Periscope is an application that works on Android or iphones. You download the app to your phone and create your profile. At anytime during the day, you can turn it on and connect to any country in the world. Personally, I love it. My friend from the United Kingdom is Bob. I have also enjoyed a conversation online with a Kurd from Iraq.
The Kurd knew some English. He was a Muslim. Because he was in Iraq, every other question on the chat was, “Are you a terrorist?”
We’ve got to come up with a better way of connecting cross-culturally other than asking someone who happens to live in the Middle East and who happens to be a Muslim, “Are you a terrorist?”
Periscope offers us an unlimited opportunity to go online and converse with people from other countries. Not all of them know English. If you want to get your teenagers or kids involved, and they are taking a second language in school, consider visiting a country that speaks that language so your child can practice her skills with someone from that country.
The joy of technology is how you can cross cultural lines with a simple app and be anywhere in the world. With that in mind, consider taking a missions course online or in person. I promise you, it is applicable in your communities and through your online relationships.