Cross-cultural interview

I had to interview someone from another country for my Cross-Cultural Evangelism class. Here are the results. I hope you enjoy!

Svitlana Rozsokha is a single, twenty three year old Ukrainian lady who is finishing her first year at Southern Seminary. While she has enjoyed her eight months in the United States, she is looking forward to going back to Ukraine for the summer to use what she has learned in the classroom to bless several ministries she works with in her home country. Svitlana, or Sveta as she likes to be called, speaks Ukrainian, Russian, English, and has studied French and German in High School.

Sveta and I have gotten to know each other slowly over the last two semesters and began visiting in her dorm room earlier this year. She has shared bits and pieces of her story with me slowly over our friendship, and allowed me to ‘officially’ interview her twice in her room at the end of March and the end of April. Our interviews usually lasted for a few hours and we talked not only about her culture and experiences but also my own personal experiences, both on campus at Southern Seminary, in the U.S.A in general, and living overseas. Sometime during the interviews I was usually offered some form of chocolate or sweet, unhealthy morsel and we almost always ended up sitting comfortably on different ends of her bed with the window open, trying hard to stay on task as we enjoyed the other’s company.

Svitlana’s story of the Lord’s hand in her life is truly a testimony to the faithfulness of God. Her parents divorced when she was very young, leavning her mother with four children, of whom Sveta was the oldest. When Sveta was eleven, her mother remarried an abusive man who eventually killed her and then dissapeared. Svitlana and two of her siblings were put in the same orphanage, but the youngest child, a brother which Sveta had been the primary caretaker of, was placed in another orphanage. To this day Svitlana does not know where he is or how he is doing. Despite being told repeatedly to forget him, she prays for him and trusts God to be as good to him as He has been to her.

Not long after Sveta and her two siblings were put in the orphanage, an American short-term mission team visited the orphanage. An older American couple met Sveta and the three soon fell in love with each other. Despite the three desperately wanting to become part of the same family, the court system had not declared Sveta adoptable, and it is usually extremely hard for Americans to adopt out of Ukraine even under the best of circumstances. The American team left, and Svitlana again thought she had lost people she loved and cared about. Surprisingly, however, the next year when the American team returned, Svitlana’s friends were amongst the team members. Sveta ran to Carrie, the wife of the couple and held her hand and refused to let go.

The American couple were not content to leave Svitlana in the orphanage again, and so began searching for a Ukrainian couple who would adopt her. God raised up a godly Ukrainain family with two daughters of their own to adopt not only Sveta but her two younger siblings. She has been living with this new godly family since then and daily praises God for the blessings He has given her.

The American couple kept in touch with Sveta and after she graduated from the undergraduate program in Ukraine asked her if she would be interested in studying in the United States. She confesses that the thought was not attractive to her at all at first, and was tempted to refuse them. However her adoptive parents and others spoke with her and eventually she agreed, as she saw that going to Seminary would help prepare her for the ministry she felt the Lord calling her to. The American couple, whom Sveta refers to as her American parents, have paid, with their church’s help, for all her travel expenses and Seminary costs.

This summer Sveta is going to be traveling to several orphanages in her home country and hopes the Lord will use her to touch other lives the way her American and Ukrainian parents have blessed hers. She feels torn about returning to Seminary in the fall. While she knows it is a good thing and training will be helpful, she sees the immediate needs in her adoptive father’s ministry and knows how hard it is to do ministry in her native land. She feels an urgency to get about the Lord’s work that is inspiring and commendable.

Brother Anton Rozsokha, Sveta’s adoptive father, has a small church in their home village of Kaniv, in the region of Cherkassy in Ukraine. He has been working there for several years and yet still his church consists of only eight old women who faithfully attend. He is happy that his daughter has the opportunity to learn but misses her bight encouraging spirit and sharp wit in the ministry.

Ukrainian culture is a very task oriented, indirect, private culture with a high priority on how one addresses people of different social status and social etiquette. The Ukrainian language itself has different levels used for people, similar to the Russian formal and informal voices. Tonal inflection is very important. Since the culture is indirect, it is important to pay attention to how a phrase is said. The implications of how or when a word was said can communicate many things that the overall sentence did not in any way indicate. Eye contact is important, as a lack of it communicates distrust or suspicion. The Ukrainians believe that you can ‘see the soul through the eyes.” Ignoring a person verbally is not always a warning signal, however if no response is given, verbal or non-verbal, then it is a good bet that something is wrong.

