Overcoming the first of many challenges

“In your first term, you struggle with language; in your second term, you struggle with culture; in your third term, you destroy everything you have been working for so far; and in your fourth term, you finally bring fruit.”

It was MTW church planter Dan Iverson who said that. It puzzled me when I heard it several years ago. I couldn’t decide whether it was meant to be funny or if it was indeed a reflection on his experience in ministry. Maybe it was a mixture of both.

However, as I’ve entered my fifth year in Japan, at least the beginning of the statement seems to hold true for me. Initially, I did struggle with language a lot but not so much with cultural differences as I didn’t understand much. Language learning is difficult for me in general. Even learning English was hard despite English being the closest language to my mother tongue, German.

When I asked experienced Japanese learners how long it would be before I’d be able to have a normal conversation without thinking about vocabulary or trying to find the right ending for a verb, they often said five to six years. Full of beginner’s enthusiasm, I thought: Surely that’s not true. If you work hard enough, I’m sure you could get there faster. To make a long story short, I did not get there faster. And it didn’t help reading in the newsletter of friends who had gone to Tanzania: “After half a year of language study, we started working with the church.” Not being able to speak the language well for such a long time was very frustrating. Below, I give some perspectives that have helped me.

It seems pretty obvious, but trying to not compare myself with other learners has been helpful.

Another help was when someone told me, “God knows exactly how much Japanese you need for the situations you’re in, and he’ll use you accordingly.” That takes the pressure off. It also counters the false narrative that God can only use me when I speak Japanese well—this false narrative should be fought at all times. God is sovereign, and he equips and empowers the ones he wants to use for his service.

Plus: language is not everything. I have heard about missionaries who apparently never managed to speak the language well, but their heart and attitude came across, and people loved them nevertheless. By stating this, I’m not saying you shouldn’t work hard on language. I think it is the most important medium of communication but not the only one. Loving the people you work with and giving them a smile is also very valuable.

One time, when I shared my frustration of not being able to express myself in the way I’d like to, another missionary told me, “Trust in the translating ability of the Holy Spirit.” However grammatically wrong your statement is, it can still make sense to the other person through the work of the Holy Spirit. I learned to trust in God rather than my own abilities.

Sometimes, seeing other missionaries apparently communicating fluently can be discouraging. But it can also be encouraging: it is possible to learn this language. Yes, it takes time and patience, and you will be frustrated many times, but if you keep pursuing it, the day will come when you can speak without thinking about every word and searching for the correct verb ending the whole time. The day will come when you will understand most of what is said in the Sunday morning message. The day will come when you can have a five-hour team meeting without being utterly exhausted at the end. The day will come when you will actually give your testimony or share the gospel in Japanese!

“In your second term, you struggle with culture,” was the next part of Dan Iverson’s statement. Now that I finally do understand roughly what is being said, I find that I struggle with cultural differences more than ever before. I did not expect this. I thought the worst culture shock would be in the first term, but it is dawning on me that that might not be true. However, just as I overcame the hardest part of language learning through relying on God’s strength, I am now encouraged that one day the cultural differences will become easier, too.