I used to live in Fraserview, a beautiful district of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. My neighbor, George Hutchison, knocked on my door one Saturday afternoon and insisted that we talk.

"Sorry to disturb you, Dann," he politely apologized. Then with a louder voice, he expressed his complaint: "I'm really getting irritated by that new family from Hong Kong! They just cut that beautiful tree in front of their house!"

"Is the tree within their property?" I inquired with genuine confusion.

"Yeah."

"So, what's the problem?"

"You Chinese people don't really get it, do you?"

"I'm a Filipino."

"Well, you're all the same!"

I wanted to debunk his stereotypical view of his neighbors but I thought that was not the right time. So I went back to the problem at hand.

"Anyway, George …" I tried not to lose my temper. "Why is it a problem for you if Mr. Wong cuts the tree within his yard?"

George Hutchison lowered his voice. He stared in the direction of his and Mr. Wong's properties for a few long minutes. Then, with tears in his eyes, he brought my heart and mind to the past 30 years of our neighborhood.

The Feelings Behind the Facts

After serving with the Canadian forces during World War II, the government of Canada provided a low-cost housing for the returning veterans. Vancouver's Fraserview Area was assigned as one of the low-cost housing areas for George and his fellow veterans.

George's family became friends with the Smiths, a neighbor whom they eventually regarded as family. The Hutchison and the Smith children grew up together in this neighborhood. One spring break, the two dads built a tree house for their children. Later on, their children went to high school and college together. In fact, George's and Elizabeth's eldest son and Mr. and Mrs. Smith's only daughter married each other.

Years later, Mr. and Mrs. Smith chose to retire in Victoria, a quiet city in an island west of Vancouver. They sold their house.

The Wongs, a new immigrant family, bought the property, razed the Smith's house to the ground, and built a huge house in accordance with Feng Shui specifications.

"You see, Dann," George continued, "That tree meant so much to me and my family. I feel … I feel… Please don't take this personally, OK?"

"It's OK. Go for it!" I assured him.

"I feel like you Oriental guys are alienating us right in our own turf!"

Wanted: Biblical Communities for Peace-Building Efforts

George's statement sparked several questions in my heart. Who will educate Mr. Hutchison that Filipinos are not necessarily Chinese? Who will explain to Mr. Wong about Mr. Hutchison's memory of their newly shared neighborhood? Will Mr. Hutchison ever understand Feng Shui and how important it is to Chinese homes? Who will provide a common ground so that the Hutchisons and the Wongs will understand each other?

This experience changed my whole perspective as an Asian immigrant in Canada. I became more sensitive as a neighbor to Caucasian families. As a follower of Jesus Christ in the middle of a socio-culturally dynamic community, I began to see myself as a healing presence of Christ in the midst of painful wounds caused by inevitable demographic changes.

Since that time, I have developed a deeper realization of my family's responsibility to help bridge the gap between the Hutchisons and the Wongs. I have also realized the need to plant more biblical communities and churches in multicultural cities like ours.

Understanding Cultural Differences

Culture is the sum total of one's worldview, value system, and behavior patterns.

Worldview is the core of our culture, and can be defined as how a person perceives his or her final reality. It answers the question, "What is real?" Examples of worldviews include Judeo-Christian, Islamic, Pantheistic, and Animistic. Postmodernism tries to combine all these worldviews and consider them as equally valid.

A value system constitutes a person's concept of what is right and important. Our concepts of time, space, history, progress, and society are affected by our value system.

People's behavior patterns reveal their concepts of what is proper and acceptable.

Culture in Action

Mr. Hutchison and I became friends. I learned that his worldview is based on Judeo-Christian tradition. He claims to be a good Anglican although he doesn't like going to church.

His sense of right and wrong is governed by Judeo-Christian ethics. His time orientation is mathematical: "Nine o'clock means 9:00." His view of space is very individualistic: "Please give me space, OK?" His sense of history is linear: "Dann, that's water under the bridge!" His view of progress is to control and develop nature. His perception of his identity is his individuality: "You're entitled to your opinion. So am I!"

I also initiated a relationship with Mr. Wong. He believed that final reality is a mix of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism.

His highest value is to experience harmony in life—with nature and with others. This harmony can be measured in terms of wealth and health, primarily for himself and for his family. His time orientation is more psychological than mathematical: "Let's meet after breakfast, okay?" That's between 8:30 and 9:30 AM. For him, the quality of events is more important than the quantity of hours and minutes. His concept of space is based on communalism rather than individualism: "In Hong Kong, all five of us lived in a two-bedroom house. No problem." His concept of history is cyclical: "Chinese history is like a wheel. A dynasty starts a revolution. Then the leader of the dynasty becomes the emperor. Then he accomplishes great things. Then he becomes corrupt and bad. Then another dynasty starts a revolution." His idea of progress is to be in harmony with nature through the knowledge of Feng Shui. His perception of his identity is his family: "My family is everything … from my ancestors to my great grandchildren."

Getting to Know the Hutchisons

My family was a part of a multicultural, biblical community that was challenged to help bridge the gap between Mr. Hutchison and Mr. Wong. The majority of the families are first generation immigrants from Asia, but God enabled us to reach out to people like the Hutchinsons. Here are some of the things we learned along the way:

1. Initiate friendship as the new neighbor. Our biblical community learned that George and his wife, Elizabeth, love to talk about their garden. One sunny day, Mr. Chen was doing his daily walk. Mr. Hutchison, who was working on his front yard, greeted Mr. Chen: "Good morning! Nice day, eh?"

