Cross-Cultural Connections: Lily Richardson's Journey Through Greece
Episode 9 | 14 Minutes | Jul 31, 2024
Lily Richardson shares her experience of a trip to Greece with a group of eight girls from her school. She talks about the unique aspects of Greek culture, such as the late dinner times and the relaxed attitude towards punctuality. Lily also discusses the importance of sitting with people and listening to them as a form of ministry. She offers advice for those going on a trip, emphasizing the need to be flexible and open-minded. Lily expresses her desire to go on another cross-cultural service trip in the future.
In this Episode:
How traveling with specific individuals benefits the trip
Three cultural differences she encountered in Greece, such as meal times being later than in the U.S., a relaxed attitude towards punctuality, and a strong coffee culture emphasizing leisurely socializing.
The challenge of implementing a slower lifestyle upon returning to the U.S. and transitioning back to life in Texas.
Processing the results of the trip and her team’s expectations not being fulfilled on the trip
How the trip impacted her spiritually, emphasizing learning to appreciate the "ministry of presence" and trusting in God's timing rather than focusing solely on visible outcomes..
-
Lily Richardson is a recent graduate from Texas, having completed her degree in allied health with aspirations to further her education in nursing. Originally from Texas, she studied in California at Azusa Pacific University. Her passion for cross-cultural experiences has led her to embark on two significant trips, including her latest to Greece with a group of eight girls from her school.
During her Greece trip, she found profound meaning in sitting with people and listening to them as a form of ministry, a lesson she cherishes and aims to apply in her daily life. Lily's journey has not only broadened her cultural horizons but also deepened her spiritual understanding. She reflects on how God works through simple acts of presence and listening, both during and after her travels. Lily's plans include further engagement in cross-cultural service, potentially in nursing or related medical fields, while also grounding herself in her local community through church involvement and service. Her story is a testament to the transformative power of cross-cultural service and the lasting impact it can have on personal growth and faith.
-
Introduction and Meet Lily
Hello. Today, we are here with Lily and we're very excited to hear about her trip, but I'm going to first let her introduce herself. So, Lily, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hello everybody, my name is Lily Richardson. I was born and bred in Texas and I went to school in California, but I recently graduated with a degree in allied health and I'm hoping to pursue further schooling in nursing.
That's awesome. Congratulations on graduating.
Lily's Greece Trip Overview
so let's just talk about the trip quickly. Let's get to the basics. Um, when and where did you go and who did you go with?
So When and where? I went to Greece for three weeks at the beginning of May, two days after graduation, I went with a group of eight girls from the school that I just graduated from, Azusa Pacific.
That's so cool. So were they girls that you knew and like went through college with or was it kind of a new slate and you had to get to know them?
They're one of the girls I had gone on a trip to Korea with the year prior, and then one of the girls was my roommate and teammate. That I've known for four years and then my co-lead and pretty much everybody else I'm trying to think to make sure so I don't offend anybody. Um, Everybody else. Yeah, it was new and we did like a little interview and they had to apply to um, Apply to these specific teams and then we did interviews and then selected them, and then there was like a whole placement process It was a whole thing
Fun. So this wasn't your first trip. You've done a trip to Korea and then was this your second trip?
Yes, this is my second trip.
Nice. What was one of your favorite moments from the Greece trip?
I don't feel like I'm like a girl's girl. If like you understand, you understand, but I think it was so special to go on a team of all eight girls, and like coming home at the end of the day, whether it was like a really easy, not easy, none of the days were easy, but like. Like a seamless day or like a hard day to come home to each other and sit around and like debrief it or have dinner together or talk about Wherever the wind takes us and play like banana grams or whatever. I think that was tender every day and um really really miss it now
That's awesome. I think that It's a different experience to go with either all girls or all guys and, um, most of the time it pays off, which is nice. And you mentioned how, you know, sometimes there's things to process, or there has to be things to talk about.
Cultural Experiences in Greece
You are going to a different culture, a different space, and understanding how people live differently. So what were three new things you experienced from the Greek culture?
