In our training here in the last few weeks we have been discussing some things that we have never had to think about before! Between our Romans 12-14 class and our Culture/Language Methodology class, we had to face some hard issues. Like, how can you tell the difference between a tip and a bribe? For example, our instructor bought his plane ticket to fly from Nigeria to go 
back home. Of course, he had purchased his ticket and when he tried to get on the plane the airline employee smiles and says, “Your name is not on the list!” Confused, he replies,”But I have my ticket!” Well, your name is not on the list. At that time, the missionary realized the man wanted a little something extra….
So, is that a “tip” or a “bribe?”
This same missionary, on other day, was driving down the pothole-covered roads trying to get to Dakar to take care of some paperwork. So, he had lost count of how many times he stopped at a checkpoint to show his paperwork. Now, the attendant was asking for his “yellow fever card.” [The missionary was well aware that this was not a required document to have on hand] After disputing for what seemed an hour, he realized that the man simply wanted his “tip.”
I won’t tell you all the answers… because there is no “right” answer for every circumstance!
However, we have been learning many great principles for learning culture and language, and we only have 3 short weeks left before we get our summer break. We hope to see many of you this summer! We love hearing back from many of you, please keep the emails coming!
And thanks for a fun canoeing trip all you Northwest Community folks from Bella Vista!!