Ask a Missionary - Catch The Fire

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The key to handling culture shock is be thoroughly trained before going overseas. While there is no preventative cure, several things will help make you a more effective witness for Christ. For example, setting realistic expectations, focusing only on culture and language during the first year, bonding intentionally with nationals rather than hanging out with other expatriates, and resisting the temptation to communicate frequently with home. Missionary Training International in Colorado Springs has excellent prefield training courses, if your agency does not provide this type of training (see “Resources for Further Study”). Answer from Jim, who has served with The Mission Society for ten years in Kazakhstan. A: Train specifically for culture shock before you experience it. Part of our mission’s requirement for appointees is a month or more of prefield training that deals specifically with culture shock. We spent a month at the Center for Intercultural Studies in North Carolina, taking the equipping course and exploring topics such as transitions, worldview, ethnocentrism, culture theory, culture shock/ culture stress, contextualization, cross-cultural communication, expectations, and more. Understanding the culture is essential in dealing with culture shock. This is a process, but reading and observing will start you on your way. Another important factor is for you to understand that culture shock is a stress reaction that will happen—it’s a predictable part of adjustment. Knowing your own vulnerabilities and struggles is also essential in adjusting to a culture. Know that your value is in Christ, not in what you do or in how you perceive that others feel about you. This is a healthy truth to savor, even in your home culture. Read books on crossing cultures, such as Ministering Cross- Culturally by Lingenfelter and Mayers and Cross-Cultural Connections by Duane Elmer. Also, Marshall Cavendish Corporation publishes a TRAINING: Getting It Right | 109
series of books on different cultures called CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (see “Resources for Further Study”). If you have a particular country in mind, this is a fantastic resource. Answer from T. K., who has recently completed training to serve in Ireland with Greater Europe Mission. Things Nobody Told Me If knowledge is power and honesty is a virtue, the missionaries in this section want to arm you with honest thoughts on the challenges they faced as new missionaries. A few of these real-life challenges include unrealistic expectations, spiritual warfare, boredom, and even the myth of superhuman missionaries. Ponder, pray, seek counsel, and learn more about these “things nobody told me.” Q: What do missionaries wish they had known before they first worked cross-culturally? A: work. I wish that I, and others, had realistic expectations of missionaries and of mission Many people have unrealistic ideas of romantic bliss in marriage, without seeing the problems or day-to-day efforts needed to make a marriage work. 110 | Ask a Missionary
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Ask a Missionary Time-Tested Answer
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This book is a great resource for m
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Authentic Publishing A Ministry of
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Things Nobody Told Me 110 Yes. No.
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John McVay John McVay served as a m
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Imagine Your Own Gripping Story 1 W
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Toward Your Own Story Most Christia
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Guidance Discovering God’s Plan 2
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You’ll bring the bikes to the sch
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market, the post office, the park.
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A: Look for an inner conviction, fo
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eceived concrete and definite direc
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A: Ask God to use you and watch him
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This topic is one of the themes dis
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A: Discouragement is a part of life
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ack home. I’ve got a life and a f
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I was a mechanical engineer, and my
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Answer from Paul, who has served as
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going!” It may be that as you hav
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there? What kinds of office politic
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joy, and the tug of our hearts—as
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seek God’s will with a determinat
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A: Yes. Strategically select your s
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go and help. These extended, opport
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passed by a number of opportunities
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How do I believe God typically guid
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Agencies Researching the Options 3
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Jim, obviously nervous, simply said
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your own financial support. However
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for its missionaries’ safety, hea
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• Teamwork. The New Testament con
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A: Because they find help in other
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A: Because their church serves as a
Page 69 and 70: served as a minister within this de
Page 71 and 72: A Thorough Exam In some ways, joini
Page 73 and 74: Does the mission have plans to move
Page 75 and 76: Does the agency make disciples or j
Page 77 and 78: 3. You have more opportunities to a
Page 79 and 80: When to Begin? Which agency you joi
Page 81 and 82: So ask the Holy Spirit to guide you
Page 83 and 84: Add other exploratory questions you
Page 85 and 86: well. Sometimes he goes after famil
Page 87 and 88: a bright room decorated with dozens
Page 89 and 90: Q: What perspective should I take t
Page 91 and 92: Study”). It will give you a syste
Page 93 and 94: A: Fast can end up being slow. A de
Page 95 and 96: Our ministry, wherever we are, shou
Page 97 and 98: A: In the middle of your university
Page 99 and 100: Avenues of Training Learning should
Page 101 and 102: A: Get experience in your church, a
Page 103 and 104: How much training should you get in
Page 105 and 106: A: Volunteer, integrate faith into
Page 107 and 108: second language is useful. Or a deg
Page 109 and 110: If you will work in a sensitive cou
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Page 113 and 114: A: God’s plan for us in missions
Page 115 and 116: If you’re a native English speake
Page 117 and 118: language we’ll be working in. (Al
Page 119: there will be all kinds of new mann
Page 123 and 124: A: I wish I had learned about spiri
Page 125 and 126: in the amazing to-do list of Philip
Page 127 and 128: If I don’t want advanced training
Page 129 and 130: Funding Figuring It Out 5 THE COld
Page 131 and 132: Bill sat back at his greasy desk an
Page 133 and 134: A: Let God grow your faith. Ultimat
Page 135 and 136: A: Avoid sales pressure as well as
Page 137 and 138: • God owns all, yet he is the mos
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Page 141 and 142: first, ask God what he intends for
Page 143 and 144: We see three groups of people here:
Page 145 and 146: Bristol, England, by faith in the p
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Page 149 and 150: A: Yes. Trust God for all your fina
Page 151 and 152: A: Work part-time and study part-ti
Page 153 and 154: (because their degrees are not in d
Page 155 and 156: When we decided to go overseas, we
Page 157 and 158: A: Start early contributing each mo
Page 159 and 160: Over a challenging three years, the
Page 161 and 162: From Philippians 4:10-20, what can
Page 163 and 164: have been ruined because of him.”
Page 165 and 166: the tribal chief became followers o
Page 167 and 168: A: Both singleness and marriage hav
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although I wanted to get married, I
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A: Yes, but work toward a common vi
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family, just as married couples hav
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I decided to go on the mission fiel
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A: If it’s God’s plan, he will
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Your family’s mission story may b
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A: Yes. Consider these benefits of
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Answer from David Smith, director o
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education was either from home scho
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Q: Can I become a missionary if my
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How would I deal with loneliness an
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The Challenge Moving Forward 7 Dr.
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missionary friend Phil almost choke
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qualities for cross-cultural missio
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Acknowledgments The editor, John Mc
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Notes Chapter 2: Guidance 1. Excerp
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Resources for Further Study These m
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around the world, new resources, an
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Friend Raising: Building a Missiona
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People Raising: A Practical Guide t
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Encountering Islam Keith Swartley,
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Mukappa.org Links to resources, spi
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Resources for Women in Missions Par
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The Definitive Prayer Handbook for
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Ask a Missionary - Catch The Fire

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