One of the things which we learned this, like, our first night in Athens was that everything happens, like, two hours after our, like, normal in the States. So, like, dinner's not happening until, like, 9 p.m. or later. Or, um, like, people don't wake up until, like, noon or after. That is, like, what they were telling us. Or like, go to bed until like, 3 am. And so that was an adjustment to see that we had to make once we got there. That like, okay, like, we need to bring snacks, or we need to just like, make sure that we got all our stuff together so that like, we're on their time. Cause we're like, stepping into their culture. Another thing is that you can show up late to everything. And it's like normal or anticipated, which is very interesting coming from like Western culture where it's like, busy, busy, busy, work, work, work, like, you need to be on time and be punctual and stuff like that. So I think that was very interesting. If you have like a type A personality, which I probably lean more towards, adjusting and just feeling like, okay, like, It's okay if we're not there right when they say we need to be there and they are not going to be mad at me or they're not going to be disappointed. So I think that was interesting. then lastly, I would say that it's like a very big coffee culture and like sitting and like taking your time to like get to know people and just sit around the table with them. I would say that that comes with Being in no rush and like the other things that I mentioned because could be at a dinner and it could last three or more hours, and like in the States we would be like okay I've got places to be or I want to go get in bed and like watch Netflix but we just got to sit there and get to know each other and talk with one another and there was no rush like there was no better place that we could have been than with each other.
Yeah, I want to talk about that a little bit.
Adjusting to Greek Lifestyle
You mentioned it, we are a very rushed, westernized culture and we're on time and we structure our lives based on time. The adjustment in Greece where it's slower paced and we're not too concerned about being on time. Was that something that you enjoyed and you were like, I want to practice this. You mentioned that, you know, you might be at slightly type A. And so it was a bit of an adjustment and it was hard to adjust and change. But once you got used to it, was it something that you were like, I enjoy this?
Yeah, I honestly made it seem like it was more of an adjustment for me than it was. It was not that hard for me to adjust at all. Usually, I'm pretty like, okay, this is what's happening and we're just gonna go with it. And I've been thinking about it a lot recently how there's a lot of stuff that I wanted to bring back from this trip. I've been home for probably A little over a month now, and I was getting hard on myself about what I have or have not done since coming back. but something that I want to bring back, but it's hard because, in this culture specifically, not everybody's on board with it, and everybody has plans, and everybody has they're set ways and also moving back home to Texas right after graduation. That's an adjustment in and of itself. So, hasn't been something that I've implemented, but looking forward to that.
Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Got to get used to life.
Life with the parents.
That's an adjustment, for sure. That's a big adjustment. Yes, it's crazy. Yes, for sure. Well, you've, you know, processed this trip and understood how it's impacted you a little bit.
Spiritual Reflections Post-Trip
So I want to talk about that, um, and unpack that a bit. There's no question that through these trips, God works and moves in different ways even after trips. Now that you've processed this trip, how has God been at work since this trip as a result of your experience?
I would say I learned a lot from the One Collective team when I was in Greece about the beauty and how God works just by sitting with people and listening to them. So that's been something that I've tried to implement in coming back and I've been able to see like, like him working in conversations where you're just sitting there without like expecting anything from anybody. That's something that I've been able to do since being home, and also just being okay with not having the next step and just here with the slower pace of life, um, post-grad plans, really just trying to figure it out, so obviously want answers and what that's going to look like, but it's required for me to just sit and have my hands open and just wait for God to do his thing and take it where he wants.
Yeah. Which is incredibly difficult, but we're trying our best for sure.
