These quotes come from another good book Preparing Missionaries for Intercultural Communication: A Bicultural Approach by Lyman Reed.

“Since missionaries represent and serve the King of Kings, they deserve the best preparation possible for His service.”

“It is very easy for Western missionaries to adopt an attitude that communicates the feeling that the way we do things here at home is the right and proper way to do so, whatever it maybe.”

“The single most important area of your life and ministry will be in the realm of attitudes.”

“Is what I am doing, thinking, or saying building trust or is it undermining trust?”

“It is not difficult for others to discern whether or not the missionaries accept them as persons. Their attitudes and actions soon give them away.”

“They are not inferior or less valid — just different!”

“Thinking positively about language learning is a crucial aspect of the learner’s approach.”

“You can successfully learn another language. Successful language learners — both children and adults — begin with an underlying knowledge that a language is learned rather than taught. And they know how to take advantage of the abundant resources available to them. These resources are the people who speak the language.”

“It is motivation that determines ultimate proficiency in a second language.”

“Language learning is a social activity and it must be learned through relationships with people.”

“One has to make mistakes in order to learn from his mistakes”

“The problem is not one of ignorance but of cultural isolation.”

“..failure to learn foreign languages results primarily from false attitudes towards culture.”

“Fear caused by anticipation of the new cultural experiences can be a cause of culture shock. There is a sense in which fear breeds fear. Larson and Smalley comment on this reaction: ‘Culture shock is sometimes aggravated by anxiety resulting from the very knowledge that aliens over seas are likely to suffer from it. It can produce its own vicious cycle.’ There is no need for such fear if one is prepared to expect culture shock and how to cope with it; nevertheless some people seem to prefer anxiety to careful preparation for the task ahead.”

“Missionaries often mistake plunging into ministry for plunging into culture. They pay for a fast trip through language school by enduring years of slow and pain filled ministry. Some are disillusioned and discouraged when what were great ministry skills and experience in the US are not immediately useful overseas.” Let me add you must pay the price to learn the language. Decide now that if it means two years of language study that you will do it. Pay the price. Spend time with the people. Learn to laugh at yourself. But by all means get the language.

I would strongly like to suggest to each of you that you find someone who knows how and what to do and learn from him. For those of you who believe that God has called you to missions you need to become your pastors right hand so that he can train you and help you to mature and develop your character. Then once you arrive on the mission field I strongly suggest that you get personally involved with a veteran missionary who can really help you and train you. Things are different on the mission field. Be willing to learn.

“I just read about a young lady who was willing to pay the price to adapt to the culture where she was and so she learned to eat hot sauce on rice by adding one drop each day, but she learned. It wasn’t necessarily what she wanted but the price she paid to be able to win her adopted people.”