Global Mission Snapshots #69 – Dreaming of Home

When you think of Japanese culture, different images come to mind. Perhaps you think of intricate tea ceremonies, or the ancient art of bonsai, or the subtle beauties of Japanese gardens, or millions of people business people rushing to work for long, long days at the office.

Social ranking, status and AGE play an important role in how people interact with others. In Japan, everyone is aware of everyone else’s age. Vertical ranking, based mainly on age, determines the location of desks in a classroom, the order in which cups of tea are distributed, how close you can stand to someone else and even who shakes whose hand first. Social hierarchy is so pervasive that the Japanese have different ways of addressing others based on their age, whether older or younger.

It’s important to understand such a well organized and very respectful people as you approach and interact with them. And yet, even if we don’t know every custom and rule of etiquette, there is an approach that breaks down all barriers. We’ll talk about that later!

But first up, let’s travel to Botswana to meet Ishmael, a Global Mission pioneer.

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