Yeah. One of the other students I interviewed talked about how this trip. Showed them the ministry of presence and I think that's a really powerful way to Say it just sitting with someone is just as much a ministry experience Because I think a lot of people go on mission trips And think that they're gonna do a bunch of stuff or work on a house or pick up sticks was, that was something that you wrestled with?
we had to adjust to definitely as a team with this trip. Yeah, because was it more of the stuff you did on the side of just being present with people and having conversations, or was it a mix of kind of both work and Sitting? It was very interesting because I feel like we worked with a different organization nearly every day, and it is beautiful to see how one collective is spread throughout Athens and just seeking opportunities to serve. I think it was, um, an adjustment for people who had been on trips who had been very physical or like labor intensive where they are building a house and they are getting to see results by the end of the day, essentially, to be doing a lot of ministries that was for us, it looked like going to the beach and having a beach day with from the refugee camps or, um, playing games with girls from the refugee camps or going to an art class or working with In a bookstore, or stuff like that. There was like, a couple of times, we worked with an organization called Petaluda and it was like, organizing their stuff, organizing their donations that they had received. Which they weren't going to be able to do on their own, but because like, we had that time to go and help them. Like, they were able to get it done, because eight girls like, That's what we're here to do. And then we like played soccer with the kids or helped with English classes. So I think There was somewhat of a balance of both but more of like the relational ministry where you're you're not seeing the results Like you're not seeing how the seed is being developed over time
Yeah, and that's difficult, I think, especially for us Westerners who want to see the results. Was that something that you guys processed together like, the results of doing work in the field? Talk to me a little bit about that.
It was funny because we had had We were doing a debrief at dinner one day after the Working with Petaluda. People had brought up that, kind of difficult to not see the results by the end of the day. Once you get a taste of it. Or that maybe the trip didn't look like they had imagined it would look. But then, the next day, we had a Devo with, um, one of our hosts, Kindle, and, um, was talking about the beauty of just like sitting with one another and how like that's glorifying to God, sitting in each other's presence over a cup of tea. And so I think that was just like all perfect in God's timing because he was like, we're just going to flip that switch and that's not how you should be thinking. Like you're, you're minimizing what I can do and putting me in a box by saying need to be doing this work over this work, or, you know what I mean?
Yeah, no, I love that. I love that that was a takeaway and I think that's a powerful understanding that not a lot of people always have when they go to do trips like this. Um, speaking of people who go to do trips like this, I want to shift the conversation into talking about other people who have signed up for trips.
Advice for Future Travelers
As someone who has gone, um, on not one, but two, what advice would you have for someone who has signed up for a trip? How should they prepare?
I think it's important to prepare yourself to go in with open hands. And that, like, cause I would say in both of my trips, like, we had kind of, We didn't get a schedule for Greece until like very last minute. And then we didn't get a schedule for Korea also, I feel like last minute, but probably a little ahead of time. But even once you get a schedule, like don't look at it, and don't expect anything from it because things change and God moves in the change. And I think that it's important to see not hold tightly to your expectations because God is lying everywhere else. Like, he will be there. And that you're not bringing Jesus there, Jesus is already working there, is another thing that I noticed. And, and, that, um, just because you're not dead tired by the end of the day, um, doesn't mean that the work you're doing is, is not helpful, is not the Lord's work in any capacity, or way, shape, or form. You are still doing the Lord's work even if you're not tired by the end of the day.
I love that. Yes. I think those are very unique takeaways, but they are spoken from someone who has gone through this I think those are good takeaways for someone to listen to as they, as they go on a trip. So a beautiful perspective.
Future Plans and Conclusion
the last question I have for you is what will cross-cultural service look like for you in the future?
I would love, I would love to go on another trip. I think God's gonna do what God's gonna do. But, I would love to first get plugged into a church at home. And, um, started serving in a community here. then I would love to go out and serve again in a different culture because I think I was able to learn so much and have my eyes opened up so much to the ways that the Lord is moving in cultures with different language barriers and different people yeah, I think I'll go on another trip at some point in my life. And. With going into nursing, I would love to go on another or go on a trip that has to do with nursing or something in the medical field as, as well. But yes, definitely open-minded or open to going on another trip.
Yeah, we love to hear that. We'd love to have you back. Um, I and also love to plug you into some nursing opportunities because I know that those are available. Um, but yeah, um, amazing. I love it. Well, thank you so much for joining us. We loved hearing your story and loved hearing the thoughts you had and how you have processed this trip.
I think this will help future short-term team workers as they prepare for trips that they go on. And as always, this is a testament to God's work through you and God's work in the world. So thank you so much again, and I hope you have a great day. Bye.
Thank you for having Me.