Svitlana said one of the greatest culture shocks came when she experienced the warm, friendly hospitable southern charm that is a trademark of Kentucky and the American South. She said it was a wonderfully pleasant surprise to have so many offers of care and consideration that were heartfelt and not said merely out of politeness. Apparently even in the churches in Ukraine, such offers are mere formality and not really meant. However, in the States Svitlana feels free to take people at their word when they offer to take her to the store or give her needed items. The Ukrainians see the need to care for their own family members, and within the family circle there is a sense of community, of open fellowship, “what’s yours is mine” mentalities. However, while there is a strong sense of hospitality, there is also a sense of family honor that permeates everything a Ukrainian does. This is very obvious when one is attempting to do evangelism. To be Ukrainian is to be a member of an Eastern Orthodox church. The evangelical church is seen as eccentric and a money-making scheme. There is even a saying, “Don’t talk to the Christians because they will pull you into the church.” Svitlana sees Eastern Orthodoxy as a mere shell of religion, however it is hard for Ukrainians to see the difference between a Baptist missionary and a legalistic, overbearing Orthodox priest. In the past, there had been a good deal of persecution of those outside the Orthodox church. In recent years the persecution has not been nearly as bad. However, Ukrainians will tell there children, “it is better to drink and become a workaholic than join that cult!” when referring to Baptists or other Evangelical Protestants. Family honor is tied to the Orthodox church, and to leave it is to shame one’s family.

Part of the problem Svitlana sees amongst Evangelical churches is their lack of vision for mission. The pastors care for their congregation but do not emphasize evangelism or even inviting new members to churches. There is an overbearing sense of discouragement amongst the churches, as the cultural attitude has historically been against them and they need reminded of who they are and what their mission on earth is.

The holiness of the Sanctuary of Church amongst Orthodox and Evangelicals is not taken flippantly at all, and this can be seen in the dress code of the attendees. The women must always wear skirts and the men nice suits with collared shirts and ties. Jeans, T-shirts, or casual wear in general is unacceptable and highly inappropriate. Make up and jewelry is also discouraged amongst women in the Church. Svitlana sees the Church of all denominations as too formal, as the attitude communicated is that it is a sin to laugh, to be carefree or light hearted. There is a weight and sobriety to faith that has become burdensome. The pastors are expected to do everything in the church with barely any help but also blamed for any problems. There is hardly any lay leadership or volunteer workers to help in the pastor’s many roles, nor do many see the need for this. Recently some pastors have seen the wisdom in recruiting help, but the problem now is that church goers have become apathetic and see no need to get up and help. There is little to no discipleship in the church, which only exacerbates the feelings of oppression, lack of vision, dysfunction and apathy in the church.

Another area that frustrates Svitlana is the roles of men and women in her culture. A man is free to wed or remain single as he chooses, although he is encouraged to marry. Or he can get a job and work, or not, as he chooses. However, if a woman does not marry, respect towards her is lowered and she is not seen as fulfilling her role as a woman. Once she is married, she must serve the husband, even if he does nothing to contribute to the home and family. If a man is to be respected or seen as fulfilling his role, he should provide for his family financially and be able to “. . .fix everything in the house. Don’t call the plumber or something” as Sveta says. A Christian woman should be submissive, quiet and humble in public to her husband. However Sveta sees a lot of hypocrisy in this area. She knows many women in the church who give the impression of a submissive wife in public but are sharp tongued in the home and very opinionated. She believes that this is an area in which the church needs to train the women and disciple the men, as there is a lack of respect from both parties. In Ukraine, a woman should gently disagree once and if the husband remains firm, she should let the issue go. However Sveta views men in her church as deaf to their wives’ wisdom. However she also sees that the wives do not present their feedback in a way that is effective or conducive to gaining their husbands’ trust and respect.

Ukrainians, like many Eastern Europeans, are incredibly intrigued by Americans. In Sveta’s experience, if a Ukrainian pastor wants to get new arrivals to come to his church, a good outreach strategy would be to invite an American short-term missions team to visit. The pastor will have no problem getting people to visit his church. However, the drawback is that the visitors rarely return. When the celebrity Americans leave, there is no further attraction or entertainment to be found at the church. Unfortunately, for native Ukrainians, there is neither the resources nor the inclination to begin ministering to their fellow countrymen. It is often much easier for a foreigner to travel to Ukraine and begin a ministry than for a Ukrainian. Yet a foreigner cannot accomplish what needs doing in the small time frame a short-term mission trip allows.

