HE IS SPEAKING IN FANTI ZI!

This was a new expression our young people coined during our Taiwan mission trip. It simply meant, “I have no idea what you’re trying to say!” Since many of our children are unfamiliar with the traditional Chinese characters used in Taiwan (fántǐzì  繁體字), whenever anyone of us spoke Mandarin in a way they could not understand, they would laugh and say, “He is speaking in Fanti Zi!”

Mission is about language, but it is not only about language.

Language barriers are real, yet our fixed mindsets can be an even greater obstacle. Many misunderstandings have little to do with vocabulary. They arise because we struggle to understand why someone thinks, works, or communicates differently from us. Even when we speak the same language, we can still fail to understand one another.

During the trip, some team members naturally spoke with louder voices and were mistaken for being angry. At other times, a team leader's gentle silence was interpreted as approval. Godly suggestions were sometimes mixed with unspoken personal agendas. We all came to conversations with assumptions shaped by our own experiences. We often come with our fixed mindset and after long discussions, it is quite frustrating to end up with “no one is right or wrong.”

Yet something beautiful happened in the intercultural setting.

Because we knew our language was limited, we became more willing to say, “I don't understand.” “Could you say that again?” Or simply, “You are speaking in Fanti Zi!” Instead of assuming, we listened. Instead of defending ourselves, we asked questions. Humility opened doors that fluency alone never could.

One of the greatest joys of the trip was watching our young people eagerly speak Mandarin with another group of youths who knew little English. Their conversations were slow, sometimes awkward, and full of laughter. Yet friendships grew remarkably deep. During the last two evenings, they treasured every moment together, patiently speaking in a language that neither side fully mastered, and they talked late into the night.

Almost everyone on the team said, “I want to come back again.”

The language barrier is still there, but love in Christ has already begun to build bridges across it. I discovered that the greatest barrier was never traditional Chinese, different accents, or unfamiliar expressions. It was our own assumptions, pride, and fixed ways of thinking.

Yet the gospel gives us hope. Christ did not merely teach us to communicate better, He reconciled us to God and to one another. As we humble ourselves before Him, He teaches us to listen with grace, to understand with patience, and to love beyond our differences. We may still smile and say, “You are speaking in Fanti Zi!” But instead of walking away in frustration, we now have a reason to lean in, listen carefully, and seek to understand.

“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” (Ephesians 2:14)

Building His Missional Community,

Pastor Forest