Worldview Teaching

As I continue to teach mission classes for IPET, last night took me to the heart of Colon.

Again, the descriptions below are not complaints, but an attempt to describe for you some of the places to which we are called to serve. It’s easy to read negativity into these descriptions, so don’t.

The tourist book reads “If you have no business over there, do not go.  If you go, expect to be mugged.”  When I asked to walk down the street to get a soda (about 6 houses), I was taken by car, not allowed to walk by myself.

While I do not fear for my personal safety, the locals know that I’m a prime target and they keep me safe.

A white man in Colon

Last nights class was on worldview.

To help introduce the concept of worldview, I asked the class of Colon residents

“You see a white man (like myself), walking on the streets of Colon alone. What do you think?”

The answers came rapidly and without 2nd guessing:

• “A lost tourist in danger”
• “A gringo”
• “Someone about to be robbed.”

Does this give you an idea of how a white face like mine is perceived automatically?

Can I have 10 bucks?

When I parked the car, a rough looking, unkempt man on a bicycle passed me on his way to some unknown destination.  A white 5 gallon bucket hung off the handlebar.

As I got out, he immediately made a u-turn in front of an oncoming car and approached me.

“Fulo” he called me.

“Listen, I haven’t eaten for days, would you give me 10 bucks?”

This little white face of mine says “money.”

Going to Public School

I enter the school where the class is located – a cast iron gate blocks the entrance. (sample picture from somewhere else)

I open it and as I enter the building, some well meaning but startled people in the hallway quickly ask me what am I looking for.  I’m out of place.

The class meets on the 3rd floor.  As I go up the stairs, I begin to feel like I’m in an movie.

Imagine a war movie and entering a rundown cement building – holes in the cement wall, chipped tile everywhere, dampness, minimal lighting and indescribable smells.

The bathrooms have no running water and reek.

Window unit air conditioners run, but do not dehumidify.  The smell of dampness and mustyness irritates my allergies, but by God’s grace, I still function.

White boards have no pens or erasers (as teachers supply their own).

The condition of this school is not very different from the conditions that are often featured on the evening news – the public education system is known for not attending to these conditions.  This was one of the motivating factors in the recent presidential elections.  (As an aside, in recent weeks parents and students celebrate soap in the bathroom — thanks to the swine flu in Panama).

Class begins

I get a deep joy out of teaching these missionaries in training – in spite of the surroundings and discomfort I feel (my North American worldview).

The class is an introduction to worldview, using much of the Ignite material from PRMI, plus lots of personal illustrations from Panama life that I have encountered.

We get to spend about 3 hours talking about a concept that is new – including several illustrative examples of worldview and cross cultural living.

The examples that they then gave me made it clear that they got the concept.

The story that got me

A class member was doing some mission outreach with an indigenous tribe.

This tribe cooks over firewood outside.

The classmate had tremendous sympathy for the major effort it takes to cook a meal – gathering the wood, preparing the fire, etc. She thought a great idea would be to give the Indian lady a stove and a tank of gas to help them cook their food with greater ease.  What a great way to help!

When she returned again after leaving a stove and tank of propane, she arrived to discover that the lady of the house was still cooking with firewood, but on top of the stove which they had put in the fire circle.

The stove was ruined, of course. She felt awful that her investment had been ruined yet after the class last night, she realized she was trying to help where help wasn’t really needed.  Her solution only caused greater problems for the cook.

That cross cultural misunderstanding became very clear last night and helped my student interpret what happened.

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