Svitlana believes that Americans are greatly needed to partner alongside Ukrainian pastors. Americans have the material resources, the training, and the grit needed to reach out to Ukrainians. It is important that Americans wanting to reach out to Ukrainians realize what they are getting themselves into, and not enter this difficult ministry with naïve expectations or over -optimistic hopes. Ukrainians find personal and familial identity in their Orthodox heritage and faith. While it is very obvious that the Orthodox “faith” has become a legalistic club of tradition, it is hard for a Ukrainian to see the benefits of a personal relationship with an invisible Christ when their personal relationships with their visible, tight knit families will be destroyed or ripped apart with their conversion.

Another issue with American or other Western cultures ministering in Ukraine is what Svitlana described as “liberalism.” In Ukraine, loud laughter, dancing, music, carefree dress, and intimate attitudes upon first acquaintance threatens Ukrainians. A major complaint that many Eastern Europeans have voiced is that Americans do not realize the need to adjust to the culture they are visiting. “You should realize that not everybody is an American.” Oftentimes, the majority of the participants in short term mission trips are teenagers who are young and excited about their faith. This is a good thing, however they need to be taught maturity and responsibility with their energy and exuberance.

Svitlana has had very negative experiences with short term American teams going to Ukraine and immediately “coupling off,” or in other words beginning dating relationships with team members or with Ukrainians they have met. While she is happy that they feel so at home in her country and have met people they want to become good friends with, it is very detrimental to their ministry if they are focusing on one another instead of those they are trying to reach. “You didn’t come here to get a boyfriend, you came to teach about Christ. You are not coming to Ukraine to fall in love with a boy, you came to love Jesus and tell others about Him, so just put your focus there.”

Svitlana was also surprised by the expectations American youth had upon arriving in Ukraine. The facilities are bad as it is a poor country, and many times “bathrooms” are outhouses built apart from the main building. This and the fact that the nearest McDonalds is several hundred miles away seems to shock many mission trip goers. In Sveta’s eyes, they must realize that Ukraine is a simple country that does not have much of the technology, facilities, comforts or resources that the United States has, and if they are going to be effective they need to leave that kind of lifestyle behind them when they leave the United States boarder.

Brother Anton has repeatedly expressed the need for a partner in his work, and Sveta believes a long-term American missionary could be incredibly helpful. However, the American would have to be willing to integrate slowly amongst the Ukrainians. Immediate acceptance cannot be expected, and the American would have to make great sacrifices in lifestyle and personal expectations. Ukrainians do need to have religious and cultural reforms, but they have a saying that is very telling on their outlook: “Don’t tell me what to do because I’ll tell you where to go: away!” The implication is that overzealous foreigners can take their zeal and foreignness straight back to where they came from, and they can forget about evangelizing, too.

When an American first moves into a Ukrainian community, they will be treated as the local friendly rock star. Soon this will give way to bewilderment as the locals try to figure out why a person would leave the comfortable affluence of America to join them in their struggle out of a communistic oppressive economy to first world status. If the missionary truly seeks to be incarnational, they will discover the Ukrainians to be curious and eventually receptive to their message. However it will take a great deal of time, patience and prayer.

There is a great need for discipleship in Ukraine. Svitlana believes that, besides evangelism, discipleship is the most overlooked thing in the Church there. A good deal of legalism can be found amongst established Evangelical churches, and this needs to be addressed. A personal relationship with Christ is difficult to foster and multiply if it is steeped in legality.

It is important for missionaries from America to realize that they come from a low priority, direct culture. It is therefore very easy for people from places like Ukraine to misunderstand or be offended at something said or done, even when the missionary had nothing but the best intentions. The missionary must also realize that there are certain cultural aspects that, while they are very dysfunctional, are still an integral part of the culture. It is difficult to draw the fine line of knowing when to respect the culture and adjust, or work around it, and knowing when to hold one’s ground and not compromise. A Christian working with a lifeless church in a legalistic culture will face many challenges that must be met with prayer, a teachable spirit, and something beyond flexibility: fluidity. Ukraine is a challenging place for ministry, even for native Ukrainians. Cultural informants like Svitlana are invaluable in settings such as this. She is a very intelligent, compassionate person who can relate to Americans and help them realize their cultural blind spots and will not hesitate to respect the culture and person as she guides and teaches. It will be only a continuation of an already amazing story as God continues to write out her tale of glorifying Him in all that she does.