Monthly Archives: August 2014

Personalities, Profiles, Preferences, and Crossing Cultures

Clearing Customs

795619869_c1c80a9a37_zWhat personality types make for the best cross-cultural workers? I like to think that there’s room for all kinds, but it makes sense that certain types of people would find themselves drawn to or more suited for vocations that cross cultures.

When Peter Farley surveyed female missionaries from the UK, he found that, using the Myers-Briggs scale, there  are more “intuitive” (N) and less “sensing” (S) women among missionaries than in the general population. (The numbers are 42% Ns and 58% Ss among missionary women compared to 21% Ns and 79% Ss as a norm). The most common personality type is ISFJ, at 23%, but that is similar to the overall female population, while INFJs make up 12% of female missionaries, significantly more than the 2% norm.

Erin Meyer, author of The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business, has a different scale for evaluating personality. It’s the “Culture Profile.” By answering the 24…

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Upcoming Activities

  • August 28. “The Baggage Cart” Mini-Workshop. We will view and discuss the video “The Baggage Cart” by Claudia Black, focusing on self-understanding, and care for others. Participants are encouraged (but not required) to bring pastoral care cases with them for small group review. Venue: Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary. Time: 6:30pm to 9pm
  • August 31-September 1. Visioning Weekend. Staff and Board Members.
  • October 4-13. Korea Pastoral Care Training Trip.
  • October 11. Parents Congress, Baguio.
  • October 17-19. “Ambassadors of Healing and Hope.” Linden Suites, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

We are Moving… a Few Meters at Least

Our ministry partner Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary is giving us a bigger space for our pastoral care center. The new space is right next door to our old one but about 5 times larger. The new space is about 500 square feet (over 45 square meters).

Our hope is to to get some major modifications to the space done. We want to partition off one area as a counseling room. One wall would be permanent and (hopefully) one wall would be a folding partition so that it can be opened up for large group trainings.

Two main doors here are both for the new office. Once we have things partitioned, the left door will be for the office, the right will be for the counseling room.

Two main doors here are both for the new office. Once we have things partitioned, the left door will be for the office, the right will be for the counseling room.

Bukal room 4

View is toward the kitchenette area from the area that will be the counseling area… once it is partitioned.

Storage area in the kitchen section. The present materials (trophies and yearbooks) will be removed.

Storage area in the kitchen section. The present materials (trophies and yearbooks) will be removed.

View to the front from the kitchen area. The left side will be the partitioned counseling room, and the right will be the office and ministry center.

View to the front from the kitchen area. The left side will be the partitioned counseling room, and the right will be the office and ministry center.

The other side would be our ministry office, as well as student ministry center to (as the name implies) help link up seminary students and ministry opportunities (both short-term and long-term).

The back area is storage/shelving, a kitchenette and lavatory (“CR”).

This is an awesome opportunity for us, and is part of the seminary’s goal to greatly expand and enhance its pastoral care training program. We are excited to be partnered in this.

Please keep us in your prayers in getting things funded, modified, decorated, staffed, and effectively utilized.