Third Cultures…

  Yes, third culture. There could be a different name for this but I started calling it the third culture. Let me explain. In this context, I define culture as the background or foundation you have for your life view usually based on where you live(d). 
  I was born in Nebraska and moved to New Mexico after college. Definitely different cultures even though they are both located in the United States. Meat and potatoes vs. green chile everything. I have become a mix of the two. So this is my culture, what I call first culture.

Then you have someone who was born in say, Louisiana, and has remained there all of their lives. This person is what I consider the second culture. In this case, still American, but were exposed to many different things than I was (pictured above a mission team from Louisiana at an event in Juarez, yes we had a great time!).
  So here is where the third culture comes in. God sends me (1) and He also sends the person from Louisiana (2) to serve in Ciudad Juarez (3). So I am now dealing with three cultures. When you throw in a third culture, especially one so different from your own, life gets way more interesting. Even greater when you consider everyone is so different anyway. Which is wonderful. God making everyone a little different, genius actually. But as iron sharpens iron, sparks fly.
  Sounds good, sounds normal, but dealing with that third culture really stretched me. Really changed my perspective. Because that third culture was so different than mine. I could basically understand the second culture person in this example. Like a missions team that came down to serve for a week. Normally Americans, so we had enough back ground in common. But when that third culture came in, phewww. Outside my comfort zone for sure. Not just different priorities or different ideas, but even ingrained cultural references. Like Americans have jokes about Mr. Rogers or red necks, which Mexicans didn’t understand. They have their own cultural references, which I didn’t understand. Oftentimes a joke was told and everyone but me would laugh 😂😂😥
  Then when I think about missionaries serving in other parts of the world with missionaries from other parts of the world. For instance, a US Missionary serving alongside an Albanian Missionary, both serving in Uganda. Yikes. But my God provides and He enabled me to live alongside and serve people in a third culture, who have such a different life view than me. Jesus Christ is our unifying bond, what we all have in common. 
  People everywhere get up and go to work every day but their work could look very different than yours. They still eat dinner every day but when they eat and what they have, different. Doesn’t make it better or worse, just different.
  Being exposed to so many different cultures has changed me. I am a square peg trying to fit through a round hole. I am trusting that God is preparing me for what is to come. But that third culture, wow quite an experience.

But to the important stuff, the serious question 
   meat 🥩 & potatoes
     OR
   chile 🌶 everything 

Click here to vote👀

 (poll closing 15 September)
Have a questions you’ve always wanted to ask a missionary? Ask away I’m ready to have a real conversation about what it’s like to serve God in a third culture.