Initiating and Sustaining Relationships

Stephen P. mentioned these cartoon tracts, available through David Cook Publishing and the Global Church website. I wrote them to see if they are available in Spanish, and they are! They come in packs of 25, I'm still not sure what the cost is, but these would be great for our Spring semester closing program, don't you think, Tina Barham?  If you'd want to help us buy these, go to this link https://www.caminoglobal.org/give/give-now/?project=063604 and enter the amount that you'd like to contribute.  Your donation will be used in ministries related to the community center.

Below, a quote that I mention, without fail, every summer with the interns.  Do you want to be effective overseas?  Well, then you need to "initiate and sustain interpersonal relationships with local people."  Knowledge of great.  Language skills are important.  But if you want to have an impact, you need to be involved in the relational fabric of a culture.

Quote of the Day: Most of our schooling crams us with content to build our competence in a certain discipline or subject. It prepares us for vocations like church planting, investment banking, medical research and so on. However, in our push for knowledge and technical competency we often overlook the one element that determines success or failure. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) discovered this overlooked element some years ago. They conducted a study that asked, "What characteristics does a person need to be effective overseas?" Before you read further, what do you think are the most powerful factors in overseas effectiveness? The CIDA study, replicated several times, demonstrated that, far and away, the most powerful factor in overseas effectiveness was the ability to initiate and sustain interpersonal relationships with the local people. Solid, long-term relationships with host country people was the most important contributor to  (1) satisfaction in one's overseas assignment, (2) transferring technology to local people, and (3) the ongoing success of the projects (sustainability).

Duane Elmer. Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility (Kindle Locations 950-954). Emphasis mine.