When we first arrived in our country, we had to adjust to culture shock, set up our new home and meet our first local friends and cultural helpers. This was a crucial time of transition. Your missionary’s arrival on the field is a unique phase in their journey. The best way you can care for them during these days is to stand with them in earnest prayer.
Culture shock
When we first arrived in our country, everything felt different! There were different traffic rules, different foods, different gender norms and different languages all around. I felt like an outsider in a strange new world. I couldn’t speak the language and I didn’t have any local relationships. Culture shock came from not yet knowing the rules of behavior of our host culture. The feelings of culture shock were overwhelming.
Satan tries to tempt you during culture shock. He begins to tell you, “I can’t believe you are feeling these things. You are not very spiritual. You are never going to figure this out. You shouldn’t even be here. You should just go home.”
It was hard for me to remember that culture shock was normal when I was in the midst of it. It was easy to internalize how I was feeling and try to just tough it out rather be honest with God and others. With God’s help and through the prayers of many, we were able to learn how to live in our new context long-term.
I remember being exhausted during culture shock. My safe place was to stay inside our house with family and focus on what was familiar, but I knew I had to get out of our house to push through culture shock to make local friends and adjust to living in our new country. I needed to focus on new friendships rather than looking back to what we had left behind in the U.S. Social media increases this temptation to withdraw to what is safe and familiar. You can know all that you are missing out on back home in real time. Because of this, you may need to give your missionary the freedom to not stay in touch for the first several months in their country.
Setting up a New Home
On arrival, we had to find housing and get oriented to everyday survival. In our new country, houses and apartments were not furnished with things like lighting fixtures, fans and other appliances. To find a home involved not only finding an ideal location for language learning but also discovering who was the best person to help furnish our home.
In many settings it is also culturally appropriate to hire house helpers to help with daily tasks such as cooking, laundry, cleaning and childcare. In our context, our floors needed to be cleaned every day because of the dust. Also, it was not appropriate to leave home without your clothes being properly ironed. House helpers can also provide childcare and cook meals, which can help a busy mom have extra time required to dedicate to language learning.
You can care for your missionary without directly communicating with them as they adjust to their new culture. You may not be communicating with them but you can communicate with the Sovereign King of the universe through prayer! Prayer is the most effective way you can support your missionary, especially in this season.
How can you pray for your missionary while they are going through culture shock and setting up their new home?
Pray earnestly for your missionary during this unique phase of arriving in their country. Pray they will get off to a good start that will lead to understanding and enjoying their new home and local friends.
