Learning the culture of those they served helped them change their lives, say returned missionaries at BYUH
From trying fermented food to saying hello to strangers, serving a mission gave students the opportunity to learn and appreciate different cultures, said three BYU–Hawaii coeds. They said the culture they got to live on their missions led them to learn the meaning of charity, generosity and politeness.
Learning from the Marshallese people
Jeremiah Shackleford, a sophomore from Tennessee majoring in psychology, said he served in the Washington Kennewick Mission between 2020 and 2022 and spent most of his time serving people in Washington from the Marshall Islands. “There are already differences between Tennessee and Washington itself, and adding the island [culture] on top of that just added more difference,” said Shackleford.
Serving the Marshallese people was so different, especially with the different food, he shared. “They have pig’s blood and fermented food, like breadfruit, where you mix coconut milk to make it sweeter.” People from Marshall Islands are big on rice, which is very different from where he came from, he added.
Charity is a big part of the Marshallese culture, and Shackleford emphasized how it affected his mindset on life. “You can be happy without having everything in the world,” he said. Despite having little themselves, he shared their willingness to give helped him learn about charity and be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Shackleford reminisced about becoming part of a family he served in the Marshall Islands, saying, “I could walk into their house and open the fridge comfortably.”
Despite the differences in food, he said Marshallese culture reflects his own culture in Tennessee. Like people from Tennessee, Marshallese people love to party even if they do not know what they are celebrating because they are happy people, he shared.
Shackleford said he is still proud of his own culture but that does not diminish his acceptance of other cultures as well. Trying to accept and understand the good parts of other cultures apart from what people are accustomed to could lead to having the best of both worlds, he said. “There are some parts that I do not accept or adopt, yet being able to take good parts of every culture and adopt them to myself is really cool for me,” said Shackleford. “The more you become yourself, the more they will accept you.”
Shackleford still follows some Marshallese cultural practices because it is culturally appropriate like accepting food from other people, which he rarely did before his mission, he said.
Vanuatu and its generosity
Eve Austin, a sophomore majoring in elementary education from Idaho, said her mission expanded her understanding of the world and how differently people perceive it. “I had companions from all over the world with all sorts of different cultures.”
Austin served her mission in Vanuatu Port Vila Mission from 2022 to 2024, and she said language was the biggest adjustment for her as she had to learn Bismala and French. “Language plays a big part in culture as it is the way people express themselves,” she said.
Apart from language, she said mannerism plays a huge role in the culture of Vanuatu. Mannerism is how people act and the way they are, she said. In Vanuatu, Austine explained it was different from where she grew up. For example, she said, “People in Vanuatu raise their eyebrows during conversation,” to say yes or no.
Austin also said fashion is a big thing in Vanuatu. They have traditional clothing called the island dress, she shared. “They are all [handmade] with bright dyes, puffy sleeves and flaps on the hips,” she described, and they are worn for dancing as well.
Miles away from her home, Austin recalled how the Vanuatu culture is similar to her Idaho culture. “Family units are similar. The love they have is very powerful,” she shared. Austin reflected on the generosity of the Vanuatu people, recalling a moment when her companion gave her well-cared-for shoes to someone they were helping during a service project. “People are so willing to give, and material things don’t matter much,” she shared. Austin said serving on an island like Vanuatu encouraged her to be more chill “because we are on island time.”
Politeness in El Salvador
In the United States, people don’t say “Hi,” to each other on the streets, but in El Salvador, people have to, said Jamis Schrinner, a business management sophomore from Colorado. He served in the El Salvador Santa Ana Mission and said if someone did not say “Hi,” to people in El Salvador, they would get offended. “I know a lot of people from El Salvador who do not go to church anymore because the bishop didn’t say ‘Hi,’ to them,” he shared. Schrinner said he still greets people in the hallways after his mission to the point where people think it’s weird or too much. “I love that part of the culture. It is like here on the island,” he said.
Schrinner said it took him a while to adjust to the culture in El Salvador because people from Colorado are more chill, whereas people in El Salvador are more excited. “They are happier, more connected and emotional [in El Salvador],” Schrinner explained. One of the similarities between Colorado and El Salvador was the World Cup. “It is huge in El Salvador, and people in the streets will just be cheering and shouting,” he shared. Schrinner said it came to a point where it was difficult to teach, but it helped him accept the culture more because he loves soccer himself.
Experiencing the culture of El Salvador changed his perspective in life, he said. “I try to be more excited with more stuff,” Schrinner explained. People from El Salvador always talk about God, which he said helped him become “more fluid” in his faith. “It is easier for me to talk about God now.” Schrinner said he doesn’t mind being late to class anymore because he gets to spend that time being with people, “and that is what’s important.” Schrinner said he wants to live in Latin America because people there focus more on people and activities.