Post by Alan Vandermyden on May 7, 2011 13:01:21 GMT -5
I'm interested in knowing other workers' experiences regarding foreign fields - did you feel "called" to volunteer for a specific place, did other workers suggest/ask that you go? Was it a struggle for you? Conversations about this through the years suggest to me that it is an extremely varied experience.
For me, the idea of a foreign field was never a struggle - I love languages, and it always struck as sounding rather boring to remain in an English-speaking region for my entire life. I'm still that way!
Baja California (a peninsula extending southward from California, and also a Mexico state), has been under California workers' jurisdiction for decades, so many of the California workers end up learning Spanish. Of course, this is useful right in California as well, and some of them end up working on the Mexico "mainland," Central America, or South America as well.
I kind of assumed that I would learn Spanish like many others, but at Gilroy convention in 1982, as I was ready to begin my third year in the work, Eldon T. came up to me before breakfast one morning and said, "I'd like to talk to you after breakfast." Of course, that meant something out of the ordinary was happening, and I was excited, though not worried. Anyway, he asked me if I'd mind going to Hawai`i. "Okay." Now Hawai`i isn't foreign in terms of language and political status, but in those days it did at times involve staying out here for a couple of years. I don't believe it's as big a deal now.
The next year, we did go back for conventions, and Eldon again called me to his room, and asked if I would be okay with going to Guam. "Sure." I had worked on and become comfortable with Hawaiian Pidgin the preceding year, then on Guam I worked on Tagalog, as most of the friends there were/are Filipino, and they were pleased I wanted to learn their language, even though it wasn't a necessity, as all spoke English as well.
From Guam, we (Harry Henninger and I) were asked to swap places with the sister workers who had been on Pohnpei. I began working with that language, but we also began spending time on Likiep Atoll, in the Marshall Islands, at the invitation of a woman who had professed on Pohnpei during her high school years, just a few years prior to my time out there. Within six months or so, I decided to concentrate on the Marshallese language, which I still use several times per week here in Honolulu.
There were some very lonely times out there - we didn't have any "friends" (lotsa nice people around!) and sometimes grew rather discouraged with our work out there. Of course, learning the language - and I had it do a greater degree than any of the other workers involved - kind of insured my being asked to return to the islands after periodic "home visits" of about years each. Many workers any foreign countries return "home" after 5 years, remaining for 1 year before returning. The islands, because of geography and the small number of workers involved, worked a bit differently.
So, the "foreign country" became a fascination for me, and a focus of my current education and "career" ideas. I feel God has led me here for a reason, though it could also be framed to say that I became "distracted" from the work . . . take your pick!
For me, the idea of a foreign field was never a struggle - I love languages, and it always struck as sounding rather boring to remain in an English-speaking region for my entire life. I'm still that way!
Baja California (a peninsula extending southward from California, and also a Mexico state), has been under California workers' jurisdiction for decades, so many of the California workers end up learning Spanish. Of course, this is useful right in California as well, and some of them end up working on the Mexico "mainland," Central America, or South America as well.
I kind of assumed that I would learn Spanish like many others, but at Gilroy convention in 1982, as I was ready to begin my third year in the work, Eldon T. came up to me before breakfast one morning and said, "I'd like to talk to you after breakfast." Of course, that meant something out of the ordinary was happening, and I was excited, though not worried. Anyway, he asked me if I'd mind going to Hawai`i. "Okay." Now Hawai`i isn't foreign in terms of language and political status, but in those days it did at times involve staying out here for a couple of years. I don't believe it's as big a deal now.
The next year, we did go back for conventions, and Eldon again called me to his room, and asked if I would be okay with going to Guam. "Sure." I had worked on and become comfortable with Hawaiian Pidgin the preceding year, then on Guam I worked on Tagalog, as most of the friends there were/are Filipino, and they were pleased I wanted to learn their language, even though it wasn't a necessity, as all spoke English as well.
From Guam, we (Harry Henninger and I) were asked to swap places with the sister workers who had been on Pohnpei. I began working with that language, but we also began spending time on Likiep Atoll, in the Marshall Islands, at the invitation of a woman who had professed on Pohnpei during her high school years, just a few years prior to my time out there. Within six months or so, I decided to concentrate on the Marshallese language, which I still use several times per week here in Honolulu.
There were some very lonely times out there - we didn't have any "friends" (lotsa nice people around!) and sometimes grew rather discouraged with our work out there. Of course, learning the language - and I had it do a greater degree than any of the other workers involved - kind of insured my being asked to return to the islands after periodic "home visits" of about years each. Many workers any foreign countries return "home" after 5 years, remaining for 1 year before returning. The islands, because of geography and the small number of workers involved, worked a bit differently.
So, the "foreign country" became a fascination for me, and a focus of my current education and "career" ideas. I feel God has led me here for a reason, though it could also be framed to say that I became "distracted" from the work . . . take your pick!