Formation and Looking Back

At Casa San Salvador Lynn and I are attending twice-daily learning sessions to prepare us for mission service to the poor in Bolivia. Most of these are informal, around a table in the large sitting room on the first floor. Some sessions focus on cultural awareness, emphasizing the need for objectivity when we inevitably begin to encounter different ways of doing things. We also discuss how our own enculturation can drive hasty responses. We try to practice greater sensitivity to others partly by learning more about our own unique personalities and backgrounds and those of our fellow missioners. We talk about some self analysis techniques, methods for approaching social analysis, popular education, and leading from behind. All of these are preparing us to play a supportive role where we are stationed, learning from the people we serve.