Pittsburgh Theological Seminary’s curriculum includes a required intercultural learning trip to help students see their own ministry with new eyes by stepping outside their context. These trips are part of the “Intercultural/Experiential Learning” course (MI310) offered by the Seminary every January Term, organized by the World Mission Initiative. The course provides pre- and post-experience orientation and reflection in cultural proficiency and anti-racism, intercultural communication, a theology of short-term mission engagement, area studies for the specific context to be studied, and spiritual practices for mission.
The January 2023 trips were to Lebanon, Philippines, Guatemala, and Israel/Palestine. Excerpts from student reflection journals will be shared on the blog throughout the month.
Intercultural Trip to the Philippines
Journal Author: Andrew Hill
Banilad, Cebu City, Philippines
Jan. 11, 2023
Dirt roads with giant potholes
Plastic chairs for furniture
A one-room house the same size as my guest room
A mattress on the floor
A tin roof and tin siding
Rain slamming on the roof
Stray malnourished dogs everywhere
A sea urchin feast
Karaoke with windswept rain
Did I mention rain? Because it is raining a lot and is forecast to continue through the week. The first two days were simply cloudy, but it’s now been raining for more than 24 hours and we’re under severe flooding alerts. We are in a fishing village and we’ve been informed of an evacuation plan if it comes to that.
Our hosts do not want to stay with us, so it’s just the three of us guests in their house. M. lives here, but it’s her mother’s house. She’s staying in her mother’s other house, and her nephew who normally stays here is staying with his dad in his house. It’s okay. This house is too small for more people, and I’ve had as much of an immersion experience as I would like.
This is by far the most challenging 24-hour period I’ve ever experienced. Is it right to say that [living in poverty] is exhausting? Because I am mentally and totally exhausted. I don’t ever want to repeat this kind of immersion experience.
The best part about this is the intense bonding we’ve done with the Silliman students. Karaoke, ghost stories, and food could only be improved upon by the coconut wine I was hoping for from a fisherman.
Jan. 12, 2023
Morning:
We took an overnight trip to a village to immerse ourselves among “fisher folk” to better understand their livelihoods that are threatened by the coming wave of Chinese resort development—a form of incremental colonization that seems to be happening in collusion with the Philippines government over and above investing in the development of their own people. This is the substantive heart of what we’re doing here, and as seminarians and theologians, knowing how to stand up to capitalist aggressors starts with being able to articulate moral outrage on behalf of the people who are most affected, in words that might reach the right people in charge.
. . .
On a personal note, as much as I dislike rain, I have now slept through unending hours of downpours in a hut on a beach that could easily be swept out to sea with one storm surge. It must have been the local rum that rocked me to sleep.
Afternoon:
The village folk held a festival to celebrate us. Several groups performed dances (including ours), and they rolled out a red carpet feast. For a community experiencing poverty, they embody hospitality like so many family villages are known to do. I know I had a difficult time being outside my comfort zone (like, way way WAY out!), but their community together was a fresh reminder of how empty our community is in Atlanta post-COVID.
Will it ever feel like what the fisher folk have in Banilad? No, but it can at least be as rich as the one I had years ago in New York City. I used to love opening up my home to my friends. It fed my soul. But we need friends to host first. Unless one is willing to build an intentional community like in Banilad, one will settle for less than what we received today. But less is better than nothing.
They gave up everything for our comfort. I was so focused on my discomfort being in their space, I didn’t stop to remember that when I host people, the imposition of other people into my own space and the time and energy it takes to devote to their comfort and entertainment is exhausting. They must have experienced the same, and possibly even more so since they don’t have guest rooms. We slept in their room, their only room.
The Silliman students are probably going through much of the same, having given up semester break time to spend with us and add to their workloads. They have spent all day and all night with us since Sunday and will continue to host us in the same manner through Saturday night! I’m exhausted just thinking about how much time and energy we are sucking away from them. I’m so grateful I don’t even have words to adequately express it.
Jan. 13, 2023
We must remember that God left his home in glory to join us here and live amongst us, but we did not receive him as the people of Banilad received us. So when people experiencing poverty receive us into their community, the least we can do is be grateful for their hospitality. We cannot help them unless we become a part of them and join their suffering in order to more deeply understand the cause of their protest.
This is my theological reflection from this entire week. There are many takeaways yet to be realized, many that will surface in the months to come. But these two concepts, gratitude and hospitality, are the immediately recognizable fruits of this labor. It’s only fitting as gratitude was the spiritual practice that grew out of my first year in seminary, and hospitality is what my husband showed me as he supported me through all three years. Have I been grateful enough to him for his hospitality?
…
In our final joint group reflection yesterday, I found myself saying something that’s worth noting, only because I was shocked at the mentoring wisdom coming out of my mouth and the notes the younger students were taking. In response to the question as to whether seminary has prepared me for what’s coming next, I said the following: theology sits at the center of our intersections.
For me that’s the intersection of economics and politics, politics and religion, religion and queer mission, and religion and film, and various combinations of all of those and more. It would be impossible for seminary to have prepared me to navigate all of those intersections, but seminary has given me the tools and confidence to carry all of them with me and bring my entire self along wherever I go. And finally, no one ever gets just one calling in life, this is just the next one.
Since 2001, the PTS World Mission Initiative has sent 987 individuals to 61 countries. Learn more about the Intercultural Trips.