"Oh, hello! Yes, yes, good morning!" replied Mr. Chen, an active member of our biblical community. He respectfully complimented Mr. Hutchison with his Asian-phrased English: "Your flowers very beautiful!"

Through Mr. Chen, we learned that the Hutchisons are very hospitable people. This experience gave Mr. Chen confidence to greet others on his walks in the neighborhood.

2. Share the responsibilities and privileges of being a neighbor. Elizabeth Hutchison is a very friendly, motherly and caring neighbor: "Dann, I saw your little girls walking to school with spring jackets. It's still winter, dear."

She's also a very straightforward, honest woman: "Oh dear! Your lawn! Would you rather have George help you mow your lawn? Growing dandelions in your yard is not good for the neighborhood, you know." Elizabeth reminds me that although my lawn is my business, such business affects the larger business of the neighborhood.

3. Learn and appreciate the culture of the country where you now live. Our biblical community also found out that George and Elizabeth love to travel and they have lots of books about other cultures. George is an avid reader of National Geographic magazine.

As our friendship has grown deeper, I have learned that he is open and willing to understand my Asian views on history and culture. I have also expressed my willingness to understand his Western perspectives.

During a conversation over coffee, he expressed how he appreciates Asian families: "I grew up on a farm. There, the word, "family," meant the "big" family, you know? Grandpa, grandma, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters and their own families. You people remind me of the good old days. After the war, I got this house and this job, and everything changed!"

In this short interchange, George changed my stereotypical view that white Canadians don't care about the family as much as Asians. He became my practical mentor about Canadian culture. Every time our church would think of an outreach ministry, I would ask George: "How would you, as a host family in this neighborhood, see this initiative from our church?"

Welcoming the Wongs

By understanding the various stages of new immigrants' adjustment process, a biblical community can effectively touch them with the love of Jesus Christ.

1. Orientation. When people land on foreign soil, they ask some very basic questions: "Is this place safe for me and my family? Who are the friendly people here? Will I be accepted here?" The biblical community must provide warm acceptance.

John Wong, a leader in one of our cell groups, invested some of his time with Mr. Wong. John and his wife, Priscilla, invited Mr. Wong and his family for a dinner in a Chinese restaurant. John also exposed him to some typical Canadian restaurants.

2. Settlement. This stage include finding work opportunities, orienting the family to the city, learning about health and educational system, experiencing culture shock, finding a permanent place to live, looking for English lesson, and learning government bureaucracy. The biblical community must provide support.

John helped Mr. Wong establish his business in Vancouver by introducing him to reliable lawyers, accountants, and marketing consultants. Later, John helped Mr. Wong understand the tax system in Canada.

Priscilla brought Mrs. Wong to a good driving school, showed her "the best shopping deals in town," drove her and her children to enroll at a nearby school, and accompanied her to secure the family's health insurance.

3. Adaptation. This is the stage when immigrants work hard in recognizing the choices between retaining traditional cultural values and adapting North American ways of doing things. The biblical community must provide understanding hearts and minds.

After a year, the Wongs noticed that their elementary school children are speaking and behaving more like Canadians and seem to be forgetting their Chinese heritage. George and Linda Sy, a second-generation Chinese couple, listened to the frustrations expressed by the Wongs. They offered their presence, prayers, and counsel as Mr. and Mrs. Wong struggled to see their children becoming more Canadianized. George and Linda shared their experiences as second-generation Chinese. In a Chinese New Year's card, Mr. and Mrs. Wong later expressed their appreciation to George & Linda: "Through you, we heard our children's voice as adults. We heard their hearts and minds through your experiences. Thank you."

4. Integration. At this point, the immigrant is ready to participate more actively in the North American community. The biblical community must provide biblical models for community involvement.

What Happened to the Hutchisons?

George and Elizabeth Hutchison sold their house and moved to Victoria. They and the Smiths are neighbors again. I phoned him and asked his permission to write this story. He was very positive: "Yup! You can write about me. Send me a copy, OK?"

"Oh, by the way, Dann," he added, "Do you play golf? I thought you would enjoy playing with me and my new friend."

"Mr. Smith?" I tried to guess.

"No. He's an old friend."

"So, who's this new friend?"

"Mr. Li!"

Ambassadors of Christ's Reconciliation

Did Mr. Wong and Mr. Hutchison become friends? They met and they were very polite with each other. However, Mr. Wong chose not to stay in Canada: "Not good for business! Too many taxes! I go back to Hong Kong." He and his family sold their house. They returned to Hong Kong after being assured that the Beijing Government will still allow Hong Kong to be a capitalist region.

We shared the Great Story of Jesus to both Mr. Hutchison and Mr. Wong. To our knowledge, they haven't prayed the "sinner's prayer" yet. We believe God will take care of that part of the story.

Sharing the Greatest Story of All

Your local church can be a healing community in the midst of painful and rapid global changes happening in your neighborhood. In this new century, local communities, including local churches, are exposed to global realities.

In a postmodern world, we cannot prejudge the worldviews, value systems, and behavior patterns of other people based on our own cultural standards. In the context of a community, we have to listen to other people's stories as much as we share our own stories. This exchange of stories will lead us to share the Great Story through the power of the Great Story-Maker—Jesus Christ.

What's your story?

Dann Pantoja is a pastor and leadership consultant. He is married to Joji, his college sweetheart. They have three children, Jojie Alethea, L'nielle Joy, and Daniel Byron. They live in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.

This article first appeared in Next Wave magazine. It has been reprinted with permission.