receive the Word of God in English,but not many Japanese. It isn't so muchthat Japanese aren't well trained in English,because some are quite fluent. But if you wantto make a heart connection somewhere nearwhere culture and reality intersect, then it hadbetter be in their own language.I have found that an excellent way to learnJapanese, and perhaps other languages aswell, is a combination of intensive learningcombined with opportunities for application.Full-time language school gave me the basicknowledge to get started, but without opportunitiesto apply what I learned that day, thingswere easily forgotten. My Korean counterparts,for example, excelled because theyworked part-time jobs afterschool and had not onlyopportunities but thenecessity of using everythingthey knewto understand andbe understood.Regardless ofwho you are, learninglanguage takesa tough skin. I learnedto swallow my prideevery time I made a mistakeand people either looked at me quizzically orperhaps even laughed at me. I'd like to share afunny anecdote about language faux pas, butactually, I think my wife holds the title for "MostEgregious Language Error." I'll let her tell it."During my undergraduate Sophomoreyear, I came to Japan for the “Year-in-Japan”study abroad program. Some people lookingfor English conversation took me to lunch andlearned that I spoke a little Japanese. Theyprobably thought, “Let's have some fun,” andstarted asking me questions in Japanese.First, they asked me what I wanted to bringhome as a souvenir. I proceeded to tell themthat I wanted some pearls for my mother.However instead of saying the word for pearls,I confidently told my new friends that I wanted“mutual suicide like Romeo and Juliet” for mymother. Then they asked about my favoriteJapanese dessert. Well, I had become veryfond of Japanese sweet bean paste (anko)used in many traditional sweets. But instead ofanko I said unko. Let's just say that the latteris also a brown substance... I think that's probablythe best laugh those Japanese folks hadever had."A lot has happened since we came to Japan.Our entire family has learned a few thingsabout Japanese culture and language, but itis a lifelong process. However, now as we arestarting our first work in Saitama Prefecture,we are seeing some of the fruits of our laborsand the labor of prayer that so many in oursupporting family have undertaken. Just thispast month, we have seen our first two professionsof faith here at Wakaba and we hope tosee many more. We are grateful to God andall who faithfully support this ministry for theprivilege of being ambassadors to Japan.globalpartnersA Special Feature of the BBFI Mission OfficeJanuary 2010 Edition22 | Baptist Bible Tribune | January 2010