Mission & PurposeCommunity

Living in aninternational community

Sharing a home, a table and your faith with people from other countries is one of the most intense learning experiences there is. Here's what to expect and how to do it well.

By the YWAM Cáceres team

Living in an international community means sharing everyday life with people from other countries, languages and customs: cooking together, cleaning the same house, praying in several languages and learning to understand each other when you think differently. It's a huge gift and, at the same time, one of the most formative challenges you can take on.

If you're thinking about doing a school or serving at a mission base, you'll very likely experience this. Here's what to expect and how to live it well.

What is daily life like in an international community?

At a Youth With A Mission base, community life isn't an extra: it's part of the training. During the schools at YWAM Cáceres, students live together in a flat or house prepared by the base, with separate rooms for men and women.

A typical day usually includes personal time with God, worship or intercession, classes, shared meals and practical tasks like cleaning and caring for shared spaces. Add to that the conversations in the kitchen, walks around the city and evenings on the sofa watching a film.

What makes it international is that everyone brings their own way of doing things. The DTS, for example, is bilingual in English and Spanish, and the teachers come from different cultures, ages and backgrounds.

What challenges come with living alongside other cultures?

Cultural differences rarely show up in the big issues. They show up in the small details. Some of the most common clashes:

• Punctuality: for some, arriving ten minutes late is normal; for others, it's disrespectful.
• Communication style: some cultures are very direct, while others prefer to say things indirectly to avoid hurting anyone.
• Food and mealtimes: what you eat, when you eat and how long you stay at the table.
• Personal space: how loudly people talk, physical contact when greeting, or the need to be alone.
• Language: expressing yourself in a language that isn't yours is tiring and sometimes leads to misunderstandings.

None of these differences is better or worse. But if nobody talks about them, they can pile up and turn into friction.

What do you learn from living in an international community?

Those very frictions are what shape us most. Living with people who are different exposes our selfishness, impatience and prejudices, things that go unnoticed in a comfortable setting. At the same time, it gives us the chance to grow in humility, patience and forgiveness.

Your view of God grows too. When you hear how a brother from another continent prays, or how a friend from another church tradition reads the Bible, you discover sides of the faith your own culture may not emphasise as much. Nobody has the full picture; together we see a little more.

And, of course, you come away with lifelong friendships in different parts of the world.

What does the Bible say about diversity in the church?

The church was international from the very start. At Pentecost, people from many nations heard the message in their own language (Acts 2). Paul writes that in Christ the wall dividing Jews and Gentiles has been torn down to form one people (Ephesians 2:14), and the closing vision of Revelation 7:9 shows a crowd from every nation, tribe, people and language worshipping together.

Living in an international community is, in a way, a small preview of that picture. Not because everything is perfect, but because very different people choose to love one another for Jesus' sake.

Practical tips for living well together

• Arrive curious, not critical. Before thinking "this is wrong", ask "why do they do it this way?"
• Speak up early and kindly. If something bothers you, say so privately and in good time, before it grows.
• Learn a few words of other languages. A greeting in someone's own language opens a lot of doors.
• Share your culture. Cook a dish from home, teach a song or explain how Christmas is celebrated where you're from.
• Protect your time alone. Community doesn't mean always being with people; a quiet moment with God helps you live with others better.
• Apologise and forgive quickly. In a shared house mistakes are inevitable. Grace is what makes living together possible.

If this kind of experience appeals to you, the DTS in Cáceres is a great way in: five months of training and outreach in a community that loves Jesus, in a calm, historic city. You can find out more about the city on our Why Cáceres page.