Reverse Culture Shock

It may sound like I am starting with the end when we should be thinking about the beginning, but is important to think now about what will happen after. We talked about in the last post about debriefing on the field but also once home. It is also important to begin thinking about Culture Shock, yes even though you are still going to a city in the US, your team will experience culture shock in one way or another.

Many people are surprised at how well their cross-cultural adjustment goes on the field. In fact, some find it harder to readjust once they return home. They experience Reverse Culture Shock. The individual has had a wonderful, hopefully life-changing experience, which causes him to view the world, the church, himself, and life in general from a new perspective. Yet friends and family to whom he returns have not had such an experience and do not share the same perspective. Prepare your participants to expect the following when they return home:

• Being out of sync.
• Conflict in values: change in perspective concerning American
values/lifestyle
• Disinterest in mission experience from others: encourage your team to have an open and accepting attitude towards family and friends who do not share the same experience.
• Individualism vs. Team: seeking God and doing ministry at home typically as an individual as opposed to being a part of a community.

Encourage team members experiencing reverse culture shock. The following ideas/responses might help your team cope with reentry.

• Encourage team members to remain a “team” at church and involve the community of believers in ministry.
• If someone boasts, "This project has made me more Christ-like," explain that your life should reflect the difference Christ is making and that this kind of comment may invalidate itself.
• Encourage team members to listen to what family and friends experienced while the team was on the mission field. Don't forget your responsibility to spend time with your spouse, children, roommates, parents, and siblings. Do not ignore the needs of those closest to you as you readjust and they readjust to your being home.
• Make sure your team integrates peers left behind. How do you avoid being cliquish? How do you exert a positive influence without coming across as spiritually superior?