In addition to important screening tools which are used in the selection of our mission workers, we also work hard to prepare them for the emotional, social and spiritual aspects of ministry. Cross-cultural testimony and gospel presentation preparation, health and safety precautions, basic language study, team building and ministry preparation are all part of JEMS training program. Not the least of our training program is a basic knowledge of the country in which they are serving. In Brazil, as an example, many JEMS workers are surprised at how much Brazilians know about our country. Conversely, it can be a bit of an embarrassment if we know little or nothing about their nation.
Questions like:
Who is our president?
How many states make up the Federative Republic of Brazil?
What is our official language?
What is our currency and what is the value compared to the dollar?
Which country is bigger? Yours or ours?
Fairly early on in JEMS missions in the early 1990's we suffered some embarrassment as our workers were asked, "What is our national capital?" After some hemming and hawwing, the answer that our workers came up with was: "Rio de Janeiro?"
Take the following video quiz to see how you would fare in a basic test of Brazilian culture and society. Let me know how well you did! (It's a video format, so the answers will quickly follow the questions).
