language learning Archives - TEAM Christian Missions Blog

How Do You Truly Immerse Yourself in a Culture?

It's one thing to live in a culture, but how do you truly immerse yourself in one? It's a question as old as the Church.

Feb 26 2019

Cultural immersion is a term that’s thrown around a lot in the world of missions. Missionaries are told they need to “integrate” — engage in the local daily life and try to understand the local people. Of course, this is easier said than done. How do you immerse yourself in a culture while also taking time to learn the language, find schooling for your kids and help your family adjust to life overseas? Fortunately, you’re not the first to face this dilemma. Here are some words of wisdom from those who have done it before: Learn the Language The importance…

What happens when you want to share the gospel, but lack the vocabulary to do it? For many missionaries, this is the reality of their first years on the field. This growth season can feel frustrating and helpless. But as worker Amanda Keeny shares, her weakness in the Russian language strengthened a better communication plan: prayer. Photo by TEAM

Oct 25 2016

I used to think that in the moments of crisis, you should first seek all available solutions, and then, when there’s nothing else that can be done, pray. I knew prayer was important but believed it was more like a Hail Mary pass. When everything seems hopeless, you just kind of chuck your prayer up into the air, hoping it will stick. But the longer I’ve served as a missionary in Ukraine with TEAM, the more that belief has been proven wrong. For the times in the past year when I felt like (and had the language abilities of) a child, prayer…

We don’t go through language learning to get to the “real ministry." Learning Japanese is ministry. Photo by TEAM

May 10 2016

There was a time God used a travel-size bottle of shampoo to connect me to language learning. In May 2015, my husband and I went on a vision trip to Japan. We were toward the beginning of our support raising process to be long-term missionaries there. During our stay in Tokyo, I ran out of shampoo, so I stopped at a local store by the train station to purchase some more. I found a small bottle and saw that the price tag in yen appeared to be roughly $1 USD. Not a bad price for travel shampoo I thought. Happily, I took my…

Tag - language learning

How Do You Truly Immerse Yourself in a Culture?

When Learning a New Language, Pray First and Speak Second

Why I’m Learning One of the Hardest Languages in the World