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| being
there > relationships
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| With Leadership |
- Look to your institution leaders and immediate
supervisor for guidance. Respect their authority
- they know the mission of the institution and how
you can help achieve that mission.
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Sometimes position assignments need to be adapted,
or even changed, after the arrival of a volunteer.
Circumstances may change - or personnel - or they
discover you have other skills more desperately needed
- or your skills do not match their needs. Changes
need to be negotiated, but do your best to adapt
and fit into the mission of the institution.
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| With Colleagues and/or Students |
- Healthy social relationships are encouraged
- friendship evangelism underlies spiritual outreach
and is the most interesting and stimulating part
of a mission experience.
- Maintain a high standard of conduct. Dating and
time-monopolizing relationships usually distract
from the main purpose
of the work you were called to do. Because of this
and also the cultural implications in many countries,
single dating is discouraged, whether with fellow
volunteers or the local people. However, group
activities are very rewarding. Colleagues/students
will be delighted
to take you to places of cultural interest and
show you the countryside.
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| With Roommates |
- Make your “home,” to the greatest
degree possible, a haven where you and your roommate(s)
can rest and regenerate your spiritual and physical
energy.
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Schedule adequate time for sleep and relaxation.
Working and witnessing are quite demanding.
You must maintain your physical and mental health.
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Respect your roommate’s space, time, and belongings.
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Clean up after yourself (especially the bathroom,
kitchen, other common spaces)
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Never allow crumbs or overflowing garbage as both
attract unwelcome insects - even cockroaches.
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Keep your room neat.
- Do not put food, hair, feminine hygiene products,
or other questionable items down any
drain or toilet. In many places, the drains are
small.
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| Visitors |
- Consider first your roommate’s needs
and feelings before inviting guests to your “home.” Overnight
guests should be a rare experience, and never invite
strangers or members of the opposite sex, alone.
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Ask your supervisor for guidance, and about local
curfews, so that you may live within the protection
and respect of your colleagues and administrators.
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| Telephone/Email Bills |
- Charges for long-distance calls and/or
email messages may take four to six weeks. Post a
phone log near the phone to keep track of who makes
the charges, and the dates.
- Pay these bills right away. In some countries,
telephone services are disconnected without advance
warning
if bills are not paid, and getting a phone line
reconnected can take many hours/days and costs
hundreds of dollars.
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| Pets |
- Check with your supervisor for sure, but usually
keeping pets in your housing is not allowed. Besides
the potential problem of a pet “making use” of
your accommodation, returning to your homeland with
a pet is usually too costly and difficult. The alternative,
of trying to find a home to adopt your pet, is seldom
easy either.
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