Video Transcript: Teaching Practical Skills

Abby - Teaching the practical skills. So we spent a lot of time again on that  communication, the length of this day, cross culture, all that. But now, how are  you going to help your person really transition? How are you going to help them  in some practical skills?  

Henry - So equip host ministers with tools to help guide develop life skills, to  focus on language, literacy, household management and daily living tasks  emphasize patience, encouragement and adaptability.  

Abby - The role of the host minister in skill development. So as a host minister,  we talked about all that you want to provide the safe space. But these safe  spaces, they create a spot where you can help your guests to develop some life  skills and to have it be, you know, a lot of the goals of this would be for it to be  temporary. Well, you want to give them the skills that will allow them to launch.  So many guests may be displaced or recovering from a trauma, so teaching  them skills that can empower their independence and their continued thriving in  life is is something that, again, is a huge part of being a host minister. So  Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he  will not depart from it. Now, I  

Henry - picked that verse because I liked it in some ways. Is this the same type  of thing when he departs? You know, if, in a sense, the host, minister and guest,  someone comes in and for a while, you are there an opportunity to train them  up. Yeah, you're a parent, and you're going to help them take their next step.  

Abby - So some key skills to teach basic vocabulary, commonly used words for  everyday communication. You know, again, depending on who you have, that  might become really important where you want to be able to teach them how to  thrive and what words might really help them do well in everyday  communication, conversational practice. So you're just you hosting them is  creating an opportunity for them to practice these skills, and, you know, being  able to really intentionally create that place for that opportunity of practice. Same thing with reading and writing, being able to, you know, give them lessons if they need that, and then just, you know, coming alongside them to help them grow in  this area of literacy.  

Henry - Now we have that three part literacy class at Christian leaders Institute.  And if you find that they know very little, hey, sign them up for an account. Yeah.  Teaching Strategies, use visual aids. Oh, you're teaching strategies. Use  Christian leaders Institute, create a safe learning environment incorporating faith into lessons. And that's something that Christian leaders as to we would do, let  the wise hear an increase in their learning, 

Abby - key skill to teach that whole household management. So, you know, they might not know very well their cleaning and their organization or meal  preparation, or, you know, budgeting is a huge one. And you know, especially if  you have a situation where, maybe, again, someone is trying to get on their feet  from a really huge financial loss or something like that. You know, it's really  important to be able to, you know, if they are are teachable and desiring that, to  be able to create that space where you could teach them some budgeting or  household type of skills,  

Henry - hands on, checklists, schedules, encouraging independence. In some  ways, it's like your goal here is launching So, and it's okay that they know that  this is a launching place, and you know what you'll find that's what they want.  They're looking for. They're looking for that kind of help.  

Abby - So again, teaching some more, like, important daily living skills, the  personal hygiene, time management. You know, that's a huge thing, being able  to manage your time. I mean, I can struggle with that. And you know, my  husband actually is way worse at being on time than me, and it drives me nuts  at times. And so it's an opportunity to again, graciously and in patience, kind of  teach them, you know, again, how to try to develop those daily routines that  helps them manage their time.  

Henry - The technique setting goals, offer encouragement, provide resources,  role playing exercises for real life situations, and that's fun. Whatever you do  your hand finds do it with all your might. Do it with your might. You know, what's  interesting about this part of the daily living skills? This is fun stuff, and the role  playing is fun role playing. There are even games that are so culturally attuned  to where someone lives, and you could play games that have like situations in  them. And actually, that would be really good game to play with your guests,  right?  

Abby - Or even providing like incentives. So you know, maybe again, let's say  you were hosting a foreign exchange student and you wanted to help them on  literacy. Well, when you finish this lesson, we'll go get ice cream. You know,  there's really fun ways that you could go about it where, again, it becomes a  really fun way to teach them some of these principles of daily living skills,  

Henry - and some of these things are highly important in our particular culture.  Go being late several times to a job will eliminate that job from I mean, these are examples of in some cultures, they don't, for instance, their cleanliness. They're  not taking a shower every day, like Americans are freaked out to do often. So if 

they're going to do well in this culture, you may say in that culture, we're all like  clean freaks,  

Abby - right? And even when you're showing them some of these skills, you  know, it's important to go, not that this is necessarily better or the right thing, but  if you're interested, I want to show you kind of what is expected here, which  might help you succeed as you continue to potentially be living in this place.  

Henry - In this case, you're onboarding them to a different culture, and for them  to do well there, They at least need to know, you know, what the score is. How  do I do well in this culture, like, for instance, in some cultures, back to the high  culture, low culture. In this culture, the geniuses are the listeners, not the talkers. In other cultures, the high culture, the talkers who have, you know, have  authority. Now, those are dynamics to be very so if someone comes from a  culture where they feel like they have to be the authority on something, you  might help them and give them here. Here's the little tip about America, if you're  here, you want to just foster conversations, get people talking about what they're interested in, and then participate in right? Don't you don't need to be the  answer man or an expert on anything the Lord sees you who you are, and that's  enough. You know, it's not  

Abby - even teaching them skills, you know, some daily, other, potentially living  skills, or even vocational skills. You know, maybe they really, again, exercise  their real life. Maybe you want to pretend to an interview with them. You know,  they're going to be interviewing for a job, and you just want to sit down and say,  Hey, here's what an interview might seem like in America. Let's just pretend do it you're interviewing. Here's the questions I'm asking you. And I think those are  ways that, again, as a host Minister, you have such a unique situation to really  come alongside somebody and and do those sort of things. And what, again,  amazing opportunity. So as you do all of this, keep teaching with patience and  encouragement, you know, and just celebrating the small victories to build their  confidence, adapting to each other's learning style and just continuing to model  that patience and understanding encourage one another and build each other  up.  

Henry - So empowering guests through practical skills help them transition  successfully into independent living. Teaching life skills reflects the love and care of Christ in tangible ways. For we are God's workmanship created in Christ,  Jesus to do good works. There are more resources in the reading, but you get  the idea. It's actually saying, How can I launch that person? And when you see a huge deficit, that won't go well, in this culture, it's having the curiosity  atmosphere where you can talk about this, but not to insult them, that their 

culture is bad and our culture is good. The one goal is that Christ is glorified, that they do well. Now understand that some things can be fixed quickly, and some  things take a long period of time. So if somebody is just really a procrastinator,  and in that culture they come from, they were a procrastinator there too, and  everybody saw so everybody knows they're a procrastinator. And you're trying to try to use the cross cultural, I'm helping you card. They're procrastinators. Okay? Some things can't be fixed, right?  

Abby - And that's the thing too. Where it's like, you know, this is an opportunity  to, if that space is there and they want it, you want to try to encourage and help  them, but they may not be interested to have any advice. And also, you know,  realizing that you don't want to become the answer, man, host minister, either in  the end of the day, there's certain things that are going to be your own  weaknesses, or certain things, like you said, that are not so easy to talk through  or correct. And you know, there's, again, that certain with the patience and an  encouragement to where it's like just have patience where you know there's  going to be certain things, or maybe they don't want to listen on it, or maybe it's  not even appropriate for you to say something on and you know that's okay, too  in  

Henry - cases like this, the prayer of serenity is very important. Lord, help me to know what I can change, what I can change, wisdom to know the difference of  what I can and cannot change, and the peace that you are at work and you as a  minister, a servant of the Lord, serving them. Are put in their life for that next  step in their journey