{"id":1395,"date":"2016-12-06T11:49:57","date_gmt":"2016-12-06T16:49:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cuppacoldwater.wordpress.com\/?p=1395"},"modified":"2017-04-04T16:38:36","modified_gmt":"2017-04-04T20:38:36","slug":"how-to-be-a-good-missionary-visitor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=1395","title":{"rendered":"How To Be a Good Missionary-Visitor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nWash dishes. I mean it, wash dishes all the time. Do your own laundry. Gladly eat the food they have on hand, but pass on that special treat they just got from the States that they feel obliged to share with you. And then go wash some more dishes. Don’t treat your visit as a vacation at a resort. The missionaries are not there only to feed you and entertain you. Pull your weight.<\/p>\n

Speaking of entertaining, be easy to entertain. Don’t feel you have to be constantly moving and doing and talking and going. Sometimes, there are only so many places to go, and things to do, and entertaining an energy ball can be exhausting.<\/p>\n

Be culturally sensitive. Don’t schlump around in your dirty, white, tennis shoes, loudly talking about the “natives” in English and exclaiming about how much worse the country is than the United States. You are on their territory, not yours. Act accordingly. Don’t hog the volleyball or diss how they play. Eat their food with gusto. Wear clean shoes.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, remember that all those things that are just uh-MAZING about this AWESOME country you’re visiting are not quite as new and exciting to your missionary friend. Sure, the view is lovely, but have you considered that maybe this is the seventh time this year that the missionary has climbed this mountain to look at this view with different groups of enthusiastic visitors? No, getting to live in another country doesn’t automatically make them the luckiest person in the world. Because sometimes it’s actually hard, really hard. Be sensitive to that.<\/p>\n

\"img_8793\"<\/p>\n

Pray for them. That sounds so cliche, I know, but you know what were some of the groups we most enjoyed when we lived in Honduras? The prayer teams. I recently read a blog post about short term missions, and it said that instead of focusing on the locals, focus on helping the missionaries, because that makes a much bigger difference, and I thought, YES. So true. Also, when you leave, don’t forget to write them. I know firsthand the delight of letters from friends you left behind. In fact, letters from far away are what inspired the name of this blog originally.<\/p>\n

And now for a little confession: I started this blog post before my recent trip to Honduras, then I thought, nah, I better not post it before I go, because what a lot to live up to! \ud83d\ude00 So here it is, post-trip, and now my lovely hosts can read it and judge me if they wish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wash dishes. I mean it, wash dishes all the time. Do your own laundry. Gladly eat the food they have on hand, but pass on that special treat they just got from the States that they feel obliged to share with you. And then go wash some more dishes. Don’t treat your visit as a vacation at a resort. The missionaries are not there only to feed you and entertain you. Pull your weight. Speaking of entertaining, be easy to…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[92,94],"tags":[126,131],"class_list":["post-1395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-relationships","category-travel","tag-honduras","tag-missions"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8A8kG-mv","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6815,"url":"https:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=6815","url_meta":{"origin":1395,"position":0},"title":"12 Ways to Enjoy Autumn","author":"Rachel","date":"September 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Take a day to unpack your warm clothes from storage. Wash the ones that smell, and fill your closet with the others. Do some outfit idea pictures, since the clothes will feel new and exciting from being in storage, then you can refer to these once you are tired of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Musings"","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?cat=91"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/pexels-photo-267313.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/pexels-photo-267313.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/pexels-photo-267313.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/pexels-photo-267313.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/pexels-photo-267313.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5307,"url":"https:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=5307","url_meta":{"origin":1395,"position":1},"title":"What Is It Like to be a Tall Girl?","author":"Rachel","date":"December 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\"I wonder what it would be like to be a tall girl?\" I know many of you all probably lie awake at nights pondering this, and wishing you had an answer for this pressing question. Be cheered, your day has come.","rel":"","context":"In "Humor"","block_context":{"text":"Humor","link":"https:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?cat=90"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/img_2127-3306381527-1510062722970.jpg?fit=1200%2C843&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/img_2127-3306381527-1510062722970.jpg?fit=1200%2C843&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/img_2127-3306381527-1510062722970.jpg?fit=1200%2C843&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/img_2127-3306381527-1510062722970.jpg?fit=1200%2C843&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/img_2127-3306381527-1510062722970.jpg?fit=1200%2C843&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4353,"url":"https:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=4353","url_meta":{"origin":1395,"position":2},"title":"How To Use Hair Henna","author":"Rachel","date":"August 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"What is henna, and why would you use it on your hair? Excellent questions. Henna is plant-based powder that has been used for hundreds of years as a natural hair conditioner. It is reported to strengthen hair, increase growth and shine, and diminish dandruff. Straight henna has a reddish color,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?cat=244"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_1441.jpg?fit=1200%2C902&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_1441.jpg?fit=1200%2C902&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_1441.jpg?fit=1200%2C902&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_1441.jpg?fit=1200%2C902&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_1441.jpg?fit=1200%2C902&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5978,"url":"https:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=5978","url_meta":{"origin":1395,"position":3},"title":"Christmas Alone, an Experiment","author":"Rachel","date":"January 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"My family celebrated Christmas a few days early this year. We got together and worked on my brother's kitchen remodel (okay, other people worked on that. 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What's pictured isn't a charcuterie board. Charcuterie means cold cooked meats, and this board has no meat on it at all, but\u00a0I'm going to insist on calling it a charcuterie board because I like that word, even if I'm always\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Food"","block_context":{"text":"Food","link":"https:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?cat=88"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_9435-3534433196-1495140499371.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_9435-3534433196-1495140499371.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_9435-3534433196-1495140499371.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_9435-3534433196-1495140499371.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_9435-3534433196-1495140499371.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4027,"url":"https:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=4027","url_meta":{"origin":1395,"position":5},"title":"Life On My Own","author":"Rachel","date":"July 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"My roommate Lyn is gone for the summer, and I am busy checking \"living alone\" off my 30-Before-30 list. 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